Over 250 members proudly serving the citizens and visitors of The City of Alexandria, Virginia. Learn more at afdlocal2141.org The Alexandria Fire Fighters Local 2141 are the primary labor group representing the fire fighters, paramedics, communications specialists, and fire marshals in the City of Alexandria, VA.
Local 2141 is a part of the International Association of Fire Fighters which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
Operating as usual
Today we remember all those who lost their lives during the September 11th terrorist attacks. Many of our own responded to the Pentagon from Alexandria to assist with shoring up the building. Our thoughts are with all of those who were affected during these times and who still live with the pain that this act of terrorism caused.
We are keeping one firefighter and one officer at work today for forced overtime. This should be the beginning of their 4 day break. It is one of their few 4 day breaks that allows them to be off for an entire weekend. Typically, a member of the Alexandria Fire Department works at least one weekend day.
Unfair compensation for public safety, in the city of Alexandria, has a long storied past.
If you don't believe us when we write that problems with compensation and staffing within the police department are decades old, maybe you will believe former Alexandria Police Chief David Baker.
Please take note of the language in his post where he writes about "broken promises," and "missed opportunities."
Thank you Chief Baker for your continued support.
Today we have 2 officers that are staying at work for forced overtime. They will only have 12 hours off before returning back to work on Saturday. By the time they commute back and forth to work and get some rest, they will have even less time to spend with their families.
We have one more day of fundraising for the MDA coming up. Some might not know the history, remember the telethon, or know why we care so much. This is just one of the many ways that we serve the community. Please help out if you can whether you see us in the streets or by following the link.
https://filltheboot.donordrive.com/team/8444
We have one more day of fundraising for the MDA coming up. Some might not know the history, remember the telethon, or know why we care so much. This is just one of the many ways that we serve the community. Please help out if you can whether you see us in the streets or by following the link.
https://filltheboot.donordrive.com/team/8444
Our brothers and sisters in blue are fighting the same fight. We need to be supported.
Alexandria Police staffing & morale are plummeting and the community deserves to know why.
We stand with our partners with Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141 and ask that City Council take our requests seriously. Alexandria's public safety employees deserve better!
Again, we are keeping a medic and firefighter at work today for more forced over time. They will only have 12 hours off before having to return to work tomorrow.
Today we have 9 members who are working forced overtime. Nine members who are going to work 36 consecutive hours and miss out on time at home with their families.
Alexandria firefighters plead for more pay and hires | WTOP
The Alexandria firefighters union sent a searing open letter to the Virginia city’s leaders pleading with them to fully fund the department and hire more workers.
Underfunding Concerns Raised By Alexandria Firefighters Union
The firefighters union raised concerns about not all in-service vehicles having advanced life support personnel and other staffing concerns.
Photos from Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141's post
Earlier today, we sent the following letter to the Alexandria City Manager, Mayor & City Council.
For members of the general public - PLEASE SIGN ON TO OUR LETTER CALLING ON ALEXANDRIA TO FULLY FUND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!
https://forms.gle/im5JwiherYyuoi2f7
Full Text of the Letter Below --
City Manager Jinks, Mayor Wilson, and Alexandria City Council Members,
Throughout COVID-19, the members of IAFF Local 2141 have provided frontline assistance to the citizens of Alexandria above and beyond the typical call of duty.
While performing these additional duties related to the pandemic, such as administering COVID-19 vaccines at City run sites, to transporting COVID infected patients, our emergency personnel have done their best to continue to provide excellent service to the City of Alexandria at the risk of their health and well-being, as well as the health and well-being of their families.
However, the City’s prolonged mismanagement and underfunding of our Fire Department has not only demonstrated that the City Manager and/or City Council do not properly support our emergency personnel, but that they are actively deciding to provide diminished emergency services at the risk of potential harm to the citizens, businesses and visitors of Alexandria. It is with this in mind that we bring these issues to the forefront before this crisis escalates to a point that causes unnecessary harm to the community we serve.
First, due to our department’s labor shortage, some ambulances and engines are now in service without having any ALS (Advanced Life Support) personnel on board. For background, ALS providers are, medics and firefighters certified to administer medication and potentially life saving airway equipment, cardiac life support, and cardiac monitoring.
This means that, if an ambulance arrives today, the staff on board may not even be able to give a citizen ibuprofen, yet alone provide the life saving drugs or intravenous medicines needed on many of the emergency calls we perform.
Second, our Heavy Rescue Squad, the firefighters trained to handle extreme situations, such as swift water rescue, vehicle extrication, machine entrapment, and building/construction emergencies, has been disbanded in order to help alleviate the staffing crisis in other parts of the department.
This means that, in a City that is 1) currently undergoing large amounts of construction, 2) dealing with rampant flooding, and 3) surrounded by highways travelled by tens of thousands of people a day, City Management has put the Fire Department in a position where we cannot provide the services required to help citizens dealing with those emergency situations.
Third, if this staffing shortage is not fixed, we believe that City Management will force the Fire Department to close down an entire fire station, limiting the services available to those residing in the community surrounding the shuttered station.
In a City such as Alexandria, it’s unacceptable for our Fire Department to be so underfunded and understaffed that we are actively removing and limiting life saving services from our community.
Frankly, the members of IAFF Local 2141 believe that it doesn’t have to be this way. All of these issues have one root cause - City Management’s inability to prioritize fully staffing our Fire Department.
To fix this issue, the City simply needs to put forward the funding to hire an additional 70 personnel, while also improving the salaries, benefits and working conditions for current employees to prevent their departures for other jurisdictions (At this moment, Alexandria is uncompetitive with our surrounding jurisdictions; Even King George County now has a higher starting salary for firefighters and medics than Alexandria)
In conclusion, we strongly implore you, the City Manager, Mayor, and City Council, to fully fund and fully staff our Fire Department. We can only hope that it will not take a completely avoidable emergency or disaster for you to do so.
Regards,
The Members of 2141
[email protected]
2141 Members - Join us this weekend for our collective bargaining power training!
We'll be running through our game plan on how we can lower holdovers, improve pay, improve working conditions, and ensure that WE the WORKERS have a seat at the table when decisions are made!
Sign up to attend here - we have three different time slots to accommodate A,B & C shifts
https://forms.gle/3Z5WKU8yNm1bYgsv7
#UnionStrong #union #StrongerTogether
Sign up below to attend a training on how Local 2141 will build internal & external power by organizing to win on the issues that matter most to our members
IAFF Local 2141 is a diverse and inclusive workforce and union that works to promote an equitable and inclusive work environment. We hold ALL of our members to the high personal conduct standard that the Alexandria community both expect and deserve.
IAFF Local 2141 has a zero tolerance policy towards any actions that can be interpreted as racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-semitic or pro-violent.
There is no room for any public servant to act in a way that can be interpreted as an attack on any member of our community. We are currently investigating the actions of this employee, and will act swiftly upon determining his intent.
Join us in congratulating the 20 IAFF Local 2141 members who were promoted today!
EMS Lieutenants -
Leddyanne Dell
Edgar Velazquez
Elizabeth “Beth” Honaker
Fredrick Koerner Jr.
Barbara Tharpe
Eric Doddington
Jeffery Prodoehl
Howard Weinstein
Sean Goza
Chad Shade
Michael Kohrt
Fire Lieutenants
Jason Sharpe
Micheall Lyons
Keven Black Jr
Michael Ware
Alex Majano
Willie Gray
Fire Captains
Daryoush Hematti
Ray Ginman
Anthony Small
And a specific thank you to Chief Corey Smedley for fighting to create these opportunities for advancement within our department - opportunities like these allow more of our first responders to continue their careers serving in Alexandria.
Fire Department, City of Alexandria, VA
THE OVERTIME CRISIS -
This isn't a flash in the pan - Involuntary overtime is the norm in our department -
During the month of June, firefighters, EMTs, medics etc completed 8,505 HOURS OF OVERTIME. We did this to ensure ALL residents of Alexandria City had access to the first responders they need when emergencies occur.
That's unsustainable - To put that number in perspective - 8,505 hours is the equivalent of 354.375 DAYS of work - That's almost an entire year, done in one month, just in OVERTIME.
There is no quick fix to solve this issue - at this point, We need to hire and train at least 35 additional Advanced Life Support staff members just to break even.
We need Alexandria to be a top tier employer if this is going to change. But right now, firefighters throughout the DMV, including rural areas like King George County (!!!!!) - have higher starting salaries for firefighters and medics than Alexandria.
In fact, the starting salary for firefighters in Alexandria is BELOW THE LIVING WAGE FOR ALEXANDRIA CITY RESIDENTS.
This is creating our staffing CRISIS, and we, the frontline workers, don't want this resulting in the city shutting down fire stations or emergency services that provide valuable services to our community members -
So over the next few weeks, we'll be putting out OUR proposals on how the City can fix this mess.
The first responders of our city deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and the residents of our city deserve to have top notch emergency services.
Check out our Overtime and Holdover Tracker for the month of June here - We're compiling July as we speak.
Stay tuned
Another day, another 10 forced to do 12-24 hours of involuntary overtime (holdovers). Mothers and fathers have to rearrange child care situations. Spouses have to rearrange work schedules. Husbands and wives miss out on time they had planned to spend together. Individuals have canceled doctors appointments and put their health on the back burner.
Meanwhile, our chiefs have taken firefighters, officers and paramedics off the street and put them into day work positions, limiting our number of personnel that can staff apparatus. The department reorganization plan is failing and being carried on the backs of our members and their families. Corey Smedley, we could use a hand.
We don't even operate off of our holdover list anymore which allows members to plan for being held at work. We have so many holdovers everyday that the holdover list is often exhausted.
Requiring rank and file first responders to do 24 hours of forced overtime per week is unsustainable to our city and our department.
Fire Department, City of Alexandria, VAMayor Justin Wilson Del Ray Patch Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker John Taylor Chapman for Alexandria City Council AlexandriaVA.gov
This past Sunday, 9 members were forced to stay at work due to staffing shortages. For some of them, this was the 2nd or more time they had been forced to stay at work that week. Tired, exhausted, over worked employees are responding to emergencies. We need more employees. We need managers and city management that will help us Mayor Justin Wilson The Zebra Press - GOOD News in Alexandria, VA Alyia For Alexandria Del Ray Patch
Congratulations to our neighbors! We look forward to seeing the positive changes this will bring for our brothers and sisters.
Did you know that the Alexandria City Police Department is the second-lowest paid in the entire region?
Did you know that more than half a dozen sworn staff members resigned or retired from the department just last month?
It is not a stretch to determine why: you cannot hire and retain quality officers when you pay them poorly.
Therefore we partnered with our friends with the Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141 and the Alexandria Sheriff's Association to write the attached letter. The 2500+ City employees who work for Alexandria City Government deserve fair and reasonable salaries. This is especially the case after they performed valiantly over the last twelve months. We hope Council does the right thing and uses the money saved to provide the FY21 merit and salary increases.
The public safety agencies of Alexandria will stick together, fight together and serve the citizens and visitors of this of this community together.
Did you know that the Alexandria City Police Department is the second-lowest paid in the entire region?
Did you know that more than half a dozen sworn staff members resigned or retired from the department just last month?
It is not a stretch to determine why: you cannot hire and retain quality officers when you pay them poorly.
Therefore we partnered with our friends with the Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141 and the Alexandria Sheriff's Association to write the attached letter. The 2500+ City employees who work for Alexandria City Government deserve fair and reasonable salaries. This is especially the case after they performed valiantly over the last twelve months. We hope Council does the right thing and uses the money saved to provide the FY21 merit and salary increases.
A great example of the benefits of a CBA. Congratulations to the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts.
A Neutral Arbitrator agrees with IAFF L-1314 Fall River Firefighters and Attorney Leah Marie Barrault (Labor Collaborative LLC) that a Fire Chief’s Authority During a State of Emergency to Override Collectively Bargained Terms and Conditions is Not Without Limits
Read the entire decision - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t7kW8STSHKd_x1kUrefIfoM8CNmhpQEC/view?usp=sharing
We have over a dozen fire fighters and paramedics that are being forced to work extra hours today. There are 20 individuals who have volunteered to work over time. Recruitment and rentention continue to fail us.
#alexandriafirefighters #alexandriava #IAFF #oldtownalexandria
Congratulations to our members who were featured by the The Zebra Press - GOOD News in Alexandria, VA.
Please see the endorsement from President Turner and 2141 on behalf of Justin Wilson who is running to be re elected as mayor.
Please see the endorsement from President Turner and 2141 on behalf of Justin Wilson who is running to be re elected as mayor.
Please see the endorsement from President Turner and 2141 on behalf of John Taylor Chapman who is running for a spot on city council.
Please see the endorsement from President Turner and 2141 on behalf of John Taylor Chapman who is running for a spot on city council.
Please see the endorsement from President Turner and 2141 on behalf of Canek Aguirre who is running for a spot on city council.
Please see the endorsement from President Turner and 2141 on behalf of Canek Aguirre who is running for a spot on city council.
Photos from Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)'s post
Please see the endorsement from President Turner and 2141 on behalf of James Lewis who is running for a spot on city council.
Please see the endorsement from President Turner and 2141 on behalf of James Lewis who is running for a spot on city council.
4600 Duke St, Ste 429
Alexandria, VA
22304
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Short video from last nights 2 Alarm fire.
What first arriving crews encountered at the fire on Kenmore ave. Alexandria. Great work by the first arriving units. E206,E205,E208,E410,T208,TT410,RS104,M206BC111,BC212,EMS231 No injuries were reported.
Local 2141 Fire Ops
Training to survive.
Illinois State Society of Washington, DC
PO Box 320776ADL - Advanced Distributed Learning Initiativ
1901 N. Beauregard St.Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (C
4800 Mark Center DriveFederal Voting Assistance Program - FVAP
4800 Mark Center Drive, Mailbox 10Douglas Macarthur Elementary School PTA
1101 Janneys LnCivil Air Patrol's National Capital Wing
3330 King St.
American Red Cross Nurse Assistant Training A
123 N Alfred St
The Women's Group of Mt. Vernon, Inc.
8647 Richmond Hwy #659
Rebuilding Together DC • Alexandria
700 Princess St, Ste 206
Mt Vernon Genealogical Society
1500 Shenandoah Rd
National Veterans Resource Squad
1660 Duke Street
Alexandria Medical Reserve Corps
4480 King St