Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141

12/24/2022

The Alexandria Firefighters Local 2141 Children’s Holiday Toy Drive has concluded another highly successful year thanks to the support and generosity of many department members as well as many of our community partners.

Our campaign began on Thanksgiving, when we provided Thanksgiving dinners to 12 families from the City’s domestic violence program. We thank our community partners at Giant Food on E. Glebe Road for their generous donation of turkeys towards this project.

The Local 2141 Toy Drive then proceeded to collect and purchase toys, books and games for children in the city’s domestic violence program. The Toy Drive provided holiday gifts for over 130 children in the domestic violence program.

We would like to thank all who took the time to donate to the toy drive. We especially want to thank our community partners at Willow Spring Towing & Recovery, Inc. Alexandria’s Code Enforcement Division (Code Administration, City of Alexandria, Virginia) as well as many department and local community members who were so generous with their donations.

A special thank you to MISSION BBQ, who not only donated toys but assisted Local 2141’s Toy Drive in arranging a meal for the Neo-natal ICU staff at Inova Alexandria Hospital as we continued our long-standing relationship with our Alexandria Hospital partners and the great work that they do every day. Baby blankets were provided for each patient in the NICU as part of our longstanding holiday tradition.

The Alexandria Firefighters Local 2141 Children’s Holiday Toy Drive continues its success because of the continued generosity of so many in this community and we thank you once again.

On behalf of Alexandria Firefighters Local 2141, please enjoy a safe and happy holiday season.

PS - And a BIG shoutout to 2141 member Michael "Lurch" Chandler for continuing to organize all of this important work!

12/03/2022

One of our members recently received devastating news: Deputy Chief Brian Hricik has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. The Helping Hands Foundation has stepped in to help with donations for his family.

Please click the link in the bio to donate.

12/03/2022

One of our members recently received devastating news: Deputy Chief Brian Hricik has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. The Helping Hands Foundation has stepped in to help with donations for his family.

Please click the link below to donate

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=W4G3WH54YBP4E

11/24/2022

PUBLIC SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT - due to short staffing we have an engine out of service today - Even with 1 unit out of service, we still have 7 members who finished their 24 hr shifts at 7 am this morning, but were forced to stay for an additional 12 hours to keep the rest of our apparatus in service on this holiday.

Tomorrow, it's expected that 5 more members will be kept at the end of their shift as well - these members have already missed Thanksgiving and will not be returning home for an additional 12 hrs.

Not the type of "gift" our members want to provide their families on Black Friday...

Stay safe this holiday season!

11/23/2022

The picture says it all. Our toy drive is up and running.

11/23/2022

On behalf of Local 2141, members FF Chandler and FF Carlson presented Alexandria Domestic Violence shelter staff with holiday turkey dinners to aid families at the shelter. Happy Thanksgiving to all from Alexandria Firefighters Local 2141.

11/23/2022

A big thank you to our community partners at Giant Food store #2742 on East Glebe Road in Alexandria for their generous donation of turkeys towards our Thanksgiving Turkey Drive to benefit the Alexandria Domestic Violence Shelter. Thank you again and Happy Thanksgiving to all from Alexandria Firefighters Local 2141.

11/23/2022

On behalf of Local 2141, members FF Chandler and FF Carlson presented Alexandria Domestic Violence shelter staff with holiday turkey dinners to aid families at the shelter. Happy Thanksgiving to all from Alexandria Firefighters Local 2141.

11/23/2022

A big thank you to our community partners at Giant Food store #2742 on East Glebe Road in Alexandria for their generous donation of turkeys towards our Thanksgiving Turkey Drive to benefit the Alexandria Domestic Violence Shelter. Thank you again and Happy Thanksgiving to all from Alexandria Firefighters Local 2141.

10/22/2022

Finished out the work week with a total of 35 people who were forced to stay at work. Thirty five times, someone had to call home and let down their family. This could be avoided if the city of Alexandria would fully staff our fire department.

10/17/2022

****Public Safety Alert**** Engine 205
which serves the Old Town West,
Rosemont, Eisenhower East and
Southern Del Ray Neighborhoods is
currently closed for the evening due to
staffing shortages. Another Emergency
Response Reduction due to AFD's
staffing Crisis.

10/16/2022

****Public Safety Alert**** Engine 205
which serves the Old Town West,
Rosemont, Eisenhower East and
Southern Del Ray Neighborhoods is
currently closed for the evening due to
staffing shortages. Another Emergency
Response Reduction due to AFD's
staffing Crisis.

10/16/2022

Finishing out the weekend with a total of 17 members working 12 hours of forced overtime. This can be fixed if Alexandria city fully staffs our fire department.

10/14/2022

We have 12 members who just completed a 24 hr shift who will be forced to stay at work for another 12 hours today, rather than going home to see there families. This can be fixed if Alexandria City fully staffs our fire department.

10/01/2022

Happy National Fire Pup Day! Meet Michael Kohrt from Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141 and this dalmatian pup who stopped by to help Fill the Boot. Fire dogs have been in service for hundreds of years. Back when fire vehicles used to be fire wagons pulled by horses, they often had carriage dogs that would run beside the wagon. Now, the dogs often serve the firehouse as companions. Shout out your canine friends and members of fire departments in the comments! International Association of Fire Fighters

09/17/2022

We have 12 members who just completed a 24 hr shift who will be forced to stay at work for 12 more hours or come back 12 hours early for another rather than going home to see there families. Working a 36 hours shift. This can be fixed if Alexandria City fully staffs our fire department.

07/14/2022

Alexandria Firefighters say equipment failures gamble the safety of residents

Big shout out to the AFD maintenance team for working OT to get the truck & rescue back in service!

Just like operations staff, maintenance staff should NOT be forced to stay due to the poor planning of the city/mgmt.

This can be solved with proactive, not reactive, leadership!

https://www.alxnow.com/2022/07/12/alexandria-firefighters-say-equipment-failures-gamble-the-safety-of-residents/

Alexandria firefighters say the city and its mutual aid partners in neighboring jurisdictions were left unprepared in the event of an emergency last week, but the Alexandria Fire Department says everything was covered. In a tweet on July 7 (Thursday), the International Association of Firefighters

07/11/2022

THE COUNT - The City of Alexandria has now had at least one unit in the fire department out of service every day for ELEVEN MONTHS STRAIGHT!

On August 12th, we'll hit a full year of providing less service to the City of Alexandria due to short staffing.

Absurd.

07/07/2022

**Public Safety Announcement**

Currently Alexandria only has 2 trucks and 0 rescue apparatus in operation in the ENTIRE City - with none operating in the entire eastern half of the city.

The safety of the public and our members shouldn't be put uneccesarily at risk.

FULLY FUND AFD!!

06/12/2022

At approximately this past Friday at 1300 hours units from 208, 210, and BC212 were alerted to Box 42694 in Fairfax County for the reported townhouse fire with a child trapped. Engine and Truck 208 arrived first finding a 2 story over/under townhouse with fire showing from the first floor. Truck 208 interior crew searched ahead of the hoseline in an attempt to find the reported child trapped, Truck 208 driver and tillerman VES a second floor bedroom to begin search efforts. Engine 208 made quick work of the fire on Division 1, with Engine 426 (Fairfax County) handling extension on division 2. All searches proved negative.  E210 held RIT, multiple companies from Alexandria fulfilled the 2nd Alarm compliment.

Around 0300hrs BC212 and Truck 208 (2nd  Alarm) were alerted to Annandale (Fairfax County) for a reported house fire with several people trapped. First arriving units quickly evacuated several members from a basement door and 1 victim was removed from the fire floor. Truck 208 arrived as the 3rd truck, and was assigned to division C, held by BC212 and Aide 215, and assisted with opening up the main fire area, checking for extension, overhaul, and extinguishing hotspots.

While west end companies were at this fire E210, E205 worked an auto accident on the outer loop of the beltway with one vehicle on fire and multiple people trapped.

06/06/2022

Local 2141 recognizes and celebrates the diversity in both our union, and the greater Alexandria community we serve this Pride month!

05/18/2022

THE COUNT: The city of Alexandria has had at least one fire department unit out of service everyday for 279 days straight.

05/12/2022

Last week, City Council approved the FY23 budget, which included a 7% pay increase for all AFD members, merit increases between 2.3% - 5.0%, & added incentives for ALS & bilingual staff.

Though we did not get the 10% pay raise we were hoping to win this budget cycle - we are happy with the results of our organizing work - between the 1.5% raise won in October, the FY23 7% raise & merit increase, all members will now be earning between 11.5%-14% more than in FY22

We want to publicly thank Council Members Council Member R. Kirk McPike, Alyia For Alexandria & John Taylor Chapman for Alexandria City Council for publicly pushing to increase AFD pay, as well as new City Manger Parajon, who has been receptive to creating the change Alexandria employees need.

We also want to thank community members such as
James Lewis & Kevin James Harris who testified on behalf of our issues & have always stood in solidarity with 2141 members.

Our power, UNION POWER, comes from our collective ability to act on the issues that most matter to us -Our union is nothing without the consent, input, and dedicated action of our members - And our members have been persistently showing up and doing the work to act on our issues!

So the last & LOUDEST THANK YOU goes to all 2141 members who showed up to/testified at council meetings, made turnout calls/texts, met with council members & community groups, held listening sessions, or just shared a social post. Without your work, the increase would not have happened.

With the budget cycle officially over, our full, undivided attention now goes to our ongoing Collective Bargaining Negotiations with the City, in hopes of having our FIRST EVER CONTRACT ready for approval this fall!

04/18/2022

Thanks, Kevin Harris (Kevin James Harris), Deputy Chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, for your support!!

We'll see Kevin testifying in support of increased staffing & better pay for our Fire Fighters, Medics and Fire Marshals at City Council this Saturday.

Will you be there to support us too?

https://www.voteforkevinharris.com/campaigns/view-campaign/VJjMKZMIxTEtbCBU3Ka_77HmDIFDBLqpf3XqgF1YhjS1ycx5hWVh7osMwBTnRgohWHrMy8G6uzCm2ZWtIRwbZB7IY08TO0yj

04/11/2022

First day of negotiations!

Today, 2141 becomes the first public sector union in the Commonwealth to start negotiations in over 40 years!

Moving forward , employees will have a say on the decisions being made that impact their lives!

04/08/2022

Support Alexandria's firefighters, medics and fire marshals! Join us at the City Council Meeting in TWO WEEKS on April 23rd!!

03/12/2022

E Board member Mike Faber testifying at City Council about our holdover issues & how it impacts our families - make Alexandria competitive to recruit and retain first responders!!!!

03/01/2022

"Officially official."

Let negotiations begin!

02/28/2022

Local 2141 St. Patrick's

Today is the last day to purchase our St. Patrick’s day shirts.

Our St. Patrick’s day shirts are for sale. The funds from these shirts go towards our Helping Hands Foundation which assists our members during any unforeseen times. You can place your order online.

https://stores.bjscustomcreations.com/local-2141-st-patricks/shop/home

02/25/2022

Alexandria Firefighter Union Wins Historic Collective Bargaining Vote

Here's a great write up on our historic election, and what that means for our members, and for workers throughout the Commonwealth

The union now represents the first public sector employees in more than four decades to win a seat at the bargaining table in Virginia.

02/22/2022

- WE WON!!!

For the first time in more than FOUR DECADES - a public sector union in the Commonwealth of Virginia will be negotiating with Management/the Government as equal partners.

And it wasn't just a win - it was a BIG WIN

FINAL RESULTS
163 Votes For 2141
1 Vote for No Representation.

99.39% of all votes went to 2141.

Big thank you to all the members who voted, made turnout texts and calls, and worked to ensure that the members of the AFD knew that THEIR UNION had their backs.

Upwards and onwards - Now back to focusing on this year's budget & our upcoming negotiations with Management and the City of Alexandria!

02/22/2022

Today's the day! Though we will get the election results later this afternoon, you still have time to vote!!!!

Be sure to get your ballots in by NOON!!

2141 President Josh Turner did! (even if he wasn't exactly thrilled to be taking this photo)

02/21/2022

24 HOUR NOTICE!

Our election for representation for collective bargaining ends at noon on Tuesday! BE SURE TO GET YOUR VOTE IN!

W/ Sean Europe & Dan Hunt

02/17/2022

Our St. Patrick’s day shirts are now for sale!

The funds from these shirts go towards our Helping Hands Foundation which assists our first responders during any unforeseen times.

You can place your order online here:

https://stores.bjscustomcreations.com/local-2141-st-patricks/shop/home?fbclid=IwAR0YUztRliKTpRsJ8tK2HpZc7qns3hT8Zma5SfZlBC-jfLkhV44iM3CE86s

02/16/2022

No tax increase in City budget proposal, ACPS gets fully funded

“Though we appreciate the new City Manager’s efforts..the proposal does not do enough to stop the bleeding-When you’re down 20 in the fourth quarter it’s not enough to just score when the other team scores. We need to do a full court press to play catchup”

New City Manager James Parajon may be trying to make a good first impression with city residents. His first budget -- a continuation of one started under former City Manager Mark Jinks -- comes with no new tax rate increase. Even so, with real estate assessments on the upswing, local homeowners can

02/14/2022

IAFF 2141 VP Steven Smith voting to ensure ALL members of our department have a seat at the table

We have 8 days until the election is over - make sure your voice is heard - VOTE!

02/14/2022

Local 2141 St. Patrick's

Our St. Patrick’s day shirts are for sale. The funds from these shirts go towards our Helping Hands Foundation which assists our members during any unforeseen times. You can place your order online.

https://stores.bjscustomcreations.com/local-2141-st-patricks/shop/home

02/11/2022

Next Tuesday the new City Manager will put forward his proposed budget to City Council.

We are cautiously hopeful that the Mayor and City Council Members will follow through on the public commitments they made to our members to make first responder pay a top priority in the FY2023 budget.

Though we are hopeful that this will be addressed - We want to ensure that the decision makers know that there is still a large sense of urgency to address these issues NOW- because while they sort out the best way to fix this - our first responders can only hold the line for so long - Just in the last two weeks we lost another three medics who left Alexandria to go work for neighboring jurisdictions that offer better hours and better pay.

To the everyday citizen, that may not sound like much - but it takes us three years to recruit, train, and certify personnel before they can become full firefighter medics. And with each member of the department we lose, more and more of the members that stay are forced to take on even more hours of mandatory overtime to make up for our short staffing.

After years of pay freezes, cuts to services, loss of personnel and forced overtime, it's past time to

We're looking forward to gaining clarity on where we stand as a priority next Tuesday

CC: Mayor Justin Wilson Alyia Gaskins Council Member R. Kirk McPike Sarah Bagley for Alexandria Canek Aguirre for Alexandria City Council Amy Jackson John Taylor Chapman for Alexandria City Council

02/08/2022

Did you ? 2141 E-Board Member Megan Ellzy did!

If you don't receive a ballot for our Collective Bargaining Representation Election by THIS THURSDAY let someone on the E-Board know!

Be sure to vote 2141! Remember, if you are not at the table, you're on the menu!!!

02/07/2022

Want to know more about how to vote during our Collective Bargaining election? E-Board member Mike Faber gives us a rundown in this video!

Ballots should be coming in today! Be sure to vote 2141!