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PER DIEM EMPLOYEES QUIT OUT OF FRUSTRATION AND SOLIDARITY
Click the link at the left and read the letters from several per diem employees who recently resigned.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
I was saddened to read Mayor Fried's bald-face lies concerning negotiations between his office and the union I represent.
At no time, under no circumstance was there any offer or request by Robbinsville Township for the members of L3786 to renegotiate or discuss any contractual item prior to the layoff notices delivered to two of my members on December 16, 2009. Telling us to come up with 175K after laying off two members does not constitute negotiation.
I offered my assistance to the mayor on December 11, 2009 at a meeting he assembled with the leadership of all bargaining units. At this meeting, Mayor Fried announced his unilateral change in health benefits. I told the mayor that L3786 could not concede to a unilateral change in health care benefits without knowing what other concessions may be needed. I offered in good faith to have a dialogue concerning potential concessions. Four days later, two of our members received pink slips.
L3786 was the first bargaining unit within the township to agree to health care contributions. This agreement took place during contract negotiations in 2008.
L3786 recognizes that we work for the taxpayers of Robbinsville. We are keenly aware of the fiscal crisis our state is under. L3786 will continue to stand up to the anti-union tactics deployed by Mayor Fried. L3786 expects additional retaliation from the mayor for exercising our rights as a labor organization. The real loser will be the citizens of Robbinsville who depend on us.
Brendan O'Donnell
President,
Robbinsville Professional Firefighters Association
IAFF Local 3786
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ROBBINSVILLE PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS DONATE TO UNICEF
January 18, 2010 - Today, the members of Local 3786 have sent a sizeable donation to UNICEF to help the children of Haiti after the recent earthquake disaster.
You too can donate by visiting www.unicef.org or any other charity that is assisting the people of Haiti. You can also make a donation though our Local.
Simply click the PayPal link at the top of the page and include instructions that your donation is to go to assist the people of Haiti.
Thank you.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE TOWN TRYING TO HIDE?
The Local requested “… any emails from Fire Director John Archer to Mayor Dave Fried and any replies from Mayor Dave Fried to Fire Director John Archer regarding ambulance response and staffing within the time period of 12-21-09 to the present.”
Here’s what we received:
Along with the following response from the Township Clerk:
January 14, 2010
Robbinsville Professional Firefighters Association
IAFF Local 3786
PO Box 536
Windsor, NJ 08561
With regard to your records request received on January 7, 2010 please be advised that one email (attached) was found that fits the nature of your request.
On advice from the Township Attorney, I have redacted 4 sentences of the email as per the following laws:
1. NJSA 47:1A-1.1, security which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety of persons, property are exempt from disclosure and in connection with collective negotiations, including documents and statements of strategy or negotiating position are exempt from disclosure.
2. NJSA 47:1A-1.1, security which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety of persons, property are exempt from disclosure and interagency consultative, deliberative, subjective documents reflecting the personal opinion of the writer are exempt from disclosure.
3. NJSA 47:1A-1.1, security which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety of persons, property are exempt from disclosure.
4. NJSA 47:1A-1.1, interagency consultative, deliberative, subjective documents reflecting the personal opinion of the writer are exempt from disclosure and in connection with collective negotiations, including documents and statements of strategy or negotiating position are exempt from disclosure.
ENGINE COMPANY ORDERED TO GO OUT OF SERVICE
On Tuesday January 5, 2010 Fire Director John Archer issued his first directive, General Order 10-01. The General Order instructs firefighters to ABANDON the fire engine if there are back to back medical calls and staff the second ambulance. This leaves only the Captain in the firehouse, the fire engine will be OUT OF SERVICE and UNABLE TO RESPOND TO FIRES.
The issue is quite the dilemma. Many times when someone calls for an ambulance, seconds count. We need to arrive as quickly as possible in order to initiate life saving measures. However, we need to carefully balance the needs of all the residents that we protect. When those two firefighters are staffing the second ambulance, there is no chance for a timely response of the fire engine. We have had tremendous success extinguishing fires when we arrive within minutes of being dispatched. Additionally, as many of you already know, our fire engine is equipped to treat people suffering from medical emergencies and traumatic injuries. It would be much more logical to keep the FIRE ENGINE IN SERVICE and call for an ambulance from another town than it would to take the FIRE ENGINE OUT OF SERVICE. We can still respond with the fire engine and provide emergency medical services.
So, what is the driving force behind this? Our guess, MONEY. Every time that ambulance transports someone to the hospital, Robbinsville Township bills the patient’s insurance company, if they have insurance. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are collected every year from ambulance billing and it seems that the Fire Director doesn’t want one penny to be missed.
LAYOFFS!
YOUR FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE IS NOW ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY MAYOR FRIED’S DECISION TO CREATE NEW ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS, PROMOTE HIS FRIENDS AND LAYOFF YOUR FIREFIGHTERS.
RECOGNIZE THESE GUYS?
LAID OFF DECEMBER 16, 2009
Chances are if you called 911 or stopped by for a firehouse tour with your kids that you probably saw Don or Frank. Don has been with the department since February of 2003 and has a young daughter that depends on her dad’s job to put food on the table and provide her with proper health care. Frank has been with the department since February of 1998, starting out as a volunteer and then hired on full time in October of 2003. Frank is single, but depends on his paycheck to keep a roof over his head and food on his plate.
On
behalf of the members of the Robbinsville Professional
Firefighters Association, I.A.F.F. Local 3786,
we invite you to view our web pages to learn more
about Firefighting and the services
that we provide for you.
August 31, 2009
As a tragic reminder of the dangers faced by our career firefighters, four IAFF members have died in the line of duty over the course of the past week. In Buffalo, New York, two members of IAFF Local 282 died on August 24, 2009 while searching for victims reported to be trapped in the basement of a burning building. These brave men sacrificed their own lives in efforts to save the lives of the citizens they are sworn to protect. Lt. Chip McCarthy, a 22 year veteran career firefighter assigned to Rescue 1 was searching the first floor in extreme heat and smoke when the fire burning below him in the basement caused the floor to collapse sending him through the floor into the basement 10 feet below where he became trapped and ran out of air in his breathing apparatus (SCBA). Firefighter Jon Croom, a 10 year veteran assigned to Ladder 7 was a member of the Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) who also fell through the floor into the basement and became trapped, possibly while searching for the missing Lt. McCarthy. For additional information see:
http://www.wusa9.com/news/columnist/blogs/2009/08/two-buffalo-firefighters-confrimed.html
http://www.buffalofirefighters.com/
In a still developing story we have learned that two firefighters from Los Angeles County, CA IAFF Local 1014 were killed in the line of duty yesterday (August 30, 2009) while battling a massive wildfire in the hills of Southern California. Fire Captain Ted Hall and Firefighter Arnaldo Quinones were killed when their firefighting vehicle overturned on the mountainside in zero visibility (smoke) conditions as they attempted to retreat from a rapidly advancing wildfire. Captain Hall and Firefighter Quinones had 26 years and 8 years of career service respectively. These men were part of a crew that was working the Station Fire near Acton, California and were attempting to protect critical infrastructure from fire when their vehicle left the roadway and overturned. For more information in this story see:
http://www.wusa9.com/news/columnist/blogs/2009/08/two-firefighters-killed-while-battling.html
http://www.local1014.org/
The members of the Robbinsville Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 3786 wish to pass our condolences to the family members of these fallen heroes as well as to our brother firefighters from IAFF Local 282 and IAFF Local 1014.
IAFF
General President Harold A. Schaitberger met
with Local 3786 President Brendan O'Donnell and
Fire Fighter Ed Haemmerle to discuss labor issues.
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Members
of Local 3786 Met with Senator John Kerry to
Discuss Fire Service Issues During the
IAFF 2008 Legislative Conference
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Fire
Service issues were also the topic of Discussion
with Senator Chris Dodd
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Congressman
Chris Smith President Brendan O'Donnell
and
Fire Fighter Ed Haemmerle meet in Congressman
Smith's
office to discuss local labor issues.
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