Newly released data about state and local government pensions sharply contradict statements by politicians who are attacking fire fighters and paramedics with scurrilous statements about pension funding, the International Association of Fire Fighters said today. A fact sheet and issue brief released jointly Feb. 1 by 10 nonpartisan national, state and local government organizations pointed to the solvency of the overwhelming majority of pension funds, which have more than $2.7 trillion in assets held in trust for current and future retirees. "These funds are sufficient to continue paying promised benefits well into the future," the groups stated.

Retirement systems also remain a small portion of state and local government budgets, amounting to about 3 percent, according to the fact sheet, released by the National Conference of State Legislatures, National Association of Counties, United States Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, International City/County Management Association, National Association of State Auditors Comptrollers & Treasurers, Government Finance Officers Association, International Personnel Management Association for Human Resources, National Council on Teacher Retirement and National Association of State Retirement Administrators.

"Fire fighters and paramedics contribute the vast majority of the funds for their pensions, with an assist from a healthy market over the years that has protected our investments," said IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. "The market went in the tank in 2007, soaking all kinds of investments, but most pension funds remain very healthy today. "A few funds are in trouble because states like New Jersey and Illinois have not been making their required contributions and have used that money to fund other programs or balance their budgets," Schaitberger said. Despite these unfunded liabilities, most state and local pensions are well funded – including in Florida and New York, where politicians have threatened to slash pension benefits. New York's pensions are more than 100 percent funded, even as Gov. Anthony Cuomo is pledging cuts.

Key facts about pensions cited by the 10 governmental organizations include:
• State and local governments are already taking steps to secure their pensions for the long term;
• Pension dollars help the economy of every jurisdiction;
• Long-term investment returns of public funds continue to exceed expectations;
• State and local government retirement systems do not require, nor are they seeking, federal financial assistance.

Schaitberger said fire fighters and paramedics are being victimized not only by deceitful politicians, but also by Wall Street opportunists who are lobbying to force fire fighters into retirement plans that will cost workers more in fees and other costs, driving up profits for Wall Street. "The Wall Street speculators created the worst recession since 1929 and now they and their political allies are looking to take advantage of the situation to shake down worker pension funds."

"Fire fighters are out there in their communities, risking their lives and improving the quality of life for their neighbors," Schaitberger said. "We do not deserve to be attacked by politicians looking for a convenient scapegoat for their fiscal problems. Fire fighters are part of the solution, not part of the problem."

For additional information, the public pension fact sheet is available at: http://www.nasra.org/resources/PublicPensionFactSheet110125.pdf

The issue brief is at http://nasra.org/resources/ERContributions.pdf

AFD Members:

Just a reminder that the last paycheck dated 1/17/2013 for pay period ending on 1/11/13, included payroll deductions for the Benevolent Fund and TV Fund. These deductions are in accordance with our Bylaws, Article IV: Fees, Dues & Assessments and are deducted twice per year in January and July. If you have any questions please contact a union representative.

BCFD Members:

The Benevolent Fund should be deducted on your next paycheck; for the pay period ending on 1/25/2013 and also in July.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a federal statute signed into law by President Obama in March 2010.  The law is widely viewed as the most historic overhaul of the U.S. health care system since the inception of Medicare and Medicaid. While the law’s primary goal is to increase the number of insured Americans, there are other provisions within the law that also have implications for IAFF members. 

In order to help IAFF members better understand the law the IAFF has developed a What You Need to Know About the Affordable Care Act online resource of information, including an overview of the Affordable Care Act, answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), an educational video about the ACA, strategies on negotiating health care and links to both government and industry sources such Healthcare.gov, the AFL-CIO and the Kaiser Family Foundation..

 

 

January 14, 2013 -- While the agreement to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and delay across-the-board spending cuts avoided the January 1 deadline known as the “fiscal cliff,” the package also resolves one of the IAFF’s longest-standing tax issues. Additionally, several proposals that would have placed a huge financial burden on the nation’s professional fire fighters were dropped from the package.

Most significantly, the fiscal cliff agreement permanently fixes the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which had the potential to dramatically increase taxes on middle-income wage earners, especially those who live in high-tax states and have dependents. The AMT was first created as a way to ensure that the wealthiest taxpayers were not able to use loopholes to avoid paying any federal income tax, but because the income levels were not indexed to inflation, it eventually impacted middle-class families as well. For the past several years, Congress has enacted a temporary “patch” to prevent the AMT from harming the middle-class, but each year it became more difficult to find the money to pay for these stop-gap measures. The fiscal cliff agreement resolves this dilemma permanently by amending the underlying AMT law.

Other proposals that would have harmed fire fighters were also in the mix during negotiations, but the IAFF succeeded in keeping them out of the agreement. Proposals to tax health and pension benefits, increase the pension contribution for federal fire fighters and require all fire fighters to pay Social Security payroll taxes were all shelved as Congress scaled back the size of the year-end package. These victories could be short-lived, however, as Congress will once again try to reach agreement on a far-reaching deficit reduction plan in the coming months. Congress is facing several important deadlines this spring, including the across-the-board spending cuts known as the “sequester,” the expiration of a stop-gap continuing resolution that is funding most government agencies, and – most important of all – the need to raise the debt ceiling to prevent the government from defaulting. Each of these deadlines will provide an opportunity for further deficit reduction.

After four years of layoffs, pay freezes and benefit reductions, the nation’s professional fire fighters have already contributed their fair share toward addressing the nation’s fiscal problems. The IAFF will be working to ensure that further deficit reduction does not unduly penalize those who have already made sacrifices.

The IAFF Local 244 Executive Board is accepting letters of interest for the position of City Chapter Fifth Steward for the next 14 calendar days. The Executive Board will appoint a member to serve on January 17, 2013 for the remainder of the term in accordance with the IAFF Local 244 Constitution & Bylaws, Article VI, Section 4. This vacancy resulted from Brother Kerry Horton’s retirement. Brother Horton will continue to serve our members in an advisory capacity as well as a representative during the legislative session. Congratulations and thank you for your leadership Kerry!

Another year has passed and our union is still standing strong after 92 years of representing its members and their families.

This past year brought with it many trials, not only for this Union but also for many of our fellow brothers and sisters here at home and abroad; but our ability to unite and rally around one another during the hard times only goes to show the insurmountable strength of this union and its membership. In this New Year our strength in unity will be most important with the challenges which lie ahead of us. The 51st New Mexico Legislature is quickly approaching with important issues on the table related to our hard earned retirement among other work conditions.

In March of this year an election will be held due to the success of a recent ballot initiative supported by all unions’ in the City of Albuquerque. The outcome of this particular election will determine whether the City Charter will be amended to increase the Mayoral and City Council percentage threshold for election to office from forty-percent of the vote to fifty-percent. On that note, let us not forget that this year is an election year which will include the City of Albuquerque Mayoral race. We invite all members to get involved and help support our Union and the Officers who have elected to represent you! Our next General Meeting will be Thursday, January 10, 2013 @ 10:00am.

 

 

Attention Members:
The Union Office will be closed from Monday December 24, 2012-Friday December 28, 2012. If you have an urgent issue that must be addressed, you may contact Treasurer-John Roumpf, at 505-288-2315.
Have a Safe & Happy Holiday!!

Thank you to all the members who attended the Annual IAFF Local 244 Christmas Party on the 14^th of December; this year was a great success with just under three hundred guests in attendance to honor the IAFF Local 244 Executive Board selections for the 2012 Outstanding Leadership and Firefighter of the Year Awards. Special thanks to President, Sam Trujillo and the AFD Retirees’ Association for providing safe rides home.

Bryan Pacheco received the Outstanding Leadership Award for his commitment and dedication towards helping a fellow union brother in his time of great need. Brother Pacheco tirelessly worked to successfully reach a fundraising goal in sending Brother Gil Pohl and his children to Disneyland. He also raised awareness about our Firefighter Survivors Fund among our membership and the community.

 

Kerry Horton received the City Chapter Firefighter of the Year Award based on his model leadership skills, as both a Commander and Executive Board member; serving on multiple committees and the negotiating team. Brother Horton willingly takes on challenges and has worked diligently to serve his fellow union members and their families.

 

Tim O’Brien received the County Chapter Firefighter of the Year Award for being an invaluable asset to negotiations with his hard work and dedication on the budgetary guidelines committee. Brother O’Brien volunteered a great amount of time compiling data, researching all funding sources and meeting with elected officials.

 

Happy Holidays!

Dear Members,

 

Words cannot adequately express the depth of my gratitude for everything the IAFF members and retirees, various fire departments throughout the state, elected officials, and citizens of Albuquerque have done for my family in honor of my son Nikolas Ventura-Arencón. Without this abundant love and support, my wife and I would not be able to stand strong for our surviving children Santino, Loliana, and Diego.

 

We will never forget the care and respect shown by so many IAFF families, and we remain steadfast in support of our union’s mission concerning the obligation of taking care of one another and, most importantly, our loved ones.

 

Nikolas’ death came the day before the Thanksgiving holiday. This is a time of year when we are reminded to be grateful. I, like so many others, have a new perspective on life, as it relates to appreciating family and the time spent with our children. I realize now how much is often taken for granted.

 

At 14 years of age Nikolas was “one of us”, and he died protecting his girlfriend Divine who, thankfully, survived the fatal accident. His life touched the hundreds of people who were in attendance at the honorable funeral mass led by Father John Carney, and his example will burn in our hearts forever.  

 

Fraternally,   

 

Diego Arencón, President

IAFF Local 244

The Polls are now closed and the votes have been tallied.  We would like to thank everyone who came out and participated in either early voting or voting today.

The Positions that were up for election and have been filled are the following:

General Treasurer -- John Roumpf

County Vice President -- Robert Sanchez

County 2nd Steward -- Steve Lopez

County 4th Steward (1 yr term) -- Derek Spurlock

County Trustee 1 -- Virgil Romero

County Trustee 2 -- Gary Smith

City Vice President -- Ahren Griego

City 2nd Steward -- Justin Staley

City 4th Steward -- Jason Fejer

City Trustee 1 -- Jed Hyland

City Trustee 2 -- Adam Watts

We would like to thank those who were running in the election and hope to see you out again next year.  More positions will be available next December, please remember that General Officers, Chapter Vice Presidents, and Chief Stewards need to attend 5 General Meetings to be eligible to run for office.  All other positions need to attend 3 General Meetings to be eligible to run for office.