The Aberdeen IAFF local has now succeeded in forcing the City of Westport to back out of its contract with Stafford Creek. According to what I have read, IAFF "bylaws" do not allow union members to "serve in non-union positions." I know for a fact that serveral IAFF members who work for the Aberdeen and Hoquiam Fire Departments are volunteers for the Montesano Fire Department, which is at least partially non-union, or for fire districts which are entirely non-union. I know that most if not all of these people get paid at least something when they respond to fires and ambulance calls. Why is it okay for them to do that if the South Beach Ambulance employees, who by the way are professional EMT's or Paramedics - not professional firefighters, are not allowed to volunteer with the Westport Fire Department. This is hypocrisy, pure and simple. I can't understand why the Daily World has failed to point this out.

Montesano didn't recently win a contract away from another large local entity. Allegedly.

Exactly. It all boils down to this: The union Aberdeen Firefighters are forcing other union members to refrain from doing something that is good for their own community, but bad for the Aberdeen Firefighters. The tail is wagging the dog.

There are no Aberdeen FD personnel who volunteer with Montesano. I know their chief and he confirmed that. They do have a couple of guys who used to volunteer with Monte, but the union forced them to quit when they got hired at AFD. Supposedly there's one of them that volunteer with an all volunteer department up in Thurston County, but that's a different situation. The bylaws simply say they can't volunteer with a department that's also represented by the IAFF (which would make them a "scab" in the union's eye) or that is in material competition with an IAFF department. There are, however, several Hoquiam personnel who volunteer with Montesano.

Regardless, Aberdeen's union wins, but I wonder if the loss of political capital is going to be worth it.

I haven't read their bylaws, but I have read the letter from the Regional IAFF representative, and he implies that the bylaws state that they cannot volunteer for a district or city that is not a union fire department. Period. Westport is not a union fire department. South Beach Ambulance, a separate entity, is union. When its employees volunteer with the Westport Fire Department, they are doing nothing different than what the Aberdeen and Hoquiam Firefighters are doing when they volunteer for a fire district or with Montesano, or Cosmopolis, or any other non-union department. And yet the IAFF is silent.

I think that's part of the problem. The IAFF gives each local the decision making ability on what constitutes a complaint. Hoquiam apparently doesn't care what their guys do when they're off duty. Hence the reason so many of them volunteer around the Harbor. Aberdeen, however, takes a pretty strict view on their people volunteering. They made their guys who volunteered at Monte quit and they also decided to enforce bylaws on neighboring Westport when they tried to take some business away from them. Their guy who volunteers in Thurston County apparently doesn't raise their ire because it's an entirely volunteer department.

As a former union shop steward, I actually side with the Aberdeen guys, at least in theory. Can you imagine what would happen if I went in to the PUD and said I wanted to work as a lineman for free? Or maybe if I was a PUD union lineman but I lived in Thurston County and decided I loved doing it so much I wanted to volunteer my time with Puget Power on the weekends. I would understand the unions in this scenario being pretty *issed off, and I would agree. That's nothing more than being a scab worker. I don't think the fire department should be much different when it comes to union issues, but the reality is a little bit different when it comes to public perception. The public expects public safety issues should supersede union issues.

I agree with you concerning your PUD hypothetical. The thing is, Westport Fire Department is an all volunteer fire department, just like the Thurston County fire district that you mentioned. The only difference is that four employees of South Beach Ambulance, who are members of the IAFF, volunteer for the Westport Fire Department. They are not volunteering as EMT's or Paramedics, which is what South Beach Ambulance pays them for. They are volunteering strictly as firefighters, and in that respect they are no more "professional" than any of the other volunteers who do not work at South Beach Ambulance. In order to prevent Westport from getting an additional $50,000 plus revenue, that it could sorely use, the Aberdeen IAFF local suddenly made an issue of the four South Beach Ambulance people volunteering for Westport. They didn't care before.

And this is a situation that taxpayers are always crying for - "cut down on expenditures.."

not really, I guess

I'd say once Westport FD accepts money to fight fires outside of town it becomes a "professional" department.

You will never get the union firefighters to agree to call volunteers "professional." Have you noticed those personalized license plates on vehicles with the IAFF logo on them, and the words "professional firefighter?" When they first came out a few volunteer firefighters obtained them and when the union found out they insisted that they be taken back.

I am in a career where I went to school, received a degree, took an exam, receiving National Certification. I must obtain yearly continuing education to maintain my certification. Now, one could go to the state and apply for a license, pay the fee and do what I do as well. I work in a potentially dangerous field, where one that wasn't sufficiently trained could cause serious harm. I would not call those people professional. I imagine that the firefighters that have gone to school, trained, applied for and received a job, have that same mindset.

Except that most of the firefighters in our area did not go to firefighting school, or train, before they became firefighters. Most of them got their training on the job, at taxpayer expense, unless they became volunteers at a Fire District and spent their own time getting training. I have a great deal of respect for the commitment and motivation of the latter group.

I always thought the union license plates with "professional firefighter" on them were a bit tacky. It implies that anyone who's not in the IAFF is not professional. It would have been better to have said "IAFF Firefighter" or "Union Firefighter" or even "Career Firefighter."

With that being said, however, I don't understand why the volunteers would want one. Why would a volunteer want a license plate that has the IAFF symbol on it? In any case, the IAFF does have ability to specify who can and can't have the plates since they created them. Any group who creates one of those specilized plates can do that.

Professional in that they're doing it for money. Or would the term "mercenary" be more apt?

I know little about all this but have questions. Aren't volunteer firefighters actually paid for their hours? Or is that only true in some volunteer operations? Do volunteers pay for their own training? I also thought the volunteer departments paid for their training. Or is this something that varies?

I'm not sure about all the departments on the Harbor, but I know there are some departments that do pay an hourly "stipend" whenever their volunteers respond on a call. A lot of departments are finding this is the only way to keep volunteers in this day and age. Monte in particular has some volunteers that make a decent side job out of being a volunteer. They're paid an hourly wage whenever they go on an ambulance transport. Volunteers in Washington also have a pension system. I don't think it's much, but it's a good incentive (I heard once it was about $400 a month after 25 years service, but that could be off). As to training, I have no idea. I would assume most departments, volunteer or not, pay for the training of their personnel.

Thanks. $400 a month pension is pretty good for an on-call job that's not full-time, imho.

Do you know of any other union that is allowed to have its own specialized license plate in the State of Washington? The Teamsters? AFSCME? I don't. I usually notice the IAFF plates when I am being paseed by a huge pickup or SUV going about 10 miles over the speed limit.

I have seen them on smaller vehicles, but those aren't as noticeable.

They're actually Washington State Council of Fire Fighters plates. Only WSCFF members can purchase them. While all WSCFF members are IAFF members, not all IAFF members belong to the WSCFF.

I don't, but I guess that's because no other union has bothered to apply for one. In theory, and according to state law, any group like the PUD union or even the teacher's union could apply to have their own plate created. All you need is enough signatures and money.

The last I heard (and this has been a while ago) the Washington State Volunteer Firefighter's Association was looking at creating their own license plate as well. Don't know if that went anywhere or not.

You are correct Wally. Here is the RCW that authorizes the plate. The WSCFF lobby was obviously hard at work.

RCW 46.16.30901

The department shall issue a special license plate displaying a symbol, approved by the special license plate review board, for professional firefighters and paramedics who are members of the Washington State Council of Firefighters. Upon initial application and subsequent renewals, applicants must show proof of eligibility by providing a certificate of current membership from the Washington State Council of Firefighters. The special license plate may be used in lieu of regular or personalized license plates for vehicles required to display one or two vehicle license plates, excluding vehicles registered under chapter 46.87 RCW, upon the terms and conditions established by the department.

I guess Pat Glebe met with and came to some agreement with Aberdeen FD...less $$ than before.

This one annoyed me, major budget cuts on all State agencies, DOC included, and trying to save money was the right thing to do. Would have been great for Westport, too.

Simpson and FD still live on in my mind as bullies. Mr Glebe, by the way, is a class act.

It looked to me like Westport was being used as a pawn to get leverage with the city of Aberdeen. The DOC was happy to give Westport a reduced payment, knowing that any call that was beyond Westport's capacity would be answered by Aberdeen anyhow. When they perhaps wouldn't get the response they wanted, they recommended that Westport back out of the deal. They're getting what they want, professional service at volunteer prices. Now, how does that make anyone in Aberdeen the bullies?

Harborknight, your facts are all wrong, but it is academic now. The DOC was not using anyone as a pawn. It was just trying to reduce its costs for a service. Westport was willing to do it for a reduced price. Then Aberdeen and its IAFF members protested and caused Westport to back out, or lose 4 of its volunteers, who happened to be IAFF members and employed at a private ambulance company. The end result is that DOC now gets the service for the same price it was willing to pay Westport and Aberdeen gets to keep about 60% of the revenue that it would have lost had Westport been left with the contract. In my opinion, the City of Westport got screwed, but not by DOC.

Harborknight is pretty much right on. DOC was well aware of mutual aid and the fact that Aberdeen FD pretty much had respond anyway. So why pay more when you can get it for free.

Since you weren't involved in the process (except maybe in the end when Hoquiam thought about making a play for the contract until Hoquiams own unions told the city no - this info came from your own city staff btw) then you really wouldn't know everything that was said or done now would you.

Fact is Aberdeen would have been more than willing to work with DOC from the beginning. After 10 years of cooperation and service DOC chose to not even contact Aberdeen in any meaningful way to find out what the city would be willing to do in order to help. No warning or even a chance to match any offer. A two line email was pretty much the only correspondence.

Regarding the union the city had nothing to do with that. No matter what Michael Bruce might think the city does not control the union. You of all people should know that. The first most within elected city government heard about it was after the union already filed its complaint.

Just like to add that a few weeks back you attacked union members for being hypocrites, etc for being volunteers themselves. I checked. For the most part none are members(can't speak for Hoquiam).

It was explained to me by union membership that being a member of any volunteer fire department that has any paid members or contracts with a paid department is discouraged and if found out the member is told to resign their volunteer position.

I was told there were a few newer ones that may not have resigned yet. That was still being checked on last time I asked.

Now obviously without going down the entire list and checking it against the membership of every volunteer department I have no idea if every single member is following this but according to what I've been told it is accurate.

All I know about some of your firefighters being volunteers elsewhere is what I have been told by people who should know. I recognzie that it might be a small percentage that are volunteers, but supposedly it is against the IAFF bylaws -- period. I know for a fact that some of the Hoquiam firefightgers are volunteers in Montesano, and elsewhere. Apparently, the union turns a blind eye to that. Either it is a violation of the union bylaws to volunteer, or it isn't. They can't have it both ways.

And your information about Hoquiam making a play until the union said "no", is BS. I don't know which "city staff" told you that. The union doesn't tell the administration what to do over here. Granted, they try. Administration (mainly the fire chief) did not believe that it was in Hoquiam's best interest to contract to perform fire services so far outside the City limits.