President's Blog
April 03, 2008
Bargaining Team ballots will be mailed next week. Make sure your home address is up to date with AFD.
March 23, 2008 Happy Easter! Application process rumors-
There has been a rumor circulating that an applicant was give a copy of the entrance exam, along with an answer key. I have confirmed with Chief Adame and FS Johns from recruiting that this did not and could not have happened. AFD has not received the exam yet. The African American Fire Fighters Association has been mentoring applicants and have printed the study material that are available online for distribution to applicants. This is likely where the rumor got started. If you have any questions about the application process or mentoring efforts please contact myself or your VP.
March 17, 2008 Grievance filed- 12 MET policy-
We have filed a grievance in response to the new 12 met policy that was issued on January 10th. The step 1 meeting is scheduled for March 25th. We will keep you updated throughout the process.
March 04, 2008 Captains' Exam question protest process-
I have asked our attorney about the Civil Service Office's ability to change the answer outside of the normal protest procedure. He says that if it was clearly a mistake that was an obvious "clerical" errror - they could change the answer. However, this doesn't seem to be the case. I know that question #89 is being protested so I wanted to remind everyone of the protest procedure currently in place. In accordance with Article 16, Subsection 2.E.1
"An Employee Review Committee will be appointed to screen described in Article 16, Subsection 2.B.5, to determine if any appeals should be rejected because they do not meet the criteria."
Those criteria are:
(a) there is more than one correct answer, (b) there are no correct answers, (c) the question is not clearly stated or there is an error so that the correct answer could not be determined, (d) the question is not from the listed source material.
The Association will be submitting names for both the Appeals Critera Committee and the Captains ERC today.
February 28, 2008 - Irregularities with the Captains' Exam
I am aware of the problems with the test. I have discussed the situation with Chief Adame and Chief Evans and I am contacting our attorney to discuss what happened.
February 08, 2008 Grievance on new 12 MET requirement
I have notified the Chief of our intent to file a grievance on the new 12 MET requirement. We have agreed to extend the timeline for filing to give us time to work together on a satisfactory compromise on the situation.
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January 02, 2008- Happy New Year
I hope that everyone had a great Christmas with their friends and family. We are starting the new year off with a lot of activity. As many of you know the Lieutenant's test was postponed by the civil service commission. We will have upated information next Tuesday the 8th. A response from the grievance that was filed is due on the 7th. If you plan on taking the Lieutenant's test I encourage you to attend this meeting.
We will also open nominations for the Bargaining Team through the end of the month and will hold the election in early February. Details to come later today.
11/09 Task Force Staffing (Quint) Update
The new task force staffing resolution was passed by the City Council on November 2nd. We expect the new staffing plan to go into affect the second pay period in 2008. I will have more details after tomorrow's Joint Labor/Management meeting.
10/27 Task Force Staffing Update
A new task for staffing resolution is on the agenda for the November 1st City Council meeting.
| 38 . | Approve a resolution adopting Austin Fire Department Four Person Staffing as the minimum staffing requirement of the Austin Fire Department and directing the City Manager to implement a minimum staffing policy for the Austin Fire Department in January 2008. (Council Member Mike Martinez Mayor Pro Tem Betty Dunkerley Council Member Lee Leffingwell) |
Click here to read the memo from ACM McDonald http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council_meetings/wams_item_attach.cfm?recordID=7643
and see the proposed new resolution here http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council_meetings/wams_item_attach.cfm?recordID=7665
10/17 Cadet COG Testing The Cadet Review Committee met on October 11th to address the situation of three cadets failing their initial COG exam. Local 975 Secretary Palmer Buck attended as the Association Representative (a non-voting observer) along with Assistant Chiefs Evans, Blackmore, Soliz, and Keyes. Members of the training staff provided information on the situation.
The overall COG process includes a test, retest, remedition and retest then review by the Medical Director. This is all covered in the COGs and the contract does have a provision(Section 17, Article 10, paragraph B) that states that AFD's testing process cannot supersede TCFP standards, TSDHS standards and OMD standards. The interpetation made at the review was that the test, re-test, etc. of COG all count as part of the "OMD Test".
10/15 Dixon, et al v. City of Austin
Our attorney, Craig Deats, has received a settlement offer from the City to settle our lawsuit concerning the how promotions were handled subsequent to the indefinite suspension of FS Lujan. We expect that this case will be settled in the next week or two.
Quint Staffing
The Chief, the AC's, BC's and DC's are all meeting today and will discuss the quint staffing plan and how it will be implemented. I'm will update the Quint staffing story (also here on the front page) with the latest memo from ACM McDonald as soon as I can. The issue is on the agenda for the next Public Safety Task Force meeting, which will be next Tueday, October 9th from 2:30 - 5:30 @ city hall. It will also be televised on Ch. 6.
Grocery Store
I have asked Chief Adame to reconsider the policy of not allowing us to go to the grocery store. Hopefully this decision will be reversed at the BC workday this Friday.
Labor Day
I hope all of you have a good Labor Day, a day dedicated to the achievements of the American worker. The fire service is a great example whereby labor has had a tremendous impact on the social and economic wellbeing of American citizens.
everal representatives of Local 975 will be presenting checks to MDA on the local broadcast of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. I hope you will watch if you’re not able to be there.
George Vanderhule of the APA and I are featured in the editorial of today’s Statesman. Check it out -
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/09/03/0903unions_edit.html
July 10th, 2007
- Read the article below for the latest on the Quint staffing plan.
- Montly meeting today.
- Station Steward lunches Wed-Fri @ Trudy's- 409 W. 30th
- new look for the website coming soon
I asked Chief Adame to reconsider the policy of not allowing companies to go to the store in their apparatus. He agreed to look into it. In the mean time he has said that sending a firefighter in their POV to the store is not appropriate and will not be allowed.
Many of you have contacted your VP and/or myself regarding AFD's new practice of placing a unit out of service in the station and traveling the crew (or part of the crew) to backfill at other stations. In at least one instance, this has resulted in AFD having 1 or 2 fewer firefighters on duty than required staffing calls for. Command Staff committed yesterday that falling below required staffing would not happen again. However, they do plan to continue to use this as a cost containment strategy. Look for an explanation from the Chief soon on why they are employing this method of traveling and resource allocation.
June 13, If you have been accessing our site from the FIRENET, you have probably noticed that the information is (was) outdated. The city server was not updated and had a "cached" version of this site that is a week old. That was been fixed once, but it reverted back today and was just fixed again a few minutes ago (0930) So... the bottom line is the information may not be up to date from the city computers.
Yesterday's union meeting was well attended and we had a lengthy discussion over the motions that were submitted. Ultimately the first motion was amended to direct Local 975 to identify a pool of lawyers to assist in various situations. This motion was passed and I have tasked the Grievance Committee with identifying this group.
The second motion failed. The motion to reduce the VP's salaries by $50/month for the rest of 2007 to fund a retroactive raise for Barbara passed.
June 8th- The 3 hour rule will be returning to the way it was previously utilized- only for unforeseen circumstances. I'd like to thank Chief Adame for reconsidering his position on this.
June 6- no answers so far...
June 5, here are some of the questions I have submitted to the Chief regarding the "cost containment strategies".
Your memorandum dated May 25, 2007 indicates that you plan to allow engine companies to run with three personnel for up to three hours as a response to overtime spending. Additionally staffing will be reduced to three at shift change.
Local 975 has concerns with this business practice and change of policy being one of the first strategies utilized for cost containment. Considering the fact that over 100 reasons for overtime have been identified, we would hope that reduced staffing would be a “last resort”.
What are the anticipated savings from the “3-hour rule” implementation? What are the anticipated savings from “shift change” overtime?
Thank you in advance for your attention in this matter,
Stephen Truesdell, President
Austin Firefighters Association (sent May 29)
Chief Adame,
Considering strategies impacting staffing will be contrary to the intent of the Task Force Staffing resolution, how will this impact the proposed new staffing model for Quints? (sent May 30)
May 30th- AFD "cost containment strategies". The possibilty of cutting staffing due to overtime is a drastic measure. I hope that the Fire Chief will be able to find other ways to save money without taking firefighter off of fire trucks. The executive board of Local 975 is prepared to offer assitance to come up with other solutions to contain costs.
Investigation of the incident at station 25- The lead investigator has indicated that she has interview every AFD member that she plans to as part of this investigation. She also said that she would have her final report finished and delivered to Chief Adame soon. The chief will then determine what, if any, action to take based on the report. The deadline for all of this to be complete is June 18.
Discounted Fiesta Texas tickets are on the way. We'll have them at the Union Hall next week. We'll post again when we have them in.
May 15, 2007- As you can see, I'm going to try a "Blog" instead of a weekly report. I think that smaller, more frequent updates will be more helpful.
I hope to see all of you tonight at the retirement BBQ. I only went to one for the first time about four years ago. I remember regretting that I hadn't come to one sooner! If you are barely off probation, or about to retire yourself, you'll have a good time. Come and enjoy some great barbecue, cold beer, and the company of a lot of interesting characters.
Station 25 incident- The lead investigator for APD has indicated that she plans to have her final report prepared for Chief Adame soon.
Medical Response Vehicle (aka Special Quint Utility Assistance Device) Committee will meet again this Friday at 0900 at the Union Hall. If you would like to weigh in on this issue, please plan on attending or contact Lynn Eichler (E23C or 922-0678)
Do you have your fishing team ready? The 14th Annual Fishing Break is June 29th and 30th in Port Aransas. You can fish from a boat or from shore, or you can skip the fishing altogether and just come for the fun in the sun!
If you are part of the Education/ Certification lawsuit, you can expect to see a survey soon. This is part of the information gathering that the city has asked for from our attorney, Craig Deats. Please get this survey completed and turned in as quick as you can once you receive them.
May 8, 2007
Regular monthly meeting today- 1 pm @ the union hall.
Collective Bargaining under attack in Texas (your help is needed in Pharr on the 12th)
Station 25 investigation, medical response vehicle committee, Central’s firefighters featured on KLRU’s “Downtown” episode this Thursday @ 8pm, $5 Disney on Ice tickets, and more (click "read more" to see it all)
Firefighters from around the state will be travelling to Pharr on election day, May 12th, to campaign against the repeal of collective bargaining. If you would be willing to help, please contact the union office. The mayor of Pharr has been working hard to get rid of collective bargaining for firefighters and police officers in his town. This would set a very bad precedent,and would encourage other cities to follow suit. Matt Garcia of Local 4213 says "..I also believe that this will start a chain reaction just when like the KILLER BEES came in across our borders it started here in the South and spread up North.... " The mayor, Polo Palacios, is passing out flyers that show inflated salaries for cops and firefighters. He is trying to represent the cost of benefits as part of their take home pay. He also suggests that firefighters and cops should go find other jobs if they are concerned about having a dangerous occupation.
There isn't much to report in the Station 25 investigation, other than that it may wrap up soon. The 180 day timeframe for the investigation to be complete ends on June 18th, however the lead investigator has told me that she plans to conclude her work in the next week or two. If you have questions about this issue contact me and I will be glad to try to answer your questions and address your concerns.
Proposed medical response vehicles- First of all, I want to make sure that everyone understands that these trucks are not part of the proposal to change the way the Quints are staffed. This is a separate issue altogether. With that said, I can tell you that the Chief has asked for Local 975's position on this initiative so that he can share that with the city manager. I have asked Lynn Eichler to chair a committee to consider the impact of this proposal. His committee will have it's first meeting tomorrow at 0900 at the union hall. Contact Lynn (23-C) if you would like to serve on this committee, or just come by and sit in on the meeting.
Tune in to KLRU on Thursday, May 10 at 8:00pm for this week's episode of DOWNTOWN. " The Heroes of Downtown’s Fire Station #1 do it all – Fight fires, perform high-rise rescues, and even do swift water rescues in Town Lake and Waller Creek. How DO they still have time to pose for calendars and perfect their cooking skills? Meet these multi-talented men and women at work. "
We have 100 vouchers for discounted tickets for "Disney on Ice" These vouchers will let you buy your tickets for only $5 during the week and $10 on the weekend. Tickets are regularly $12-24. Shows are this Thursday through Sunday. contact the office at 441-7572 if you are interested.
The 3rd Annual "Night Out at the Dell Diamond" sponsored by AXA is coming soon. Mark your calendars for June 24th, if you'd like to go. More informationi will be posted on the website later today.
