Local 3357 was formed with the sole purpose to bring a force greater than one voice with the support of a Association greater than our county officials. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is a labor union representing professional firefighters in the United States and Canada. The IAFF was formed in 1918 and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO in the United States and the Canadian Labor Congress in Canada. and has some 300,000 members in more than 3,200 locals and has affiliates in every U.S. state and in Canada. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, professional fire fighters protect about 85 percent of the United States' population. The IAFF is one of the most active lobbying organizations in Washington. Its Political Action Committee, FIREPAC, is among the top 25 federal PACs among the more than 4,000 in the country. The IAFF is the driving force behind nearly every advance in the fire and emergency services in the 20th century—from the introduction of shift schedules early in the last century to the enactment of SAFER in 2003. With extremely active political and legislative programs and with recognized experts in the fields of occupational health and safety, fire-based emergency medical services and hazardous materials training, the IAFF has established professional standards for the North American fire service. Today, the IAFF is the primary advocate for providing fire fighters and paramedics with the tools they need to perform their jobs. The IAFF provides a strong voice in the development and implementation of new training and equipment and has worked hard to ensure the proper staffing of fire and EMS departments. The IAFF is a member driven organization- for fire fighters, by fire fighters. Firefighters at this time had no means of speaking out against continued county abuse without retaliation being imposed. We needed support greater than the "Good ole boy" system that reigned heavy throughout the county at the time. The first item brought out and exposed by Local 3357 was the misuse of time keeping and discipline imposed by administrative personnel by making firefighters work extra shifts without pay. Political negotiations and bargaining was ineffective and subsequently resulted into a lawsuit in which we won. We could sit all day and tell you stories of all the behind the scenes work done by our associations leadership to, not only provide safety and security for our members, but also the citizens. One of our greatest triumphs was the current GMEBS defined benefits pension in place at this time. Hundreds of hours were put into lobbying, research and efforts to explain and gain the support needed to pass the commission. We did this with no other departments help and a membership of 200. With or without recognition of this commission or any future commissions, we will continue to expose, recommend, and lobby for the safety, security, and financial benefits that our members deserve and expect. It's important for you to know, we are, and have been, in good standing with and fully supported by the International(IAFF) since the creation of Local 3357. We are paying members with monthly dues and are very secure financially. We look forward to working with the city and its leadership and assisting in any way possible to expand and grow this county to its full potential.
