Political Action News

Political Action News

Firefighters Union Makes Presence Felt at City Hall
(The North County Times)

August 30, 2008 - Oceanside, CA - Lately, Oceanside's City Council members have been seeing red.

Firefighters, clad in vibrant red polo shirts emblazoned with their union logo, have been making silent appearances at recent City Council meetings.

Sitting elbow-to-elbow in the back few rows, they've watched the proceedings until long after the watchdogs, honorees and other spectators have called it a night.

This presence in the council chambers, which comes at the outset of election season, hasn't gone unnoticed. "Several questions have been asked about the firefighters who are attending council meetings in red shirts," Darryl Hebert, the Fire Department's administrative division chief, told Chief Terry Garrison in an Aug. 21 memorandum.

The department, Hebert said, is not organizing "these events," and the participating firefighters are not on duty.

Mayor Jim Wood, who was backed by the union during his 2004 campaign, said the firefighters "are probably getting actively involved in the community to see what's going on." It is election time, after all, he said.

Historically the 110-member Oceanside Firefighters' Association has had a loud voice in the city's elections, donating cash and time to its favored candidates.

With more than $117,000 in its campaign war chest as of June 30, the union could again wield considerable sway.

Councilman Jack Feller said he had "no idea" why the firefighters had been putting in time at the meetings, but "it's somewhat intimidating to have them in the crowd." He later clarified, "I'm not saying it's intimidating to me. But it could be intimidating."

The union hasn't made its endorsements yet for the Nov. 4 election, but campaign filings show it has contributed to Wood and City Council candidate Charles Lowery earlier this year.

Wood is running for re-election against City Councilman Rocky Chavez.

Lowery is part of an eight-person field competing for two open seats on the City Council. Both incumbent council members, Feller and Esther Sanchez, are seeking re-election.

Union President Ray Melendrez said Wednesday that members of his group are spending nights at City Hall simply to learn more about the issues facing the city. "It's not a political move on our part," Melendrez said. "It's a move for us to educate ourselves."

And the matching attire? "We wear our red shirts because we're proud of our organization," Melendrez said. "We're proud of the work we do for the city of Oceanside ... We want the community to know that we're interested. We want the community to know that we're involved."

He declined to comment on the timing of the appearances.

Sanchez, who is seeking the union's endorsement, said she welcomed the red shirts in the crowd. "I think it's good that employees want to learn more about how the council works and who they would like to support for the next election," she said.

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Virginia Fire Fighters Take Aggressive Political Action Approach
(International Association of Fire Fighters)

April 17, 2008 – Lynchburg, VA local 1146 is taking a strong, proactive approach to the fight for safe staffing, working conditions and benefits. Over the next three weeks, Local 1146 fire fighters will be campaigning hard to elect four public safety supporters to the Lynchburg City Council.

The local is endorsing incumbents Dr. Mike Gillette, Reverend Caesor Johnson and Jeff Helgeson. Lynchburg fire fighters are also supporting newcomer Turner Perrow.

This is not the first time the fire fighters have taken political action. But this election cycle, Local 1146 is using a more focused approach. Several members of the local attended a political action class at the last Affiliate Leadership Training Summit (ALTS) and applied the strategies learned there and to their overall campaign plan.

As it chose who to endorse, Local 1146 looked at past records of the incumbents, asked all candidates to fill out an issue-based questionnaire and held a candidate forum.

“Each candidate we endorsed demonstrated to us their commitment to public safety and to our fire fighters,” says Jason Campbell, president of Local 1146. “Like other IAFF affiliates, we look to support candidates who are supportive of issues important to us: staffing, safety, compensation and benefits. We do not base our support on political party affiliation.”

Election day is May 6, 2008.

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Clinton Campaign Tells Cicilline to Stay Away hen She’s in R.I.
(The Providence Journal)

February 22, 2008 - PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Hillary Clinton has told Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, her former state campaign chair, that he is barred from attending her Rhode Island appearance Sunday afternoon, for fear that his presence would cause disruptive protests by the Providence firefighters union.

Cicilline said he will stay away on Sunday, but this may cause him to question his support for the New York senator, who he has stumped for locally and in New Hampshire during that state’s primary. “It’s obviously something for me to think about very carefully, because I am very disappointed in the decision of the Clinton campaign. I’m not prepared to say more than that today. I obviously have tremendous respect for Senator Clinton, but I’m very disappointed in the decision of her campaign today,” Cicilline said.

Cicilline, a Rhode Island superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, said he has not talked to anyone from the Obama campaign regarding this incident.

Cicilline has been locked in a five-year contract dispute with the city’s firefighters union, Local 799 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the firefighters have repeatedly picketed the Rhode Island appearances of national political figures. In September, Cicilline was forced to resign as Clinton’s statewide campaign co-chairman and pledge not to attend her East Greenwich event when firefighters threatened to picket.
The firefighters had a picket planned for this weekend’s appearance at Rhode Island College. Local 799 President Paul Doughty said that he contacted the Clinton campaign two weeks ago to let them know the firefighters planned to picket, and said he was happy with the result. “Absolutely. I think Hillary Clinton’s a good judge of character,” Doughty crowed.

Clinton’s Rhode Island campaign chairwoman, Christine Heenan, did not return calls seeking comment last night.
The rumbling on this appearance began last week, as local Clinton backers with ties to Cicilline began lobbying the Providence mayor not to attend the event. He said the Clinton campaign also urged him to simply settle with the firefighters so that the issue would not continue to plague her local appearances. “I was contacted by people from the national campaign and people locally to attempt to get me to cave in to the demands of the firefighters, which I refused to do,” Cicilline said.

When Cicilline said he would do neither, he got a call yesterday from the political director of Clinton’s national campaign, Guy Cecil, who told him not to come.

Cicilline said there was no workable solution here that would allow him to attend. “There’s no way to make this work that wouldn’t involve caving to the demands of this union,” he said.

As for Cicilline’s new plans for Sunday? There’s a fundraiser for the Providence schools that day, and Cicilline said he’s happy to attend that instead.

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FIREPAC Hits $2 Million!
(International Association of Fire Fighters)  

December 13, 2007 - For the first time in its history, FIREPAC has raised $2 million in a single calendar year. This milestone follows on the heels of FIREPAC’s successful fundraising efforts during the critical 2006 election year when it reached a record $1.9 million.

One of the nation’s top political action committees, FIREPAC experienced another first in 2007, raising more than 50 percent of its election cycle goal in the first year of the cycle. Previously, FIREPAC’s best non-election year (on a percentage of money raised) was in 2003 when it raised 46 percent of its goal. For the 2007-2008 election cycle, FIREPAC has set a fundraising goal of $3.75 million.

This steady growth is in part due to increased participation in the FIREPAC Check-Off program, an automatic payroll deduction. Currently, 179 locals participate in the Check-Off program, a 497 percent increase over the past seven years. The program alone raised more than $1.1 million in 2007, and in 2006 surpassed the $1 million level for the first time.

“I’m proud that our members have recognized the good work that FIREPAC has done, and have validated our efforts by continuing to support FIREPAC at this amazing level,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “But there is still a lot for us to do. The 2008 election year is going to be another busy one for the IAFF gold and black political brand, and we need to have the PAC resources to continue to elect pro-IAFF candidates.”

To establish a FIREPAC Check-Off program for your local, visit the FIREPAC section of the IAFF web site, send an email to firepac@iaff.org or contact the IAFF Political Action Department at (202) 824-1592.

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Pennsylvania Fire Fighters’ Political Power Rising Fast
(International Association of Fire Fighters)

October 23, 2007 – Just one year after starting its own FIREPAC, Johnstown, PA Local 463 fire fighters are already seeing a difference in their political influence. In fact, for the first time, candidates for city and county council sought Local 463’s endorsement.

“I am proud of the success we have had so quickly,” says Art Martynuska, president of Local 463 and chair of FIREPAC 463. “Last year, we were able to turn one candidate’s campaign around in a short time. I think that is why our endorsement has become a hot commodity.”

In 2006, Local 463 endorsed City Council candidate Ann Wilson. Only six weeks before the election, polls showed Wilson in last place. But thanks to strong Johnstown fire fighter support, Wilson won her seat on the council.

Local 463 members’ political savvy comes from what they learned at the IAFF Political Training Academy. Martynuska and FIREPAC 463 treasurer Neil Crossen are both graduates. “We learned everything there -- from how to create a candidate survey to demographic polling,” says Martynuska.

This year, Johnstown fire fighters have endorsed three candidates for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and 14 other city and county candidates in the November election.

“In this election, win or lose, we will be making it clear that, as a political force, we are here to stay,” says Martynuska.

For more information about FIREPAC, click here. For more information on the IAFF Political Training Academy, click here.