This is Our Country

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This is Our Country Video

Muscular Dystrophy Association Annual Walk

IAFF Local 237 Charities Members assist at the annual MD Walk

2009 IAFF Canadian Legislative Conference

----Dana Terry -- MP Rick Casson --Dan McDonald -------- Dana Terry--Senator Joyce Fairbairn--Dan McDonald

On April 26-29 myself, and Dan McDonald had the honour of attending the 16th Annual Canadian Legislative Conference in Ottawa. This was the largest Legislative Conference that has been held in Ottawa with 138 delegates from all over Canada.

On the first day of the conference we were addressed by several speakers on various political topics and how they related to the issues we were bringing forward to our MP's. The IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger talked to us about the history and importance of political action. He shared about the successes they have experienced in the US by lobbying the political leaders. He also reiterated the wins we have experienced through political action.

Jack Layton, leader of the federal NDP party, made it very clear that his party supports all of the efforts of the IAFF and they have attempted to introduce legislation into the House to reflect our current lobbying asks. Mr. Layton, along with nearly every other speaker that addressed us, reinforced that the firefighters lobby efforts are the most respected on the Hill (we also put on the best reception of anyone!).

Rob Simonds, fire chief of Saint John, NB, brought greetings on behalf of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs. This year three of our five issues are being added to the lobbying efforts of the CAFC and revolve around firefighter safety. Chief Simonds stated that having a common voice on issues, brought to the politicians, is far more beneficial and will produce better results sooner.

Charles Momy, president of the Canadian Police Association, stated that this was the first year that they have worked in coordination with the IAFF on the Public Safety Officer Compensation issue. This effort was mentioned by several of our MP's that may prove to be the initiative needed to finally get this legislation passed.

Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberal Party, and Peter Van Loan, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, all addressed the delegates and promised us much without promising all.

Sheila Copps was our keynote speaker and outlined the best steps to effective lobbying:
- As lobbyists, if we want to accomplish our goals we need to make the politicians are our friends.
- If at first you don't succeed, try, try again - this is a long term approach
- Don't affiliate with only one party. This is something we already do well - we will support those candidates that support us and our cause
- Build relationships not demands. It is more beneficial to support your friends (it pays you back in other ways).
- Keep it simple and come prepared. The IAFF has done an excellent job preparing it's documentation and it's delegates for lobbying our MP's.

A rundown of our legislative issues can be found at - http://www.iaff.org/Canada/FactSheets/index.htm

We met with MP Rick Casson first thing Tuesday morning and were able to go over our issues with him. Mr. Casson was knowledgeable about our subjects, showed genuine concern about our issues and his voting history proves this. Senator Joyce Fairbairn (MP Ted Menzies was unfortunately unavailable this year) was pleasant and went out of her way to meet with us. We were able to explain our issues with her and her assistant and then visit the senate to hear some of the debates.

The statements we heard from both of our visits and from our guest speakers were consistent; the key to successful lobbying is persistence. The firefighters lobby efforts have already been successful on several issues and will continue to be effective if we deliver consistent messages to our decision makers. Political action is the only effective means of achieving the goals that we have set and the message we hear on parliament hill confirms that.

Dana Terry
Treasurer - Lethbridge Firefighters Local 237
IAFF 6th District EMS Representative

Province's Plan Could Reduce Fire, EMS Capabilities

Lethbridge's dual-trained Fire Fighter- Paramedics are concerned that looming changes to provincial ambulance services, mandated recently by the Alberta Government, will eventually result in the breakup of the city's dual-service emergency services department and lead to reduced response capabilities to both medical emergencies and fires in the city.

On April 1, the Alberta Government is uploading responsibility for the oversight and funding of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the province, a move that creates confusion and uncertainty in fully-integrated fire-EMS departments like that in Lethbridge.

Rob Chollak, President of the Lethbridge Fire Fighter-Paramedics Association, IAFF Local 237, is concerned that the move will eventually lead to a splitting of the current department into two separate departments, a move that would erase almost a century of work that's gone into the development of one of the most efficient and effective fire-based EMS models in North America.

"Fire-based medical response is considered the gold standard across North America, with the best response times and the best patient outcomes, Chollak says. "It's the model that other cities envy. So to risk breaking it up, and losing a system that's served the city well for almost 100 years doesn't make any sense," he said.

"This plan needs to be re-examined and the provincial government needs to know that the citizens of Lethbridge expect and deserve fast and effective response to both fires and medical emergencies, today and in the future."

The Lethbridge Fire Department has operated the city's ambulance service since 1912, and since then it has grown to become one of the most efficient and effective dual-service departments in North America. The training and education of fire-EMS personnel has progressed from basic first aid to full Paramedics with Advanced Life Support (ALS) skills.

In most other Canadian provinces, where cities' fire and ambulance services are totally separate and fire fighters don't have ALS training, ALS-level response by paramedics is commonly 15 to 20 minutes away, compared to four to nine minutes in Lethbridge, Chollak notes. "We may not realize what we've got. But when you look at the facts, we have among the best ALS response anywhere in Canada. Why mess with it?"

Alberta Health has also suggested that ambulance personnel, who are fully-trained fire fighters, will not be used for any other duties except EMS and healthcare, a restriction that would suddenly limit the resources available to the fire department in the event of major fire calls or simultaneous calls in the city.

Chollak notes there are also concerns about changes in dispatch. The City of Lethbridge had been dispatching its own ambulances since 1912, but the provincial government is also taking the ambulance dispatch service away, which means 911 calls for ambulance service will soon be transferred to another dispatcher, probably in another city.

"This could make it quite difficult to determine a correct address or location for where an ambulance is needed," Chollak says. "Someone taking a call in another city may have no idea when it comes to specifying locations, and there could be a significant delay in determining where this location is and which ambulance to send. This is at a time when seconds can mean the difference between life and death."

Yet another major problem is the communication gap that will exist between the ambulance service and fire and police, as their dispatchers will no longer be in the same room, even the same city.

Under the Alberta government's plan, Lethbridge ambulances could be redirected to other Alberta communities if needed, which could double their utilization. This is a major concern, Chollak says, because already there are 150 so-called "Code Reds" - when all available ambulances are busy - every year.

Currently, when a Code Red occurs, Lethbridge's dual-trained fire fighters respond to the call and provide ALS medical care until an ambulance arrives. But with Alberta Health dispatching ambulances, it could become difficult for our fire apparatus to be dispatched promptly and accurately to EMS calls to fill the gap during Code Reds.

"We, the front line workers of this service are very concerned with what may happen to EMS service in our city," Chollak says. "Fire -based EMS is the right choice for the citizens of Lethbridge. We encourage all to help support our mayor and council as they urge our provincial MLAs and the Alberta Government to revisit these plans and ensure they are not needlessly destroying a service that has been saving lives in Lethbridge effectively for almost a century."

Affiliate Leadership Training Summit

The ALTS (Affiliate Leadership Training Summit) was held in Phoenix, AZ this year , Warren Nelson and myself were able to attend. ALTS is a training conference held every year, hosted by the IAFF, to train and equip union leaders to effectively carry out their duties as union officials.

The first day of the conference was a description of how the IAFF operates and what it does for us as union members. Here are some of the benefits and services that the IAFF provides us:

Governmental affairs
the use of political action to educate the leaders and decision makers of the country so they understand our issues.
o Bi partisan - support candidates that support us regardless of party affiliation.
o FirePAC - money that is collected from local members to support political action activities
o Political training academy - training course for union members on how we can be more effective in lobbying.
o The Canadian office of the IAFF models our political action lobby after the US lobby.

Canadian IAFF office
o Canadian Legislative Conference
o Canadian Policy Conference
o Affiliate requests for assistance - collective bargaining, health and safety, labour relations, public and media relations and strategic advice.

Technical assistance and advice - oversee labour issues and collective bargaining, fire/EMS operations/GIS, and other field services
o Municipal financial analysis services - shows the financial status of the city or municipality. We have used and will continue to use this valuable service.
o EMS and fire integration strategies - assists departments that want to add some form of EMS into their fire departments.
o GIS (geographic information system) studies - determine if stations/apparatus are positioned effectively.

Legal department - assistance with specific issues
o Emergency disputes fund
o Guardian policy - protects union officials doing union work
o IAFF constitution and bylaws

Education, training and human relations
o Regional PEP (partnership education programs) courses
o ALTS
o Online resources for union members – some are available on the EMS Jane website
o Human relations - training and outreach on issues regarding human relations and diversity.
o Hazardous materials and WMD training program. Due to our own political action in Canada we now receive $500,000 a year from the government for this IAFF developed program to educate our members.

Communications and media
o IAFF magazine
o Web site
o Media awards -PR for the fire service by awarding media for their coverage of emergency incidents
o Union Sportsman's Alliance

Information Technology - Website
o Used by executive members to update member rosters, request assistance, and educational information on union issues

Health Safety and Medicine
o Presumptive legislation assistance
o PSOB - Public Safety Officer Compensation - when a firefighter dies in the line of duty the federal government pays out an amount (in excess of $300,000 at this time). The Canadian office has been, and continues, to lobby the federal government for this benefit.
o Liaison/contacts - NIOSH, OSHA, NFPA, Firefighter Near Miss
o Grants and initiatives
o IAFF/IAFC joint health and wellness program

IAFF Financial Corporation - To Canadian IAFF members, offers home and vehicle insurance through TD Insurance

Work with Muscular Dystrophy Association


As 2008 ends and we enter 2009, IAFF Local 237 will be going into negotiations. I spent two days of the conference taking courses on negotiations. Here is an outline of what our negotiations entail:

- The union receives proposals for negotiations from the membership and the union executive. During an executive meeting with the trustees the executive makes recommendations on each of the proposals. These recommendations are then voted on at a membership meeting.
- Both sides submit proposals and begin to divide proposals into housekeeping (non-monetary issues that are fairly minor in nature), non-monetary issues (which are changes to the agreement that do not incur financial changes to the agreement) and monetary issues (wages, holiday changes/additions, benefits, etc.)
- Negotiations then begin in the hope that both sides can come to an agreement that will satisfy both sides.
- If both sides come to an impasse an appointed government mediator will try to assist the negotiating teams to come to an agreement.
- Binding arbitration is the last resort if both negotiations and mediation are unsuccessful.

Not every item can be negotiated into the contract. Some may be difficult to argue. Some of these issues may be dropped or can be used as bargaining tools.

It is not an easy task deciding which items need to be taken off of the table. The union executive's job is to decide which items can be fought for effectively. Their number one priority is to ensure that the needs of the membership as a whole are met.

The ALTS (Affiliate Leadership Training Summit) was an educational experience for myself. I will be able to use this information during our upcoming Negotiations.

Thanks

Dana Terry
Treasurer IAFF Local 237

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