March 2016 - Baltimore Fire Officers Association

THE
BALTIMORE FIRE OFFICER
LOCAL 964
-STAFFMICHAEL CAMPBELL—TOM SKINNER
By and For the Professional Fire Officer
IN UNION
THERE IS STRENGTH
March 2016-May 2016 Volume 16, Issue 1
From the President’s Desk
Michael Campbell
Faith, Maddie and Klaus the
dog stayed with us for nearly 6
weeks until February 24th. It was
truly a blessing to have them
here. I loved waking up every
morning seeing Maddie`s small
smiling face. We are very happy
to have Faith in our lives. She is a
tremendous wife and mom!
Leisa, Megan and I cannot wait to
see them once Jason returns from
his deployment. Madison has taken a piece of my heart and I`m
extremely happy being Papa!!!
In italicized below is an update from our pension litigation
attorney, Mr. Robert Klausner
concerning our ongoing pension
litigation:
“Following the decision of
the US Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals returning the case to the
trial court, the Plaintiffs moved to
amend their complaint. The City
is opposing this effort.
The
amendment is to take into account additional facts and to address the effects of the passage of
time, particularly on retirees
owed a COLA and active members who had less than 15 years
of service at the time the plan was
amended but now should have
eligible for DROP. At the same
time the City filed a motion asking the federal court to abstain
from hearing the case, which is a
request to send the case to state
court. On February 22, 2016,
the Plaintiffs, including Local
964, filed a brief supporting our
motion to amend the complaint
and also in opposition to the City
motion to abstain. The City will
have the opportunity to reply to
the Plaintiffs’ brief and the matter will then be set for a hearing
before federal judge Garbis”.
You can contact the F&P
pension system at 410-497-7929
or www.bcfpers.org.
We wrapped up FY17 contract negotiations on 3/1/16 arriving at impasse. L-964 notified the
Labor Commissioner and the
City of Baltimore based upon the
final offer from the City that we
will request arbitration. The City
and 964 were unable to agree on
a final proposal and have exchanged arbitration packages. A
letter has been mailed to all Active members providing notification of 4 ratification meetings.
These meetings will be held on
Monday 3/14/16 & Tuesday
3/15/16. Meeting times for both
days will be 0830 - 1000 and
1800 - 1930 hrs. I want to thank
George Jones, Tom Nosek, Steve
Horchar, Tom Skinner, Harry
Conway, David Zepp and Mr. FJ
Collins of Kahn, Smith & Collins
who comprised our Committee.
From day one negotiations was
180 degrees from what any of us
had expected from the City. It
was clear from the start that our
folks were not to be given the
respect that they absolutely deserve and yet it was an excellent
effort by our team in seeking a
contract that is respectful of what
our folks do on a daily basis. As
is always the case a settlement/
agreement can or may be reached
at the eleventh hour and if there
is any movement we will keep
you informed. If anyone has
questions they can reach me
@443-629-0216.
It is tax time again and I
wanted to remind our retired
members that the IRS has published instructions on how retired
fire fighters can take advantage
of the Healthcare Enhancement
for Local Public Safety (HELPS)
benefit on their tax returns. The
IRS will allow retired fire fighters to exclude from income distributions made from eligible retirement plans up to $3,000 annually to pay the premiums for accident or health insurance or longterm care insurance. The premiums can be for coverage for the
retiree, spouse or dependents.
The deductions cannot be used
by widows! The distribution must
...continued on page 2
Fire Officers
Page 2
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK...
...continued from page 1
be made directly from the retirement plan to the insurance provider. Eligible retirement plans
include qualified trusts, section
403(a) plans, section 403(b) annuities and section 457(b) plans.
The IRS requires retirees to report total distributions on Form
1040, line 16a; Form 1040A, line
12a; or Form 1040NR, line 17a.
The taxable amount should be
reported on Form 1040, line 16b;
Form 1040A, line 12b; or Form
1040NR, line 17b. Also, retirees
should write “PSO” (for public
safety officer) next to the appropriate line where the taxable
amount is reported. For tax accountants: refer to code section
402(l). We are not a tax service
so always check with your certified tax preparer for all of your
needs!
In early February I had the
privilege to be invited by Ernie
Grecco, President of the Metropolitan Baltimore Labor Council
to sit in on political candidate
interviews for members of the
U.S. Congress, Mayor & the City
Council of Baltimore. We interviewed more than 50 candidates
and my focus with each candidate was pensions, healthcare,
collective bargaining along with
company closures. As you might
expect some folks pandered to
who was asking the question but
most were very forthright and
candid in their responses. The
process allowed Unions of the
Council to participate so everyone could hear about issues that
may not be specific to FIRE but
did allow us to see where the
candidate stands on other Union
issues. We may see nine new faces on the City Council along with
a new Mayor and I`m looking
forward to a fresh start with these
folks on the issues that matter
most to our members. Trust me
that the pension litigation was
front and center and will continue
to be after the election! Before
anyone asks there were candidates from all parties including
the Green Party!
I included the following in
my December article, but I believe it needs repeating: Article 6:
Grievance and Arbitration Procedure of the current Memorandum
of Understanding outlines the
process and procedures to follow
if a member or the Union feels
they have been grieved. I would
like to remind our folks that not
every grievance is or will become
a “Union” grievance. There will
be times where the Union does
not agree with the member and in
those cases it is incumbent that
the member has the facts of their
grievance along with the actual
MOU Article, Rule or Reg. or
violation of the MOP that has
been violated and have any documents that will assist the arguing
of said grievance. There must also be a remedy that brings the
alleged infraction by the Employer to a resolve within the guidelines of the MOU, MOP`s or the
Rules and Regulations. Local 964
has in the past and will continue
to represent all of our members
who believe they have been
grieved but there will be times
when we inform the member that
it is their responsibility to assist
in this endeavor.
On March 9th the BCFD began the Two Tier EMS system
combining fully staffed ALS and
BLS Medic/Ambulance units.
The end game is to have a combination of either 35 or 36 permanent units on the streets. We will
keep a close eye on this program.
The BCFD is also beginning a
Pilot Program which may replace
the Discipline Grid. The system
will be a progressive point system
March-May 2016
for infractions. The 4 year period
of reckoning for suspensions has
been reduced from 4 to 3 years.
Training will begin shortly and
the program will be evaluated by
the Department and the Locals at
a later date. Tom Skinner has
been doing a yeoman`s job in Annapolis during the General Assembly assisting the PFFMD with
bills that we believe impact or
may impact our Active and Retired members. Thanks Tom!
Steve Horchar (443-8549970) is selling the Baltimore
Fire Officer ornaments along
with our newly designed patches
and window stickers. Proceeds of
these items go to your VEBA
fund which provides death benefits for dependents of our deceased members. The Baltimore
Fire Officers now have a Facebook page. Along with our website and Twitter account we have
expanded our resources for you to
stay informed. Please keep
abreast by logging on the Fire
Officers
website
at
www.iafflocal964.org.
If you
need Fire Officer organizational
tags for your automobile or motorcycle give me a call or send an
e-mail!
The Board of Estimates, in
December approved the issuance
of a Public Safety position to the
Deferred Compensation Committee. The Board members chose
me to be the representative. I had
held the position for over a decade but the previous Budget Director remade the Committee and
removed the Public Safety spot.
I`m happy to once again serve
Fire & Police on this very important Committee! If you have
questions or concerns about Deferred Comp. contact the Deferred Compensation Plan Office
at 201 E. Baltimore, Suite 120 or
call 410-332-0809 or 1-877-2332748 or log on to https://
baltimoredeferred-
Page 3
comp.gwrs.com/login.
Office
hours are Monday thru Friday
from 0800 to 1700 hrs.
In an effort to assist our
members with financial planning
the Fire Officers have partnered
with Patrick L. Brown Sr. of Capital Portfolio Management, Inc.
along with the Murray Group
which is affiliated with UBS
(Union Bank of Switzerland).
Contact Patrick L. Brown at 410908-3098
or
[email protected] or
Jonathan Murray and any of his
associates at 410.771.3272 or
www.ubs.com/team/themurraygr
oup.
Thanks to all our members
who are contributing to the Fire
Officer PAC Fund! Tom Skinner
has taken over the PAC Fund and
I certainly appreciate Tom stepping up! The PAC Fund cannot
exist without the participation of
the membership. If you wish to
contribute please contact our Executive Board. Retirees cannot
contribute to the Presidents Club
by way of dues deduction, but
can still donate the full amount of
$100.00 by way of cash or check!
Please make checks out to: Local
964 PAC Fund! The PAC Fund is
our most important tool to have
the local politicians listen to our
concerns. The Fund can only be
used for Local and State politicians and cannot and will never
be used for Feder al politicians,
(President, Senator etc.) If you
contribute $4.00 or more a pay
you are automatically included in
the Presidents Club.
As always, keep your Beneficiaries up to date and don’t
hesitate to call or e-mail me at
any time.
Cell – 443-629-0216
Home – 410-529-3472
E-mail: [email protected]
Fire Officers
Words to Twirl By
Oh I am just a vagabond
A drifter on the run
And eloquent profanity
It rolls right off my tongue
And I have dined in palaces
Drunk wine with Kings and
Queens
But darlin', oh darlin'
You're the best thing I've ever
seen
Won't you roll me easy
Oh slow and easy
Take my independence
With no apprehension, no tension
You walkin talkin' dream paradise
Sweet pair a' dice
—Little Feat
From the 1st VP’s Desk
George Jones
Apparatus
The apparatus committee recently visited Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton Wisconsin where
we conducted a final inspection
on the 2 new Air-Flex units and
the new Haz-Mat mobile command unit. All 3 unit look great a
will serve the city and the fire department for a long time to come.
The 2 new Air-Flex units are built
on a Peterbuilt frame and chassis.
Pierce Manufacturing finished
with the body work and the compartmentation. The units have the
capability of filling SCUBA tanks
on scene of a dive incident, which
will give the unit a faster in service time from a dive incident.
The new Haz-Mat unit turned
out exceptionally well. Battalion
Chief Jay Wallace did a remarkable job with the design and layout
of the unit. The unit has 2 “bump
-outs” for more space when operating on a Haz-Mat call, and top
March-May 2016
dunnage and storage compartments for much needed haz-mat
equipment and for future needed
equipment. The unit is equipped
with 4 monitors for weather, on
scene observation and computer
usage. The unit is also satellite
connected for prompt answers to
Haz-Mat issues.
All three units should arrive
at Atlantic Emergency Solutions,
a sub-contractor of Pierce Manufacturing, in mid-March for final
out fitting for equipment.
The committee was also able
to get a look at new Rescue 1,
that is currently still in fabrication. The cab of Rescue 1 was
complete and out of the paint
shop. The right side compartment had come out of welding
and prep, and the start of the left
side compartment was going to
welding and prep. As of the writing of this newsletter, the frame
has been completed and assembly
has begun.
The committee will be returning to Pierce in the spring/
summer for 3 new engines and 1
ladder truck. Truck 25 is currently awaiting a Purchase Order
from the city and after that will
be under way for construction.
For the companies that have
received new apparatus, please
contact anyone of the apparatus
committee members to tell us
your like and dislikes, so that we
can continue to improve our fleet.
Cook-Out
The Annual 964 Cook-Out
had been planned for July 19,
2016 at 1200 hours at Valleybrook Country Club.
Valleybrook Country Club is located
in Kingsville Maryland. We will
have the center pavilion and as
always there will be swimming,
games, prizes and plenty of food.
This year there will be a “Moon
...continued on page 4
Fire Officers
Page 4
1st V.P.’s report
...continued from page 3
Bounce” for the children. This is
a very nice venue to come out and
see friends and retirees of the job.
If you have attended in the past, I
encourage you to attend again and
share the information with those
who have not. Please see the attached flyer for more information
and I hope to see you there.
From the 2nd VP’s Desk
Tom Nosek
Nine days ago, the Baltimore
Fire Officers, IAFF Local 964
turned 68 years old. The Local
was chartered on February 20,
1948. Our great Union has provided members with benefits that
ensure protection in the work
place for health and welfare. The
Local has worked to established
financial security through pension
and deferred compensation. The
Local has battled for fair wages
( though we are still behind other
Maryland jurisdictions ) vacation
hours and sick leave policies. The
Local will continue to battle for
our members and draw attention
to the professional job we do to
City Hall.
In speaking of City Hall, this
year the City of Baltimore will
hold a Citywide election for the
Mayor and City Council. This
election will be the biggest turnover of seats in over 50 years. The
Council is losing 6 members outright to retirements and others
seeking higher office. There are
three highly contested races
which appear at this time to be
favoring the challengers and one
other possible council seat that is
to close to call at present. The primary race will be held next month
and in the heavily democratic
City of Baltimore, those who
win those seats will probably
win again in the November general election. So in January of
2017 the City of Baltimore will
have a new Mayor and probably
9-10 new Council members of
the 14 City Council seats.
President Campbell represented Local 964 at interviews
of all candidates at the Metropolitan Baltimore Council of
AFL - CIO interviews hosted by
President Ernie Grecco in February. All the candidates of each
political party were invited to
attend. I attended a few of the
interviews and witnessed poignant questions put to the candidates by labor unions. Mike was
direct with his questions about
our pension issues and support
of our members. Local 964 has
been attending numerous political forums through out the fall
and winter. The Local also is
attending almost every City
Council meeting. Our goal is to
have the politicians in the city
to know who Local 964 is and
who we represent.
Local 964 has also been
active in Annapolis during the
2016 legislative session. President Campbell, former President
Steve Fugate and Aide to
COFD , Captain Roman Clark
have testified on the behalf our
members. Local 964 has worked
with the Professional Firefighters of Maryland PFFMD on bills
that benefit or intend to affect
Firefighter/EMS issues. The following bills have our interest,
House Bill 146 Baltimore City
property tax credit, HB 227 income tax relief for Police, Fire
and EMS ( Fugate testified for )
HB 1384 providing a volunteer
Rescue/Medic in Baltimore
( Campbell, Clark testified
against ) and Senate Bill 182
rental units/ carbon monoxided
March-May 2016
alarms. Local 964 Eboard members have travelled to Annapolis
during the session to be present on
our issues, but kudos goes to Recording Secretary Tom Skinner
who spends about three days a
week in Annapolis lobbying on
our behalf to delegates and senators. Thanks Tom!! The PFFMD
executive board of President Mike
Rund ( IAFF Local 2000 Howard
County ) VP's Jeff Buddle ( President of IAFF 1664 Montgomery
County ) Andy Pantelis ( President of IAFF Local 1619 Prince
George's County and Treasurer
John Quirk ( Treasurer of IAFF
Local 1311 Baltimore County )
have done an excellent job of getting the tax relief legislation
through committees and hopefully
into law for the Governor to sign
Negotiations ended Monday
and we have mailed out ratification letters, ratification meetings
will be held Monday, March 14
and Tuesday March 15. I have
been involved in negotiations for
the past twelve years and have
never seen a more ill prepared
bunch from the City.
Congratulations, to Brothers
George Jones 1st VP , Tom Skinner Recording Secretary and Brian
Brithcer trustee, who were reelected for a three year term and sworn
into office in January.
The past six weeks Local 964
lost retired brothers Captain Kenny
Morris, Lieutenant Ronald Keene ,
Captain James Holthaus, Captain
Frank Reisenfelder, Battalion
Chief Howard Mason and Lieutenant William Ozazewski, May the
rest in peace and may the Good
Lord hold them in the palm of his
hand, thank you gentlemen for
your service.
Retirees meet every second
Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm
at Heritage Parkville Gardens 7200
Harford Rd. The meetings last
about 45 minutes then food is
served, if you are a poker player
Page 5
there are usually 3 games going
after the meeting. The next meeting dates are March 10, April 14
and May 12, There are no meetings during July and August.
Baltimore City Fire and Police pension sytems CAFR
( Comprehensive Annual Financial Report ) for year ended June
30 , 2015 was released recently.
The CAFR reported assets of
$2,466,576,702, with 6,268 retirees and beneficiaries and 4,248
active plan members. The actuarial value of the system was 72.8 %
and market value of 69.7 %. The
system returned 2.5% for the
year.
In speaking of the pension
system , the lawsuit is still going
on , final briefs were submitted in
February and we are eagerly
waiting on a response from Judge
Garbis.
The John L. Seiss memorial
golf tournament will be held
Monday, May 23, 2016 @ Rocky
Point golf course. Bryan " Big
Cat " and I are co chairing the
tournament again this year. We
have Manor Tavern catering the
lunch and Rocky Point will be
providing the liquid refreshments.
The proceeds from the tournament go to our VEBA fund
( widows and orphans ), so we
can use tee sponsors and door
prizes, if anyone can help in that
endeavor let Bryan or myself
know.
In reporting the money raised
from this years raffle, I forgot to
thank the members both active ,
retired and friends of Local 964
who went above and beyond in
selling the raffles. Local 964 appreciates the effort. Thanks to
retirees Phil Carpenter, John
Cole, Bob Hatoff, Wayne
McDowell, Ed Schaeffer, Jr. Actives Charlie Browning, Carl
Knight, Robert Green, Mike Hudson, John Kisser, Kevin Rock and
friends Paul Hartsock and Joyce
Fire Officers
Miller.
On March 9th the new two
tier EMS program is to be unveiled adding more medic units
on the street. Local 964 has had a
seat at the meetings and we are
hoping this program helps the
citizens and the members in
providing added EMS coverage.
Local 964's annual Social
Night will be held Tuesday ,
May 3 hot food and cold beer
will be served.
Retirement seminars will
again be held this spring, watch
for flyers in the firehouses. We
are leaning towards the first
week of June. You can always
call me with questions at 410 499
5441.
Again remember you have
the "greatest job in the world,"
next union meetings will be
Tuesday April 12 at 7 pm and
Wednesday April 13, at 8:30 am.
From the SecretaryTreasurer’s Desk
Steve Horchar
Spring Training has started,
and I am happy with what the
Orioles have done this year. I still
think we will need help in our
pitching, but we have the makings to make a run for it this
year. I was surprised that the Orioles retained Chris Davis, I don’t
know if $161 million over 7 years
is a good deal or not, only time
will tell. Speaking of Orioles,
AFL-CIO Union Night will be
Friday, June 24th this year. We
will have a limited numbers of
tickets available at the June Union Meetings.
Safety and Health
Drive Cam incidents are
down. Thank you…!
March-May 2016
Hoods can now be sent in
with your TO gear for cleaning.
We are working on having extra
hoods on the Air Flexes also.
There are studies that are tying
firefighter’s hoods to cancer,
clean your hood after they have
been exposed to smoke and soot.
If you have any issues with
Reserve Apparatus please send
myself or Mike Brown (T-30) an
email describing your issues, we
are compiling data in an effort to
try and improve the apparatus
that we are required to work on
and with.
Leather boots, may be worn
after the member submits a Special to the Chief of the Fire Department requesting permission.
The Special must contain all pertinent information about the gear
and attach (stapled to the Special)
the manufacturer’s specification
document verifying the equipment’s NFPA compliance. Reference MOP 360-1.
Measuring for new gloves is
occurring throughout the Department now, just a reminder, make
sure you account for your wristlets when trying on the sample
size gloves.
The new EVD jackets are
supposed to be coming this
Spring.
SCBAs, please clean your
mask… Air Mask Repair is finding more and more mask,
filthy…Brothers and Sisters, why
do you want to take the chance of
dirt or particles clogging or causing a mask malfunction? Clean
and disinfect your mask after
every use and don’t forget about
the harness, we all lean against
these in the apparatus then take
the particles back to the station
sofas, recliners, even out to our
automobiles and then finally
home to your families… Don’t
subject them to all these cancer
causing agents, clean your mask
...continued on age 6
Fire Officers
Page 6
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report
...continued from page 5
and your harnesses…
Many topics were discussed
at this month’s Health & Safety
Meeting, as items progress, we
will keep you posted.
Officers, please be aware of
the conditions and situations
around you, if you feel it is to
unsafe, back out, get away from
it and call it in.
If you have any issue or
questions, please call me @ 443854-997 or email me at
[email protected].
Hockey Night
Hockey Night is coming up
on April 7th, the Washington
Capitals take on their Division
rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Bus departs Whitemarsh Park-nRide at 4pm. Cost: $150 which
includes: game ticket, motor
coach transportation to and from
the Verizon Center (Washington,
DC), a Capital’s t shirt and all
you can eat and drink (beer, wine
and soda) from one hour prior to
puck drop to the end of the 2nd
Intermission in the Monumental
Level 400 Restaurant. Our tickets
are sold-out, but we are keeping a
‘Waiting List’, if you want your
name added to the list, please
contact me. Proceeds benefit the
Fire Officers VEBA Fund
(Widow & Orphans Fund).
April Union Meetings
The April Union Meetings
have been moved to the following week due to an E Board conflict. Meetings will be held on
Tuesday, April 12th @ 1900 hrs
and Wednesday, April 13th @
0830 hrs at our Union Hall, 1030
S. Linwood Ave in beautiful,
downtown Canton, see you there.
AFL-CIO Union Night at Cam-
den Yards
Just a reminder, Friday, June
th
24 is AFL-CIO Union Night,
we will have a limited number of
tickets at the June Union Meetings for the game.
There will be a more chances to see our Birds play this year
with planned fund raisers and
functions, keep an eye on the Forum and Facebook for details.
We are looking for a display
case that will hold our Logo
Store shirts and supplies. If you
know anyone that has one and is
looking to donate it, please keep
the union in mind.
If anyone has any Fund
Raiser ideas for the VEBA Fund,
please don’t hesitate to call me.
This is the source of your widow’s and children’s death benefit.
Remember when you move,
please notify the Union office
directly of your new address. Our
email
address
is
[email protected] or call an Executive Board member.
On a side note, when sending an email please use the subject line so it does not go to
spam.
From the
Recording Secretary
Tom Skinner
In the greater scheme of
things, the opinion of an overhyped rodent should not have
much of an impact on the greater
good of society. But that little
bastard got us again! Winters
over, early spring, blah, blah,
blah! Punxsutawney Phil can kiss
my backside! At least the O’s are
back in action and barring any
catastrophic injuries I BELIEVE!
Most of this quarter has been
a blur of negotiations and legisla-
March-May 2016
tion. We will soon have a set of
meetings to discuss what we
were able and not able to accomplish at the bargaining table this
go around. But I want you to
know regardless of the final
propositions, your team worked
tirelessly on your behalf. Your
Executive Board and our “new
guys on the block” Harry Conway and Dave Zepp, put in the
work and deserve your accolades.
The legislative session began
on January 13th and will run for
ninety days. The primary focus
of this session for the Professional Firefighters of Maryland is tax
relief for retiree pensions. House
bill 227 addresses this. HB227
will provide a tax break on the
first $15,000 of your fire service
pension starting at age 55 and
lasting through age 65. The
PFFMD has worked with the
House and Senate leadership in
crafting this legislation to best
serve our membership and have
the least chance of being politically hijacked. HB227 had a
hearing on February 16th in the
Ways and Means Committee and
only the Maryland Association of
Counties (MACO) spoke against
the legislation, MACO opposes
all legislation that provides
statewide tax relief. The leadership of the PFFMD was joined in
testimony by former L-964 President Steve Fugate representing
the Retiree’s Association and
they did an outstanding job. Other legislation being addressed in
this session includes HB146/
SB552, companion bills introduced at the urging of the mayor
to allow for a $2500 property tax
relief for Fire, EMS and police in
Baltimore City. I testified on behalf of L-964 before the House
Ways and Means Committee and
the Senate Budget and Taxation
Committee. No one presented
testimony in opposition in either
house. I would like to thank Del-
Fire Officers
Page 7
RECORDING SECRETARY….
...continued from page 6
egate Mary Washington and Senator Catherine Pugh for sponsoring this legislation and also to the
entire delegation of Senators and
Delegates from Baltimore City
for signing on as co-sponsors.
These bills are also awaiting
votes from the floor of each
house. We have also weighed in
on several pieces of legislation to
make or keep our job safer concerning smoke alarms, CO
alarms and sprinklers and we’ve
also testified in favor of collective bargaing rights legislation
for our Brothers and Sisters
across Maryland. We also attended a hearing on March 3rd for
HB1384. This bill would mandate the City Fire Department to
recognize
Hatzalah
as
a
“Volunteer Ambulance/Rescue”
company. President Campbell
did an outstanding job testifying
against this legislation alongside
Roman Clark, who spoke on behalf of the Chief of Fire Department and Vice President Andrew
Pantelis who testified against on
behalf of the PFFMD. Other than
the bill sponsor and two members of Hatzalah, no one spoke in
favor of HB1384. The mayor and
her legal department submitted
written opposition and several
Delegates were very critical of
the proposal. We will continue to
keep an eye on this and make
sure that doesn’t go any further.
In all we are tracking, with the
assistance of our Lobbyist, Gerry
Evans and his staff over 100
pieces of proposed legislation.
Please keep an eye out for announcements on the Forum and
on Facebook and Twitter asking
for assistance. We asked for and
got a nice crowd of active and
retired members at the hearing
for HB227 and not only was it
noticed and appreciated, but
when PFFMD President Mike
Rund recognized the members in
attendance, the Delegates stood
and applauded the members for
their
service.
This is your PAC fund
working for you, guarding your
job and your benefits. If you are
a President’s Club member,
THANK YOU! If not, please
consider joining. L-964’s PAC is
used locally to ensure that our
voice is heard on issues that are
important to your job and benefits. Locally, this year will be the
election of a lifetime. There will
be a new (or renewed) mayor
and there will be at least 6 new
council members, but it looks
more likely to be up to 10 out of
the 14. This is our opportunity to
make sure that OUR voice is
heard. President Campbell and
the Board have been out there
attending the candidate’s events
and meeting with the prospective
Council members and I am confident that when the City Council
meets next January, they will
know who L-964 is!
January was a month of
training. Starting with the AFLCIO Metro Council Leadership
Seminar, an annual event that
Ernie Grecco hosts that provides
the union leaders with a wealth
of information on all aspects of
Labor, from grievance procedures to worker’s comp and beyond. Ernie brings the experts in
to ensure that the leadership has
the latest and most relevant tools
to keep the membership safe and
strong. That was followed by
The Affiliate Leadership Training Summit, held annually by the
IAFF. ALTS provides several
days of very useful training for
Local leadership and this year I
was honored to be selected to
participate in a focus group on
IAFF membership communications. How many of you use the
Marc h-May 2016
iaff.org website? Do any of you
have the IAFF Frontline app
downloaded on your phone? I
was surprised to find that the
number of users is very small
percentage of the membership
across the International. These
tools, like the Forum, Facebook
and Twitter are there to keep you,
the member informed. Take a
moment and check them out.
Start with the IAFF.org site and
sign up if you haven’t previously.
ALTS was followed immediately
by the “Ernest A. “Buddy” Mass
Human Relations Conference”
and once again the IAFF out did
themselves with new and fresh
classes. There was a tremendous
amount of information presented.
Lastly I want to Thank the
membership for allowing me to
serve you for another term as Recording Secretary. At the meeting
in January, I was sworn in, along
with George Jones as 1st Vice
President and Brian Britcher as
Trustee for another 3 year term
and I appreciate it!
I will continue to do my best
to work for you!
HAVE A
GREAT
SPRING!
Page 8
Fire Officers
March-May 2016
BOX 414
By Walt Lemmon & Bob Brown
As we start another year The Box 414 Association and its members stand ready to serve our firefighters and preserve the history of the Baltimore City Fire Department. The operations members of the organization have been busy over the last year responding on incidents during the hot and cold seasons. As the Great
Snow of 2016 hit three of 414’s members spent several days at the Oldtowne Station standing by and responding to incidents. They also served Fire Communications.
In 2015 our members logged in over 2800 hours on responses and over 300 hours in the museum.
Our fleet took almost 400 responses and we served over 1600 gallons of beverages and over 600 sandwiches
and hot dogs.
OLDTIMERS DAY will be held on Satur day Apr il 16, 2016 fr om 9:00 am until 1:00 pm at the
Baltimore City Fire Museum, 414 North Gay Street (Old Engine 6). Breakfast and Lunch will be served. All
are welcome and encouraged to attend. Rumor has it that several “Legends of the Fire Service” from Baltimore will be in attendance. Bring the kids!
Baltimore Fire Officers Local 964
John L. Seiss Memorial Golf tournament
Rocky Point Golf Course, Essex, Md.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Registration 7:00 am, shotgun start 8:00 am
Featuring: continental breakfast, food on the course and
a gourmet buffet luncheon, with beverages on the course
Raffles and prizes
Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams,
closest to the pin, longest drive and door prizes.
Cost $110 per player
To play, complete the Team Registration Form below and return to
Baltimore Fire Officers, Local 964
1030 S. Linwood Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
Page 9
Fire Officers
March-May 2016
Annual John L. Seiss Benefit Golf Tournament
Baltimore Fire Officers, Local 964
Team Registration Form
Captain:__________________________________
Player:___________________________________
Player:___________________________________
Player:___________________________________
Contact person:____________________________
Contact number____________________________
Cost: $110
Make checks payable to: Local 964 VEBA fund
Mail to: Baltimore Fire Officers, Local 964
1030 S. Linwood Ave. Baltimore, Md. 21224
For information call:
Tom Nosek 410 499 5441 or Bryan Hoffman 410 446 2666
Fire Officers
Page 10
March-May 2016
Retiree’s Info
Dear Future Fire Department Retiree,
We would like to invite you to join the Baltimore City Retired Fire Officers and Fire Fighters Association.
We have approximately 1100 members and meet every second Thursday of the month with the exception of
July and August. Our meetings are held at the Heritage Hall in the Shopping Center at Harford Road and Taylor Avenue. Meetings start at 7:30 pm. and last about one hour. This is followed by food and drinks. We average about 80 members at each meeting. Admission at the door is $5.00 or $10.00 depending on the food
served. It is a good time to renew old friends and keep abreast of the latest news about the things that affect you
as a retiree. We also keep you updated on Fire Department and Pension news by email. The Association also
provides a $1000.00 death benefit.
If you would like to join and be a part of the Association please fill out both forms enclosed and mail them
to me. A short time later your dues deductions of $6.00 a month will begin. As a retiree you only have 90 days
to accept our invitation to join the Retiree Association, after which you are no longer eligible to join. Don’t
miss out on this opportunity. We are not part of either Local 964 or Local 734; therefore, dues paid to them
does not make you a member of the Retiree Association. We would like you to become a member and hope to
see you at the meetings.
If you have any questions or concerns please call Secretary-Treasurer Robert Jenkins at 410-444-0039.
Sincerely,
Charlie Williams, President
(Editor’s note: The Retired Fire Officers & Fire Fighters Association sends vital information out regularly
through their group email. To participate, send your email address to: Recording Secretary Dave Franz at
[email protected] for more details call Dave at (410)499-5638. If you are not a member you will be
removed from the email list.)
24 K GOLD PLATED ORNAMENT
Proceeds benefit L-964 VEBA Fund
Mail a $20 check or money order for each ornament to:
THE BALTIMORFIRE OFFICERS
c/o Ornament
1030 S. Linwood Avenue
Baltimore, MD. 21224
Name:_________________________________
Adress:________________________________
City:_______ ______State:______Zip:______
Fire Officers
Page 11
March-May 2016
Baltimore Fire OFFICERS
Local 964 Cookout
MARK YOU CALENDER FOR A FUN AND EXCITING EVENT
Where: Valleybrook Country Club
1810 Valleybrook Dr., Kingsville, MD 21087
When: Sunday July 17, 2016
Time: 12 noon - 6 pm
Admission: $10 age 13 and older
Swimming, Food, Fun Games and Prizes
Burgers, Hot Dogs, Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cobb
Sausage and Peppers, Watermelon, and much more!!!
For More Information Contact:
George Jones
Tom Nosek
443-562-1143
410-499-5441
THE BALTIMORE FIRE OFFICERS
Local No. 964
1030 S. Linwood Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
Non-Profit
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 964
Bel Air, MD
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Tired and Retired
By Bob Hatoff
To those of you who have been reading my column for the last 20 years, congratulations on your
wisdom! As you know, sometimes I may write about someone I feel has done us wrong. Being totally fair,
I always write when I feel they have done something good! This is the case with our mayor. Some feel as
if I was too hard on her just because her reps were sent to lie to the city council. This resulted in our variable benefit being stolen and our pensions being reduced. However, to her good, she has proposed to the
state to give tax breaks to all police and firefighters who buy a house in the city. This could be a healthy
savings to us and it got me thinking about the move. Since last year was so violent in the city, I was concerned about the safety of our families. This, of course, would fall to our Brothers in the police department. The big problem with that is the mayor wants to put them all in jail. So I will pray for the police and
stay out of the city!
Now, I know that all of you have been waiting to see which member of the board will be the target
of my poison pen this year. This will be a man that I admire and respect, George Jones! No, not the country music singer but our first vice president. Any time that you see us together we are always laughing and
hugging each other. One of the reasons for this is that we both love the same person, ME! We have other
things in common. One being some people think that we are overweight, but I don’t know why. Another is
that George is Captain of Engine 20 and I was a Pump Operator there. He is in charge of Walbrook station.
I was just someone who worked in a dilapidated garage on North Avenue. This will be continued in my
next newsletter.
I’ll close for now and wait breathlessly for the primary. I have a feeling whoever wins has got to
be better than what we’ve been stuck with! You can still reach me at 5202 Daybrook Circle, Apartment
161, Baltimore Md. 21237 or at (410)870-1653. God Bless you all and what’s left of our city!