5 Reasons to
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Time 4 a Change |
5 Reasons to
Time 4 a ChangeVote4Vassar@yahoo.com
It's time for a change. Current union leadership appears to be 'out of touch' with the rank and file firefighter. Issues that many of us thought would certainly be supported at our Union meetings, have died on the Union floor, falling victim to special interests and insider politics. Who would have imagined that motions such as: "Special Rate Details at Paul Brown Stadium", "Pay Parity with the Police", "Lawyer on Contract Negotiation Team", "Availability of Local 48 Financial Records" would have all been defeated? In fact, some of these motions were ruled "Out-of-Order", ending immediately all debate and comment. Whether you attend Union meetings or not, but especially if you've been unable to attend, your voice is vital, it must be heard. I ask you to speak loudly with your vote and install leadership in Local 48 that is responsive to the membership and acts in the best interests of us all, not just the insiders and the special interests. As President of Local 48 I will make it my business to find out the views of the membership and insure that those views are never ignored. As President of Local 48 I will refuse to use the power of the "Chair" or Parliamentary Procedure as tools to silence opposing opinions. All opinions must be heard, to build a better Union. Never should an idea be summarily rejected simply because it came from the "wrong person".
back to top Reason #2
Overtime ReformIt has been a long-standing tradition in the CFD to offer more overtime opportunities to 40 hour employees. One 40 hour member was reported as having earned $24,087 in over time in 2001. Despite our joy to see some members do so well, Local 48 must call for an equal and fair distribution of overtime for ALL members. Most members are qualified for the majority of these overtime assignments and should be utilized in them. By implementing the Public Records Act (ORC 149.43) I was able to obtain, despite the Administration's resistance, the CFD's overtime records for 1999 - 2002. The CFD's overtime records differed greatly (over $2 million) with the overtime records from the City Finance Dept, which I also obtained. Incidentally, obtaining these records won me a written reprimand from the CFD for allegedly violating the chain of command. These records were certainly worth the trouble of acquiring, they were illuminating. Forty firefighters accounted for 31.8% of the overtime in 2002, averaging $11,656 each.
The remaining approximately 760 firefighters averaged $1,314 in overtime each. Much of this overtime comes in the form of Special Events duty, which any firefighter could perform, if only different practices were place. Our wages including overtime affects our standard of living and ultimately our retirement. Some of us have no interest in additional overtime, but shouldn't we all be given an equal chance at it? The current method of dispensing overtime is rife with inefficiencies and favoritism. As president of Local 48 I would lead the push to develop a better and more equal system of scheduling overtime.
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Reason #3
Special Event RateIn May 2002 the Cincinnati Bengals expressed interest to Local 48 in having Cincinnati Firefighters provide EMS/EOD/ Code Enforcement at all home games (PBS). Preliminary talks between L48 and the Bengals mentioned a Special Event Rate (similar to the Police) of around $25.00 per hour. Manpower needs were projected to be between 20-25 members per event.
This proposal was rejected at a subsequent Union meeting and a letter declining the offer was sent to the Bengals. Do you feel your views were adequately represented regarding this issue? Would you have voted in favor of the Special Event Rate, if you had been asked? It's always at this point in our discussion that someone says, "you should come to the Union meetings, if you didn't come, then don't complain!" I couldn't disagree more. We all lead busy lives, and for many of us, coming to Union Meetings is very difficult to fit into our schedules. Regardless of your attendance, as long as you are a member in good standing, your opinion should be welcomed and wanted. After all, eight hundred of us will not fit in the Union hall. As President of Local 48 I will actively seek to find out what you, the membership, want. I will make sure your interests are represented on the Union floor, whether you're there or not.
back to top Reason #4
Financial DisclosureI made the following motion for a policy change at the April 10th Union meeting:
"All financial records of Local 48 shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any member at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Upon request, the person responsible for financial records shall make copies available at cost, within a reasonable period of time. In order to facilitate broader access to financial records, union offices shall maintain financial records in a manner that they can be made available for inspection in accordance with this policy"
This Motion is modeled almost word for word from the Ohio Revised Code 149.43, which mirrors similar federal laws. The motions' purpose is to empower the membership of Local 48 with specific knowledge as to how their dues are spent. Our members, in delegating authority, do not give their union officials the right to spend their money without full disclosure of the details of how that money is being spent. Why are the details of Union spending, such a big secret? More information, means less confusion and less confusion means more solidarity. Members must insist on being informed whenever Union leaders are less than forthcoming. Despite the obvious reasonableness of this motion it was ruled "Out-of-Order" by the Union President, ending immediately all debate and comment. He felt such a policy would be an unnecessary burden on the Secretary-Treasurer. I made a second motion to alter our constitution to include this "Full Disclosure" policy; it was seconded and is still alive. Let's end the days of backroom deals. Openness and disclosure will make Local 48 stronger.
A popular Government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. -James Madison
back to top Reason #5
SeniorityAlmost universally the membership of Local 48 believes in the importance of Seniority. It protects us from bias and favoritism at the hands of the Administration. Unfortunately, our union is not in step with it's members on this issue, and has supported the administration's practice of transferring individuals with no regard to their seniority when implementing the Paramedic Initiative. Consequently, members are being made regular on companies before their turn, leapfrogging over other more senior members. Some in Union leadership positions have directly benefited from this practice. It is no wonder that Local 48 tolerates these practices, it too ignores seniority in the way it selects members for Union Committee positions. These practices must stop. Seniority must be restored to its proper place in the CFD.
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CPT. V
Captain Maurice Vassar hired in 1984 has been battling the personal injustices of the Administration for about 19 years. And while fighting these fights Capt. Vassar has learned an important lesson; information is power. Strong, aggressive, determined, informed, no-holds-barred leaders have great success in the City of Cincinnati. It’s time for a change.
Time for a Change * Overtime Reform * Special Event Rate * Financial Disclosure * Seniority *
Lawyer on Contract Motion
I _________________________________ a member in good standing of IAFF Local 48 make a motion that the Executive Board of Local 48 retain legal counsel for use in upcoming contract negotiations with the City of Cincinnati.
The legal counsel must :
· Specialize in representing employees in labor negotiations.
· They must have negotiated within the last 2 years on behalf of a public sector bargaining unit in the City of Cincinnati such as the FOP Lodge #69 or AFSCME Council #8.
OR
· Negotiated for another Career Fire Department bargaining unit of comparable demographics to the City of Cincinnati based on criteria used by SERB to determine comparable cities,
OR
· Negotiated for another public labor union with greater than 1000 members.
· The chosen counsel will be paid from Local 48 general funds.
· The counsel choosen by the Executive Board will be approved by the Board of Directors by a simple majority vote at a meeting of the Board of Directors called for said purpose.
· The counsel shall be choosen and retained prior to the first meeting of Local 48's negotiation team and the City of Cincinnati's negotiation team.If the Executive board, by majority vote of the Executive Board, deem that legal fees associated with the retained legal counsel increase to a point of potential financial hardship on IAFF Local 48, then they will either call a special meeting, or report such at a regular Local 48 monthly meeting for discussion and to entertain a proper motion on the subject.
Respectfully Submitted,
Here are the points of discussion that never made it to the floor due to skillful use of the Chair to silence opposing opinions. Amazingly, the motion was ruled Out of Order.
· Local 48 negotiates for over $120 million dollars in salaries over a 3 year contract.
· Cost would be approximately $14 per member in good standing based upon a $10,000 in legal expenses. Assumes 700 member assessment.
· The FOP lawyer was consulted on "ball park" figures for contracts. Keep in mind he has helped the FOP significantly over the last several years. He mentioned that a $10,000 to $20,000 range would be appropriate for general contracts. Depends highly on teamwork of the negotiation team done prior to consultation with attorney. This will be on a substantial "as needed" basis and would not cover fees if the lawyer sat and held hands with the team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
· Local 48 negotiates for Health benefits for 800 + members which allows them to take care of not only themselves, but also their families. It's no secret that our health care has been under attack for the last severla years. What laws have changed in the past 2-3 years regarding health care provisions?
· Local 48 has incurred a Growing number of grievances. Clearing up language will help reduce the amount of grievances filed, and may also save money spent on arbitration hearings due to very specific contractual language. Members may also reap better representation by allowing Local 48 to possibly win more arbitration cases due to more specific contractual language.
· Help in writing arbitration cases for contract negotiations. Do we have the expertise in this area internal to Local 48?
· FOP has extensive language added to their agreement and have stayed ahead of Firefighters in base pay. You can argue that this was due to the first year we were recognized under SERB, but the fact still stands. They are STILL ahead of us on base pay.
· FOP may be argued that the FOP has better or more extensive types of leave clauses (PWOP SWOP), longevity pay or other benefits using this method.
· Longevity for FOP +-$30,000 to CFD longevity +-$16,000
· FOP has over 95% success rate in disputes with the City.
· FMLA changes (Are we experts in this area?)
· FLSA (Are we experts in this area?)
· Off-duty details (FOP has very specific language dealing with IWP and coverage for off-duty details. Do we have time to re-create this and apply it to the Fire Department?)
· Example of detailed FOP language. - Sale of division sidearm (FOP has very specific language covering all aspects of what could happen with their sidearm). Savings Clause. If any provision is found invalid by State or Federal agency, then FOP and City will meet to discuss (like residency)
· Call back pay (Language dealing with callback. Minimum of 6 hours.)
· Payment for legal services (If incur legal expenses resulting out of official on-duty incident, City will cover all expenses)
· Death Benefit (Larger dollar amount than ours)
· FOP has a "Forced Retirement" clause which allows a member to stay on the books until all vacation, sick and holiday time is exhausted. Allows the member to decide whether to go out on disability or if close to retirement, can use their accumulated time to get their time in to retire with full pension.
· FOP's President and Secretary highly recommend having a lawyer for ALL contract negotiations. They both agree that they would not even walk into a negotiation session without the likes of Steve Lazarus or Don Hardin with them. It has been highly beneficial to them in the past and they would continue to use them in the future.
· Taft, Settenious, Hollister (Don Crane) are consistently hired by City of Cincinnati to negotiate against FOP. Why?
AVAILABILITY OF FINANCIAL RECORDS
All financial records of Local 48 shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any member at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Upon request, the person responsible for financial records shall make copies available at cost, within a reasonable period of time. In order to facilitate broader access to financial records, union offices shall maintain financial records in a manner that they can be made available for inspection in accordance with this policy
This Motion is modeled from the ORC 149.43, its’ purpose is to empower the membership of Local 48 with specific knowledge as to how their dues are spent.
OHIO REVISED CODE 149.43
(B)(1) Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, all public records shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, upon request, a public office or person responsible for public records shall make copies available at cost, within a reasonable period of time. In order to facilitate broader access to public records, public offices shall maintain public records in a manner that they can be made available for inspection in accordance with this division.(2) If any member chooses to obtain a copy of a financial record in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, the financial office or member responsible for the financial record shall permit that member to choose to have the financial record duplicated upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the financial office or member responsible for the financial record keeps it, or upon any other medium upon which the financial office or member responsible for the financial record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the financial office or member responsible for the financial record. When the member seeking the copy makes a choice under this division, the financial office or member responsible for the financial record shall provide a copy of it in accordance with the choice made by the member seeking the copy.
(3) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, a public office or person responsible for public records shall transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States mail within a reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the copy. The public office or person responsible for the public record may require the person making the request to pay in advance the cost of postage and other supplies used in the mailing.
[§ 149.43.1] § 149.431 Financial records of nonprofit organizations receiving governmental funds; confidentiality of patient and client records.
(A) Any governmental entity or agency and any nonprofit corporation or association, except a corporation organized pursuant to Chapter 1719. of the Revised Code prior to January 1, 1980 or organized pursuant to Chapter 3941. of the Revised Code, that enters into a contract or other agreement with the federal government, a unit of state government, or a political subdivision or taxing unit of this state for the provision of services shall keep accurate and complete financial records of any moneys expended in relation to the performance of the services pursuant to such contract or agreement according to generally accepted accounting principles. Such contract or agreement and such financial records shall be deemed to be public records as defined in division (A)(1) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code and are subject to the requirements of division (B) of that section
