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OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
UNIFORMED FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK
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VOL. L NO. 2, 2014
Steve Cassidy opens the May 2014 Delegate Education Seminar at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ.
President’s Message
Photo Credit: Stephen N. Symbolik III
The Bravest
McGinnis, E-266; Health & Safety Officer/Sergeantat-Arms, Gerard Fitzgerald, E-318; Manhattan n June 24, 2014 ballots were tabulated by the Trustee, Vincent Speciale-E- 55; Queens Trustee, American Arbitration Association (AAA) Matthew DesJardin, E-325; Staten Island Trustee, Eric under the oversight of the UFA Election Bischoff, E-161. Committee, as per the UFA Constitution. Brooklyn The new term of office takes effect Trustee John Kelly, who is also Chairman of the UFA August 1, 2014. I am especially honored to have Board of Trustees, was re-elected to a fifth term. been elected to a fifth consecutive term as UFA Firefighter Edward Brown, L-48, who has President and to have received the support of UFA served as Bronx Trustee was elected to the position of members. I look forward to working with the union’s UFA Treasurer, running unopposed. FF. Brown wins Executive Board and serving the membership. There the post held by FF. Robert J. Straub, E-45 who is are many challenges ahead and I am very fortunate to retiring. FF. William Greco, E-68, also running unop- have a great leadership team with which to work. posed, was elected Bronx Trustee [See inset p.7]. Following are the ballot details. As always, stay safe!
by Stephen J. Cassidy
Also running unopposed: Vice President, James Slevin, L-7; Recording Secretary, LeRoy
ELECTION RESULTS Fire Lines
NO. 2 2014
BALLOTS SENT OUT
TOTAL SENT OUT RETURNED % SET ASIDE TOTAL
PRESIDENT
*Stephen J. Cassidy, E-236 % Daniel Murphy, Retired % Blank/Voided TOTAL
BROOKLYN TRUSTEE Thomas A. Buttaro, L-123 % *John G. Kelly, E-201 % Blank/Voided TOTAL
*James Slevin, L-7 *LeRoy McGinnis, E-266 *Edward Brown, L-48 *Gerard Fitzgerald, E-318 *Matthew DesJardin, E-325 *Eric Bischoff, E-161 *Vincent Speciale, E-55 *William Greco, E-68
Brooklyn 2113 1488 70% 56 1432
Brooklyn 1029 72% 391 28% 12 1420 Brooklyn 502 35% 919 65% 11 1421
Queens 1793 1303 73% 41 1262 Queens 823 66% 433 34% 6 1256
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Manhattan 1980 1219 62% 45 1174 Manhattan 406 35% 752 65% 16 1158
Vice President Recording Secretary Treasurer Health & Safety Officer / Sgt.-at-Arms Queens Trustee Staten Island Trustee Manhattan Trustee Bronx Trustee
Bronx 1283 931 73% 24 907 Bronx 670 74% 236 26% 1 906
Unopposed Unopposed Unopposed Unopposed Unopposed Unopposed Unopposed Unopposed
SI 606 445 73% 24 421
SI 365 87% 55 13% 1 420
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TOTAL 3293 64% 1867 36% 36 5160
*Denotes Winner
The Art of Labor Law.
Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP
TOTAL 7775 5386 69% 190 5196
NO. 2 2014
Legislative Update
by James M. Slevin, Vice President
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Lobby Day & Albany Roundup.
n April 29th over 150 UFA members descended on the State Capital to push the UFA legislative agenda. Members were given legislative agenda packets and sent to lobby their legislators. Included in the packets were bills on CUNY Tuition Waiver, Veterans Service Credit, Line of Duty Widows COLA, WTC Registration Reopener and a Tier III Pension Fix.
The UFA Executive Board and some of the members in attendance attended meetings with the leadership including Speaker Silver and Co-Majority Leaders Jeff Klein and Dean Skelos. These meetings along with a great turnout for Lobby Day resulted in multiple UFA supported bills getting passed at the end of the session. This success is in addition to the UFA getting the first bill of the year passed and signed but the Governor, the WTC Legacy Credit Fix. Unfortunately the top priority, Tier III Pension Fix, did not advance because we were unable to get a home rule from the NYC Council. This was a big disappointment and we believe the cities cost estimates were wrong. We will continue to lobby the City Council and not let up until this important legislation passes.
The bills that passed now have to be sent to the Governor for his approval. We will keep the members apprised of this progress through the website and 65-2’s. Members should also look out for important information regarding the upcoming elections in New York State. Every member of the Senate and Assembly is up for election in addition to races for Governor, Attorney General and State Comptroller. We anticipate being active in all of these races and will need a large turnout from the membership. The full list of Bills that have passed both the Senate and Assembly that affect UFA members:
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WTC Registration Reopener S7628 (Golden) A9562 (Abbate) This bill would implement the recommendations of the September Eleventh Worker Protection Task Force ("911 Task Force") to address limitations in existing disability laws that were intended to protect public employees who suffer injuries or illnesses as a result of their participation in rescue, recovery and cleanup directly related to the terrorist attacks of September Eleventh by reopening and extending the expired statutory deadline for filing statement of participations. Line of Duty Widows COLA S.6467-A (Golden)/A.8484-A (Markey) This legislation extends the escalation of a cost of living increase of approximately 3% for all line-of-duty widows or widowers for fiscal year 2014-15. Veterans Service Credit S.4714-A (Larkin)/A.6974-A (Paulin) This legislation would expand the current veteran retirement buyback by removing limitations on the periods of time during which military service was rendered for purposes of determining eligibility. The bill also removes the limitations that the applicant served in the theatre of operations during the period of conflict. Negotiability of Disciplinary Procedures A9853 (Abbate)/S7801 (Golden) This bill amends Section 76 of the Civil Service Law to modify the language relied on by several courts in holding disciplinary procedures to be outside the protection of the Taylor Law where any other law commits discipline to the discretion of local officials and to make it clear that other competitive class public employees in this state are entitled to collectively bargain the disciplinary procedures that affect them in their employment. The bill would also restore the provisions of any collective bargaining agreements or interest arbitration awards between public employers and public employee organizations relative to discipline that were invalidated by judicial or administrative decisions.
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NO. 2 2014
LOD Funeral Committee
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by Matthew M. DesJardin, E-325 Queens Trustee
ince its inception in 2002, the UFA Line Of Duty Funeral Fund (LODFF) has been our members’ unique way of repaying the kindness and support extended to us in the days, weeks, and months, after September 11, 2001, when Firefighters from all over the country flooded into New York City, eager to help in any way they could. In just the past 18 months the LODFF has sent 99 members to funerals in 15 cities.
The UFA Funeral Fund Committee is made up of members representing each borough and is chaired by a UFA Executive Board member, the Queens Trustee. The current borough representatives are: Joseph Connolly (E-66, Bronx); Edward Lawler (L-140, Queens); Matthew Gianone (E151, Staten Island); Sal Argano (E-10, Manhattan) and Frank Fracchiolla (E-201, Brooklyn). Christine Early serves as LOD Fund Administrator.
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schedule to determine attendees within the firehouse. The firehouses rotate through the five boroughs.
While every attempt is made to follow attendance procedure strictly, from time-to-time, last-minute decisions and substitutions must be made in order to get our members where they need to be. Therefore it is important to keep in mind that flexibility is a key element in this process. The most significant change to the UFA LOD Funeral Fund is that the LOD Fund will now provide financial assistance (based on need) to the honor company of any UFA member that dies in the Line of Duty or WTC-related LOD death, to help offset the costs related to that event. Amounts of up to $2,500 are available for disbursement, and will be determined by the UFA Executive Board.
The program is still going strong, and the appreciation from other towns and cities never diminishes. The fact that we are still traveling, thirteen years after 9/11 attests to how much it means to our members to be able to continue to express gratitude and show respect in an ongoing and deeply meaningful way. It also ensures that no This article is intended to provide updates one—not the members of Local 94, nor the memon some changes to the LOD Fund operation as bers of any of the Locals across North America well as to address some commonly asked ques- that we pay these sad visits to—will ever forget tions. the sacrifices of any of our fallen brother firefighters. Members are called upon to attend according to a firehouse attendance schedule, which was established to ensure every company gets a chance to represent the UFA and minimize the confusion and volume of inquiry calls when an out-of-town funeral occurs.
The schedule is ordered numerically within each borough (as opposed to being ordered by battalion), starting with the lowest-numbered engine company and working upwards numerically, including single truck companies, with special units at the end. The Fund Administrator works with the Delegates of companies next on the
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NO. 2 2014
Recording Secretary’s Update
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by LeRoy C. McGinnis, E-266 Chair-UFA Scholarship Committee
n existence since 2002, one of the UFA’s most important and popular funds has been the Annual Scholarship Fund, which helps with the high costs of post-secondary undergraduate education. Active UFA members continue to contribute toward maintaining this fund that helps so many of our families. Over the course of its 12-year existence, the fund has given out over 10,000 scholarships (totaling over 5.3 million dollars). On June 30th the UFA hosted a Golf Outing Fundraiser, and through the generosity of our supporters and hard work of the Board, we raised over $100,000 in new funds.
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Active members, spouses of LOD-deceased UFA members, and dependent children of non-LOD deceased UFA members, are also eligible to receive scholarships for undergraduate education. All eligible individuals must fill out an application and provide proof of enrollment.
Applications become available on the UFA website(http://www.ufanyc.org/funds/scholar911.php) late each summer and have an October deadline. Applications are processed by Katie Kelly who can be contacted at Kkelly@ufanyc.org or 646-839-6506. Current Committee members include: James Ippolito, E-236 (Brooklyn); Mike Canale, E-59 (Manhattan); John DeBenedittis, E-289 (Queens); Matt Gianone, E151 (Staten Island); Brian Hennelly, E-42 (Bronx).
This scholarship is for dependent children of active, retired, or deceased Firefighters, Fire Marshals, and Marine Wipers.. Applicants up to and including the age of 23, must be full-time undergraduates currently enrolled in a college, trade, or vocational school.
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NO. 2 2014
IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial
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by LeRoy C. McGinnis, E-266 UFA Recording Secretary
The 2014 IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 20, 2014. The mission of the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial, which is located in the shadow of Pike's Peak, is to honor the sacrifice made by IAFF members who serve as professional fire fighters and emergency medical personnel who have given their lives in the line of duty (LOD). Previously only members that had succumbed to an LOD injury or an onduty heart attack had been submitted to the IAFF and had their names added to the memorial.
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event begins at 1PM MST, and will be broadcast live via the IAFF website.
Any inquiries about the UFA members being added to the wall should be directed to the Recording Secretary’s office. UFA Members inscribed in 2013 included the following:
Michael Sofia E-165, William St George E-236, Martin “Marty” Simmons L-111, John McNamara E234, RobetHauber E-284, Robert Ford E-284, Richie Manetta L-156, James Ryan L-167, Roy Chelsen E-28, Willie T. Franklin E-65, Brian Malloy L-80, Steven Mosiello BFI, Carl Capobianco L-87, Ray Ragucci E5, Chris Whelehan L-111, Larry Sullivan R-5, Mike The UFA is now able to submit the names of Behette E-227, Marty Mchale BFI, Charles “Chuck” members who died either active or retired and were Jones L-165 classified WTC LOD by the pension boards, since 2002. The IAFF website www.iaff.org has a section The following members will be inscribed on dedicated to this event, including year-by-year listings the wall at this year’s ceremony:Kevin Delano, Sr Lof all IAFF members that have been placed on the wall 142, Vincent AlbaneseL-38, William “Billy” Quick Lsince 1976. Included on the homepage are photo gal- 134, Aldolfo “Al” Otano E-202, and Walter leries of recent ceremonies. This year’s memorial “Wally” Torres.
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NO. 2 2014
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The UFAâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;Executive Board and Firefighters with Co-Majority Leader Jeff Klein at Lobby Day, April 29, 2014.
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FF. William Greco, E-68, was elected the new UFA Bronx Trustee and looks forward to serving the membership. His term begins on August 1st.
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Uniformed Firefighters Association 204 EAST 23rd STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10010-9998 Tel (212) 683-4832 • Fax (212) 683-0710 www.ufanyc.org
STEPHEN J. CASSIDY President ENG 236
JAMES M. SLEVIN Vice President ROBERT STRAUB Treasurer
LAD 7
ENG 45
JOHN G. KELLY, JR Trustee-Brooklyn ENG 201 Chairman, Board of Trustees
MATTHEW M. DESJARDIN Trustee-Queens ENG 325 VINCENT SPECIALE Trustee-Manhattan
STEPHEN J. CASSIDY Editor-In-Chief
ENG 55
LEROY C. MCGINNIS Recording Secretary
GERARD FITZGERALD Health & Safety Officer Sergeant-at-Arms EDWARD BROWN Trustee-Bronx
ERIC BISCHOFF Trustee-Staten Island
STEVEN TAGLIANI Fire Marshal Representative
STEPHEN N. SYMBOLIK III Managing Editor
ENG 266 ENG 318 LAD 48
ENG 161 BFI
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