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Brothers & Sisters,
CONGRATS TO LOCAL 1014 MEMBERS PROMOTED TO BATTALION CHIEF AND FIRE CAPTAIN
Keeping the line moving--Retirements at a record pace, hiring academies to keep up, and promotions to fill the positions up the ranks are all in motion as we the long-term plan to help push to continue staff and prepare for the future by not falling behind on all of the above. Our latest members realized the fruits of their hard-earned labor in competitive exams to be promoted to the leadership ranks of Battalion Chief and Fire Captain. In their new roles, they will be responsible for decision-making, leadership, and mentorship at the station and on the fire ground.
The BC and FC academies, which were put in place after Local 1014 lobbied the Department and helped create a partnership, are the start of preparation for the next months and years through probation and beyond as these members become part of the Department's officers. Congratulations to you and your families. Remember, lead from the front, and never forget where you came from in your work.
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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GRADUATES OF THE WFPA
This weekend, Chief Marrone spoke to a room of graduates from the latest WFPA where those who survived received recognition for their achievement and also words from the Fire Chief about the rigors of the job both mentally and physically, including the preparation to take the BEEP test before entering a tower should they be successful in our testing process. Also in attendance were our FCTC - JAC representatives along with the exam unit to talk about the new LA County Fire Testing process about to get underway.
Local 1014 worked hard with the Fire Chief and our affinity group partners, including the WFL, Stentorians, API, Los Bomberos, and our Board of Supervisors, to craft a motion to not only take diversity, equity, and inclusion discussions out of the shadows and into the mainstream but also to provide the glue that binds in working together to secure a testing, academy and probation process that has the quality of candidate at its core.
Adopting the BEEP test, no auto recycle, FCTC written Test (Fire Centric), a selection interview, and more integrity-based processes in the recruitment to probation path, have all been a part of the effort. We also thank Chief Chapman from training services and Julia Kim for helping craft and navigate moving our changes to reality. We look forward to the testing process and thank the WFI for doing what’s needed to prepare candidates to understand what the job entails and to decide if this career is of interest and, if so, how to get set to compete and earn the right to become a firefighter. Many of these candidates will go on to earn jobs up and down the State of California in concert with the CPF Women’s Commission's efforts to recruit amazing firefighters from the south and north. Good Luck!
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WOMENS HISTORY MONTH
As we continue Women’s History Month, we would like to convey our congratulations to LACOLA sister Dani Mc Millon - Marine BC - who has helped Local 1014 on many occasions with department issues and or operational responses including those affecting our members and LACOLA members when tragedy strikes, for her honor and recognition at the 39th Annual “Women of the Year” ceremony hosted by the Board of Supervisors.
The recognition ceremony took place at the Sheraton Gran Hotel in LA, a proud Union Hotel. All five Supervisors were in attendance, and honors and recognitions were bestowed on many remarkable trailblazers in LA County.
Chief Marrone attended the ceremony to recognize Chief Mc Millon on behalf of our Department and President Gillotte sat with Supervisor Kathryn Barger and her team along all four offices to pay our respects and say thank you to a friend of Local 1014. Chief Mc Millon has worked as an Ocean Lifeguard Specialist, a Paramedic Boat Deck Hand on Catalina Island, a Boat Captain, and Marine BC over the past 26 years to help women find a place in the ranks of the lifeguards and serves as an example of excellence operationally and personally. Again, congrats. |
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WORKING THE PAST TWO FIRE CHIEFS AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND PARTNERS FROM THE STATE - CAMP GONZALES LAUNCHES
When the State discontinued Inmate Fire Camps our Department and others including Ventura County and Cal Fire were met with an immediate shortage of Crews for our camps to fill the orders on brush assignments in the Counties and across the states.
In the void, Local 1014 negotiated to convert the funds for existing inmate camp staffing into paid FSA Camps and we added four more paid crews. Crews are expensive, and we have been looking for funding to add more crews back in place of the inmate crews. A natural link to anti-recidivism efforts, funding, and camp training became a path as soon as we lost the inmate crews. Cal Fire has one of the longest-running camps for such training to help those who were offended, served, and qualified to enter the programs in Pine Grove Camp, located in Amador County.
Additionally, the Ventura Training Center went online a few years back, and now we have launched “Camp Gonzales” in Malibu Canyon. This former juvenile probation camp will now house young men ages 18-25, formerly incarcerated, unhoused, and/or exiting foster care systems, and will provide wildfire crew training for those who qualify. The BOS moved $21.8 million in Care First Jails Last monies to repurpose the camp. The program is not easy and hard to qualify to get into based on the type of offense and performance while in the system. Only low acuity offenses are eligible and the training center will have technical training, housing, life skills training and wildfire training making the candidates who do pass the program eligible for employment across the state.
More than half of the candidates who have completed Pine Grove Camp Training and Ventura Training Center programs are now employed and contributing to the wildfire firefighting efforts in the state and also contributing back to the economy while transforming their family's lives for the better.
We need more funding for air and wildland programs. specifically, Local 1014 is joining with Chief Marrone to call for funding for at least four more crews, and this potentially can serve as a way to gain funding from the County and the State to replace our inmate camps with a program that changes lives along the way. We know many of our members have stories and or have related to us what a difference programs like this have made for people they know, some family and we look forward to the work to evaluate whether this program works and how we can capture the funding moving forward.
Special thank you to Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) and Supervisor Barger, Horvath and the Board for their efforts to support our path and plan. We look forward to updating you as the first cohort class progresses towards graduation. For those who earn it and make it a brighter future is in store for their families. |
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CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS AND CALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS LAUNCH THE EXPANSION PROJECT FOR CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTER MEMORIAL IN SACRAMENTO
Board members from the CPF and CFF came together with families at the sacred firefighter memorial site to break ground in a historic memorial expansion project. The memorial site and wall have been outgrown, unfortunately, with names and stories taking up all the panels.
The project will use every bit of any aspect of the current memorial and reorganize the site with larger panels, details and interactive technology for stories and onsite interactivity and more lighting and sculpture additions. The original sculptures now iconic in the memorial came from Jesus Romo’s artistic talent and as a retired firefighter captured the heart and soul of our professionals and of our people with “Holding the Line” and “Fallen Brother”. Jesus’ son has been commissioned to handle the artistic sculpting for the expansion keeping tradition and honor alive in his work for our members.
We look forward to the completion of the nearly $12 million project and we have secured the legislation needed to permit the expansion as we move to honor the fallen.
“As long as there are men and women serving in the fire service, there will be men and women added to this wall each year. That’s the risk of our profession,” Brian K. Rice, Chair of California Fire Foundation and CPF President.
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CONGRATULATIONS TO PHARRIS TRESKUNOFF ON HER APPOINTMENT AS DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING AND EQUITY AT THE LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY IN CALIFORNIA
Pharris has been a Deputy Chief of Staff at the California Professional Firefighters since 2022, where she held several positions from 2003 to 2022 including Director of Operations, Assistant to the President, and Legislative, Political and Communications Assistant.
Pharris was confirmed by the Senate and while we will miss her work and passion at the CPF, we will enjoy working with her and the Building Trades and Fire Unions with workforce development projects in the future. Pharris has helped many of our members through the years and Fire Union Leadership showed up to recognize her at confirmation. She was confirmed with a 5-0 vote by the Senate Confirmation Committee. |
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AIR OPERATIONS HT 55 AND THE COULSON AIRCRAFT PROGRAM - MISSION CREEP?
Local 1014 has been monitoring the addition of the Private Aircraft Program in addition to our own robust Aircraft Program. We believe we are seeing the elements of possible mission and work jurisdiction creep by the Department.
The program which added a copter to our response from Coulson originated from Orange County Fire and then crept to LA and Ventura County Fire, and while an additional resource for our use is one thing, using that or other resources to supplant and or creep into the pattern for the work our Pilots, our Paramedics, and our Aircraft handles is not acceptable.
These matters are, as always, subject to bargaining and agreement for the health and safety of our members, wages, hours and working conditions, and the impact of any changes. We have sent a “Cease and Desist - Demand to Meet” letter from our General Counsel to the Fire Chief. We will keep you posted on the outcome.
We want to thank all of our air ops members for keeping a watch on this and helping us track any proposed changes, much less actual changes, to hold the Fire Chief and all Chiefs in Air and Wildland accountable for what’s right and what’s protected by law and MOU. We look forward to the discussions and commitment as we see here in this picture, from our Department Management to our County Program. |
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| LA County Fire Safety Measure |
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Local 1014 continues aggressively moving forward on the signature gathering for our ballot initiative to secure more funding for our Department, including staffing, infrastructure, apparatus, and equipment. We are currently gathering signatures in locations throughout the district.
REMINDER: If you get questions while in the field working or calls at the station, you can confirm there is a citizen's initiative for additional funding for the LA County Fire District. You can also direct them to the website above or any Local 1014 Executive Board member.
If someone approached you in the station asking for firefighters to gather signatures or sign petitions, do not accept. Get their name and ask them to leave the station.
We have a lot of work to do to secure those votes, but together, we can win for the future of our Department and our families. Thank you all in advance for your consideration of our collective efforts.
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In Solidarity,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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