February 2016 - Baltimore Fire Officers Association

THE
BALTIMORE FIRE OFFICER
LOCAL 964
-STAFFMICHAEL CAMPBELL—TOM SKINNER
By and For the Professional Fire Officer
Volume 15, Issue 2
From the President’s Desk
Michael Campbell
Jason, along with ATTACK
Company 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment is serving in Kuwait as I write. I know this is a
very difficult time for Jason, Faith
and little Madison but the
strength of family along with faith
will see all of us through the Holiday Season as we look forward
to being together again! As I`ve
stated on numerous occasions
life is very good in the Campbell
household! Hope everyone had
the opportunity to spend some
quality time during Thanksgiving
and the upcoming Christmas Holiday! MERRY CHRISTMAS and
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
After a lackluster and often
times frustrating summer we finally moved forward with the
pension litigation. Judge Garbis
scheduled a lawyers’ conference
for December 2, 2015 at 5:30 PM
to establish a briefing and future
litigation schedule for the case
which was returned to him from
the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. In italicized below is an
update from our pension litigation
attorney, Mr. Robert Klausner
concerning our ongoing pension
litigation:
“On December 2nd, the lawyers for the Fire Officers, Fire-
fighters and Police as well as lawyers for the City met with Federal
Judge Garbis to set a briefing
schedule to move the pension
case forward. The Court directed
the City to file a response to the
unions' motion to permit an
amended complaint and move the
case
forward
in
Federal
Court. The City response is due
January 15, 2016 and the unions'
reply is due February 22, 2016.
Thereafter, the Court advised he
would set a hearing. The membership will be advised when the
hearing
date
is
set”.
You can contact the F&P pension system at 410-497-7929 or
www.bcfpers.org.
For the first time since 1990
Locals 964 & 734 will bargain separately for the upcoming Fiscal
Year 17. Below I have explained
what transpired and why. There
are other factors that played into
this decision but will not be aired
here. If anyone wishes to hear of
those other issues I`ll be more
than happy to discuss. 443-6290216.
It came to my attention during
the summer that L-734 was considering negotiating separately
next year. I contacted Rick to set
up a meeting to discuss what I had
heard. Myself, and Tom Nosek
attended the meeting. Rick had
John Burke and Trey Santmyer
with him. When I questioned Rick
as to what I had heard he confirmed that they were indeed discussing negotiating separately. His
IN UNION
THERE IS STRENGTH
December 2015-February 2016
main reason was the letter to the
editor I had written to the Sunpaper concerning the Mayor`s
leadership during the riots and
that the Mayor was really pissed
off at me. The letter also praised
our folks for a tremendous effort
under very difficult times. I reported back to our Executive
Board what transpired at the
meeting. Fast forward and in late
October of 2015 your Executive
Board discussed at length the
possibility of conducting contract
negotiations separate and apart
from The Baltimore Fire Fighters, Local 734 for Fiscal Year
2017. It was decided unanimously that The Baltimore Fire
Officers, Local 964 would in fact
negotiate separately when we
meet with the City in January.
This decision did not come easily for any of us. We all understand the history between the
two Locals and that there is
Strength in Unity but we believe
the role and responsibility of the
Officer has changed dramatically
in recent years and it is our belief that our folks have possibly
being shortchanged for their efforts. Chief Ford along with
Chief`s Wagner and Segal have
all informed me that our Officers
will be held accountable in their
role as supervisors more so than
the rank and file fire fighter. If
that is to be the case, then they
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Fire Officers
Page 2
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK...
...continued from page 1
should be compensated as such.
Our Officers now must attend
MANDATORY educational classes and attain certain degrees
just to sit for exams. They should
be compensated for such. I`m not
naïve enough to believe that we
can or will achieve everything in
one negotiating cycle but as I
stated above this decision was
not done in haste and we believe
it is in the best interests of every
Officer represented by Local 964!
Mr. William V. Taylor, IAFF
4th District Vice President has
chosen not to seek reelection at
the end of his term in the summer
of 2016. The 4th District V.P. represents Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and West Virginia. The
election will take place at the
IAFF 53rd Convention in August.
The primary role of the District
Vice President is to represent and
advocate on behalf of the members of each respective District.
Their primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the
following: Facilitate the distribution of IAFF Resources to affiliate
leaders within the District. This
includes Guardian Policy, Emergency Disputes Fund, and Front
Line Legal Policy assistance. Exercise general supervision and
control over the investments and
disbursements of the funds and/
or property of the IAFF. Organize
new local affiliates of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Mediate disputes between
Local, State, and Provincial Officers. Provide expert witness testimony for interest and grievance
arbitration proceedings. Mentor
new officers and provide internal
local assistance in the area of
Union Administration. Provide
legislative assistance and expert
testimony before municipal, county, and state legislative bodies.
Facilitate training programs in the
fields of communications, labor
relations, employment law, political action, health and wellness,
and pension resources. The following have thrown their hat in
the ring for the 4th DVP position:
Baltimore Fire Fighters President
Rick Hoffman, L-734, President
Art Martynuska, Pennsylvania
Professional Fire Fighters Association & Prince Georges County
President Andrew Pantellis, L1619. President Pantellis is also
a Vice President of the Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland.
Art and Andy called me and requested dates to speak with L964`s Executive Board concerning their announced campaigns.
They both came to our hall in early September on separate dates
to provide us their credentials,
experience and vision for the 4th
District. Each of the presentations
went very well. Andy and Art both
have over 15 years of upper level
Union leadership experience
along with completing the IAFF
Political Training Academy and
the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD. Both hold
Bachelor`s & Master`s degrees in
Political, Fire Science or Public
Safety aspects of higher education. In early October the Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland
(PFFMD) held their biennial Convention. There normally is an endorsement process at the convention just prior to the IAFF
elections and on October 8th L964`s Executive Board unanimously voted to endorse President Andrew Pantellis. In addition
to
Andy`s
accomplishments
above he has also testified on
behalf of the IAFF in the United
States Congress in opposition to
taxing employer provided health
benefits and also in Annapolis
during the General Assembly to
testify on behalf of Maryland Fire
Fighters for additional cancer presumptive protections in the
States Workmen`s Compensation
law. With that as a backdrop it is
December 2015-February 2016
our profound belief that President Pantellis is an excellent
candidate to replace Bill Taylor
for the 4th District Vice President
position. There are two items
that have made their rounds
throughout the Department since
the endorsement that I would
like to clear up. #1, that I refused
to let Brother Hoffman speak to
our Executive Board. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
To this day Rick has failed to
reach out to me to request a
meeting. If he called today his
request would be accepted and
a meeting set up. #2, Brother
Hoffman is a Baltimore guy and
for that reason we should back
him. What I have been telling
folks is that this isn`t a High
School Student Council election.
This is a Vice President election
of a major International Labor
union and we looked at each
candidates experience, accomplishments and entire resume
before making our choice. If
there are further questions I`m
always available to meet or talk
by phone. He is a graduate of
the International Association of
Fire Fighters Political Training
Academy and the Executive Fire
Officer Program at the National
Fire Academy in Emmitsburg,
Maryland.He is a graduate of the
International Association of Fire
Fighters Political Training Academy and the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National
Fire Academy in Emmitsburg,
Maryland.He is a graduate of the
International Association of Fire
Fighters Political Training Academy and the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National
Fire Academy in Emmitsburg,
Maryland.He is a graduate of the
International Association of Fire
Fighters Political Training Academy and the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National
Fire Academy in Emmitsburg,
Maryland.
Article 6: Grievance and Arbitration Procedure of the cur-
Page 3
rent Memorandum of Understanding outlines the process
and procedures to follow if a
member or the Union feels they
have been grieved. I would like
to remind our folks that not every
grievance is or will become a
“Union” grievance. There will be
times where the Union does not
agree with the member and in
those cases it is incumbent that
the member has the facts of their
grievance along with the actual
MOU Article, Rule or Reg. or violation of the MOP that has been
violated and have any documents that will assist the arguing
of said grievance. There must
also be a remedy that brings the
alleged infraction by the Employer to a resolve within the guidelines of the MOU, MOP`s or the
Rules and Regulations. Local
964 has in the past and will continue to represent all of our
members who believe they have
been grieved but there will be
times when we inform the member that it is their responsibility to
us assist in this endeavor.
Chief Ford along with Chief
Wagner has made it crystal clear
that they will not tolerate violations of the Uniform policy. Chief
Ford is issuing a Direct Order
that if anyone is out of uniform
they along with their Officer will
be suspended immediately. That
is a 24 hour loss of pay! This is
not the first that any of you have
heard this. Chief Wagner has
issued this directive previously. I
would encourage everyone to
reread the 363 series of the
MOP`s especially MOP 363-3.
You may not like hearing this but
it ain`t going away anytime soon.
I, along with the rest of our
Board have argued North America -- are revolutionagainst this
but we cannot stop it. If the
COFD issues a Direct Order
there isn`t much the Local can
do about it. We will continue to
talk to the Chief but if and until
there is any leeway of this policy
I`m hoping no one loses $$$!!!
Fire Officers
Tom Nosek and I attended
the 2015 NCPERS Public Safety
conference in October. In my
opinion this is the premiere conference concerning public sector
pensions. Some of the topics
discussed were Social Security,
Defined Benefit vs Defined Contribution pension plans, Social
Security, DROP etc. I participated in a City of Baltimore budget
workshop yesterday. The $75
million shortfall that was showcased in a Sunpaper article pertains to FY17, which takes effect
on 7/1/16. Each agency head
has been told to trim 5% from
their FY17 budget projection.
Also learned that the BCFD is
being questioned about their current budget and possible overruns in OT. This is all preliminary
in nature and hopefully this issue
doesn`t come to fruition. The
City must reach a balanced
budget by Charter rules. We`ll
keep an eye on this and report
back if we receive additional info.
Recently the BCFD began measuring for a new outer wear coat
for all members. I have been informed that the issue should be
on the Board of Estimates in December. After the BOE a Purchase Order needs to go out to
the chosen vendor. Hopefully by
early next year folks should see
these coats come in. As I said,
HOPEFULLY!
It was an honor and a privilege attending the IAFF Fallen
Fire Fighters Memorial on September 19th in Colorado Springs,
CO escorting Ms. Brenda Pridgen and members of Lt.
Bethea`s family. Kudos to the
IAFF along with the Colorado
Springs Professional Firefighters
Association, Local 5 for their efforts and professionalism. It truly
was a dignified ceremony not
only for Lt James Bethea but all
those who gave the ultimate sacrifice!
L-964, L-734 & FOP3 participated in Operation Warm handing out over 2000 coats to chil-
December 2015-February 2016
dren of need in the first week of
December. The faces of the children when receiving the coats
was priceless! For many of them
it was Christmas come early and
for others the only gift they will
receive this Holiday season. The
mission statement from the IAFF
says it all. Providing the gift of
warmth to children in each community they protect, IAFF Firefighters have become the heroes
on the frontline of Operation
Warm's mission. IAFF affiliates
raise awareness, launch fundraising campaigns, and distribute American-made coats to local children living in need.
Through this invaluable partnership, members of the IAFF -professional firefighters and paramedics across izing the expansion of our mission and impacting lives of children throughout
the USA & Canada. Please consider donating to Operation
Warm
http://www.operationwarm.org/
baltimorecity
The BCFD Annual Train
Garden opened on 11-28-15 and
will remain open until 1-3-16 at
the quarters of Engine 45. Hours
of operation: 0900-2100 hrs. Also, the Highlandtown train garden which is housed in the quarters of Engine 41will hold its
grand opening will be December
4, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It will
be open on weekends 1100 –
1700 until 12/19/15 when it will
be open daily until 1/3/16.
Michael Hineline posted this
on our Forum: “Brothers and
Sisters, as we have for over 10
years now we will be visiting local Hospitals and Child occupied
homeless shelters as well as
providing a Christmas for local
families in need. Over the past
years you The Members of The
BCFD have made these visits
possible with your generosity.
Many of you have made these
visits and you know firsthand the
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Fire Officers
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President’s Report
...continued from page 3
joy and smiles that come across
the children who are confined to
a hospital, rehabilitation center or
Homeless Shelter during the
Christmas Season. You have and
it is with great hope you continue
your support for this worthwhile
program. Donations can be made
through Capt. Scott Lake at E-21
B-shift/ 209 Throttle Ct Stewartstown, Pa 17363 or Ret Chief
Raymond Devilbiss at 1224
Rockhill Rd Pasadena, Md 21122
Check made to BCFD Special
Events. Toys may be dropped off
at Engine 21 at any time. Thank
You for making a difference in a
Childs Life”.
Steve Horchar (443-854-9970)
is selling the Baltimore Fire Officer ornaments along with our
newly designed patches and window stickers. Proceeds of these
items go to your VEBA fund
which provides death benefits for
dependents of our deceased
members. The Baltimore Fire Officers now have a Facebook
page. Along with our website and
Twitter account we have expanded our resources for you to stay
informed. Please keep abreast by
logging on the Fire Officers website at www.iafflocal964.org. If
you need Fire Officer organizational tags for your automobile or
motorcycle give me a call or send
an e-mail!
On October 21 & 22, L-964
held two pre-retirement seminars.
Both were well attended and
gave our folks information that is
extremely important when planning the end of your career Special thanks to Tom Nosek for his
efforts putting these seminars
together along with the various
presenters and vendors in attendance. If you have questions or
concerns about Deferred Comp.
contact the Deferred Compensation Plan Office at 201 E. Baltimore, Suite 120 or call 410-332-
0809 or 1-877-233-2748 or log
on to:
ttps:baltimoredeferredcomp.g
wrs.com/login.
Office hours are Monday thru
Friday from 0800 to 1700 hrs.
In an effort to assist our
members with financial planning
the Fire Officers have partnered
with Patrick L. Brown Sr. of Capital Portfolio Management, Inc.
along with the Murray Group
which is affiliated with UBS
(Union Bank of Switzerland).
Contact Patrick L. Brown at 410908-3098 or
pbrown@cpminvestments.com
or Jonathan Murray and any of
his associates at 410.771.3272
orwww.ubs.com/team/
themurraygroup.
Thanks to all our members
who are contributing to the Fire
Officer PAC Fund! Tom Skinner
has taken over the PAC Fund
and I certainly appreciate Tom
stepping up! The PAC Fund
cannot exist without the participation of the membership. If you
wish to contribute please contact our Executive Board. Retirees cannot contribute to the
Presidents Club by way of dues
deduction, but can still donate
the full amount of $100.00 by
way of cash or check! Please
make checks out to: Local 964
PAC Fund! The PAC Fund is
our most important tool to have
the local politicians listen to our
concerns. The Fund can only be
used for Local and State politicians and cannot and will never
be used for Federal politicians, (President, Senator etc.)
If you contribute $4.00 or more a
pay you are automatically included in the Presidents Club.
As always, keep your Beneficiaries up to date and don’t
hesitate to call or e-mail me at
any time.
Cell— 443-629-0216
Home –410-529-3472
E-mail:capttain216@gmail.com
(Words To Twirl By—next column)
December 2015-February 2016
Words to Twirl By
If you didn’t care what happened
to me,
and I didn’t care for you,
We would zig zag our way
through the boredom and
pain
Occasionally glancing up through
the rain
Wondering which of these
buggars to frame
And watching for pigs on the
wing.
—Pink Floyd
From the 1st VP’s Desk
George Jones
Thank You
I would like to thank all of the
members of the BCFD for their
well wishes and words of comfort
during the bereavement of my
mother Jean L. Jones. I was
deeply saddened by her unexpected passing, but the outpouring
from my extended family, has
made this moment a lot more
bearable. Thank you for your
email, phone calls, text messages,
visits, sympathy card or any way
that you reached out to me and
my family. Some of you shared
funny stories and others were
there for support, however you
connected, I thank you again. A
special thank you to President
Rick Hoffman and Secretary
Treasurer John Burk of Local 734
and the Executive Board of 734 for
all of their well wishes, visitation
and Friendship Lilly. Another special thank you to President Michael Campbell, 2nd VP Tom
Nosek, Secretary Treasurer Steve
Horchar and Recording Secretary
Tom Skinner for their words of
comfort and visitation.
Thank
you also to Assistant Chief Mr.
Jeffery Segal who visited and
Page 5
shared words of comfort and
even had a laugh or two. Your
visit was very heartfelt and appreciated. Finally, I would like to
give a special acknowledgement
to the men and women of
Walbrook Station for all of their
cards, emails, phone calls and
well wishes during this time. You
showed me that the brotherhood
and sisterhood of the fire department is a strong and lasting
bond. The coming together as
one to mourn was above and beyond the job, but a real show of
friendship
and
appreciation.
There are so many more to say
thank you too, but in this forum I
will extend one collective thank
you, but as we pass on the fire
ground, training or NOI (lol), I will
be sure to give you a personal
thank you.
Apparatus
The apparatus committee recently traveled to Wisconsin for the
final inspection of 2 new tractor
drawn aerial ladders and the
foam engine. The 2 new tractor
drawn aerial ladders will be going
to Truck 27 and Truck 30. As
always, I welcome your thoughts
and new ideas regarding new
apparatus, and will try to implement as many of your request as
I can into the design and engineering of our apparatus.
The new foam engine was
also inspected while in Wisconsin
and with input from Battalion
Chief Jay Wallace and Pierce
engineering, the foam engine will
be very compatible to the city
needs.
The committee also looked at the
2 air flex units being built by
Pierce. As of the printing of this
newsletter, the units were still in
fabrication, and some of the parts
had been to the paint department. The 2 units have a final
inspection date of late December.
Pierce has also started fabrication on the new command unit
Fire Officers
that was also designed and engineered by Chief Wallace. Upon
our visit, the main body had been
assembled and was awaiting
paint.
The committee also engineered for Truck 25. Truck 25
will be a rear mount apparatus.
and the concerns of the committee had with Truck 25 was it’s
ability to fit in the station along
with the maneuverability of the
apparatus as well as its ride and
an air ride suspension.
All of
these issues were addressed by
Pierce, and the committee hopes
to deliver another fine piece of
fire equipment to the city next
year.
Closing
I apologize for the brevity of
my newsletter, and hope that you
understand.
Finally, I would like to wish all
of my BCFD family, a safe and
joyous holiday season, and remember those that are protecting
this great country that wear a
service uniform.
From the 2nd VP’s Desk
Tom Nosek
By the time you read this article Local 964 will have honored
36 members who have retired in
the past two years. On Friday,
December 4, Local 964 held the
annual retiree dinner/dance, honoring the 2014-2015 Fire Officers
for their years of service to the
citizens of Baltimore. Job well
done to these men and women
and thank you to their families for
sharing them to Baltimore City
Fire Department.
The month of October was
busy with Local 964 attending the
24th Biennial Convention of the
Professional Firefighters of Maryland. The highlight for me was
listening to Steve DeBoy from the
December 2015-February 2016
governors office speak to the
Governors desire to give tax relief
to public safety and military retirees on their pensions. Governor
Hogan's is a bit of fresh air in Annapolis, looking out for Firefighter
issues. This will be the PFFMD's
main focus on this upcoming legislative session. This is why being
a member of the PAC fund is so
important. If you are not a member of the PAC fund please considering joining. During the convention there were numerous
elections
and endorsements
made for political office and positions within the State Association
Eboard and IAFF District and National offices. Mike Rund from
Howard County, IAFF Local 2000
was reelected as President of the
PFFMD and Andy Pantelis, President of Prince George's County
IAFF Local 1619 was reelected as
2nd VP of the PFFMD.
The PFFMD endorsed Congressman Chris Van Hollen for
US Senate seat which is held by
retiring Senator Barbara Mikulski.
The PFFMD also votedto endorse Boston Local 718, Firefighter Ed Kelly for the position of
Secretary Treasurer to the IAFF.
Ed is currently the Professional
Firefighters of Massachusetts
President and former President of
Boston Local 718.
The PFFMD also voted to
endorse Prince Georges County,
Md. Local 1619 President Andy
Pantelis for the 4th District VP
spot in the IAFF. The fourth district represents, Maryland, Virginia, West virginia, Pennsylvania
and Delaware.
Though no one has announced they are running for the
position of President of the IAFF
other then current President Harold Schaitberger, the PFFMD endorsed Harold for another term.
Harold noted in his speech that
39% of IAFF members are republican , 27 % are democrat and
34% are independent. The IAFF
issues are firefighter issues and
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Fire Officers
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2nd V.P.’s Report
...continued from page 5
that is where our focus on Capital
Hill will be.
It was a pleasure to see three
old timers from the Baltimore labor movement at the convention;
current retiree President, Charlie
"Scoop" Williams, Pete O'Connor
former Local 964 president and
COFD and Bill "Mr. Nice Guy "
Taylor former Local 734 President
and current IAFF 4th district VP.
Two weeks later, Local 964
held their annual crab feasts.
There was great turnout and
some awesome crabs — thanks
to all who helped. The crabs
came from our loyal friend Bill
Paulshock and his establishment,
Bills Seafood, located in Perry
Hall, Md.
The following week October 21
and 22, Local 964 hosted back to
back retirement seminars for all
members of the BCFD and such
was well attended. These retirement seminars are focused on all
members of the department;
whether you have 1 year in or 41
years!! Please don't listen to the
kitchen table, make the time to
attend these seminars. It is your
pension of which you are paying
10% of your salary into every pay
period. Are you not curious of
what your retirement benefits
are?? Local 964 will host two retirement seminars in the Spring of
2016, please plan to attend.
Raven Raffle to benefit our
VEBA fund again was a success,
we raised $10,803. The top prize
winner was Norris Walker and the
winning ticket was sold by retiree
Paul Desimone , second prize
was won by a firefighter fron New
York state ( 2 tickets to Univiversity of Md. vs Ohio St. basketball
game ) the 3rd prize ( two tickets
to Oriole/ Yankee game and Oriole/ Red Sox game in 2016 ) was
won by Ed Hall the father of Captain Ed Hall.
The past four days both Fire
Locals and the FOP handed out
over 2,000 coats to Baltimore
school children. Next week we
have another 300 to give out. If
you want to donate to this wonderful cause go to the following
link
www.operationwarm.org/
baltimorecity.
Citywide elections will take
place in April 2016 with the primary election. Next January 17
we will have a new mayor and
probably 6-8 new city council
members. This will be the biggest turnover of elected members in over 50 years.
Medals day / memorial service was well attended and a
shout out to Captain Pat Macken
for spearheading this event.
In closing Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year to men
and women who have the
"greatest job in the world" as
members of the BCFD.
From the SecretaryTreasurer’s Desk
Steve Horchar
I hope everyone had a nice
Thanksgiving and now have their
sights set on the Holiday Season. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a Safe
and Happy Holiday Season and
a wonderful and Prosperous New
Year.
Boot Sale
Local 964 and Haix boots
teamed up December 1-3 for a
“Boot Sale”. The Sale was held
at our Union Hall where representatives from Haix were there
to answer any and all of your
questions and to size each individual member. Haix donated
$10 to the VEBA Fund, for every
pair of turn-out boots or station
boots/shoes sold. Boots and
Shoes were sold at a discounted
price and are being shipped right
to your door.
December 2015-February 2016
Safety and Health
Drive Cam- We have no Defense
for you when a video shows you
not wearing your seatbelts… For
some reason the numbers of
seatbelt and red-light violations
for our members are climbing.
You
must
come
to
a
‘COMPLETE STOP’ it’s the
rules…ALL members must be
seated and wearing their seatbelts.
The new EVD jackets were
supposed to be coming this Fall,
then it got pushed to the Spring
of 2016, last I heard they did not
make it on the 12/9 Board of Estimates Agenda, causing further
delay. I will keep you posted on
the new jackets as information
becomes available. Fire Supply
is still working on the new hoods
and gloves. We are looking into
‘hood” cleaning or some type of
program that is feasible to both
sides. Studies are being conducted on the firefighters hood, it
is now believed that your hood
may be a exposure to cancer
causing agents. We will keep
you posted.
Officers, please be aware of
the conditions and situations
around you, if you feel it is to unsafe, back out, get away from it
and call it in. If you have any issue or questions, please call me
@ 443-854-997 or email me at
shpoe6@yahoo.com.
New York Bus Trip
Our Holiday Trip this is year is
New York on December 12, departing the Whitemarsh Park n
Ride (next to Ikea) at 7am and
return around 11pm. . This year
we are not doing ‘The Rockettes
Show’ at RCMH. Proceeds benefit the Fire Officers VEBA Fund
(Widow & Orphans Fund). Seats
are still available.
Cost:
$55.00 Call Steve @ 443-8549970…
Hockey Night 2016
Hockey Night returns in 2016 on
April 7th, as the Washington Cap-
Fire Officers
Page 7
itals take on their Division rivals,
the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bus departs Whitemarsh Park-n-Ride at
4pm. Cost: $150 which includes:
game ticket, motor coach transportation to and from the Verizon
Center (Washington, DC), a Capital’s t shirt and all you can eat and
drink (beer, wine and soda) from
one hour prior to puck drop to the
end of the 2nd Intermission in the
Monumental Level 400 Restaurant. This is the Capitals’ last regular season scheduled game of
the year, so it is also Fan Appreciation Night, numerous give a ways
will occur that night. This trip will
definitely sell out. Proceeds benefit the Fire Officers VEBA Fund
(Widow & Orphans Fund). Seats
are limited.
Because of the interest in this
trip, I am starting to collect Deposits now from returning guest. Beginning January 1st I will start contacting people on the “Wait List”.
We are Negotiating with the Caps
about adding a second bus. Deposit $100, balance due March 1st
… Call Steve @ 443-854-9970…
Holiday Ornaments
We are selling again this year the
24k gold plated BCFD Holiday
Ornament, it is of the ‘Pride Protecting People” patch and is available at our union Office for $15 or
by mail for $20. Order Forms are
on our webpage.
January Union Meetings
Reminder: The January Monthly Union Meetings will be held,
Tuesday, January 12 @1900 hrs.
and Wednesday, January 13th @
0830 hrs.
If anyone has any Fund Raiser
ideas for the VEBA Fund, please
don’t hesitate to call me. This is
the source of your widow’s and
children’s death benefit.
Remember when you move,
please notify the Union office directly of your new address. Our
email address is:
BFO964@aol.com or call an Executive Board member. On a side
note, when sending an email
please use the subject line so it
December 2015—February 2016
does not go to spam.
I’ll be there! The Professional Firefighters of Maryland
have stated that their priority
legislation for this session will
be the reintroduction and passing of the Hometown Heroes
Act, to provide tax relief to
Public Safety Pensions. Again
this year, I will be travelling to
Annapolis regularly to meet
with our legislators and the
PFFMD to get this bill passed
and to bring the information
back to our membership. During session, many times we
will need people to travel to
Annapolis for hearings and to
make a show of strength.
These calls to action will be
published on our Forum, Facebook page and announced on
Twitter. Any of our active members that have not already
signed up for PAC can contact
me and I will get you the dues
deduction card. Retiree
Seasons Greetings
From Your Executive Board
Fire Officers
Page 8
From the
Recording Secretary
Tom Skinner
Merry Christmas! I hope that
each and every one of you is able
to enjoy the entire holiday season
with your friends and family and
do so in a safe manner! I have
been told that the overwhelming
majority of you read Bob Hatoff’s
article first (understandably), so
you are aware of his resignation
as Vice President of the Retired
Firefighters and Fire Officers Association. I want to thank him for
his service to that organization
and wish him Good Luck and
Good Health in the future! His
“Tired and Retired” article will
continue to be the anchor of this
periodical as long as he chooses
to write it. Thank You Bob! Congratulations to Steve Fugate on
becoming the Vice President of
the Retirees Association. I know
that you will do great and that the
retirees will be well served! The
retirees association also, recently
held their elections and Charlie
Williams, Dave Franz and Bob
Jenkins will continue to lead the
organization. Congratulations to
all!
The PAC Fund is enjoying a
strong participation. I would like to
thank each of the new members
that have signed recently and I
would like to invite all of the nonparticipants to step up! This election cycle, the city council will see
the largest turnover in our lifetime,
so far. President Campbell, myself and others from the Executive
Board have met with several of
the candidates and are being
sought out regularly by the newcomers. There are currently at
least eleven candidates running
for mayor and at least half of them
have met with us or expressed an
interest in meeting. This is a positive sign for our future. The General Assembly will reconvene
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at
12:00 p.m. in Annapolis and we
wis that wish to support the
cause may send checks to L-964
PAC 1030 S. Linwood Avenue,
Baltimore, Md. 21224. $4 per pay
or a $100 donation makes you a
President’s Club member!
Meeting Change for January. The January meetings will
be held on January 12th and 13th
at 1900 hours and 0830 hours
respectively. The meeting on the
12th will be the installation of Officers. 1st Vice President George
Jones, myself as Recording Secretary and Trustee Brian Britcher
will be sworn in to another three
year term. There will be plenty of
food and fellowship, come out
and join us!
Safety and Health is one the
cornerstones of our union. Our
S&H committee does an outstanding job of bringing your concerns to the administration and
researching and gathering information on gear and equipment to
keep you as safe as possible,
BUT, it is imperative that each of
you utilizes the protective gear
and follow the recommendations
that the manufacturers and researchers provide. Things like
removing your soiled hood as
soon as possible after an incident, not allowing turn-out gear
in living spaces and safely cleaning products of combustion from
your equipment may give you the
advantage necessary to avoid
long term, life changing illness
and diseases. Also, the weather
is changing.
The trials have begun and
there is no way to predict accurately what will occur. Recent
events in other cities have shown
that, even when laws are followed, crowds can turn from
peaceful protesters into rioters
quickly! Keep your eyes and ears
open and protect yourself. Your
safety is the #1 priority, followed
closely by the safety and security
of your crew. The old adage “We
All Go Home” is as true now as it
ever was.
December 2015-February 2016
Social Media is the quickest
and most accurate means for us
to get information to you! When
used properly social media is a
fantastic tool. While I believe that
we put out a quality newsletter
and the IAFF Firefighter magazine is a top notch publication,
waiting two to three months for
information that changes daily is
frustrating and futile. Every member of our Executive Board participates in at least one form of social media, whether it is Facebook or Twitter or both. We are
putting current information out
daily, answering questions and
squashing rumors. If you are on
Facebook, send us a friend request or follow us on Twitter. If
you are not, consider signing up,
they are free! We also, still maintain the forum as means of communication, BUT, you cannot always count on the forum participants to be who they claim. President Campbell does a good job
of removing anonymous and
fraudulent post but, he can’t
guard the computer screen 24/7.
Remember- Verify!
Patches and Stickers with
the new crab logo are available
for $4 each and are available at
all regular meetings or you can
contact Steve Horchar or myself
and we will get them to you! I can
be reached at 443-790-2625 or at
Truck 12 A shift.
Yuk weather is right around
the corner, layer up and watch
your footing. Don’t be a victim of
the ice and snow! It’s not that
many days until pitchers and
catchers report! Again, Merry
Christmas and Happy New
Year!
Keep
our
sick and injured in your
thoughts
and prayers!
Page 9
Fire Officers
December 2015—February 2016
Page 10
Fire Officers
December 2015-February 2016
Tired and Retired
By Bob Hatoff
I just have no luck. Every time that a story breaks that I could write a book on, it happens right
after I have turned my latest column in! Then I have to wait three months until I can respond. I’m referring to the Mayor’s announcement that she will not run for reelection. She wants to use her last year to
solve the City’s problems. I doubt that she can do it. After all, it took her seven years to cause all the
problems. Fixing problems always takes longer than causing them! I am also sure that the fact that she
didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the election, was not a factor in her decision!
Since Mike Campbell has been the victim of my poison pen this year, I’ve decided to give him a
break this issue. So I’ll just say, I never liked him.
For those of you that missed the newspaper article, I must report the death of Delmar Davis.
He and his friends formed the group, SHC fire buffs. He always responded to all the big additional
alarms. It was always nice to see him and his ever present smile. He died at the ripe old age of 99!
God Bless you Delmar!
Now, I want to report that I have resigned from my position as Vice President of the retirees.
This was not the result of any animosity. It was just my realization that I’ve reached the point where I
am too old to do the job. My eyesight will not allow me to drive at night. I can’t drive on any road with a
speed limit over forty. My dear buddy, Charlie Williams, has been driving me back and forth to all of
our meetings. My problem is, if something were to happen to Charlie, I would become President. I
wouldn’t be able to get to the meetings, let alone run them! Charlie got Steve Fugate to replace me.
The membership overwhelming approved and I agree with them. Of course, so would my 2 year old
Great Grandson.
Now in closing, you will be reading this shortly before Christmas. This is my favorite time of
year. We gather to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Have a blessed Christmas and a very happy New Year. If any of you see the word xmas, tell the writer that we don’t worship x, we worship
Christ!
As always you can reach me at 5202 Daybrook Circle, Apt 161, Baltimore, Md. 21237 or 410870-1653.
24 K GOLD PLATED ORNAMENT
Proceeds benefit L-964 VEBA Fund
Mail a $20 check or money order for each ornament to:
THE BALTIMORFIRE OFFICERS
c/o Ornament
1030 S. Linwood Avenue
Baltimore, MD. 21224
Name:_________________________________
Adress:________________________________
City:_______ ______State:______Zip:______
Page 11
Fire Officers
December 2015-February 2016
HOCKEY NIGHT RETURNS
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Package includes: Game ticket, Bus transportation, Capitals shirt and unlimited food, soda and beer until the beginning of the 3rd Period
Bus departs Whitemarsh Park n Ride 4pm
Price $150*…Deposit $100 accepting now,
balance due 3/1
Steve Horchar: 443-854-9970
*No refunds.
THE BALTIMORE FIRE OFFICERS
Local No. 964
1030 S. Linwood Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
Non-Profit
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 964
Bel Air, MD
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Retiree’s Info
Last February, The Baltimore City Retired Fire Officers & Fire Fighters Association passed a by-law
change that allows retirees that have been retired more than 90 days to join the Association. This was
done because the membership cards for the Association were not included in member's retirement
packets for an undetermined period. On February 11, 2016 this by-law expires and the time limit reverts back to 90 days after retirement. Some people think that because they elect to keep their affiliation with the unions that they are members of the Retiree Association, this is not the case! On your
pay stub under deductions it should read RETFIRE -2.50, your pay, starting in January 2016 will read
RETFIRE - 6.00.
If you would like to become a member of the Retirees Association call Secretary-Treasurer Bob
Jenkins at 410-444-0039 or email your request to Dave Franz at bcfdretirees@comcast.net.
The window of opportunity to join the Retirees Association for people that have been
retired more than 90 days will close on February 11th 2016. Please don't miss this opportunity!
This is open to all retired firefighters and fire officers of the BCFD, regardless of when you retired.
The Retired Fire Officers & Fire Fighters Association sends vital information out regularly
through their group email. To participate, send your email address to: Recording Secretary Dave
Franz at bcfdretirees@comcast.net for more details call Dave at (410)499-5638. If you are not a member you will be removed from the email list.
The Retirees meet monthly, except for July and August, on the 2nd Thursday of each month at
7:30 pm. Meetings are held at Heritage Gardens located at 7631 Harford Road in the Parkville shopping center.