Winter 2013 - Burlington Professional Firefighters Association, IAFF

 Quarterly Spring 2014 LOCAL 1 552 Check out Br. Tim Catterall’s Youtube video @ Contents http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hof37Q_
gnM Pg. 1 Coming & Going OMERs Pg. 2 Worker protection Contact info. Arb. In Ontario Pg. 3 Benevolent Pg. 4 Benevolent WSIB report Pg. 5 Presumptive Legislation Pg. 6 Bargaining Health/Wellness Pg. 7 Defending our Pension Pg. 8 Gym equipment LODD CHANGE OF UNION MEETING TIME. In an effort to assist members in attending and keeping in mind that a balance must be met between shift workers and day workers a change to meeting times has been made on a trial basis. Next meeting will be held at the Legion at 9am, Tues. May 13th Coming and Going
Local 1552 congratulates Br. McNamara and Sis. Hubbard on
their recent retirements. Thank you for your years of valued
service to this Local and the citizens of Burlington. Upcoming
retirements include Brs. Twiss (party May 29) and Laing
(party May 5).
Br. Zammit leaves us for the London ON Local. We wish him
well and know he will be valued there as he was here.
New Members and Swearing in
Congratulations to Local 1552’s newest members Alexander
Zijlstra Brett Moss,Cory Armstrong-SmithEric Derochers Jarret
MacDonald Jonathan Robillard Joshua Hendriks Martin Sterenczak,
Kim Suptko, Scott Wells, Sean Henderson, Peggy Wright, and Kelly
Windebank.
They bring with them many years of experience in various fields and
will be valuable Union members and employees in their respective
divisions. They are reminded that all are welcome to attend
Association meetings.
The Executive board held an informal meeting with most of this
group prior to the February Union meeting in order to
welcome them on behalf of the membership.
OMERs representative Yaseem Karmali attended a special meeting in early March to outline
the current state of OMERs and answer any questions members may have. Approximately
48 Members, representing every seniority level and division, attended and by all accounts
questions were answered. Some of the main points that Yaseem stressed are; keeping
beneficiary information current and to sign up to ‘My OMERs’ to keep track of your
information. Also remember to look into ‘AVC’ accounts.
; Spring 2014 Local 1552 Newsletter Contacts Dan Vanderlelie, President 905 302 0038 [email protected] Kevin Ritchie, Vice-­‐President 905 380 2572 [email protected] Paul Cunningham, Secretary 905 979 0860 [email protected] Mike MacKay, Treasurer 905 334 6506 [email protected] Simon Smith, Trustee 905 973 6733 Trustee2@burlingtonfirefight
ers.org Chris Burville Trustee 905 638 0644 Worker Protection: In an era where employers and governments seek a more portable workforce with less entrenched rights and protections it is more important than ever to bolster our position. The Conservative party has m ade the sweeping statement that removal of the rand formula and creation of a ‘right to work’ province will create jobs and these new jobs will have higher pay. They never back this statement up with any evidence. The only evidence we have found is south of the border where ‘right to work’ states lose their industrial base and have higher incidence of poverty and unemployment. Protection against injury as well as respect for the worker and their family (and estate) continue to be at the forefront of labours fight in the area of Health & Safety. Recent Ontario court decisions have found employers liable for ever increasing fines where worker safety is compromised. Although Tory boss Hudak is no longer campaigning on the implementation of ‘right to work’ legislation we believe he will pursue it if elected. “No clauses in any provincial legislation, regulation or collective agreement should require a worker to become a member of a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment.” (Ontario Pc Leader tim Hudak) [email protected] Hudaks end-­‐game is to bankrupt unions by reducing m embership and increasing costs. Hard gained rights and privileges will then b egin to erode. Mike Armes, Benevolent committee chair Remember this in the lead-­‐up to an election and when the Political Action Committee needs our help. [email protected] Arbitration in Ontario: The OPFFA responded last November to the Minister of Labour’s call to work with AMO; the Police Association of Ontario; the OPP Association; and the Toronto Police Association to try and achieve consensus on changes to the interest arbitration system. I am writing today to inform you that the parties were unable to achieve consensus and thus this process has come to an end. The OPFFA m aintains that the existing arbitration system is a fair process designed to replicate the likely outcome of a freely-­‐negotiated settlement. While we are sensitive to the needs of our m unicipal employers, we also want to ensure that our members are fairly compensated for their professional qualifications and services. We also believe that AMO and the Official Opposition (the PC Party) are mischaracterizing the interest arbitration process for political gain. Mark McKinnon, Pres. OPFFA Paul Maunder Health & Safety 905 467 8527 [email protected] George Cassady Wellness Committee 9 05 630 7954 [email protected] Greg Grison, Topping Benevolent fund chair Follow us on Twitter @iaff1552 2 ; Spring 2014 Local 1552 Newsletter From Br. Gary MacDonald (Capt. Stn. 3, Pl. 4):
This is a bit of a hard letter to send. I realize with the forthcoming
retirement of my last two remaining Probie Class cohorts after 35
years service that my career is winding down and I need to find
someone willing to take over the responsibilities of managing the
Long Service Awards.
The database is about 80% complete dating back to the beginning of
the full-time department. I will show you how to maintain it and how
to fill out the application forms. The process is a lot less tedious than
it used to be and with most of the information already gathered, you
won’t be wading through a box of papers looking for the information.
Please let me know if you are interested in taking on this role.
On behalf of the members of Local 1552 we would like to thank Br. MacDonald for
his years of work tracking, submitting, and following-up on this important aspect of
members careers; provincial and federal medal eligibility. Br. MacDonald has had
to piece together a database as many Corporation records have been lost or
destroyed over the years. This will be of great value into the future.
Thanks again Gary.
Hello Everyone, My wife, Jolanda, and I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank every single person on the Burlington Fire Dept for your donations to assist m y father-­‐in-­‐law (Jose) and his family in the Philippines. I would especially like to thank the collaborate assistance of Fire Chief Bavota, Dan Vanderlelie and the executive of Local 1552 for allowing the envelope to circulate to all the stations. Thank you to all the Platoon Chiefs involved on the four platoons for going station to station collecting on our behalf. We raised $1421.00 and this amount of money will allow Jose’s family to rebuild a majority of their home. My wife and I were very humbled and amazed at the generosity of everyone. I sent $1000 last week to Jose which he has received. Not all the funds can be sent at one time as it is dangerous for Jose to walk around with large amount of m oney. The remainder of money collected will be sent at the end of December. We cannot say thank you enough to everyone! I will follow up with further updates in the future. Your generosity directly affected the rescue and resulted in the well-­‐being of a member's family in desperate need. Thank you! Mark & Jolanda Bohnert. 3 ; Spring 2014 Local 1552 Newsletter The Benevolent Committee: Brother Mike Armes (Chair) and Br. Mark Eales (Fire in the Kitchen dinners) are continuing the decades old tradition of our benevolent committee. When the public thinks of Firefighters they think of acts of kindness, benevolence, and selflessness. That is the tradition that these two – with all of our help – are going to follow and succeed in. Thank you to outgoing committee members Brs. Wheatley, Jones and Mellon. Previous benevolent committees provide the contacts and the foundation on which to build. The benevolent committee will be looking for members to assist in upcoming ‘Fire in the Kitchen’ Dinners and barbecues as well as other functions. Importance of Confidentiality: We have had questions recently about account balances being missed in the General meeting minutes. Treas. MacKay diligently maintains and reports on the balance at the General meeting, but in order to keep this information confidential it is not posted. However it is documented in the Executive board minutes (usually held earlier that day). The balances and books are always available by contacting the Treasurer. Much of what is said at a Union meeting is confidential. Many members have suggested that we Skype or record our union meetings for future viewing. The current board has always been against this as comments may be made that could negatively affect a member should they fall into the wrong hands. Potential problems with taping meetings arose when the Corporation attempted to use (unsuccessfully) a taped presentation given at an IAFF function in the US where comments that the Corporation thought may benefit their anti-­‐24s argument were made. Ultimately these comments were not damaging but it does show the very real downside. Report from H&S:
The committee recently attended the OPFFA conference. The main theme of this year’s
session was Internal Health. PTSD and FF's is a growing concern! Please keep an eye on
your crew mates and if you feel there are any signs of detrimental activity, please contact
any member of the H&S committee or Pres. Vanderlelie. All concerns will be confidential
and directed to our peer counselors if requested. The Minister of Labour spoke and
remarked that new cancers will be added to the presumptive legislation. It is not a matter of
"IF" but "WHEN" for firefighters to contract cancer. His and our goal is to decrease the
"WHEN". Cancer and firefighters is a very real and predominant concern. Please take all
the recommended precautions to take care of your own health.(CLEAN GEAR AND A
CLEAN TRUCK).
I would like to thank the executive board and especially Pres. Vanderlelie and Brother
Smith S for attending this years seminar. Their attendance re-enforces our on-going
commitment to recognize the importance of our H&S committee, going beyond the "green
book" and looking to improve our work environment.
Br. Paul Maunder
4 ; Local 1552 Newsletter Spring 2014 Expanding Presumptive Legislation: OUR PLAN
Dear Brothers and Sisters: The number one legislative priority of the Ontario Professional Fire
Fighters Association is to expand the coverage within our presumptive legislation. We are
seeking the inclusion of skin cancer, testicular cancer, breast cancer, primary site prostate
cancer, lung cancer and multiple myeloma.
Our primary obstacle in achieving success on this issue is the economy. While we focus on
increasing the numbers of cancers we deserve to be covered for, we are mindful not to lose
sight of achieving the appropriate retroactivity.
To assist us in achieving success on this legislative priority we are initiating a multi-faceted
campaign on the expansion of such cancers.
We will launch our initial efforts the week October 15th, 2012 and expand our efforts as we
draw closer to November 28th, 2012, our lobby day.
Our expanding presumptive legislation campaign will include, but not be limited to;
- Development of an advocates toolkit that will provide our locals and by extension our
membership with the necessary information and guidance to assist them.
- Communications with Cabinet Ministers and MPPs directly from our locals and their
members. Coordinated and facilitated between our office and your local.
- Provide a wider array of materials to help advocate why we deserve the expansion of
cancers, and include personal examples and stories.
-
Initiate a media campaign that will focus on raising awareness and educating the public on
the hazards of our profession and the devastating toll it can take on our members and
their families. A combination of earned and paid media as required. Sample letters to
the editor, Op Eds and wider distribution of our Intrepid magazine.
- Utilize social media to expand our reach.
- Engage professional media services in message development so that we are prepared to
speak authoritatively in proactive and reactive situations.
- At our 2012 Legislative Conference, we shall be advocating for one issue and one issue only,
that being the expansion of presumptive legislation.
As mentioned previously we will start to initiate aspects of this campaign the week of October
15th, 2012 with a focus leading up to November 28th, 2012.
Mark McKinnon, President OPFFA
What’s considered a Firefighter in the FPPA and the Collective Agreement?
When you look at our Collective agreement, Constitution and legislation as well as
statements made by the IAFF, OPFFA and the Executive board you often see the
generic term ‘Firefighter’. What is a Firefighter in this context? Every single Local
1552 member is considered a Firefighter including coverage for presumptive
diseases.
5 ; Spring 2014 Local 1552 Newsletter Upcoming May 1 3/14 Union Meeting Pl 1 D. 9AM START. May 2 6/14 ‘Fire service Credit Union Golf tournament’ Pl 4D June 10/14 Union Meeting Pl 3 N Legislative lobby week Apr. 27-­‐30 Ottawa ON. OPFFA Convention June 1-­‐4, Collingwood O N IAFF Convention July 14-­‐18, Cincinnati, OH. Bargaining:
President Vanderlelie and Secretary Cunningham
attended the Brantford Professional Firefighters/City of
Brantford Interest arbitration in early January. The sole
topic was to be the 24-hour shift pattern. This would be
the third time that the Dr. Lockley ʻroadshowʼ was to be
presented in the exact same format with many of the
same key players including arbitrator, lawyers,
advocates, and Association side expert witnesses. As
it turns out Dr. Lockley was unable to attend at the last
minute due to an expired passport. The parties agreed
in his absence to accept a portion of his testimony from
Ajax, which is identical to his presentation in
Burlington. Subsequently the parties have agreed to
actually sit down and discuss the issue. We are hoping
that this has a positive affect on our dispute.
Our arbitration board met in late March. We await an
award.
Health & Wellness
The Health and Wellness committee wanted to make our membership aware of a
service available to us. We have through our Employee and Family Assistance
Program, nutritional counseling. Attached is a short presentation of the service that
is available and the areas of concern they will assist you with. In speaking with a
contact from the City, she advised she tried it out and she was sent a cookbook,
as well as meal plans and grocery lists.
The EAFP contact info is:
1-800-387-4765
www.workhealthlife.com (Employees can chat with a counselor as well)
If you need any further information or
questions don’t hesitate to ask one of your
Health and Wellness committee members.
Thanks,
The Wellness Committee
Need IAFF decals or station
amenities? – Remember that
they must be ordered on-line. Go
to iaff1552.org and follow the
links. In order for our tracking
system to work properly this is
the only way to order.
6 Talking back to criticism about your pension -­‐ OMERS: OMERS members contribute 50/50 with employers to support their pension (this is generally not t rue in private sector pension plans and has not been true of the federal civil service pension plan). OMERS members bear a share of the risk, and contribute to their pension with every pay cheque. Over the past 20 years, 2/3 of the capital added to the plan has been through investment returns; only 1/3 was through shared employee/employer contributions The OMERS “Deficit”: Largely as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis, OMERS had projected an actuarial deficit of over $9 billion by the end of 2012. This “actuarial deficit” represents a long-­‐term projection and is based on best estimates for the next 50, 60, or 70 years of numerous factors such as salaries and wages, life expectancies, retirement ages, investment returns and of course the pension benefits that have been promised. These factors are all subject to change. The actuarial deficit is NOT an indication of OMERS’ ability to pay pensions in the short term. In 2011 OMERS collected $2.7 billion in contributions, and paid $2.4 billion in benefits. On top of that, OMERS owns $55 billion in assets. Unlike a government’s annual budget deficit or a household debt, it is not a real deficit at all. There is no money being borrowed to cover pension payments and no interest being paid on the “deficit”. The actuarial deficit is not new; OMERS has had a plan in place to deal with it since 2010. At that time, OMERS implemented a three-­‐year plan of temporary employee/employer contribution rate increases and benefit reductions to address the actuarial deficit over the next 10 – 15 years. Furthermore, when OMERS returns to an actuarial “surplus” position, OMERS plans to roll back these employer and employee contribution increases We have a good pension plan, one of the largest and most sustainable in Canada. Pension benefits cannot, by law be changed for existing pensioners. In the private sector and across the USA, even pensioners are “sharing the pain” of pension cut-­‐backs. Wayne DeMille scholarship: This Scholarship is named after retired Welland
Firefighter and union brother Wayne Demille. Wayne proudly served throughout
his career as a member, delegate, consultant, District VP, Executive SecretaryTreasurer and Executive Director of the OPPFA. He resigned as a Welland Fire
Fighter to accept a full-time position with the OPFFA at a time when Fire Fighters
in Ontario were not united. He gave up the security of his FD position to enter a
position with no guarantees. To honour his ongoing commitment members of the
OPFFA voted at the 2006 OPFFA convention to create a scholarship in his name.
This scholarship is available to 1 child per OPFFA district.
Post secondary education requires a significant financial obligation. The OPFFA
recognizes this and strives to assist member’s children in achieving their goals
through these scholarships.
Cont’d……… ; Local 1552 Newsletter Spring 2014 DeMille cont’d…………. Scholarships are awarded (in the amount of $1000.00) to students who have demonstrated a commitment to their school, community and home life while at the same time living up to the same “Code of Ethics” as the members of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association. As an active member of the OPFFA if you have a dependent child enrolled in or enrolling in a post secondary institution/program, please consider encouraging your child to apply for an OPFFA scholarship. Post secondary education shall include, but not be limited to, university, college or a trade or apprenticeship program. Application forms can be downloaded from OPFFA website – www.opffa.org All applications must b e received in the OPFFA office, 292 Plains Rd East, B urlington, Ontario, L7T 2C6, by the end of business (4:30pm) on the last Friday of September. Line of Duty Deaths: The Toledo Ohio professional Firefighters, Local 92 suffered double line-­‐of-­‐duty deaths in January when Firefighters -­‐ Brs. Machcinski & Dickman -­‐ died in an apartment arson fire. In attendance at the funerals for Local 1552 and passing on our condolences were Pres. Vanderlelie, and Vice President Ritchie. Pres. Vanderlelie and Sec. Cunningham attended the LODD funeral of Toronto Police Constable John Zivic in December. Cst. Zivic succumbed to his injuries that were the result of an on-­‐duty MVA that occurred while responding to a call. Boston Firefighters Local 718 suffered a double line-­‐of-­‐duty death on March 26th when Brs. Walsh & Kennedy died while fighting a fire in the Back Bay area. 15000 Firefighters were in attendance from all over North America and as far away as Australia and Europe. Pres. Vanderlelie and Sec. Cunningham attended these funerals and memorials. VP Ritchie recently attended the LODD funeral of Sarnia Firefighter Br. Smit, held in Sarnia ON April 16th. We send our condolences to our Local 492 brothers and sisters on their loss. 8 ; Local 1552 Newsletter Spring 2014 Update on Gym Equipment: Fire Management has approved the purchase of gym equipment for Station 6 for 2014. The equipment will be delivered in the middle of April . To help with the install of the equipment we will be asking crews at station 6 to remove the existing equipment by dismantling it and storing it at the back end of the truck bay, this will be done closer to the delivery date . I will be sending out more info as to what needs to be done in removing the old equipment at a later date. We will also be moving station 1 equipment to station 2 at the end of summer 2014 and will replace station 1 equipment when all the renovations are completed. The dumbbells at station 1 will be moved to station 7 at the same time station 2 gets their equipment. We are also looking at getting a treadmill and spin bike for station 7 in 2015 or early 2016. We would like to Thank Platoon 1 at station 7 as they will be painting the gym on their next night shift and installing the TV , we have a contractor coming in to install a mirror in the gym at station 7 after the work has been completed there. If you have any concerns or questions please contact the Health and Wellness chair George Cassady The Health and Wellness committee would like to Thank management for their support the last 4 years in getting the finances needed to replace the gym equipment in the stations, we would also like to thank all the crews who help with keeping the gyms and equipment clean and in good working order. Please remember that at no time are we allow to bring any weights or equipment not approved into the fire halls without the approval from the Fire Chief or Management team. Thank you, Your Health and Wellness Committee Fire Services Credit Union Golf Tournament.
May 26, 2014
In support of the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
$175.00
Markland Wood Golf Toronto
Details & To Register: www.firecreditunion.ca/golf 9