What really does IAFF do for us?
“Us” California Firefighters.
It’s a good question, and one that I have come to realize the answer is…. damn little!!
I have over 20 years of professional-paid firefighting experience here in California. I have witnessed our working conditions deteriorate at an alarming rate. I’ve watched the danger and the fatalities/year of firefighters explode. I’ve watched our families fall apart due to our extreme work load and schedule. I’ve watched our cities walk all over us at every negotiation. I’ve watched our partners in the blue-collar hard working world fly by us in pay, benefits, and reasonable work/life balance. The house is burning, and our money to this leaderless union is getting us nowhere.
Do you think your friend the Electrical-Lineman and IBEW would accept being paid “straight-time” after being on duty for 2 weeks straight…all because it’s his/her “normal shift”! NO, it’s a resounding NO. It’s not a normal shift when you’ve been at work the previous 14 days straight! IBEW workers pay quickly moves to double, then to triple time. No-one in their right mind thinks our 1.5x pay is worth it after a long summer. Maybe, just maybe if we were on triple time the incident/supervisors might want to get us home. Instead they throw us into staffing patterns on a whim…on a possible wind…due to a fire 600 miles away, etc. They do this because we’re cheap. We’re cheap because IAFF has failed us all for over a decade.
How about your nurse friends? When I started Nurses and Fireman were comparable occupations. Nurses now make much more starting pay, and they see their pay climb from there. They get paid more for every new cert, more for every new responsibility (think team positions, overhead quals, etc ) while we get nothing. Oh….the chance for more 1.5x pay….thanks but no thanks.
Did you notice that Cal-Fire began rotating crews, strike teams, and management teams at 21 days this summer? This was started due to the Director, the Director of all people making the decision that mental health is a real thing, and employees should be given time home to rest. This was not pushed by IAFF, this was not a “win” from our union. This took our brothers and sisters getting so burned out, so unhealthy, that the Director decided to step in. Kudos to him. Maybe we should send him to an all expense paid “conference” to thank him. Heavens knows that our IAFF leadership haven’t missed spending our money on themselves….not for a second.
What about our brothers and sisters in LA County Fire and their lawsuit. Do we not think we will all be affected by vax mandates? Across this state firefighters are losing their jobs, with not a whisper from the IAFF leadership. Do you think they could make a stand on natural immunity? Or maybe a stand that we have basic human and basic employee rights? Cities across this state are taking firefighters jobs, a job protected as a property right in this state, and our union is doing nothing.
How many of our younger PEPRA members know this little fact. If you separate service prior to 57 years old, you will forfeit your 2.7% and it will retroactively shrink, quickly becoming 2.0% for all the years you served! Yeah, another lost and forgotten battle of IAFF/CPF. They should have fought this to the bitter end, and never given up. Think of all the reasons you may need to leave early (family emergency, burnout, injury, etc). IBEW wouldn’t accept this, and neither would its members…guaranteed. Our young firefighters are burned out in less than 10 years, and are expected to work till 57. I have a feeling most will find 57 beyond their reach, and then will have to accept a retirement formula that leads to near poverty after a career. What political power do we have again, why are we paying for these lobbyist’s again?
Guess Ed Kelly and Frank Lima aren’t concerned about any of these issues. They had time to make a video telling you what to inject into your body. Whatever your thoughts are on the vax is your business, but clearly my body is none of their damn business. They forgot to show the 4 SFFD firefighters severely injured from the vax in their video. Their arrogance that their opinion would persuade us makes me sick…personally.
They have work to do, work they haven’t been doing for a very long time, and the time is now we demand change!
So what do we do? Maybe it’s time we “sick-out” from dues around the holidays. I know I’d feel a hell of a lot better donating my money to a couple little kids in the form of bicycles, rather than continue to fund the Ed and Frank champagne fund. We pay a lot brothers and sisters, a hell of a lot! Where is all this money going, what the hell are they doing with it, and what are we getting for it back? A magazine cover with Biden happy to take our checks? Guess when you have people at the top who can’t even keep the guy from across the hallway from nearly bankrupting their own retirement, it’s a sign that we’re in a bad way. Think about what you give, what you have given to this career. And what balance, what a fair pay, what a sustainable lifestyle and career look like. I see it slipping away for us all, and if we’re gonna put trust in the IAFF to lead the way, then let’s demand that they bring action and progress. Currently I’m not seeing it, I’m seeing a lot of nothin…in times where true leaders would be shining.
- Captain Durden PFD