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Sisters and Brothers,
It is time for the Department Leadership to get busy on the issues and make serious changes supporting the members who do the critical work each and every day. Local 1014 has pushed hard and had two very important meetings with our Department's decision-makers regarding two of the most critical issues to address for our members, the workers' compensation system issues resulting in massive recalls and staffing issues in ranked positions.
At the workers' compensation meeting we identified many action items that can put our people back to work faster as well as save money including the backfill OT that cripples our budget temporarily. These items include: holding our third-party providers Sedgwick and Corvel accountable for their roles in processing our claims, implementing a Physical Assessment to ensure our drill tower candidates are ready for the arduous 4 drill tower and the subsequent job should they pass, and other important items.
In the staffing world, we took many new ideas that members brought to the Union Hall and some ideas that are not new but remained on the Chief Deputy of Operations desk regarding staffing, and had a day-long meeting centering on the core of vacancies, recalls and temporary solutions to help with the current situation. First and foremost, the issue of promotions to Captain and FFS, which is the vacancy priority, was discussed. Local 1014 reaffirmed our position to promote ASAP to the full reach of the Fire Chief’s arm the candidates on the lists using the rule of 5’s for any concerns they may have now. Both lists are again short and will NOT FILL THE VACANCIES in the ranked positions.
We also pushed hard to have the Fire Chief declare a crisis and emergency to get approved extra positions from the County in the Captain rank to “overhire” extensively to allow us to shock and reset the system for those off on “I” and help get our people back to work with the retirements as the cushion at the end. To date, the number of positions needed has not been secured by admin. This is a travesty and needs immediate action by the Interim Fire Chief himself directly with the CEO and BOS to approve.
Local 1014 also put forward the progressive outside-the-box idea and solution to shock the FFS rank and call for a “ONE TIME” seniority-based call for ACTING ENGINEERS with a path of travel to promote to FFS.
All of this stems from a Department that has failed to predict the needs and stay ahead of hiring, medic school, promotions and retirements leading us to where we are today. We pushed hard to run drill tower after drill tower and we have seen the positive effect in the firefighter rank with recalls plummeting and days off and benefit days secured. We need the same actions for the ranked positions.
We are going to have these two meetings as standing meetings once a month and in staffing we will be back to a standing committee between labor and management with card file captains from all regions to help with the ideas and plans to navigate this important matter. Please get all your ideas and recommendations to the Union Hall to any Board Member and also watch for the card file integration to seek those who want to help before next meeting.
Recruit Class 169
We objected to Recruit Class 169 moving forward on the current very aggressive schedule for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, it moves against our work to the rule position to get a fair contract. Thank you to our Recruit Training Captains and Raters for DECLINING TO PARTICIPATE IN CLASS 169, as requested in an e-mail. In solidarity and strength, every member declined to support the cause. The INTERIM FIRE CHIEF has now issued a DIRECT ORDER to the training cadre to report to duty on October 17th under the direction of the Chief of Training Services to begin work on a 40-hour detail for class 169. As always, we advised our members to “work now, grieve later” and comply with the order. To be clear, this is not the previous administration but rather the current administration and Interim Fire Chief’s decision to move forward.
Secondly, we are FULL in the FF and FFPM ranks at this moment, and all resources and expenditures should be focused on the ranked positions as indicated above. The Department's continued inability to see the metronome and balance of when to hire, promote and run medic classes is mind-blowing.
Additioanlly, Recruit Class 169 contains the appellants from Class 167 with no resolution on those issues. We have seen the ratings sheets on performance and sat through all interviews, and at a minimum, we argue each case should be reviewed and approved or denied by the Interim Fire Chief with his authority before placement into the tower. We also argue that any and all recruits with any injuries in a tower should be reviewed by the Interim Fire Chief for approval and each candidate, at a minimum, be required to complete the OPEP physical assessment to determine if they are prepared for the rigors of the tower.
Finally, our recruit training instructors that were summarily dismissed from service without due process in the middle and at a critical time in the tower have not had their due process completed and yet are restricted from teaching in the towers while other raters and reviewers have been invited back or ordered back without final resolve on all of this. This issue is not going away nor will it be forgotten. We will press hard for all the investigation results and reports and call on the Interim Fire Chief to address this with the Union to restore confidence in the system and our program.
We will continue to object and use all administrative and legal tools to push back this tower start date. As of now, the Department has taken a position to move forward. We will keep you posted on this issue and where it tracks on appeal.
Contract Talks
We have been trying to find a path to a fair and just contract with the Unions United COLA within our proposal (5.5%, 3.25%, 3.25%) for a 3-year deal. We have remained off table with talks stalled officially as we walk the halls of the Board of Supervisors and our Contract Cities got gain support for our work.
We have brought to the table the previously not included new Brush Inspection revenues. It is clear the Department still does not have a good grasp of their budget. We are helping with that, as the department remains without a Deputy Chief of Business Operations or any outside third-party expert help.
We are holding the line on the COLA and our important post-PEPRA employee items. We will fight to secure a fair deal and nothing less.
The CEO has moved forward with a motion to approve giving the Non-Rep managers of LA County, the same COLA as Unions United. Will the Interim Fire Chief and the Fire Chiefs act as executives in Fortune 500 companies and accept the raise when it is being denied to rank and file or lead from the front and stand to hold until all members of the fire department secure their contracts? This has renewed our call to the Interim Fire Chief to support our proposals and ability to fund the contract. We will be moving to carry our message to the BOS again beyond our meetings and look for our members to prepare for the in-person BOS meetings coming very soon.
The Interim Fire Chief has received authority from the BOS after our walks to empower and he has picked his team for starters. Thank you to those who have been serving and congratulations to those who have been chosen and given the honor to serve our great Department during this moment. The times are tough and the work will be tough, but the future is continuing to brighten and with all of collective work we can accomplish so much. The Interim Chief owns the team now, time to own the work. Let us all put our backs into it.
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OPEN ENROLLMENT IS HERE!
The Local 1014 Health Plan is among the most comprehensive plans available to Firefighters anywhere in the nation and is tailored to meet our Firefighters’ needs. It is also the #1 choice for our members and their families.
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In Solidarity We Work to the Rule,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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