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Brothers and Sisters,
This week, the Local 1014 Executive Board worked with the Department to ensure our stations in the Eaton Fire burn scar area that were blanketed in heavy smoke and fire conditions were taken care of from a health and safety perspective.
These unprecedented conditions left plenty of concerns for our members working in the affected areas. This included do not use for water districts affecting our stations, air quality concerns, and stations that were impacted by ash. We have now ensured clean water, mobile showers, industrial cleaning, including the station's HVAC systems, and continuous air monitoring. Thanks to the department for helping ensure our members' safety is a priority.
We also have Director Derek Urwin going to areas and personnel affected by these historic wildfires and doing blood monitoring to ensure our member's long-term health and safety. If you want to be included in the study, email Director Urwin at durwin@local1014.org.
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As we move to heal and reoccupy these areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton Fires and help those who lost homes or lives in their families, the world has come together in a way that reminds us of post-911 love. Volunteers from far and wide are working night and day to support those affected. One of the fundraiser events was last night's FIREAID. with a fantastic list of artists who performed at Kia Forum and Intuit Dome in Inglewood. The lineup of artists spanned all genres of music and brought together the collective of union members represented by SAG-AFTRA and support crews from IATSE to put on one of the most amazing shows ever to raise funds to support those who lost so much.
First responders, including firefighters, paramedics, sheriffs and police officers, were also honored last night with a special shout-out from Stevie Nicks to the Santa Rosa crews that saved her and her house as well as Katie Perry representing Battalion 13 - Fire Hawgs 147 by wearing their station shirt while she performed.
Great things happen when people come together and work for a common purpose with kindness, compassion and love. Many of our members had front-row seats to set the moment for FIREAID 2025, and we are grateful and thank all those from the artist community who made this possible. |
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POLITICS MATTER - State Political Action
On the heels of these fires, President Gillotte and CPF State President Brian Rice met with the Governor and key legislators to talk about the resources we used on these fires, the challenges with staffing, equipment, and more. We need every dollar and every resource we have and even more to do our own more effectively and safely. As a result, we are happy to report our inmate crews will be funded indefinitely while we work on replacement paid crews, and this vital resource will remain part of our arsenal going forward where previous cuts were in place due to budget constraints.
In addition, the Governor has approved over a million and a half dollars to help fund our work to mark this moment in time for possible cancer, respiratory, and other health risk issues, much like we saw with first responders on 911. We are working with Derek Urwin, our UCLA adjunct research professor and Engineer at 170’s, to conduct research that will document our exposures and also track the chemicals and toxins and levels of exposure our members may have been exposed to on the fires.
We will be putting out a model individual Personal Exposure Reporting format and providing the Department and the County a Union All Members Letter marking this moment in time correlated with the exposure and studios we are doing to help ensure any health issues from these fires are addressed early and covered. We are working with the IAFF and CPF with legal counsel to draft the Exposure Report language and attachments for backup scientific data for our claims. |
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| Today, California Professional Firefighters, together with Orange County, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Cal Fire, and LA County, met to interview Senate District 36 candidate Tony Strickland. Tony, a former Assemblymember and Mayor of Huntington Beach and a strong supporter of firefighters, has earned our support. We will endorse him in his race and work to help get him elected. Tony is a Republican with a long history of work in the state and locally. He knows how to work across the aisle and with his Democratic partners, including our State Senator Alex Padilla, back when they were both assembly members who co-authored and sponsored bills for us. We look forward to partnership once again at the state level. |
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ANTI-FIREFIGHTER LEGISLATION MOVES FORWARD IN UTAH
This week, we saw another attack on our collective bargaining rights as the Utah Senate postponed a vote on Representative Jordan Teuscher’s and Sen. Kirk Cullimore’s anti-public safety bill HB 267.
HB267 would ban collective bargaining – the process of negotiating a contract with an employer – for public sector unions in Utah. Despite strong union opposition, the bill has moved forward. It cleared a vote in the Senate Thursday morning, 18-10, after a lengthy and often-tense debate.
We stand with our brothers and sisters in Utah as they fight for their rights to negotiate their wages, benefits, and working conditions. As we see more attacks against public sector unions and particularly firefighters throughout the nation, we are reminded of the critical importance of political action in the future for our members and their families. It is the most powerful tool we have to impact change for our members and, most importantly, protect the rights, pay, and benefits we have fought hard to get. We will keep you updated as the situation continues.
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First Responders Opportunity: World Premiere of Captain America: Brave New World
As part of Disney's commitment to honor the true heroes, they are offering our members tickets to the world premiere of Captain America: Brave New World in Hollywood on February 11. Please see details below.
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
7:00 pm Screening
Hollywood, CA
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Tickets will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis
This form will close when the event reaches capacity or at 5:00pm on February 4, 2025, whichever comes first.
A confirmation email with additional details will be sent to registered guests closer to the event.
Thank you to the Disney Corporation for this generous offer for our members.
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In Solidarity,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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