Brothers and Sisters

     Please click on and read the attached letter on my resignation as your Local President.  It has been a pleasure to serve you all. 

Please Call Senator Bunning and ask him to support S 2123 Collective Bargaining for Firefighters and Police

This is VERY important for our Brothers and Sisters who do not have the benefit of collective bargaining.  We need to convince Senator Bunning to support this legislation.  WE NEED   EVERY MEMBER TO CALL AND/OR E-MAIL SENATOR BUNNING!

Ph 202-224-4343

www.bunning.senate.gov

As promised, we have begun our assult on the proposed staffing reductions as made in the Management Partners, Inc report.  Click below to see the release made to the media this morning, 3/18/08.  I am close to having our detailed response completed, and the IAFF is sending us a power point with some statistical information to include in our presentations.  This will be posted in the members area as well, then made public once presented to the Council.   Stay tuned as we continue to fight these proposed staffing reductions. 

Mark Blankenship, President

Two documents provided below are the same.  One is a "Word" document format and the other is a "PDF - Acrobat Reader" format.

The Mayors Office has now pitched a change to our Local and the FOP to place an ammednment on HB600, the "Pension Reform Bill" and asked for us to support it.  Here is what it says:

A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 67A IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

(1)        The benefits and required employee and employer contribution rates provided in KRS 67A.345 and KRS 67A 360 to 67A.690 shall be applicable only to members, as defined in KRS 67A.360(5), who were members prior to July 1, 2008, and their beneficiaries.

(2)        Urban-county governments may establish by ordinance retirement benefits for sworn police and fire and emergency services personnel hired on or after July 1, 2008, and the appropriate employee and employer contribution rates.  

This was presented to us last night (3/18/08) and then this afternoon I have been told the District Majors have been directed to distribute these changes and "be supportive of this because it's a good thing."  When you look at #2 of the LFUCG proposal, you should be very concerned.  It lays nothing out as to what the benefits would be, nothing specific at all. Another concern is that this proposal was made with 11 days left in session, with HB 600 having been thru the House, the Senate, and  now back in the House due to Senate changes. 

Section 2 of the LFUCG proposal gives control of the Pension to the council.  You old heads that suffered under the years of the tyrant known as Scotty Baesler, and the control he had over the council, can understand why we would not be in favor of the council being able to set the benefits and rates for our pension fund.  THATS why it is under the control of the General Assembly. 

This has been presented WAY to fast with no time for the Local, our membership, or anyone else to review it and give it due consideration.  This to, has been done during the negotiation process for our next labor agreement.  THERE IS NO WAY THAT I CAN SUPPORT OR ENDORSE THIS PROPOSAL!  I AM ASKING EACH AND EVERY MEMBER OF THIS LOCAL TO VOICE THEIR OPPOSITION TO IT, TO CALL THEIR SENATOR, AND REPRESENTATIVE, AND VOICE THIER CONCERN, AND CALL THIER COUNCIL MEMBERS AND VOICE THEIR OPPOSITION TO IT!    This has not been done fairly, and in fact I take it as a very direct insult to our body.  We have offered over a year ago to participate on a committee and to work with the Pension Board to determine the best course of action to help the pension fund, one that we can all agree upon.  We had NO say on this at all, just a pitch that we should support this and call with our concerns.  Its bad enough they are leaning toward cutting our staffing, but now they want to have control over the Pension.  The law does protect them from making changes to your current pension system, I want to make that clear.  But this is a very dangerous road the Mayor is trying to go down, and it needs to be stopped, and all the parties work together to come up with a plan we can all live with.  There is a link on the front page (right side under "Important Links", Kentucky Legislature) to see who your legislators are.  

Use the following web site which will take to the KY legislature http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/Legislators.htm to find who is you Senator and Representative.  

This is the initial response from the Local to the Management Partners Inc Report.  It will be polished as time goes on, but we needed to get this out to the public, council, and Mayor.  Feel free to offer your suggestions. 

To the left a new menu button has been added under Main Menu Dues Tax Receipt.  If you need a receipt just click on the button and download the Word Doc.

Thanks

Christopher Ward

Treasurer Local 526

The E-board would like to make a By-laws change from the way eboard positions are now appointed by the president .  If someone is unable to complete their term the Eboard would like to make it mandatory that a special election is held for any of the offices if they become vacant.  The nominations would be at the next general membership meeting following the vancency with voting to follow by mailing ballots to everyones home.  The next meeting the winner would be announced.

By Law Change Dealing with Vacancies and Elections

Article V Section 9: Dealing with Vacancies

1. The Vice President will take over the office of President due to death, resignation, removal or promotion to the rank above Captain in the Division of Fire.  The Vice President will hold that office until nominations for President can take place at the next general membership meeting unless the vice President will be in office for 3 months or less.  Elections will then follow Article V Section 6.

2. All other elected offices that become vacant due to death, resignation, removal or promotion to the rank above Captain in the Division of Fire will remain vacant until an election can take place.  After a vacancy occurs, nominations for the open position will be taken at the next general membership meeting.  The procedure for elections would then follow Article V Section 6.  

3.  The President can waive part B of Article V Section 6 if the expired term is up for re-election in 4 months or less.

Chris Ward

Treasurer Local 526

THIS IS A SAFETY ALERT TO ALL MEMBERS OF LOCAL 526

Updated November 29th, 2007

      The Local continues to work on what we believe to be significant problems in our dispatch center.  As we do, please remember this is NOT an attack on our dispatchers.  They are forced to work in an environment that, to this local is not supportive.  The issue is bigger than saying "all our dispatchers are certified."  You can be an excellent police dispatcher, but getting thrust into the fire departments alarm room, with different radio and computer systems, places that police dispatcher at an extreme disadvantage.  The same goes for a fire dispatcher asked to work in the police communications center.  This is compounded when they are asked to manage a shift.  Basic common sense tells you that the more proficient and knowledgeable you are with an operating system, the better you are able to direct others and perform your job.  These people are being placed in positions where they are behind the eight ball (so to speak) before they ever come to work. 

     The merger of the police and fire communications center is not the answer, and anyone with five minutes of experience in a dispatch center understands that.  Our police and Fire dispatch centers are too busy, and require too much specialized training to say that you can do both functions to a high degree of performance.  Housing both centers in a central location is not the issue, its the watering down of the skill sets of both groups that is concerning.  It is now to the point that no matter how many times it can be demonstrated that this system WILL NOT AND DOES NOT WORK that the administration is going to insist on it because they can.  So the result is increased turnover in the dispatch centers and low moral.  Caught in the middle are our firefighters out there on the line and their safety.  15 second delays cost our people their life.  Understaffed alarm rooms can't properly monitor fire channels during a fire, missing critical radio traffic of firefighters in distress.  They have to be staffed and knwledgeable in our system to be able to do the job. 

     The answer is to place the fire departments alarm room BACK under the control of the Division of Fire, so the fire department can administer and regulate its operation.  Dispatchers that dispatch fire calls, period.  The call volume justifies it and we need the dispatchers with that experience looking out for us.  The breakdown in this system WILL result in a negative outcome for one of our firefighters or a civilian.  Stay aware of this on your runs, as we continue to investigate this thru open records requests and the gathering of run information.  YOUR input is critical, we need your detailed reports of problems. 

     We have been attempting to work with the Director of E-9-1-1 for the LFUCG over staffingTh concerns with the Fire Departments Communications Center (Alarm Room).  Our letters, e-mail inquiries, and concerns have gone unanswered and disregarded, poorly answered with vague and meaningless replies. 

     At issue is the fact we have DOCUMENTED instances of only two (2) dispatchers being on duty in our alarm room, instead of the four (4) we had when the alarm room was under the control of the Division of Fire.  There are also times when a police call taker, unfamiliar with the FD CAD system or our protocols, have been sent to "help out."  These call takers are only delaying the dispatch of 9-1-1 calls because all the information they obtain then has to be entered into the CAD system.  This situation is out of control.  Our safety is at risk.  All firefighters need to be aware that their calls to the dispatch center may go unanswered, not from our dispatchers not wanting to do their jobs, but because the Director of E-9-1-1 fails to give them the resources they need to make us, AND THE PUBLIC, safe.

     I am working on a detailed report that will be made available concerning these problems.  In the meantime, I again urge you to be aware that our calls for assistance may be delayed, go unanswered due to decreased staffing in the alarm room. 

     Our FD Dispatchers have been intimidated long enough.  They have essentially had their jobs threatened, and even been disciplined, for bringing these LIFE SAFETY ISSUES to my attention.  These are good, hard working people who care about our safety, and that of the general public.  Please be mindful of that when a problem arises.  They are doing the best they can under the current conditions. 

     Stay safe, and please check back for updates. 

Mark Blankenship, President