FFPM Paul Cooke
Fire Station 92, "B" Platoon, Battalion 17
It is with with heavy heart I announce the unexpected passing of Brother Paul Cooke. Brother Cooke passed away early on the morning of March 18, 2014. Bother Cooke passed away due to an off duty incident.
SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!
KICKOFF IS NEAR AND ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO COVER REGARDING UNION WORK AND ISSUES AND ITEMS FROM AS IMPORTANT AS PENSION AND RETIREE HEALTHCARE PROTECTION TO T-SHIRTS AND PATCHES; TODAY A LITTLE REST FROM ALL OF THAT WHILE TWO GREAT TEAMS BATTLE IT OUT FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.
POST-GAMES - LOCAL 1014 UPDATE…
OK FOLKS MOST OF YOU HAVE WATCHED THE THE LAST TWO BATTLES TO SEE WHO GOES TO THE SUPERBOWL. BRONCOS AND THE PATRIOTS THEN THE NINERS AND SEAHAWKS IN TWO GRIDIRON WARS TO GO ON TO THE SUPERBOWL TO CLAIM WORLD CHAMPION. FIRST THINGS FIRST….
3...2...1....
While our membership finishes out the last day of 2013, some with friends and family, and some with brothers and sisters at the shop and on the job serving our citizens today, we clearly all will be reflecting on 2013 and preparing for 2014.
2013 comes to an end very soon, and as we head into Christmas Day we will all likely take time to remember to slow down a bit and enjoy friends and family and traditions steeped in time and history. In all honesty, we should take time all year to remember why we work so hard and care so much for our way of lives, our friends and families and our spirituality and humanity, but we know Christmas time and the end of the year holidays tend to get us to our homes, our churches, our neighborhoods and our children at a time when we really all shut down and stop and smell the roses and give thanks.
Your Executive Board of Local 1014 will also take time between now and the start of the new year to breath a bit and enjoy our families and friends also. As we all take time to reflect and remember the past year and the events that will define 2013 for us all personally, remember to take pride in your accomplishments at work and in your support and participation through Local 1014 to protect and advance and secure our very wonderful profession as Los Angeles County Fire Fighters, Paramedics and Fire, Forestry, Health Haz-Mat and Dispatch Personnel. Both sworn and non-sworn Local 1014 Members have worked tirelessly to produce results that are undeniably the envy of most every other department around us and throughout the state, both large and small.
This year we have seen some highs (salary increase, CCU contract, etc..) and some lows (to many funerals for our members). Take a moment everyday to be thankful for what we have and remeber those we have lost, WE WILL NEVER FORGET.
Each of us should remember why we work so hard to keep our professional job standards so protected and high on comparison…so we can be safe at work and earn a good living to go home and enjoy our families. Take time to get to your home and spend a little time with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and your friends and families this Christmas. We know there will be more economic and political and legislative challenge in 2014, and we’ll be ready once again, but for this short time let’s breath shall we? We have all earned it and let us not forget life is short and our challenges to stay healthy are more than most given our chosen profession.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and may you have a blessed Holiday Season with your family and friends and brothers and sisters at work. Be safe at work in all that you do, and please remember to be safe off duty as you celebrate and if you are going to drink at all, DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE, DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE. GET A DRIVER, GET A ROOM, GET A CAB…PUT THE PHONE DOWN….. MAKE A PLAN! It is not just about fines and penalties, but about protecting lives as we know all too well. Set the example for your children and each other and lead…DON’T DO IT, MAKE A WISE DECISSION.
Thank you for all you do and we will be well rested and ready for the challenges that 2014 holds for us all.
Los Angeles County Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 1014 – “Tradition of Excellence”
Below is the service information for Brother Mazzocco:
Fire Captain John Mazzocco, Fire Station 111, B platoon, Battalion 22, son of retired Battalion Chief Bob Mazzocco, Battalion 11, passed away after battling a job related illness on Thursday, December 12, 2013, at the age of 48.
It is with the deepest regret and sadness that I am informing you of the Active Duty Death of Fire Captain John Mazzocco, Fire Station 111, B platoon, Battalion 22. Captain Mazzocco passed away early in the morning of December 12th after battling a job related illness.
CCU, County officials reach Tentative Agreement on Fringe Benefit Contract after months of contentious negotiations December 11, 2013
The Coalition of County Unions -- CCU - leaders announced a Tentative Agreement on a new Fringe Benefit Contract with County management on December 10, 2013. The new agreement arrives after months of stalled negotiations that followed the County's eleventh hour demand for changes to County Retiree Health benefits for future employees.
CCU leaders set the following major goals early in the fringe benefits negotiations process: 1) to protect the existing benefits package, 2) to protect employees from increases in out-of-pocket payments for medical premiums, and 3) to eliminate the current $112 million cap on County matching contributions to the Horizons program so that employees will receive their full 4% employer match for the entire plan year. Under the new agreement, all of these goals were achieved!
Highlights of New Fringe Benefits Contract Agreement: • TERM - 2 years (October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2015).
• CHOICES - The new agreement provides a 7.2% increase in the County's CHOICES contribution for 2014 and an additional 7.2% increase for 2015. Securing the increases in the CHOICES contribution means that most members will take home extra in their paychecks in 2014-2015. Since County employees have already gone through the Open Enrollment process, this means that the your monthly allowance will increase and – for most plans – fully offset the increased cost of health insurance premiums.
County Health Care Contributions for Permanent Employees
Coverage
2013
2014
2015
Employee Only
$706.59
$757.46
$812.00
Employee +1
$1,289.20
$1,382.02
$1,481.53
Employee +2 or more
$1,522.95
$1,632.60
$1,750.15
Employee who waives insurance
$244.00
$244.00
$244.00
• HORIZONS - Matching Fund Cap increased and then eliminated: The new agreement provides an additional $9 million annual increase to the cap on County matching contributions. The cap will increase from the current $112 million to $121 million for FY 2013-2014 and to $130 million for FY 2014-2015. This means that all participating employees should receive their full 4% match on their contributions for the entire year. The major victory for our side is that the cap will be eliminated entirely effective July 1, 2015.
• $500 CASH BONUS - The new agreement includes a one-time $500 per employee contribution to CHOICES whereby all CHOICES participants will receive a $250 payment scheduled for January 2014 and again in July 2014.
As part of the new 2-year Fringe Benefits Contract agreement, all Coalition of County Unions established a separate agreement with LA County on Retiree Health Reform that changes the benchmark contribution for New Hires effective July 2014.
Retiree Health benefits for current employees will remain unchanged. Details of the new fringe contract agreement will be available to 1014 members in the following weeks as final language is drafted and confirmed by CCU and County officials.
While other agencies and Unions have been unable to sustain their current level of medical benefits and have seen draconian cuts to their plans, we have managed to bargain to a successful finish that maintains current levels of medical, dental and vision benefits, while dealing with funding issues only. The math of the situation is one thing, and must be dealt with, but politics or use of bankruptcy and or courts to strip benefits from hard working employees and similar behaviors and actions will be a constant threat we will fight. Unlike other Counties and Cities, we have a start to the solution for the funding liability issue and we have the tools in place to put tax free monies, earnings and distributions from employees and employer and we will have to continue to look for alternative ways to continue to help fund our defined benefit health care system we have come to treasure.
Thank you for you continued support and we’ll keep you in the loop as we work on this project with the County and LACERA.
Los Angeles County Fire Fighters Local 1014 Members please take a moment to look at this opportunity to celebrate the holidays at the Fire Museum Annual Christmas Party. This is a chance to gather in and amongst our historic fire equipment and rumor has it some historic "Firefighters" of current and past lore.
Learn about the following benefits for International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) members:
> A 43 percent tuition reduction at Kaplan University on undergraduate fire science degrees.* > Learning is100 percent online and accredited.† > Credit for your eligible fire or emergency management services certifications.‡ > Self-enrollment available.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION—PLEASE READ For comprehensive consumer information, visit http://www.kaplanuniversity.edu/student-consumer-information.aspx.
* May not be combined with scholarships, grants, military tuition reductions, tuition vouchers, or other discounts.
† Kaplan University is regionally accredited. Please see our website for additional information about institutional and
programmatic accreditation.
‡ Although certain programs at Kaplan University are designed to prepare students to take various certification or
licensing exams, the University cannot guarantee the student will be eligible to sit for or pass those exams. In some
cases, field experience, additional coursework, and/or background checks may be necessary to be eligible to take or
to successfully pass the exams.
SUPERBOWL SUNDAY 2014 MEMBERSHIP MESSAGE.docx
museum.christmas.party.2013.pdf
