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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO LOCAL 1014 MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES!
Local 1014 would like to offer up the 1st resolution of the New Year for our membership and one that we can all know will make a difference in the lives of our families and friends…make a resolution to never drink alcohol, then drive or operate any motor vehicle, plain and simple.
Effective January 1, 2011, new state law permits California Firefighters to operate most fire vehicles with a Class-C driver’s license with Firefighter Endorsement and a physical every two years. Fire Departments have the authority to decide what level of licensure they will require for personnel, but they must meet to discuss the impact of any such changes.
Our Department along with most other major large municipal departments has indicated personnel who operate firefighting apparatus will continue to be required to maintain a commercial drivers license with the new firefighter endorsement. Training and certifications to include medical exams and all other such items must be provided and paid for by the department and will be accompanied by improved operators’ training and, down the line, may serve as a tool for additional compensation.
As a result of this change, the Department and Local 1014 met and addressed the Department’s DUI penalty guidelines. None of us ever wants to see a first DUI for any member of this Department, let alone a second or third, which is why we insisted that these penalties be in place for all employees of the Fire Department from the Fire Chief on down, sworn and non-sworn.
Currently a first time DUI conviction lands a member out of his or her job for over a year while working in some other much lower paying job class. Again, while we never want to see a single DUI for any of our members, some lost homes, cars, and families were destroyed as a result of one year without their income for their mistake.
The new DUI penalties that the Department and Local 1014 have agreed to come with a hard 30 day suspension for first-time DUIs while allowing the employee to retain their work status while dealing with their issues. This is not a go ahead to drink and drive, but a responsible and fair penalty equal to the initial hard 30 day DMV revocation of a license and will allow a member to pay his due and return to work with a limited license for a mistake made.
A second DUI within ten years brings discharge, while a second DUI after ten years will result in a reduction in rank or loss of paramedic rate or a deep drop in pay grade.
We now have a fair system in place to deal with the issue and not ruin a member’s life for a first time mistake, but yet snaps hard for repeat offenders. So let’s work together and move in the right direction and make that first New Year’s resolution to not drink and drive to protect yourself and your family from harm. Professional Fire Fighters doing it right.
HAPPY NEW YEAR from your LOCAL 1014 EXECUTIVE BOARD
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