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Firefighters union douses volunteerism
Please let's get this out to as many folks as we can. You don't need to agree or disagree, just please read it and let's begin the discussions. Let's get ides out there about whether anything should be done about it.
I think it should be resisted at all cost, but how do volunteers take up the fight?
Firefighters union douses volunteerism
James Sherk
Heritage Foundation
October 9, 2007
You probably haven't heard that Congress is about to shut down many of America's volunteer fire departments. Not intentionally, perhaps. Yet a little-known bill advancing through Congress would do just that.
Nearly 26,000 volunteer fire departments protect tens of millions of Americans and their homes from fires. Almost three out of every four firefighters in the United States are volunteers, and smaller towns and cities call on them for protection. A town with 3,000 residents simply cannot afford the expense of hiring full-time career firefighters. They rely on volunteers.
These volunteer departments are usually anchored by a core of professional career firefighters. Often they work in another city and volunteer to protect their neighbors in their off-duty hours. Volunteer firefighters risk their lives and sacrifice their time for their communities. Who would want to shut them down?
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), that's who. The IAFF represents career firefighters. Volunteers who give their time and efforts to their communities allow many communities to do without full-time career fire departments. This means fewer jobs for career firefighters, and fewer dues-paying members in the union that represents them. So the IAFF does everything in its power to stop "two-hatters" from volunteering.
The IAFF constitution prohibits its members from belonging to a volunteer fire department. In the words of IAFF President Harold Schaitberger, the decision to volunteer is a personal choice, but "that personal choice is one that can have serious consequences under our Constitution." Union members who disobey face steep union fines that the courts will enforce. In some cities, the IAFF negotiates, on its members' behalf, contracts stating that they will lose their job if they volunteer in their off-duty hours.
The union's effort to ban volunteering is an assault on our civic fabric. Doctors who provide free care to the poor, lawyers who work pro bono for the disadvantaged, and firefighters who volunteer for their communities make America a better country.
Without career firefighters willing to give their time, many volunteer fire departments would have to close. Look at Connecticut. The IAFF negotiated "no-volunteering" clauses in the contracts of every major city there. Now many of the state's volunteer fire departments are having difficulty finding enough volunteers to protect their communities. Some cities have had to raise taxes significantly to hire career firefighters – exactly what the IAFF intended.
Enter the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, which would make it significantly easier for the IAFF to shut down volunteer fire departments. The bill, which passed the House and is before the Senate, has nothing to do with employer-employee cooperation. This bill requires every state and local government to collectively bargain with their police officers and firefighters, and to negotiate virtually every term and condition of employment.
Those states that have decided collective bargaining doesn't meet their needs would have to do so anyway. States that currently limit what they negotiate would have to negotiate almost everything – including "no-volunteering" clauses.
If this bill passes and forces every local government to collectively bargain with its firefighters, the IAFF's membership rolls will swell and the union will have enhanced powers to negotiate away the freedom of its members to volunteer. Many career firefighters who want to serve their community will lose the ability to do so, unless they want to lose their jobs.
Recognizing that concerns for volunteer firefighters could sink the bill, its supporters added a provision specifying that private sector collective bargaining agreements cannot prevent workers from volunteering. Since virtually every firefighter works for the government and not in the private sector, this actually does nothing to protect volunteer firefighters. But it sounds good.
Instead of adding meaningless provisions that do nothing to defend firefighters' right to volunteer, Congress should let local communities decide if collective bargaining is right for them. Many communities have decided that it is. But others, concerned about how unions would attack their volunteer firefighters, have not. Congress should not make it easier for the IAFF to punish firefighters for volunteering to protect their neighbors.
I think it should be resisted at all cost, but how do volunteers take up the fight?
Firefighters union douses volunteerism
James Sherk
Heritage Foundation
October 9, 2007
You probably haven't heard that Congress is about to shut down many of America's volunteer fire departments. Not intentionally, perhaps. Yet a little-known bill advancing through Congress would do just that.
Nearly 26,000 volunteer fire departments protect tens of millions of Americans and their homes from fires. Almost three out of every four firefighters in the United States are volunteers, and smaller towns and cities call on them for protection. A town with 3,000 residents simply cannot afford the expense of hiring full-time career firefighters. They rely on volunteers.
These volunteer departments are usually anchored by a core of professional career firefighters. Often they work in another city and volunteer to protect their neighbors in their off-duty hours. Volunteer firefighters risk their lives and sacrifice their time for their communities. Who would want to shut them down?
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), that's who. The IAFF represents career firefighters. Volunteers who give their time and efforts to their communities allow many communities to do without full-time career fire departments. This means fewer jobs for career firefighters, and fewer dues-paying members in the union that represents them. So the IAFF does everything in its power to stop "two-hatters" from volunteering.
The IAFF constitution prohibits its members from belonging to a volunteer fire department. In the words of IAFF President Harold Schaitberger, the decision to volunteer is a personal choice, but "that personal choice is one that can have serious consequences under our Constitution." Union members who disobey face steep union fines that the courts will enforce. In some cities, the IAFF negotiates, on its members' behalf, contracts stating that they will lose their job if they volunteer in their off-duty hours.
The union's effort to ban volunteering is an assault on our civic fabric. Doctors who provide free care to the poor, lawyers who work pro bono for the disadvantaged, and firefighters who volunteer for their communities make America a better country.
Without career firefighters willing to give their time, many volunteer fire departments would have to close. Look at Connecticut. The IAFF negotiated "no-volunteering" clauses in the contracts of every major city there. Now many of the state's volunteer fire departments are having difficulty finding enough volunteers to protect their communities. Some cities have had to raise taxes significantly to hire career firefighters – exactly what the IAFF intended.
Enter the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, which would make it significantly easier for the IAFF to shut down volunteer fire departments. The bill, which passed the House and is before the Senate, has nothing to do with employer-employee cooperation. This bill requires every state and local government to collectively bargain with their police officers and firefighters, and to negotiate virtually every term and condition of employment.
Those states that have decided collective bargaining doesn't meet their needs would have to do so anyway. States that currently limit what they negotiate would have to negotiate almost everything – including "no-volunteering" clauses.
If this bill passes and forces every local government to collectively bargain with its firefighters, the IAFF's membership rolls will swell and the union will have enhanced powers to negotiate away the freedom of its members to volunteer. Many career firefighters who want to serve their community will lose the ability to do so, unless they want to lose their jobs.
Recognizing that concerns for volunteer firefighters could sink the bill, its supporters added a provision specifying that private sector collective bargaining agreements cannot prevent workers from volunteering. Since virtually every firefighter works for the government and not in the private sector, this actually does nothing to protect volunteer firefighters. But it sounds good.
Instead of adding meaningless provisions that do nothing to defend firefighters' right to volunteer, Congress should let local communities decide if collective bargaining is right for them. Many communities have decided that it is. But others, concerned about how unions would attack their volunteer firefighters, have not. Congress should not make it easier for the IAFF to punish firefighters for volunteering to protect their neighbors.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joel C Kelley on
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"The National Volunteer Fire Council has worked diligently with Senate staff to develop language that would provide protection to career firefighters who volunteer during off-duty hours. On October 1, the Senate version of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (S. 2123) was introduced and included language in Section 8(a)(5) that states that collective bargaining agreements struck in states affected by the bill cannot include provisions prohibiting employees from volunteering during off-duty hours."
"The NVFC does not have a position on S. 2123 but is supportive of the language in Section 8(a)(5) protecting volunteer firefighters. The NVFC never established a position on H.R. 980 but would oppose enactment of legislation expanding collective bargaining rights to career firefighters without also protecting the right of those same firefighters to volunteer during off-duty hours should they choose to do so."
I am really glad that someone found this and got it into the discussion! In light of this fact, I am now fully in favor of this piece of legislation, and will support my brothers in the unions as they work to further the fire service in this country.
The county in which I volunteer is heavily unionized, in every part of the labor force. The IAFF local here seems to be scared to death that volunteers will be moving into their stations at any point, and taking their jobs. This attitude comes from the top down, and means that the volunteer companies are under equipped, under funded, under staffed, undertrained, and under the gun. It is very difficult to be pro-union when the membership sees you as a threat......
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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Senate Democrats dropped the bill as of Thursday, stating they didn't have the votes to force final consideration, according to Firehouse.com and the Associated Press.
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Permalink Reply by Smokeyjoe85 on
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As I've stated before,I'm a volunteer firefighter(non-union). I feel that this matter has its pros & cons(your damned if you do,and your damned if you don't). I think that the Gov. should let local communities decide for them selves, and keep Gov. clear of what they come up with. The problem is , the Gov. wants to rule the intire roost. Personaly, I'm not after anyones job(full timer). I have my own place in life(Volunteer firefighter). It's what I do,and I like doing it. I'm not down on any fire fighters-I know we have a job to do/when fire arises/and that we do that job well. We are all Brothers and Sisters/union & non-union alike. WE ARE FIRE FIGHTERS!
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Permalink Reply by Gary Dreyer on
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As the part-time Chief of a Rural all paid on call department, a former career firefighter and officer, I would agree that there are circumstances when this can hurt the On-Call Departments. My community operates on a $450,000 budget for the whole community, our department gets $160,000 of that for operations. The total community budget handles all municipal functions for 36 square miles, 5000 residents and two major highways. I started in 2004 replacing a completely volunteer chief, when they hired me it was with the understanding they needed more administrative help as well as someone who could respond on alarms. I started working two days a week at the station with my business covering the rest of the week, I have added an additional day to the work week. My bosses know that we would be better off with some full-time employees however none of the communities employees are full time. Last time we passed a millage it was first tried for 1 mil and failed, it then passed at .75 mils. We all know what that means, theres a snowballs chance of funding full time employees.
I have one firefighter who is in the union, his full time department has borrowed our training programs and hired some of our former firefighters. The State union has stated they do not like their members volunteering on other departments what so ever. This being said, they also said they do not enforce the rule unless theres a complaint. I saw this occur about ten years ago where I knew 6 guys from one city, they were volunteering on a second vol dept. there was one complaint and they all had to quit. Now I see that attitude fading, With lay offs and manpower cuts the career departments in our area which said we will never use vol mutual aid are now finding themselves entering into Auto Aid agreements with these same vol departments.
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Permalink Reply by nita on
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They had enough votes.....the problem was the republicans attached Mccain's GI Bill to the collective bargaining bill in an attempt to kill our bill...so it has been tabled for the moment.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Kahl on
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First i am going to say that I am currently a volunteer firefighter in the state of NJ. Further more I am trying to get hired in the state of Delaware for the City of Wilmington as a career firefighter and the department is IAFF. Now around my area alot of the paid departments are FMBA and their guys can volunteer on other departments but can not go mutual aid to paid towns when they are volunteering. This is mostly because when the paid towns have fires and the volunteer towns go in to help it takes away in some departments possiable overtime from their guys. They do not want their union members to respond into those towns and possiably taking away fellow union memebers overtime. Now IAFF's matter in dealing with this issue and simular reasons like it may be just to make the can and can not do line black and white you may not volunteer on your off duty days. And I am not knocking anyone's volunteer department, but in my opinion i feel that career fire fighters are better trained and skilled than volunteers. This is because either you work 24's or 12's or 12's and 14's, every day that a career firefighter works they do training. A volunteer "works" whenever they choose to and some departments only require you to go to 2 training drills a month sometimes 1. It is also in my opinion that for those that can not afford career departments, a county based system would be best a county fire department. It costs the town less money to operate and the citizens are guarenteed a professional responce time with sufficent man power and apparatus to handle the job. And no one can debate it or say that it never happens you get at 2 am. that fire alarm call and only 3 people show up and go on an engine and pull up to a working structure fire and now put out a working alarm and you may have to wait an additional 5-7 minutes for the second apparatus to show up and with 3 people you can not even advance a line, or perform a primary search for possiable trapped victims. If mutual aid is needed with the county fire deparment you just simply hit another alarm and and you get 2 and 1 from bordering districts in the county. It is cheaper than those towns that can't survive with volunteer depts. having their own paid. And provides the best possiable and affordable fire protection to the citizens of the county. In my opinion it is sad to say but the whole nation is falling away from volunteerism in both fire and EMS. In today's busy world people can not find the time to volunteer anymore, and if they do they often do not have much extra time to hone their skills that combined with the possability of low call volume could spell for poor care quality and highten the risk of death or injury while on scene or inadiquate patient care in terms of EMS.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Bartlett on
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I agree 100 % in what you said about leaving the hose roll up for the vol.It's his job to roll it up him or her self.
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