Local 1014 Political Action News!

Well we had a very busy day down at the Local 1014 Union Hall yesterday. It began with an active, informative and productive General Membership meeting. Then onto an Executive Board meeting in which numerous important union issues were decided. We ended the day with “Get Out The Vote” phone banking until the voting polls were closed! It was a great team effort all day and into the night. Right up through watching the election results!

We had a good ending to a good days work. Local 1014 Firefighters had a very successful March 8, 2011 election cycle. This was due to a strategic plan put together by your Local 1014 Executive Board. This plan was then carried out with the hard work and diligence of our Members and Executive Board working together as a team.

In politics, he who can count to three is the one who can effectively get things done. It is that simple. It is not by accident that we seem to be navigating our way safely through the rough seas of this stormy economy. It is through planning, hard work and doing what it takes to be able to count the votes in our favor at the end of an election. Being loyal to our labor partners and the politicians who are loyal to us is the only way we have been able to keep our bow above the water line.

Some of our positive election results include winning two out of the three seats that were up for election in the City Council races in Monterey Park. This gives us a majority of City council members there, who will lead with common sense and make informed decisions by ensuring they have all the information on an issue before voting on it. In West Hollywood we won a City Council seat as well as the Mayors Office. In the City of Bell, where there has been so much negative press lately, we came away with a clean sweep of the City Council with labor-endorsed candidates. It is time for them to start fresh and rebuild the trust of their citizens. One of the first issues they are looking at is the possibility of going Sheriffs. We will definitely be watching this closely as it develops.

You have all probably been watching what is occurring across the country in places like Wisconsin and Florida, where collective bargaining was under attack and is now a thing of the past. The workers in these states no longer have a voice with their employers. Similar issues are threating us right here in our own state, such as the concessions the state employees have made with their PERS retirement plans. Locally, with Measure “G” in the City of Los Angeles, which passed yesterday by a vote of the people, forces them into a two-tier retirement system. The seas are rough but the main storm, or possibly even hurricane, has not hit us yet. However, we all know it is coming and can see it building on the horizon. When it does hit, we are going to need all of our members skimming and paddling in the same direction. We are also going to need the help of our friends from the rest of the labor community in case we get in trouble or start to go off-course. Rest assured, though, that when the time comes your Local 1014 Executive Board will be prepared and there to steer the ship. Just as we know that when we give the all hands on deck signal our members will be ready to do what needs to be done, as you always have been.

1014 Executive Board