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Resolution 2 at the convention
What's your take on this- I know it's been a heated topic, but is there a happy medium?
I've read three different ways unions are reading into this
Resolution No. 2
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT: Constitution & By-Laws
Re: Secondary Employment
WHEREAS, Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws states: "Any member of the Association found working a secondary job as a paid-on-call firefighter or an employee of a public employer, nonprofit corporation, or a private contracting firm providing fire protection or emergency medical services to a city, county, municipality, or a fire protection district as a volunteer, reserve, part-time, part-paid, police officer, police reserve, or public safety officer may be subject to charges being filed against that member"; and
WHEREAS, delegates to the 2006 IAFF Convention adopted Resolution 9, which, as revised and amended, called upon the IAFF to establish a committee comprised of IAFF Executive Board members to review the history associated with Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws and its current impact, including enforcement, on our locals and our union as a whole, and directed this Committee to prepare a report complete with recommendations to be presented at the 2008 IAFF Convention; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with this resolution, General President Schaitberger appointed five IAFF Executive Board members to the Secondary Employment Committee; and
WHEREAS, over the last two years, this Committee has undertaken extensive measures to fulfill its mandate, including researching, assembling and reviewing the history of Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws, which was inserted in our Constitution at the 1998 IAFF Convention; analyzing previous interpretations of this provision; collecting and reviewing misconduct charges, trial board decisions and appeals enforcing this provision; and assessing the political impact that enforcement of this provision has had on our affiliates; and
WHEREAS, the Committee also issued a survey to IAFF affiliates which asked them to provide information regarding the prevalence of secondary employment among their membership, the type of secondary work being performed, whether misconduct charges had been filed on this basis, the outcome of those charges, and their views on whether the current Constitutional provision should be changed; and
WHEREAS, the Committee also received testimony from affiliate leaders regarding the issues covered in the survey; and
WHEREAS, a number of affiliates informed the Committee that the current language has been interpreted by its members as being less binding or enforceable than other constitutional misconduct provisions because it is not listed in Article XV, Section 1, which sets forth the definition of misconduct, and because it states that a member engaging in secondary employment "may" be subject to charges; and
WHEREAS, a number of affiliates also informed the Committee that their efforts to enforce the current provision have been hampered because it is poorly drafted and does not clearly set forth the type of conduct being prohibited, and because it has been unevenly enforced through misconduct charges, causing members who are engaging in such misconduct to allege they are the victims of selective enforcement; and
WHEREAS, numerous affiliates expressed strong feelings that the language of this provision should be amended to ensure clarity of intent and consistency of enforcement and to clearly prohibit IAFF members from working secondary employment as a firefighter, emergency medical services worker, public safety or law enforcement officer, or as a worker in a related service, where such job is within the work jurisdiction of any IAFF affiliate or materially erodes the conditions of work of any affiliate; and
WHEREAS, as one of its recommendations, the Committee concluded that the current constitutional provision on secondary employment should be revised to remove the word "may" from its current language; to reclassify it as a form of prohibited misconduct listed under Article XV, Section 1; and to clarify its purpose and include recommended penalties for its violation, with the intent of ensuring that it is better understood, more easily enforced, and more uniformly applied; and
WHEREAS, the Committee has reported its findings and the basis for its recommendations in a report which shall be submitted to the 2008 IAFF Convention; and
WHEREAS, upon reviewing the Committee's findings, the IAFF Executive Board believes that the Committee's recommendations should be enacted; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws shall be deleted, and that Article XV, Section 1, which sets forth misconduct prohibited by the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws, shall be amended by adding the following new subsection to the list of defined misconduct:
"(N) Working a secondary job part-time, paid on call, volunteer or otherwise as a firefighter, emergency medical services worker, public safety or law enforcement officer, or as a worker in a related service, whether in the public or private sector, where such job is within the work jurisdiction of any affiliate or which materially erodes the conditions of work of any affiliate. Upon a finding of guilt of working a secondary job in violation of this subsection, it is recommended that the penalty include disqualification from holding office in any affiliate and/or expulsion from membership for the period that the misconduct persists. Charges filed for the misconduct described in this subsection shall be preferred by a member of the charged party's local and/or a member of an adversely affected affiliate." and be it further
RESOLVED, That the IAFF shall create and maintain a database to track the experience of secondary employment among our affiliates, including the prevalence and type of such employment, the filing of charges related to such employment, and the outcome of trial boards and appeals deciding those charges; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the IAFF shall create and distribute educational materials to IAFF affiliates regarding the constitutional prohibition on secondary employment, including the basis for this prohibition, and the experience of our affiliates in dealing with this issue.
I've read three different ways unions are reading into this
Resolution No. 2
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT: Constitution & By-Laws
Re: Secondary Employment
WHEREAS, Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws states: "Any member of the Association found working a secondary job as a paid-on-call firefighter or an employee of a public employer, nonprofit corporation, or a private contracting firm providing fire protection or emergency medical services to a city, county, municipality, or a fire protection district as a volunteer, reserve, part-time, part-paid, police officer, police reserve, or public safety officer may be subject to charges being filed against that member"; and
WHEREAS, delegates to the 2006 IAFF Convention adopted Resolution 9, which, as revised and amended, called upon the IAFF to establish a committee comprised of IAFF Executive Board members to review the history associated with Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws and its current impact, including enforcement, on our locals and our union as a whole, and directed this Committee to prepare a report complete with recommendations to be presented at the 2008 IAFF Convention; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with this resolution, General President Schaitberger appointed five IAFF Executive Board members to the Secondary Employment Committee; and
WHEREAS, over the last two years, this Committee has undertaken extensive measures to fulfill its mandate, including researching, assembling and reviewing the history of Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws, which was inserted in our Constitution at the 1998 IAFF Convention; analyzing previous interpretations of this provision; collecting and reviewing misconduct charges, trial board decisions and appeals enforcing this provision; and assessing the political impact that enforcement of this provision has had on our affiliates; and
WHEREAS, the Committee also issued a survey to IAFF affiliates which asked them to provide information regarding the prevalence of secondary employment among their membership, the type of secondary work being performed, whether misconduct charges had been filed on this basis, the outcome of those charges, and their views on whether the current Constitutional provision should be changed; and
WHEREAS, the Committee also received testimony from affiliate leaders regarding the issues covered in the survey; and
WHEREAS, a number of affiliates informed the Committee that the current language has been interpreted by its members as being less binding or enforceable than other constitutional misconduct provisions because it is not listed in Article XV, Section 1, which sets forth the definition of misconduct, and because it states that a member engaging in secondary employment "may" be subject to charges; and
WHEREAS, a number of affiliates also informed the Committee that their efforts to enforce the current provision have been hampered because it is poorly drafted and does not clearly set forth the type of conduct being prohibited, and because it has been unevenly enforced through misconduct charges, causing members who are engaging in such misconduct to allege they are the victims of selective enforcement; and
WHEREAS, numerous affiliates expressed strong feelings that the language of this provision should be amended to ensure clarity of intent and consistency of enforcement and to clearly prohibit IAFF members from working secondary employment as a firefighter, emergency medical services worker, public safety or law enforcement officer, or as a worker in a related service, where such job is within the work jurisdiction of any IAFF affiliate or materially erodes the conditions of work of any affiliate; and
WHEREAS, as one of its recommendations, the Committee concluded that the current constitutional provision on secondary employment should be revised to remove the word "may" from its current language; to reclassify it as a form of prohibited misconduct listed under Article XV, Section 1; and to clarify its purpose and include recommended penalties for its violation, with the intent of ensuring that it is better understood, more easily enforced, and more uniformly applied; and
WHEREAS, the Committee has reported its findings and the basis for its recommendations in a report which shall be submitted to the 2008 IAFF Convention; and
WHEREAS, upon reviewing the Committee's findings, the IAFF Executive Board believes that the Committee's recommendations should be enacted; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws shall be deleted, and that Article XV, Section 1, which sets forth misconduct prohibited by the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws, shall be amended by adding the following new subsection to the list of defined misconduct:
"(N) Working a secondary job part-time, paid on call, volunteer or otherwise as a firefighter, emergency medical services worker, public safety or law enforcement officer, or as a worker in a related service, whether in the public or private sector, where such job is within the work jurisdiction of any affiliate or which materially erodes the conditions of work of any affiliate. Upon a finding of guilt of working a secondary job in violation of this subsection, it is recommended that the penalty include disqualification from holding office in any affiliate and/or expulsion from membership for the period that the misconduct persists. Charges filed for the misconduct described in this subsection shall be preferred by a member of the charged party's local and/or a member of an adversely affected affiliate." and be it further
RESOLVED, That the IAFF shall create and maintain a database to track the experience of secondary employment among our affiliates, including the prevalence and type of such employment, the filing of charges related to such employment, and the outcome of trial boards and appeals deciding those charges; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the IAFF shall create and distribute educational materials to IAFF affiliates regarding the constitutional prohibition on secondary employment, including the basis for this prohibition, and the experience of our affiliates in dealing with this issue.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rat Pack on
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I think this resolution is necessary right now, more than ever. In the area where I work, Southeastern CT, my department is the largest in the area. Everytime we try to do more or force an issue about a problem, the response from the city is, you have guys who do it for free on their days off so what are you complaining about. And they are right! In my opinion, many of the people who engage in this activity (and I did when I was younger) do it just because it is their chance to run the show. The part about helping out their community, you don't hear about anymore. These folks are making it very difficult for us to improve the service in our department. Example: We have 2 BLS ambulances, over 180 times per year, an out of town volunteer ambulance service run by the FD comes in to our city because we are in need of another ambulance. Many times, this service has to wait to get a "full crew" and causes a huge delay in responding to the scene. The town that provides the mutual aid is fully capable of hiring more people but they have large numbers of volunteers (some union members from other depts) who come out to meetings and complain when there is talk about hiring. They have the money and the call volume to justify hiring but they are afraid of career people taking over. Many union members are aiding this situation by volunteering in this town, even though they also just went IAFF. Maybe this resolution will help in this situation. My city needs to put a third ambulance in service but it is difficult to justify when this out of town agency is coming in all of the time, and really not complaining about it. Where I live, there are 7 career people on duty during the daytime only. I recently called the FD because my CO alarm was activated. When the FD arrived, one guy was on the engine because it was "banquet night". Well thank god my house wasn't on fire with people trapped. This kind of service is an absolute joke. Oh, and I left out that the batteries were dead on the meter and a police officer had to bring new batteries. This business (fire and EMS service) needs to become a profession and not a hobby. It is becoming more and more common in my area when the local FD who runs the ambulance cannot even get 2 EMT's to respond to a routine EMS call. The thought that 20 volunteers are going to show up and take the 7 apparatus that they have and man them accordingly, is a farse. It is disturbing to think some of our members would take part in this kind of activity. How can you be a professional one day, and belong to a 3 ring circus the next day. We have even had members who picketed for minimum staffing of 18 per shift were I work. Then these guys turn around and work in a firehouse by themselves the next day when they are off duty from their full time union job. This nonsense needs to stop, not because I am anti-volunteer, because I believe our cities, towns, and departments owe it to our communities to do better in the way of public safety. PUBLIC SAFETY, not personal agendas, or "that's the way we have always done it", "I don't want to give up my white helmet", you know the excuses. This resolution should be enforced for the better of our members, but more importantly for the better of the community. The community deserves and expects a coordinated and professional response from the fire department. Sorry, I got off the subject a bit, but this issue is one that is very personal too me and I have seen both sides of the coin.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on
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I pay my Union dues every paycheck. I will do what I want on my days off. If it were not for Union firefighters, most of the vollie or part time departments in the country would collapse. They would also not benefit from our training that we get and depend on.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Downing on
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I agree that we should not be working other fire, ems, or police jobs, but about 75% of my local does. Including me. Some of my brothers are making $20,000 or more at these other jobs. That's a big chunk of income to drop and still survive. I have cut back but still can't afford to drop my other job completely.
Recently one of the guys, who is out on worker's comp, had done some light duty work at another fire department. He stopped when we asked him but now the city is looking at implementing light duty for us, currently we have none. We understand he was just trying to put food on the table but because of it we will most likely have a change in our working conditions. So I think we all should look at finding unrelated second jobs if we need them.
To comment on a reply about other departments collapsing without us helping them out. That would force towns that are benefiting from us to create fulltime jobs, most likely union jobs. I believe this is a good resolution that we all should support. -
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Jason, it is nice to find somebody who is both realistic and honest. I also had the opportunity to work part-time at another FD but choose not to. The reason is integrity, and I would like to explain why. My FD has 18 firefighters on duty 24/7/365. Although, this is not always enough people on duty when it gets busy, we usually get by. Occasionally we request mutual aid which brings in the next town over which is 95% volunteer with career drivers. We have a few members who take a chance and work in this mutual aid town (and in other area towns) on a part-time basis. We are always fighting to keep our manpower levels at what they are. The city is constantly trying to cut us back to 16 members on duty. It is crazy for a member of our union to picket for 18 members on duty, while the very next day he works in a firehouse BY HIMSELF (part time job = same safety issues). I really believe we need to practice what we preach. I fully understand wanting to make extra cash and putting food on the table. I am actively looking for a well paying part-time job and am having difficulty finding something that I like to do that is at the same time flexable. All of these factors make this a troubling issue. People are going to do what they need to do to get by, I just wish they would look at the big picture and how their actions could affect our bargining power. It is hard to say you need one thing for your full time job, but then do the opposite on your days off. Once again, it is nice to hear from someone who is honest about this issue and it is an issue that won't go away anytime soon. Just for additional info, about 10% of our members are working as firefighters or EMT's on their off time. A great number of our members have recognized the position our union officers are in when they are across the table from the city and the trouble this type of activity causes.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Ward on
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Hi Walter,
Some of the history of this issue started in the Washington DC area, where every jurisdiction has an IAFF local as well as a long tradition of two-hatting.
This article describes some of the unique dynamics with 20 to 30 year old career firefighters who acted like tin-horned tyrants as volunteer chiefs.
It is a personal choice, but I remain surprised at those who hold a leadership position in an IAFF local AND are a leader/decision-maker in their VFD where there is another IAFF local. This guy was the founding president of his IAFF local, is a president/senior operational officer at his VFD (that is served by another IAFF local). The article describes how he is allowing a lower level of qualified supervision at his volunteer department ... something he would not tolerate at his career work location. When do you have too many hats?
My interpretation is that IAFF members should not be volunteering or part-timing where there is another IAFF local. Donating your time to the all-volunteer hometown VFD is not the same issue, although there remain significant issues in terms of worker compensation, cancer/injury presumption and disability coverage.
Mike -
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Here is a link to the letter sent November 4 from IAFF to IAFC in response to the IAFC position on secondary employment: http://www.iaff.org/08News/PDF/IAFCLetter.pdf
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