As President of Local 416, I represent members from departments of varying sizes, from 6 to over 1200, with both merit firefighters as well as civilian EMTs, Paramedics, and Emergency Dispatchers. It is important to me to ensure all members receive the same level of service regardless of the size of their department. I have negotiated with the largest city in the state, townships, towns, and munic
ipal corporations. This all gives me unique experiences and skills to continue those tasks needed to accomplish the mission of the PFFUI. Also a member of INTF-1. Before getting on the job I worked as a nurse LPN, started in a long-term acute care hospital, and then did home care for children on ventilators. Second a generation IFD Firefighter for the past 18 years and my dad did 35 years. Why I Got Involved in Union:
Originally I got involved in the Union because I felt I wasn’t being represented. Additionally, on the anniversary of a large fire that changed the way we operated at high-rise fires, operations were changed from 1 ¾ to 2 ½, and the only training we received was a CD with a video. While this change made sense, the lack of training made me concerned and someone said “If you’re not happy with the way it is, you can keep complaining or do something about it.” So I ran for IFD District President and lost a couple of times and then finally won. After serving in that position for 2 years I was elected as Local President and have been in that position for 7 years and the 4th District DVP for over 5 of those. My Top Priorities:
1. Protect and Enhance the Pension- I feel our pension is the most important thing to us. It’s not only our retirement plan, but equally important, it’s our disability insurance. It’s how we can take care of our families when we retire or god forbid we get injured. We must protect our ability to take care of our family and enhance these benefits so we can continue to take better care of our families and enjoy our much-earned retirement.
2. Health and Safety- Whether it's Cancer, Mental Health, or Training we need to work to make sure we can be safe at work and be able to work a long, safe and healthy career and be healthy and able to enjoy our retirement. As I stated this is one of the main reasons why I got involved in the Union. If we don’t take care of ourselves then the pension doesn’t matter. I have, like all of you, seen too many members retire only to die a year or two after retirement, or were too beat up or sick to truly enjoy the pension they earned and deserve.
3. Fair Treatment and Protections- We also must protect our rights. We must protect the right to organize, and protect our rights to be treated fairly when questioned or disciplined as laid out in the firefighter bill of rights and as in our Merit Systems. Fair treatment is essential to our job. Our job is unlike any other. We don’t get the luxury of choosing to work from home, our job can permanently injure us or worse kill us. Our job is a team sport. We must be able to work together and trust each other. These protections help ensure trust among each other and hold admin accountable. Flashovers don’t care what patch is on our shoulder, Cancer doesn’t care, PTSD doesn’t care and we shouldn’t allow administrations to treat us differently. Whether from a department of 6 to IFD with 1260 members. From Merit Firefighters to civilian EMS and Dispatch, all members deserve to receive the same service and be treated fairly.
4. Relationships- The only way we can accomplish our mission is through relationships with decision-makers. Without building these relationships and having the ability to tell our story and explain our position we won't be able to address the above. It’s a catchy phrase but as the PFFUI our political party truly is the Firefighter party. We all have our own political beliefs and opinions on all issues, but as your Union, we keep our focus on those issues that affect us as Fire and EMS. This is how we have been able to be successful and how we will continue to do so. By building on these relationships we will be able to continue to improve the lives of our members and their families
5. Run the Business: We must run the business of the PFFUI. Again, much like with relationships, effectively running the business of the PFFUI will allow us to continue our mission. It helps build credibility and trust with our members and legislatures. We need to ensure the PFFUI is in a strong financial position, including the PFFUI PAC, and both are successful. My Experience:
1. Protect and Enhance the Pension: As Local 416 President I represent over 400 retirees and have worked with our Pension Secretary on multiple pension issues. I have worked on changing state codes to allow our Airport firefighters to be in the pension as well as residency requirements for dispatchers, as well as, local city ordinances to allow our Airport firefighters to organize and negotiate pay and benefits for our EMS members at IEMS. Because of my experience negotiating and writing contracts, I am very detail-oriented and am familiar with reading laws, bills, and codes. This is important when it comes to reading bills and checking for anything attacking our pension.
2. Health and Safety- I recently set up a Spec Committee for IFD to build specs for apparatus from members and those working on and off the apparatus. I worked with IFD’s H&S Chief to build IFD's return to work center for LOD Muscular Skeletal injuries, as well as, working with our partners at ProTeam to have a clinic on the third floor of our Union Hall for LOD and Non-LOD injuries. Worked with the city for funding to fund a Mental Health Program/Clinic specifically for IFD. Much like our return to work center but for mental health. As a Local, we offered Ultrasounds for members through UDS.
3. Fair Treatment and Protections President of Local 416 I represent members from departments of varying sizes, from 6 to over 1200, with both merit firefighters, as well as civilian EMTs, Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers. Have changed several ordinances to allow departments to organize. We have organized 3 departments with 2 of them going through the DOL process. This all gives me unique experiences and skills to continue those tasks needed to accomplish the mission of the PFFUI.
4. Relationships- We have built strong Labor-Management Relationships, as well as strong Political Relationships, across Marion County. Under my leadership as President, we have organized three departments into the Local, two of which required votes through the Department of Labor (Airport and Dispatch), as well as, required legislative changes. Both of these were only accomplished due to our strong political relationships. Because of these strong political relationships, I was also able to lead the effort to negotiate pay and benefits for our civilian EMS members at Indianapolis Emergency Medical Service (IEMS). By attending many of the events that are held in and around Marion County I have already begun to build relationships with many of the legislators from across the state. I also have attended multiple hearings at the State House and have testified before a committee. These relationships and experience will help me accomplish the legislative goals of the PFFUI to help all members across the state.
5. Run the Business- I have experience running a local whose annual budget is over $2 million. We have leased our Third floor with ProTeam, charging parking lot fees, moved our reserve funds to CDs which earns interest diversifies this account so it is insured, and invested our Medicare trust. During my time as President, our local and state PAC contributions have increased allowing both PACs to impact our political agenda. Because of these increased resources, we have been able to continue to support the mission of our Local, both operationally and politically, to help provide a better life for our members and their families. For these reasons, I believe I am the most qualified and experienced to be your next PFFUI Vice President and humbly ask for your support next May. If you have any questions or ideas please feel free to call or email me.
