HB 5233 AAC Workers' Compensation for Fire Fighters passed the Senateon CONSENT 10 minutes before the 2012 Session of the General Assembly gaveled closed. The Post Traumatic Stress Disease bill received overwhelming support from both the House and the Senate. The House vote was 148-3 while the Senate passed the bill without objection. The impressive vote totals were in spite of significant opposition to the bill from several different organizations. Much credit goes to those members who called their Legislators and Legislative Leaders prior to the vote to encourage support for the bill.
In addition, the last bill to pass the House of Representatives this year was the Bonding Package Bill. It provides for 28.2 million dollars in bonding money for the states regional fire schools.
Bills that would have adversely affected Binding Arbitration were defeated as was a bill that would have dramatically increased employee contributions to the MERS pension plan.
The Officers & Members of the Danbury Professional Fire Fighters, Local 801, IAFF Congratulates Fire Fighter Kevin Lunnie as the 2012 Fire Fighter of the Year for the Rotary Sunrise Club of Danbury.
Fire Fighter Lunnie will be recognized by the Rotary on Thursday, May 10th at the Amber Room starting at 6:30 p.m.
2012 New England Walk for Burn Awareness
March 21, 2012 – Join burn survivors, supporters and fire fighters from across New England on Saturday, May 19, 2012, for the 3rd Annual New England Walk for Burn Awareness. The walk, to be held at Castle Island in South Boston, is a fundraising event to help support burn-injury victims. Read More...
As municipal budgets are still being slashed, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program has become a life line for IAFF locals to retain adequate staffing levels.
Some politicians don’t see it that way.
Take for instance Danbury, Connecticut Mayor Mark Boughton, a “rising star” in Republican circles in the state and is viewed as a potential gubernatorial candidate in 2014.
The mayor recently rejected a $2.1 million SAFER grant because the “legacy” costs under the fire department’s old contract would be too expensive, he says.
Danbury fire fighters say this is a bunch of baloney. They say the mayor is trying to get back at them for not ratifying a new contract.
Danbury Professional Fire Fighters Local 801 president Lou DeMici says the issues are separate.
SAFER grants put 3,000 fire fighters to work last year. President Obama recently announced $320 million in federal funding for the SAFER program that would give preference to communities recruiting and hiring post 9/11 veterans.
In Danbury, 14 fire fighters could have been hired under the grant.
IAFF Scores Huge Congressional Victory
December 17, 2011 – In one of its final actions in 2011, Congress has passed an Omnibus Appropriations Bill that makes more than $742 million in Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants available to struggling communities and extends the “SAFER waivers” for Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012. Read More...
December 7, 2011–Danbury’s Fire Chief announced that he is taking one of the City’s most used fire engines out of service daily between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and using a SUV in its place. This decision has Danbury Professional Fire Fighters concerned that public safety is at unnecessary risk. Read More...
NIST and USFA Issue Report on SCBA Facepiece Lenses and Thermal Degradation
November 30, 2011 -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), with funding from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), has released its final report on a study conducted to determine at what temperatures and conditions self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) facepiece lenses melt or degrade. Read More...
New Public Sector Employees Overwhelmingly Select Pensions Over Individual Retirement Accounts; Pension Cost Efficiencies Cited as Key Advantage - View
Cops, firefighters turn on GOP in labor fight
“These are down-the-line conservatives. They fully supported Bush in the Iraq war, in the war against terrorism, and on all the gut issues they were there,” King said. “Some of the guys I talked to said, ‘We stood with Bush on Queens Boulevard. Now, the Republicans have turned on us. Read More...
Coffee for a Cause
The IAFF has partnered with City Brew Coffee Company to market and sell Firehouse Blend Coffee to support the IAFF Burn Foundation. Read More...
IAFF Fighting Back Campaign Goes On the Offensive
The IAFF continues to challenge the relentless political attacks on fire fighters and paramedics. This week, the IAFF expanded its Fighting Back campaign with newspaper and television advertising in Ohio and Florida to defend its members’ jobs and right to bargain with their employers. Read More...
