Fyi

[E40FDNYL35]

August 7, 2005 -- Volunteer firefighters are seeing red over comments by the president of the FDNY UFOA, who is telling members not to join their hometown volunteer fire departments, The Post has learned.
"We ask you not to be a volunteer firefighter in your community," Pete Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, says in his latest report to members.
His words have spread like wildfire around the state, which boasts 94,588 volunteer firefighters — including thousands of "two-hatters" among 17,472 career firefighters, says the Firemen's Association of the State of New York.
Most towns on Long Island and upstate rely on volunteer departments, and many paid firefighters consider it a badge of honor to serve them.
In his online "president's report," Gorman says professional firefighters who join volunteer departments might jeopardize union health benefits if members get sick or injured fighting blazes off professional duty.
He also complains that chiefs from Long Island and Westchester park marked volunteer cars at the city Fire Academy — and that Mayor Bloomberg notices. "So when we talk money with the mayor, he reminds me that our guys would do it for nothing," Gorman writes.
Gorman is especially irked by FDNY firefighters who join "combination departments," like those in Garden City and Long Beach, L.I., which include both paid personnel and volunteers. Union officials believe this eliminates potential jobs.
The FDNY says only 128 of its 11,000-member force have notified the department, as required, that they are also volunteers. But some may not report it, officials said, because union rules forbid it.
Volunteers insist what they do on their off-time is their business, but Gorman told The Post, "If you're a member of a union, it's my business." He added, "When New York City cops volunteer and drive around in Nassau and Suffolk cop cars, I'll let my guys drive around in Nassau and Suffolk firetrucks."
Both the UFOA and the Uniformed Firefighters Association say members who join volunteer departments are subject to expulsion from the union.

[TillerMan25]

I see the Cancer Finally Spread to NYC.......

[BCmdepas3280]

Why? Because all unions work hard to pass presumptive legislation to protect you. If you develop certain heart ailments, lung diseases, cancers, hepatitis C and TB, it is presumed to have occurred as a result of your employment as a professional firefighter. When you fight fires as a volunteer you jeopardize our bills for the future. Not to mention the fact that upstate fire department are in a constant fight to maintan the manpower we have and not lose anymore. Like Gorman said he has respect for the volunteer service, but if you are a part of a union you are our bussiness, we exsist because you join us we didn't join you.

[E40FDNYL35]

Well put Mike...

[TillerMan25]

we exsist because you join us we didn't join you.

If there is a closed shop, you have no choice in the matter.

What if you are scabbing in the Construction injury and suffer an injury or an ailment, does that count too? It's the same thing no matter how you mask it. Union firefighters have no problem scabbing as long as they put money in their pocket, then a blind eye is turned.

So an Off-duty Career Firefighter, who is a member of the IAFF, is scabbing as a house painter on his day off, he falls 30 feet from a ladder and fractures his pelvis,skull and back. He is out of work for 6 months....who pays his bills if he is working for himself?

Another Off-duty Career Firefighter, who is an IAFF member, is volunteering on his day off. He slips in the Apparatus bay and shatters his elbow, he is out of work for a year...who pays his bills? Workmans comp does. It might not be much, but it's more than a Scab House painter, working for himself is going to get.

Whats the difference? You can get hurt walking to your mailbox, is the IAFF going to demand that it's members don't go out to get their mail next?

It is simply a ploy to deplete VFD's that have alot of IAFF members of their staffing, to justify filling the pockets of the IAFF. It's too bad the brainwashing has set in so deeply that you are ignorant of this.

[BCmdepas3280]

Blah, Blah,Blah

[Smoke20286]

I'm rather surprised that our New York brethern have been so lax in taking this step. One would think it logical to have done so long ago.

[TillerMan25]

One would think it Logical for the IAFF to stay out of people's personal lives. This Ain't Canada.

[Smoke20286]

I'm well aware it isn't Canada, This union is looking after it's members interest.

Again your anti-union rhetoric betrays your prejudices

[Local26Prez]

Tillerman wrote:
What if you are scabbing in the Construction injury and suffer an injury or an ailment, does that count too? It's the same thing no matter how you mask it. Union firefighters have no problem scabbing as long as they put money in their pocket, then a blind eye is turned.

So an Off-duty Career Firefighter, who is a member of the IAFF, is scabbing as a house painter on his day off, he falls 30 feet from a ladder and fractures his pelvis,skull and back. He is out of work for 6 months....who pays his bills if he is working for himself?

Another Off-duty Career Firefighter, who is an IAFF member, is volunteering on his day off. He slips in the Apparatus bay and shatters his elbow, he is out of work for a year...who pays his bills? Workmans comp does. It might not be much, but it's more than a Scab House painter, working for himself is going to get.




The difference is you are speaking of physical injuries, the Union is speaking of diseases covered by presumptive laws.

[jensam433]

[B][B]"When New York City cops volunteer and drive around in Nassau and Suffolk cop cars, I'll let my guys drive around in Nassau and Suffolk firetrucks."


...the only thing I can take from this statement is that the suburban vollie departments deprive the IAFF of dues paying members because the VFDs are taking the place of salaried employees.

That being said there is no way that Islanders who pay $8000 minimum per year in property taxes are going to pay for a career department that would pay its FFs on par with its cops (100000+ k per year.)

[jensam433]

UFA Calls For Boycott of Drill With Volunteers
By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

A Fire Department drill planned for July 24 involving volunteer and paid firefight ers had the Uniformed Fire fighters' Association calling for a boycott among some of its members.

The UFA said it strenuously objected to mutual aid drills between volunteer firefighters from Long Island and paid firefighters from the FDNY, and wanted any of its members who do volunteer work to skip the session.

'Not Covering Bases'

"I can't imagine a scenario where our firefighters would n't assist any community in distress in surrounding neighborhoods," said UFA President Stephen J. Cassidy. "But in this age of terrorism, when the FDNY hasn't even developed its own efficient system to recall firefighters in a disaster, or shown that it has enough rigs and appara tus for them to use, we don't think bringing volunteers into the picture is covering all the bases."

In a statement issued last week, the union reminded members that doing volun teer work that jeopardized the paid employment of an International Association of Fire Fighters' affiliate could result in expulsion.
Questions Recall Plan

Mr. Cassidy said that the FDNY's existing recall plan which delineates how off -duty and vacationing firefighters would be deployed if recalled to active duty during an emergency wasn't suffi ciently thought out.

"Look at what happened on 9/11-you had all the fire fighters coming in, and the department didn't know how to really organize them and they converged at the World Trade Center." he said. "And even if the department gets a plan together that's good, do they have enough resources at each house so the fire fighters can do the job if nec essary?"

FDNY Chief of Operations Salvatore Cassano sharply refuted Mr. Cassidy's assertions.

"Nothing could be further from the truth. We have a very detailed and compre hensive recall plan, but even with that in place, you never know what's enough in this day and age," he said. [I]"These are the same volunteer fire departments that stood by us on 9/11-they lent us their equipment, attended our fu nerals, and came in to help us, and mutual aid makes sense[/I]."
[I]Mr. Cassidy contended that doing mutual aid drills with volunteer firefighters who don't get the level of training of paid staff-was another way for the city to do "more with less." With six firehouses closed, he charged, putting a back-up plan in place that draws on unpaid labor was setting a dangerous precedent.[/I]"I think it reflects that they haven't put enough emphasis on securing resources for the greatest Fire Department in the world," he said. "If they give us all the rigs and equip ment that we need, I can't think of a time when we'd need to call on volunteers."

Chief Cassano responded that regionalized mutual aid was now a part of Federal Homeland Security mandates. He said the drill allowed the FDNY to assess the equipment of volunteer departments on Long Island, meet their membership and do some preparedness training.

"This is a much more for malized approach to mutual aid following the outlines of Homeland Security," he stat ed. "This has nothing to do with cutting resources, and is not about doing more with less."

[Smoke20286]

With six firehouses closed, he charged, putting a back-up plan in place that draws on unpaid labor was setting a dangerous precedent

And therein lies the problem, funny, you don't see them trying to do this with NYPD.

[jensam433]

And therein lies the problem, funny, you don't see them trying to do this with NYPD.

What do you call National Guardsmen in Penn Station and Grand Central? Deputizing cops from Jersey so they can make arrests & carry firearms in NYS? In the months following 911 there was a contingent of Nassau cops assigned downtown and there Marine unit patrolled the East River on a daily basis.

Law Enforcement in the greater NYC area has worked well with each other before 911 (drug task forces, organized crime, etc) and now after 911 the NYC JTTF has grown to over 40 (mostly) law enforcement agencies including FDNY.

[falcon]

Sounds like the union is setting up a fall guy for a bad contract.

[Flamebuster]

The president of the chief officers association had every right to admonish his members of the rules of the IAFF.

FDNY isn't a closed shop. They didn't have to join. They did so willingly and have probably been union members for years. They should know better.

For all you vollies that don't like the IAFF rule - so what! We don't complain about your rules, why does it bother you what rules we place on ourselves?

As for the president of the FF association not wanting to drill with the vollies. Hell no! Why should he? They have no place in his city.

Most of us with years on the job don’t know the first thing about big city firefighting. I know it isn’t rocket science but it does take experience and a vollie doesn’t have that. the president is just looking out for his members’ safety and that is his first job according to the IAFF rules!!!

[Smoke20286]

What do you call National Guardsmen in Penn Station and Grand Central? Deputizing cops from Jersey so they can make arrests & carry firearms in NYS? In the months following 911 there was a contingent of Nassau cops assigned downtown and there Marine unit patrolled the East River on a daily basis

I dunno, Paid?

[jensam433]

I dunno, Paid?

I don't know ....... mutual aid ?