The 50th Biennial IAFF Convention is in full swing this week in San Diego California. Representing IAFF local 244 we have General President Diego Arencon, General Secretary Brian Kadle, Sergeant at Arms Richard Sanchez, County Chapter Chief Steward Robert Sanchez, and County Chapter Steward Keith Clark. We are all going to the sessions and participating in the meetings at hand, but no one is working as hard a Richard is, he’s participating in the Convention as an International Sergeant at Arms. He’s up at 6:00 am and at work by 7:00 getting everything ready and working all day to help make sure everything runs smoothly.
The rest of us have to be at the tables by 8:30ish to begin going over the issues at hand and voting on Resolutions that will impact the International, our Local, and the Locals around the country.
So far, by the end of Tuesday August 24, 2010 we have proposed, discussed and voted on approximately 22 Resolutions presented to the Delegates. So far only one resolution has been completely rejected, two Resolutions have been sent back to Committee, and 19 Resolutions have been passed. Most of these resolutions are Action resolutions and don’t carry any cost back to us the union member. However, some of the actions taken do require an expense that is passed on to us at the local and State levels. At this time, of the 19 Resolutions that have been dealt with, 6 of them carry an expense that is passed on to the locals. These Resolutions have had a lot of debate across the floor and many Delegates spoke in favor and against them. As an end result, the majority has voted to pass 5 of the 6 Resolutions that will increase our monthly Per Capita dues to the International (our monthly dues to the international) which will in result, be passed down to us.
Two of these resolutions weigh in with a heavier price tag than the others. Resolution 1 was presented which provides a basic “Cost of Living” increase to the Per Capita dues. As stated by the resolution, at the 40th Biennial Convention in St Louis it was established that the measuring period for a Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase would be from April 1 through March 31, as issued by the Department of Labor. The CPI for April 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010 was 3.0 percent (3.0%). With that it was resolved that the new total per capita tax at the conclusion of the 2010 Convention be increased by thirty-three cents ($0.33) beginning September 1, 2010. Additionally, beginning September 1, 2011 the cost will be adjusted by the 2010/2011 CPI, but not to exceed 3.5 percent (3.5%).
As stated above, this resolution met some staunch opponents. Many Departments across the country are faced with reduction in force, Lay-offs, stations closing and pay cuts. However, there were enough people that felt that this was a very important subject and essential in keeping our International functioning at the capacity it needs to. The resolution passed.
The next Resolution that has brought us the second largest increase was Resolution 36. Largely, this resolution was regarding FIREPAC Education Funds. With this resolution it would increase the portion of each Per Capita dues from $1.25 to $1.50 which is used for FIREPAC education. Currently $1.25 is allocated for this but it will require a $0.25 increase to the Per Capita. The purpose of this resolution, in part, is to increase the amount of money we direct or spend EDUCATING our own people on the Value and Use of FIREPAC as well as getting our leadership and membership training from the International on how to use Political Action as a tool to benefit us.
Resolution #24 has was proposed to provide access to pension experts and continue to provide web-based pension specific resources to combat local attacks, and also establish a comparable database using the pension data collected in 2009-2010 to allow comparisons between pension plans similar to the comparisons that are currently prepared with wages. As it stood, 12 cents ($.12) from the current Per Capita dues were going toward this. This is our next largest increase and the resolution called for an additional eight cents ($.08) to be added so that the entire contribution to this cause totals twenty cents ($.20).
The only other two resolutions to this date that have incurred an increase in Per Capita were Resolutions 26 with an increase of two cents ($.02) and Resolution 18 with an increase of one half (½) of one cent. Resolution 26 deals with supporting the Internationals GIS system and making improvements in part giving locals the ability to have real time statistics with regards to response times and coverage areas. Resolution 18 established funding for a Canadian Scholarship program which mirrors a program already established here in the United States. These scholarships are designed for members. They are UNION Leader Development Scholarships as opposed to scholarships, more of a continuing education type of program as opposed to a post High School type scholarship.
As it stands, the International Delegates have approved a total of $0.685 ($0.69) in increases to the Per Capita dues in order to further the work of the International in supporting all of us. What this means to us is that our dues will increase to cover that increase at the tune of $0.31 per pay check which will start on September 1, 2010.
The sessions today and tomorrow will be packed with more resolutions, I believe there are 30 left to sort through.
