President’s Report

 June 9, 2010

Motion to AFSCME to Amend our Constitution:

The changes that were mentioned during the April GM have been completed. (The corrections were read at the May GM). *Note: The letter to be mailed to AFSCME with the exact wording of the motion will be read again at June General Membership Meeting (GM). Upon approval of the membership at the June GM. The motion will be mailed to AFSCME requesting the amendment become part of our constitution.   

New Officers: On June 1st, 2010 ten Lieutenants were promoted to the rank of Captain. They are currently enrolled in the Captain’s training program at the Bureau of Training. We were notified by DCAS the list of new Lieutenants will be established by June 16th. The class for those promoted to Lieutenant is expected to begin in the last week of June. We expect a total of thirty Paramedics to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. 

Grievance Update: We have prepared and are ready for our Span of Control grievance to be heard by the Arbitrator this Friday. We have also issued four new step III grievances to the city.

Lieutenant’s working out of title: Lieutenants operate and supervise outside their geographical area. Supervising outside the geographical area the duties and responsibilities of a Deputy Chief.

Air conditioning in Vehicles: Operating these vehicles without air conditioning impedes on the efficacy of the medications that are stored in the vehicle. It also violates our contract Article 14 section 2A and Article 5 section 18. Furthermore, it is a health hazard for our members who are required to wear PPE gear when responding and operating to and on assignments. The solution of maintaining a 99 status until an assignment is received demonstrates a lack of knowledge of our profession and the response of “why don’t they just open a window” is unacceptable. If the air conditioning system doesn’t work the vehicle should be placed off service. Roadside and RCC should be notified and the member should document it in their history or station log. If you are given an order to go back into service with out air conditioning you should follow that order. Then, complete and fax the Union’s Air Conditioning repair notice to the Union office. Remember to keep hydrated, if you become ill from the heat make sure to fill out a LODI package and exposure (heat) report. 

Certificate of Fitness: The storage, dispensing of fuel and operating an air compressor require training and a certificate of fitness. The absence of personnel without the training or possession of a certificate of fitness presents a health & safety hazard.

Light duty Lieutenants: Light duty / LODI Lieutenants are performing the duties of full duty members. We have been informed during a Reasonable Accommodation hearing that the desk duties of a Lieutenant are only to be performed by full duty members. Therefore, our light duty members performing desk duties should stay home to recover from their injuries.

D Platoon Overtime: We are in queue for an arbitration date.

FLSA Update: Our legal department has reviewed the FLSA documents received from the city's law firm Jackson Lewis LLP. They state our members are not prohibited from proceeding with any legal action that is being pursued prior to becoming an officer. Furthermore, no member is prohibited from filing legal action for any violations or actions that may be committed in the future. The acceptance of this settlement covers the time period of January 2004 to the time of signing in 2010. If any member requires assistance on how to complete the W9 form check the Union web site at www.uemso.com for more information and examples. Any member that doesn’t receive a letter by June 18, 2010 should contact the Union office and request a FLSA package be faxed to them.

FDNY EMS Picnic: Come and join fellow members, family and friends at the 5th Annual FDNY EMS Family Picnic. July 25, 2010 in Cunningham Park, Queens from 1PM to 7PM.

  This is the last meeting before the summer recess and the one-year anniversary since being elected your President. I’ve enjoyed the challenges and positive changes that have enabled us to lay down the foundation for a better tomorrow. I wish you all a happy and safe summer!

In Solidarity,

Vincent Variale

 President