Sunday River Maine Fire Fighter Ski Race 3-22-09

On March 22, 2009 members of Local 3103 participated in the 19^th annual “Eat the Heat” Firemen’s ski race and chili cook-off. The event raised $250,000 for the Maine Handicapped Skiing association. Fire fighters Chris Scott and Tony Flamio represented Local 3103 while volunteer fire fighters Mark Fleming, Conor Hogan, and Deputy Chief Jeff Hogan rounded out the team. Teams were required to wear full fire gear including bunker pants, fire coat, and helmet while skiing down the mountain through a racecourse while each team member held onto a fifty foot length of fire hose. Local 3103 placed ninth out of sixteen teams with a time of 34.03 seconds. The Jay Fire Department won the race with a time of 30.05 seconds. Local 3103 then tried Chili from many local restaurants and enjoyed the music and other festivities of the day. Farmington was one of two teams to participate that were not from Maine and is looking forward to participate again next year and in other similar races throughout New England.

Farmington Municipal Union Coalition Press Release

March 2, 2009

Town Unions Reach Agreement on Concessions To Preserve Services

            In an effort to help Farmington get through the economic downturn, the municipal unions representing all of the non-Board of Education employees have agreed to a one year pay freeze.

            The pay freeze is a result of the unions agreeing to extend collective bargaining agreements for the upcoming fiscal year, rather than entering into negotiations for successor agreements that are due to expire on June 30.      

            The contract extensions will result in no pay increases for members of the unions representing police officers, fire fighters, public works employees, dispatchers, town hall employees and clerical staff. 

            The process was a cooperative effort between the Town Manager, Kathleen Eagen, and the executive boards of the respective unions.

            In a joint statement released by the coalition executive officers….“Many of our employees live in town, and we all felt that during these difficult economic times it would be irresponsible to ask for increases in wages and benefits, which would have resulted in an increased financial burden on our neighbors.  Farmington public service workers keenly understand that we all have a stake in the in the economic future of our town. That’s why we stepped up to the plate. We hope town residents will stand up for quality public services by approving the upcoming budget”

            The coalition is made up of members from AFSCME Local 1689, IAFF Local 3103, IBPO Local 331, and SEIU Local 2001 representing a total of 148 employees.

Teresa Colton

President SEIU Local 2001

Brian Killiany

President IBPO Local 331

Christopher Scott

President IAFF Local 3103

Todd Litchfield

President AFSCME Local 1689

By LISA BACKUS
Staff writer

FARMINGTON — Seven town employee unions and dozens of noncontractual workers announced Tuesday that they have agreed to a one-year wage freeze to balance the budget in the hopes of preventing layoffs.

But the town’s largest collective bargaining unit, the 350-member Farmington Education Association, whose members voted against the concession, may face cuts come Monday.

“We will have some tough decisions to make come Monday,” said Mary Grace Reed, Board of Education chairwoman, during a press conference about the wage freeze. “In the spirit of good faith we’ll try to keep our agreement with the unions who agreed to the wage freeze. But there is a possibility that there will be cuts on the Board of Education side of the budget.”

The wage freeze would apply to all other town employees, including the town manager, department heads, police, firefighters, dispatchers, clerical staff, school cafeteria workers and dozens of others.

Town Council chairman Michael Clark said that although he’s a Republican, he was borrowing a line from a well-known Democrat to express his gratitude for the concessions. “It’s the selflessness of workers who’d rather cut their own hours than see a friend lose their job,” he said quoting a speech made by President Barack Obama. “The town is in the midst of a very difficult economic situation.”

The wage freezes would result in $315,000 in savings from the board’s $50 million proposed budget and a $300,000 reduction in the town side of the budget, which will be presented by Town Manager Kathleen Eagen during a public hearing Tuesday.

Representatives from the seven unions said they felt the concession was necessary to help residents avoid a tax increase and help their co-workers stay employed.

“Many of our employees live in town, and we all felt that during these difficult economic times it would be irresponsible to ask for increases in wages and benefits, which would have resulted in an increased financial burden on our neighbors,” said police union president Brian Killiany, speaking for the four non-Board of Education unions.

The contracts for the four unions representing police, firefighters, dispatchers and town hall supervisors and nonsupervisory staff were due to expire June 30. The contracts will be extended one year with the current level of medical benefits, Clark said.

Three Board of Education unions, including administrators, noncertified staff and school nurses, were in the middle of contracts and were set to get pay hikes June 30, but agreed to the wage freeze.

“They came forward, God bless them, and said we know what you’re going through and we want to help,” said board member Kenneth Koos, who is on the contract negotiations committee. “They will basically be treading water for the next year.”

Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Eileen Howley and 72 other noncontractual board employees will also take the freeze.

Reed said the concessions were necessary to pare down the board’s 5.8 percent increase, which was driven largely by insurance needs. The board has already cut 5.85 teaching positions due to decreased class enrollment.

Members of the FEA are set to get a 2.45 percent pay hike as of June 30 under a contract negotiated last fall, Koos said. Teachers with less than 15 years of experience will also get incremental pay hikes to bring them up to the next step in their pay grade.

If the teachers union had agreed to the wage freeze, it would have represented a $1 million reduction in the board’s budget, school officials said, bringing that increase down by another 2 percent. FEA president Judith Livingston did not return phone calls Tuesday.

As it stands, the wage freezes would bring down the board’s request to a 5.19 percent increase, which Reed acknowledged was still “unacceptable in this economy.”

The board is taking another unprecedented step today in discussing further cuts before the council has even crafted its budget proposal, Reed said. “We are still hoping to work with the teachers and we are still working on this budget,” she said.

Clark said whether the town can honor the agreement to avoid layoffs with the wage freeze will depend largely on whether residents approve the budget during the annual referendum in May.

“We came into this together and we’ll get out of this together,” he said. “We will work through this as a community and do everything in our power to avoid any layoffs, but if the budget doesn’t pass we will have to reconsider.”

Lisa Backus can be reached at lbackus@newbritainherald.com or by calling (860) 225-4601, ext. 223.

Fire Capt. Wakes To Neighbor's Fire Alarm

Condo's Kitchen Destroyed By Blaze, Officials Say

Working to Death" is a series of articles in the International Fire Fighter that examine the health risks fire fighters face. More importantly, the series looks at what can be done to prevent fire fighter deaths and illustrates how some are improving the health and safety of fire fighters.

Heart Attacks Remain Biggest Health Risk (first in series)
Vehicle Accidents: Deadly But Preventable (second in series)
Fighting Fires. Fighting Cancer.
Coming: Fire Scene Dangers

Other resources:

Fit to Survive
A Fire Fighter's Online Guide to Health and Nutrition

STOP  DROP  CONTROL High Blood Pressure Program

IAFF/IAFC Wellness-Fitness Initiative

IAFF Division of Occupational Health, Safety and Medicine

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September 30, 2008