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This week Local 1014 put forward a “Do Not Patronize” notice to all firefighter Unions throughout the state, and to other entities where potential candidates for the recent Fire Fighter Trainee (Paramedic) filing might be reached. The Fire Fighter Trainee (Paramedic) filing went out errantly from our Department and Big County in the middle of our collective efforts to revamp our entry level hiring process to restore credibility to the process of hiring, backgrounds, academy readiness and performance, probation and selecting candidates who will provide us with 30 plus year career of service.
Local 1014 is working with the BOS, the Department and the California Joint Apprentice Committee (CAL-JAC) to move our written exam to the Fire Candidate Testing Center (FCTC). The same system for our Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) would host our written exams going forward with the next Fire Fighter Trainee exam. Much like the nearly 164 Departments and Unions using FCTC written exam and Statewide Eligibility List (SEL), our Department and Union along with the BOS are working collaboratively to implement the FCTC SEL, along with the CPAT, EMT for candidates testing with our organization. In addition to the FCTC written, CPAT and EMT, we are working with the Department to reintroduce oral interviews in person with two Captains into our testing process. The ability to have a weighted oral interview process is critical to the integrity and functionality of the process to obtain candidates who have prepared and are ready and passionate about a career with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and in the profession of Fire and EMS in general.
Sometimes Big County HR, who currently has administered the previous FFT exams, is not on the same page as the Department, the Union and the BOS, and as luck (bad) would have it, the exam bulletin went out. Local 1014 will also be filing an Unfair Labor Practice Charge on the issue and we would like to thank all of the Departments and Unions who have already responded back to us in support, as well as the Fire Chiefs organizations within LA County who are also supportive. When we give a Paramedic test, we tend to deplete their Paramedic resources in surrounding jurisdictions. We are also full with PM’s and we have plenty of FF’s who are prepared and will continue to further their career internally by going to PM school for us.
We will continue our work with the Department and County DHR to get this process back to a place where we can all be proud of our testing and selection system, and also restore credibility as a whole to the program.
FSA - FFT Issue
Related and integrated into our job actions and efforts on behalf of our members, we are representing our FSA’s in our ongoing efforts to continue a robust and regular internal promotional exam process (FSA Bridge Program) that Local 1014 leveraged to put in place. Last month, we we’re made aware that 57 of our represented FSA’s who were hired from the FFT List and took those jobs to help with our FSA staffing shortage, and as our position has been established with the Department and the County, we believe should be incorporated into the selection process for the next 2 or three classed off the existing list, were left behind.
Only 11 of the 57 candidates were given formal conditional offers of employment and we are challenging the Department to correct the situation and give all 57 FSA’s in this group conditional offers of employment, and work them into the next 2 or 3 towers.
There are issues we are addressing to allow this to happen, including negotiating with the Department a process to accomplish this. The FSA’s as you are aware are already physically and mentally prepared for the academy including having all passed a BEEP test with predictions of finishing not only the tower, but a 30 plus year career in play. They are also some of the most diverse and represented members as well. We are working with DHR, Big County and the Department to take the legal and literal steps to get this done, and we remain steadfast in our move to halt all tower processes until this issue is addressed. We have provided proposals that are logical, work to meld with the current and future FSA academies to keep our FSA ranks full for the brush season and replenished as we go. One other advantage of the FCTC going forward is that for our FFT List in general, and with regard to always having an written in progress, our Internal Promotional Process (Bridge), will always be current and accessible for all FSA’s entering into the program in perpetuity.
Next week we meet again with the Department and County to try and find agreement and process that works for all. The Fire Chief has been extremely supportive of all of these proposals and in general is moving with us to accomplish that which we set out to do on this issue. We will continue to update our FSA’s and the membership on this work and we are cautiously optimistic on a joint settlement in the near future, and prior to the next 2 or 3 recruit towers.
THE FAILURE AND WEAPONIZATION OF CPOE
Local 1014 continues to push our clear and unambiguous opposition to the use of CPOE for any and all of our discrimination and or hostile work environment or other such claims within our department including those taking shape in the recruit academies.
We are lobbying to move the Fire Department out of the CPOE system and into either EEOC or FEHA system for such claims. The federal organizations that handle complaints of this nature have credibility, trained investigators and timely and fair reports on issues presented.
We urge all members to NOT RESPOND VERBALLY OR IN WRITING TO ANY CPOE REQUESTS ON COMPLAINTS UNTIL YOU SECURE UNION REPRESENTATION.
We will ensure that your FBOR and other rights are secure and in tact before any such communication takes place. We have seen in our own Department the use of the CPOE process as a tool to escape failures to perform, or to mask other real PPS or structural leadership problems and this has been extremely harmful to our paramilitary organization where our work puts our lives on the line. We also have seen how failures with this system have resulted in ongoing strife and hostile work environment situations deteriorating into untenable work environments and resulting damage and harm to our operations and service to the communities we serve and to our own members.
We are working to get a proposal to the BOS, hopefully with joint Department support, moving us to a system that provides legitimate and confidential systems where such complaints have merit and need such investigation and resulting actions to correct those situations in real time. Any such process must have integration with our Department’s leadership to keep operations in place providing a safe and functional workplace.
Please contact the Union if you receive any notifications from CPOE and seek our help to navigate the process.
Workers Compensation Crisis
We continued work with the Department and the County to help correct the course of the current workers compensation processes and systems that see our members at over 380 off work. Factoring out members getting repaired and ready to leave the job, and those who are abusing the system, both groups of which are being dealt with daily and actively, we are looking to fix issues that leave a large number of members without a path to return to work in a timely manner with good quality care in the treating physicians and facilities.
Thank you to Chief Gunther and his 3 RTW Captains and
their recently added staff who tirelessly and effectively handle the most critical and complex cases for our members and while they are a critical component of the process, it is simply not feasible for them to handle nearly 400 cases at any given time.
50 MEMBERS BACK TO WORK PROJECT has launched and the Union, Department and the County are working on these cases to advocate and resource these members who are positioned to get back to work in the next 90 days.
Returning 50 members back to work does three things in a bite we can handle. We get the members back to work, we put roughly $11.9 million back into our annual budget, and we relieve the staffing crisis we see as a result of these members being off work. These members will be getting Fire Department Executive Staff help along with Union and County help to move the mountains needed to get them the treatment and resources to return to work. In addition to the work on this project we also continue with our workers compensation joint labor management action items including vetting and adding more treating doctors and facilities, member self advocacy training and education, and we will be meeting with our third party provider “Sedgwick” to ensure that they are processing and working for our members properly their claims and educating the members on next steps to move their individual care and treatment forward in a timely and appropriate manner.
We are already seeing improvement with over 30 workers already back to work with the resulting staffing and monetary returns as well. We continue to seek members who want to be in this group and once we get 50 back to work, we will work on then next 50 until we get back to sustainable and appropriate numbers of workers off due to injury and illness in an ongoing manner. This is truly a crisis and we have submitted to the Fire Chief that we need to make this a weekly update and progress report and we are getting great support from Chief Marrone as he wraps his arms around the situation that is now under his term and authority as our leader.
Thank you Chief Marrone, Director Jason Cervantes, RTW, the attorney’s we are using to craft the solutions and to the County RTW offices as we continue to wrestle this situation back under control.
603 / 604 NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
We met with Chief Marrone and his Executive Staff bargaining team members along with Local 1014 bargaining team members to try and work out the last two unit items on the table to get our members their contract settled with COLA and other negotiated items. As a result, the Fire Chief agreed to authority within parameters we all agreed to and we will return to the table next week to grind and negotiate to a finish the important MOU for 603/604 members.
Bargaining Team Chair Tony Carcioppolo and his team will be communicating with our 603/604 members as we reconvene and work to settle this table. We will report out next week as the work takes place, and if you have any questions please contact the bargaining team at the Local. |
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FIRST ANNUAL RETIREE BBQ AND RECOGNITION EVENT
A reminder to all members both active and retired, please join the Department Local 1014, and the AOC, on Tuesday March 28th from 10am to 1pm at LAO as we recognize our 2022 and 2023 retirees as well as past retirees in a ceremony that will become an annual event in addition to the station and off site events to say thank you to members heading to LACERA.
The Museum and other stakeholder groups such as PEER Support, Chaplains, Benefit and Welfare, have come together to propose and work with the sponsors of the event to launch this event and long overdue recognition and formal gathering where the Fire Chief, Union and AOC can speak to the retirees and let them know how amazing their service and career as Los Angeles County Fire Fighters has been, and also hear from the retirees as we roast and recognize the career paths they have taken as part of our amazing organization built on the power and strength and backs of the members doing the work.
We look forward to the event and again we thank all who have worked so hard to make this happen! |
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Monterey Park Firefighters BBQ
Please join us, as we support our Monterey Park Local 1014 members at a BBQ to raise money for the community members who were affected by the January 21st incident. It will be held on March 25th, at the Barnes Park Service Club. Come eat some food, enjoy some company, and donate to a good cause. We hope to see you there!
Text ReliefBBQ to 53-555 to donate if you are unable to make the event. |
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UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION WITH THE UNION
To ensure that we maximize our outreach efforts to our members, we will send out a survey regarding the staffing changes soon.
In order to ensure that all Local 1014 members can access the electronic survey, please update your contact info with the union at the link below. If you have people in your station who do not receive the Friday Update, please encourage them to sign up on the website so we have all members' email and ensure fair access to the survey. |
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In Solidarity,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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