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Sisters and Brothers,
Fire Chief Daryl Osby contacted President Gillotte yesterday and followed up with ET-291 and a letter announcing his official retirement as Fire Chief. President Gillotte and your Local 1014 Executive Board congratulate Chief Osby on his 38 years of service to the Department and the residents of Los Angeles County. Chief Osby has selected July 30th as his retirement date. We have many issues and items of business in progress that will require continued attention and transition and communication on those items both with the Fire Chief and the Board of Supervisors to ensure the business of running the Fire Department is uninterrupted.
We have had many highs and lows throughout the years, but this last year, in particular, had a heavy impact on our membership and our families. We want to be the first to challenge us all to find the achievements and mountains we have climbed in the past 12 years and help send the Chief off to the next chapter of his life with the same gratitude and appreciation as we do for every member of our Department. More to come on this time of transition for our great Department.
Supporting Our El Monte Family
Our members in a partnership between the Union and the Department rose up and supported our brothers and sisters in law enforcement in the El Monte Police Department. El Monte Police Department suffered the horrible loss of two of its amazing officers. Sergeant Paredes and Officer Santana were gunned down in the line of duty on June 14th not far from the Union Hall and our Fire Stations.
This horrific tragedy has deeply impacted our El Monte Police Officers. This week, our members helped cook and support our El Monte PD Family at a BBQ for their officers and family members. Thank you to all who helped with cooking and serving our partners in blue. You can also help their families by making a donation to the support fund and by attending the June 29th fundraising event in Temple City 11 am to 4 pm.
This is yet another example of our Department and our members going above and beyond. This is who we are and the unwavering commitment we have to serve and help wherever and whenever we can.
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Covid Vaccine Mandate 45-Day Letters
This week marks the week that starts the period of time when each of our members and every member of the County Fire Department and the County workforce as a whole must either be vaccinated or have on record or in the process a filed exemption for religious or medical need.
We have hundreds of our members who have registered, filed for, and been approved for their exemptions, and many more in process. We also see that a large number of members have not yet filed for their exemptions as the deadline looms, and again we are advising all of our members to get those exemption filings in if they are not vaccinated.
We have been clear and unambiguous on the law and the obligation under the law for our members to either be vaccinated or exempted under the Executive Order and authorized mandate order. While we continue to oppose the mandate, currently the mandate has withstood all legal challenges to date. So we say again, Vaccinate or Accommodate. Those accommodations are through exemption and testing.
On that note, the Department upon receipt of our Unfair Labor Charge filing has agreed to meet and discuss the testing process that we have indicated is flawed at best from a privacy standpoint every bit as much as a logistical and cost point. We will be meeting next week early to discuss with the Department and hope to have an agreement on a process that will work for any aspect of testing and confidentiality.
We must all support one another and stay in the process to keep safe and keep working.
Please contact any of our Union representatives if you need help with your exemptions. This has been more than frustrating for us all, but together and in Solidarity with a strategic process we can continue our record of not one member left behind. Protect your job and your family and work with us to navigate the finish for us all.
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In Solidarity,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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