Welcome To The Home
Of The
Grand Rapids Fire Fighters Union

 

 

 

From the President

Brothers and Sisters,

Let me start by talking about the ratification vote. I had the opportunity of chatting after one of the meetings with a Fire Fighter I have great respect for about how the meeting went. He said to me he was inspired and that he would like to see an article about that sometime. So, here it is. For those of you who had the time and ability to come to the ratification meetings, we all witnessed a rare thing in today’s work place, family. Although we had a good and fair offer before us, there still were issues which we the bargaining team had pledged to fight in arbitration. There was a resounding desire to go the extra mile from the members to see if there were any more compromises that could be made to help the less than 10 yr. people, which there was not. No other union in this city has fought so hard for their less than 10 year people than this union has and is. In fact, in my opinion, some other unions in this city downright sold them out, but you have not! Even our labor attorney stated this was one of the reasons she appreciated the fire fighter mentality of always trying to take care of their own, and this local was a great example of that. With that in mind you ratified the “Mini-Package” and so did the city, and the other 81 issues were on their way to arbitration, congratulations to all of you on your solidarity.

As the date for arbitration approached your bargaining team was extremely busy with preparation. On the first day of arbitration, it was mostly scheduling and preliminary ground rules. We identified 2 days in June when the local was available for hearings but the rest were not available until mid-September for any additional dates. Upon order by the arbitrator we did meet with the city 9 additional dates to try to whittle down the list of issues. We did this and the city demonstrated a willingness to bargain as they should have all along. As of time of this news letter we are down to 3-5 issues for the arbitrator to rule on. Our first two dates in June were 8+ hour days of financial testimony and department structure, the issues will be heard September 22,23, and 24 of this year.

We all know we have a daunting task in front of all of us right now. While each and every one of us has an opinion of who the right type of person would be the next chief of department, we must balance that with all our opinions not just a few. Prior to the chief selection we pray that the City Commission will choose the best candidate for City Manager. Only with a good City Manager do we stand a chance at an honest process to get a good chief.

I have stated this time and time again, that this of all times is when we should be very active with all officials’ local, state, and federal that can affect our lives and family finances. A valuable resource we have is our PAC people; they keep their finger on the pulse of what is going on around this country. I know most people think “I am just one voice who is going to listen to me”, well, folks they do if you call. I personally have seen it work with calls I have made and witnessed others make. It only takes a few minutes to call a representative, but it can make a huge difference if we all call.

We have an uphill battle for the next few years in the budget process. The city is projecting deficits of 12 million for FY11, and they only go up from there. Of course this is all based on the economy staying the same, if it improves the budget then approves. Whether the economy improves or not there becomes a proverbial line in the sand a city has to draw.

The line in the sand is being drawn, that is what services are the job as a city to provide. It is great in fat years to have feel good, politically correct groups with the understanding that when the money is gone so must the programs. But the time is now for the city to realize first and foremost they exist for the primary protection of the citizens and the people and property they serve. We can sustain NO MORE cuts in this department, period. Our future leaders must have the guts when asked to cut to say, there is nothing left to cut, you make them. Strong stances like this are not always welcomed or even liked, but they are respected by all who view them. I have always found it ironic that the very persons who would question our ability on the fire ground if we showed up and said “too much, we give up, without even trying, would then when told to cut just say “ok”. That mentality must go away. IF cuts are made in the future, they must be forced after every avenue is exhausted, and for that I mean avenues that don’t balance the budget solely on your backs and pocket books.

It is a large hill for us to climb as a Union, but as I have said in my first paragraph, I have watched you all climb together and reach back for those falling behind. We’ll get there.

Have a good summer, and God Bless.

Fraternally,

Joe Dubay