Sisters and Brothers,
As we head into the last weekend in July, there is much to report on and as always never a lack of Union work on behalf of our members and our families.
Let’s start right up front with an update on COVID-19 and Delta variant and what the health orders from the State and County mean for us. No one wants to slide back so they are pushing to get as many people vaccinated as possible and hold on to the corresponding dropping case numbers.
The State of California issued a health order for the workers, especially those in health care or front line jobs, either be vaccinated and present proof of such, or undergo weekly testing and be subjected to additional restrictions like masks. The Fire District falls under the LA County Department of Public Health and we will have to comply with their orders. The Department however must “meet and confer” with the Union on the impact of any such order. We have been meeting with the Department and the County in an ongoing manner with regard to all policies and procedures, testing, coverage of days off for our COVID positive members, and more. This will be no different. We have already begun planning in advance how to respond to any County Health order affecting our job and our members.
We must continue to educate all members on the vaccine, including the small portion of science-backed reasons why some should not get the vaccine. We would like to get the numbers up from 70%. Some departments in the Santa Clara / San Jose area are approaching 90% vaccinated. We will then deal with the Department on the policies and procedures needed to comply with any County Health order to get some easy and common-sense policies in place.
In addition, we have been exploring the option of using anti-body testing results in addition to vaccination records to move members who have had COVID and carry the anti-body to be in the same class of no mask requirements. This has scientific validity and we have discussed this with Dr. Kazan and the Department, and we will be sending this idea back to the IAFF Health and Safety Department to work on getting the corresponding scientific data to back this up. While the science appears valid, also there is no testing going on for the duration of anti-bodies in the body, and therefore periodic testing for both vaccinated and anti-body positive individuals may be in the cards. We will be presenting this idea along with our proposals on compliance with the health order to the BOS next week to try and get a common-sense approach that keeps our members and the public safe and preserves their rights and ability to make good decisions and choices with regard to the vaccine and working conditions.
If weekly testing becomes a reality, then how those tests are administered, records, and accessibility will all be negotiated and in place before any testing occurs. We are ahead of the curve once again as we deal with the issue and our members' and families' health and safety.
Please take COVID-19 and the Delta Variant seriously. We have seen a rise in COVID cases in the last month in our County and our members once again stand on the front line taking care of those we serve. We also have many members testing positive, so let’s all be cognizant of the realities of how we deal with this still deadly virus. Hang tight as we navigate this politically volatile subject. We have control of how we deal with this new information. Please continue to refer to EA-313 (July 21, 2021) and EA -240 (June 11, 2021) for the latest up-to-date orders and policies in place.
First 30 Day Report by the Fire Chief on Workplace Trauma or Potential Workplace Trauma
We continue to work to move the Department to take action to improve working conditions and behavioral health support services and to remove the disconnect between the leadership and our rank and file. In a relatively short period of time, we have sports back, cessation of masses of online training, and a return of the physical drills. We have the “Captains run your stations” mantra re-established and BC support in place with more officer training to follow, we have expedited all aspects of the FFS Exam to get the candidates who have passed the exam finished and out to the field as they passed, without of class bonus’ in play. We see Class 164 in full swing, with two more classes scheduled for the remainder of this year, and a Captains exam and BC’s exam in full swing with Acting Deputy Chief Denny Breshears in action to have a testing and promotional testing schedule that will ensure that we never have a shortage of candidates for all ranks of our membership.
There are good days ahead with Local 1014 Directors and Chief Breshears getting back at the promotional process to do some much-needed clean-up with AP’s and such. Pat Dolan will head up Local 1014’s efforts to revamp things. We have also just secured funding approval for the next two classes and also up to 8 more next year to keep up with retirements and injury vacancies. We will be meeting with the BOS and Fire Chief to continue the work through action, not just words with reporting that is going to happen every 30 days to the BOS.
You may have noticed that Chief Marrone has taken LPBS Deputy position and we are excited to get to work with a passionate long-time officer who has an insight into some of the projects in this Bureau. Congratulations to Chief’s Whittle and Mc Cloud for their service and journey to LACERA along with Chief Richardson and of course our friend and amazing IAFF FGS and WFI and Operations Chief Derek Alkonis, you will be greatly missed and thanks for your leadership and work within the IAFF as well throughout your career! Thanks for being not just a member of Local 1014 and the IAFF but an active game-changer nationally. More to come, but big changes are already in motion.
Injury vacancies are next on the list to tackle as we CANNOT SUSTAIN the current levels of vacancies due to injury and the cost associated with those injuries and backfill. Stay tuned as we head deep into the workers' compensation abyss to clean that up again.
