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On behalf of your Los Angeles County Firefighters, IAFF Local 1014 Executive Board, we would like to wish you and your families a safe and healthy Fourth of July! This year's celebrations will be different, but we can still take a moment to appreciate how blessed we are to live in this great nation and serve our communities every day.
Each year, on Independence Day, we remember the day our nation was born and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. We also remember the courageous men and women that have shaped our country’s growth since that historic day. Please remember to take a moment to reflect on those serving in the United States Military who are standing a post both at home and abroad.
To all our members working this holiday, thank you for your service and sacrifice. If you are not working this holiday, please celebrate responsibly. Get a cab, get a room, or call a friend. Do not drink and drive!
On behalf of your Local 1014 Executive Board, please enjoy a safe and happy holiday weekend!
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HOMELESS INITIATIVE TESTING PROCESSES
Local 1014 met with the Department and worked together to use a Homeless Initiative that allowed us to collectively bypass County DHR rules and regulations and Civil Service Rules to hire Captains and Engineers for a true staffing crisis with the connected 6-week and 4-week training academies, which were grueling and pass-fail. The good pieces of this were the intense and comprehensive training programs jointly developed to ensure those going into the field were ready and to evaluate other methods different than our regular testing procedures which have mixed results as well. We have been successful in the Captains rank and successful to a lesser extent in the Engineers Rank, and ongoing talks and negotiations may or may not net a new process going forward, but the Homeless Initiative is temporary and Local 1014 has put forward our formal objection to any further movement in this direction.
This is because the process of selection and the actual testing processes in some cases need review and amendments to be embraced going forward, but the aspects of the 6-week and 4-week training are very good for both ranks. The Department decided to move forward with other Homeless Initiative testing for our bargaining units in the Chief Pilot Position and a Forestry Management Position, and we caught wind of the Department wanting to move forward with a BC’s exam under the same process. The fact is there is NO SHORTAGE of BC’s. Other aspects of the Chief Pilot position that the Department was trying to bypass, resulting in unsafe and less stringent standards for the position. We caught the Department playing games with the emergency hire process within the Forestry Division. Chief Marrone has been made aware of the situation, and our Unfair Labor Practice charges are in motion with a Cease and Desist demand letter heading over to the Chief. This unfortunate breach in the Labor-Management Collaboration, while perhaps an oversight, cannot be overlooked.
We have put forward a notice too meet and confer if we can amend the engineer selection process and work to amend the training a bit to work to secure one more round of Engineers through the process as the Department has fallen behind again on moving forward with the regular sanctioned testing process through competitive examination through Civil Service. Local 1014 also demanded in writing that the department simultaneously move forward with ALL TESTING PROCESSES on the calendar asap so we don’t fall behind with retirements and promotional positions in our ranks.
We will keep you posted but once again Local 1014 is pushing the Department managers, many of whom are new to the upper ranks or inexperienced to get in gear to work on a laddered and layered calendared Entry Level, PM, and Promotional Process Calendar as the math on positions since the beginning of time has always been the same. This needs to be one of the highest priorities for the Fire Chief and the Executive Staff of the Department. We will work to ensure that their work incorporates these processes as soon as possible. Perhaps Notices of Instruction or Intent to Suspend letters would help motivate the upper end of our Department in this area of work, as they sometimes seem to use them more often than not on our members. What’s good for the Goose is Good for the Gander—more on this as we progress. Not lost on us is the work done by some of the Executive Staff and our Union Board to move these promotions forward in crisis when understaffed. The future may hold a new process, but the work of the regular testing needs to get back into high gear as well.
Thank you to all who stepped up to compete and work to complete the grueling training to promote and help with the staffing issues. Good luck in the field to all of you as we head into a busy time of year, for certain.
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SUICIDE PREVENTION AND AWARENESS - CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS INJURY
As we head into a busy brush season—and as the demands on our members continue to grow, particularly in responding to the increasing calls related to mental illness and homelessness across LA County—we must stay mindful of the toll this work can take. Work-life balance, stress management, and mental wellness aren't just personal responsibilities—they're leadership priorities. It's our job to keep these issues at the forefront for our crews. Check in. Speak up. Set the tone.
The stress of a single call or the accumulation of many calls over the years can impact our minds just as much as injuries to our bodies. We must be aware of how to treat those injuries and also how to prevent them. Working out and playing team sports at work, mindfulness and breathing, eating right and eating together as a crew and physical firefighting training are all tools that we have to keep it together and to watch each other and work to recognize those of us that might need more than that to stay healthy mentally and getting resources to those individuals becomes part of our daily station life.
LA County - LACoFD and Local 1014 - have built one of the most robust and amazing PEER Support, Chaplain, and Behavioral Health Clinician teams in the world, and they are all just a phone call, a text, or an email away.
Please take a moment to discuss behavioral health and the resources available to you at your line-ups and in our daily work, as it is crucial for our well-being and the quality of our lives in this demanding yet rewarding career.
This message is in honor and loving memory of Brother Louie Medrano and his friends and family. We Shall Never Forget.
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BARGAINING UPDATE
First, we continue to meet every week with the County and the Fire Department to work towards a successor MOU for our 601/602 Safety Members. We went out of contract on December 31, 2024, and along with Sheriffs and Lifeguards, we continue to bargain to get a deal. The General Members of SEIU 721 signed a contract for the core of their membership for COLAs, and many have already seen the 0-2-5 three-year deal. They are continuing to bargain for their individual units, similar to our bargaining unit specialties and position-specific issues, and we will monitor their table progress.
We finished bargaining Fringe Benefits as leaders in the CCU with all other County Unions, and we did very well securing 8% per year over three years increases in our health, vision, and dental contributions, which also carry to our retirees. We also gained entry into the 401(k) savings program for our members without a match, but a place to park monies and shelter income. The CCU standard for fringe benefits was adopted by SEIU and the County, and they have also accepted those terms, and we are proud to have led on that path for Fringe.
We have a few important keys items left to negotiate in this arena and then we are left with COLA and other economic bonus items left to deal with and as we suspected, this will be the hardest part of our contract to settle, no different than any other year, but the politics and the finances of the County in general are having a larger impact on the tables than in past years and that impact is hitting all public a safety tables including Sheriffs and Lifeguards. We remain in contact and in solidarity with all of Public Safety as we all work to find a path to settlement with COLA and our Special Unit and Safety work needs.
Local 1014 has put forward a progressive proposal with economic offsets that actually bring revenue back into the Department, as well as valuing our members' work in specific areas. As one of our top priorities, it also takes care of our Plan C post-PERBRA members. We are committed to holding out, negotiating, and leveraging a fair and valuable finish for a successor MOU, and we are, as in years past, entering into the war zone to get it done. Good math on valuation for cost of proposals, and balancing expenditures of the Department with Revenues is all taken into account with professional help to agree on the terms, and political action and our relationship with leaders at the County, our Cities, and the State are all used to get a finish.
This time will be stressful as always and we are committed to work with the Fire Chief to keep our members functional and at all times giving the best and most amazing professional care to those we serve, but at the same time while we feel our value and worth is being taken for granted and not recognized in part, following our heroic efforts on the fires, we must make our selves known and seen. Part of that will be mass demonstrations at the BOS meetings, some will be working to the rule, that is following to a “T” the rules of our work and the job descriptions in place and not working over and above and beyond as we frequently do for the department, and part of the plan will be to work with the Fire Chief and the BOS for support on our issues as we navigate an unbending CEO presently.
This week, we are putting our members on notice that the table is getting very heated to say the least, and the need to remind the Department and the County of our work is upon us. We will keep you informed frequently and we will inform the Fire Chief of our positions on issues in advance, and we ask that you stay in solidarity on our messaging and our movement in this path and at all times be compliant with any direct order, but also ask for those orders in writing and call us at the Union before dealing with any issues that might come up. We will also be meeting with the AOC to discuss the situation which also impacts their contracts as a result and work to keep the family together as we navigate this difficult time.
We have moved those items to Chief Marrone, and we now begin working with him to understand all the items, and work to gain agreement on those important items, and work in solidarity to educate and actively advocate for the items to finish our bargaining. The Chief will be meeting with President Gillotte over the next few weeks. When we are done, we will be demanding the Chief move his position of support on the issues public and to our members and to the BOS, or declare if he is not in support. We are confident that working hand in hand with the Chief on parameters that work for us all, we can achieve a position of mutual support as many items are of mutual interest operationally for the Department and the Union especially involving staffing an increasing paramedic service to our communities.
This week, we encourage our members to take a look at the things they do above and beyond their normal work duties, and consider pulling back on volunteering for the following work that the Department has come to rely on as a comfort and support we give freely, but now must rein in.
Each week, our Card File Captains Send out the BC’s Morning Report with his directives and leadership guidance for the day. We are asking all Card File Captains to put that work back on the BC’s Desk and coordinate with them the needs of the card file, but have them do the work to handle sending the message out.
In addition if you serve voluntarily on any department committees, please refrain from meeting to do the committee work that is above and beyond our regular duties, let the Union know what work that is impacting as you do, and we will work with the Fire Chief to determine how that work gets done where is is being handled by our members alongside their regular job duties and as an impact on their work.
We are asking all BTOs to work with your BC’s collaboratively on training schedules and monthly training, but to give back to the BC’s the responsibility of putting out the training schedule and coordinating the companies and training each month that is defined as their responsibility. We will work with the AOC on this also to understand what that responsibility is that has been taken on voluntarily by the BTO’s to traditionally help out the BC’s. And lastly, we are asking all members to only complete ONLINE TRAINING THAT IS MANDATORY OR AFFECTS YOUR LICENSES, EMT, FFL, AND OTHER SUCH MONETARY COMPLIANCE ISSUES.
This is a difficult time, and while these items are moderate in nature, they exemplify the work our members do above and beyond their regular job duties, and they help the department with business moving forward. We are currently looking at our Fire Series Members being asked to “Run the Utility” work because the department has not hired enough utility drivers and this work is not in our job descriptions and may in fact be exclusively SIEU bargaining unit work, and may necessitate the department working to find alternatives to deliver goods and services to stations.
WORK NOW – GRIEVE LATER.
As we continue to navigate this process, if you're ever confronted by a chief officer directing you to proceed with work, remember—we are actively working to ensure consistency in the relationship between our members and the outstanding chief officers we serve alongside.
In that moment, remain calm and professional. Simply ask the Chief to put the order in writing—a brief email or handwritten note is more than enough. Then, follow the order and immediately call the Union so we can address the situation directly with Fire Chief.
Finally, Local 1014 also begins bargaining for our 603 / 604 members whose contract expires this September. Our Dispatchers / FPEA’s and Fire Prevention Specialists / Forestry / and Health Haz Mat Folks will all be at the table also within the next month. Stay tuned for developments on the table as we open.
We appreciate your continued support. Please remain professional, respectful, and unshakably solid as we push toward resolution. More updates next week. Until then, take care, have an amazing 4th of July, and above all—stay safe.
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In Solidarity,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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