Received via Email: 02-09-12 I think its time to call newton or the lawyer, Mike.
Received via Email: 02-09-12 Im out if we get nothing for mandatory drug testing until we get a new president. 7 year drop does not count. They have to give that to us. Can spend my union dues on something else that will help me.
Received via Email: 02-09-12 lets stop fighting with each other and start with the group that needs to be fought with.
Received via Email: 02-09-12 You were warned over and over and over again. You were told far in advance that electing an unproven, unskilled member to the office of President at this time would be a clear and open means for the city to make vast inroads in removing the spine from this Local. You were warned that this was the worst possible time to throw away the one person, whether you liked him or not, that could provide leadership in these times. You were warned that listening to the lies and moronic promises of the current President was going to come back and bite you in the ass. You were warned about all these things. And not just from one or two people but from many and especially from those who had experienced this type of challenge in the past. But the majority . . . let me say that again . . . the MAJORITY of the members of this Local chose to thumb their nose at history and good counsel and elect the member who is now President. The democratic method of voting has proven again that the MAJORITY rules. And the MAJORITY has made it clear that they want a man with no skill, no knowlege, no experience, no background and no clue to lead this Local. What I want an answer to is why so many are pissing and moaning. Maybe it's just the fact that your candidate didn't win or possibly that you were blindsided by the masses but the outcome is still the same. And I'm gonna say it whether you like it or not. You should be careful what you ask for because you just may get it. And if that has ever been proven to be true . . . this is the perfect example. You asked for it and you got it. Only problem is you're not happy with your decision. Well guess what. That decision will last for at least two years. And you're gonna be unhappy with it the whole damn time. It won't matter if you personally voted for Blank or not. You're gonna reap the benefits of his lies and bullshit just the same. And you know in your heart of hearts that you had the opportunity to prevent all of the things that will happen if you had only used some intelligence when you voted. All those things that you thought were wrong about President Newton don't look so bad now, do they? Ask the member who just got fired. You made your beds and now you have to lie in them.
Received via Email: 02-09-12 RECALL . . . NOPE, RECALL . . . NOPE, RECALL . . . NOPE. Why? Because you need some of the members who voted this person into office to now vote him out. Plus the fact that no one has the balls to instigate the process. So that's pretty much a moot subject. In this case, for you who are scratching your heads, means no way, not a prayer, hell no, and only if hell freezes over. Those of you who voted for this person made a choice. That's what an election is all about. You have a choice to determine who will lead. You were fooled by a fool who thought it would be fun to run for an office in the union. He proceeded to tell everyone how wonderful he was going to be as a president who would take this union into the rest of the 21st century. And some of you believed him. Others voted for him because they had some imaginary axe to grind with Winnie Newton. Some just voted for him for the hell of it. Admit it, you know that's true. So ... now your actions have paid off. Had those of you who voted for Mr. Blank done your homework you would have realized that this was not the best choice. His lack of skill at the bargaining table, his lack of knowledge about union matters and the implementation of the articles in the contract, his arrogance and "me, me, me" persona that tells volumes about him, and lastly his lies should have been a signal that this person was not capable in any shape or form to represent the 250 plus members of this Local. Now it is admitted by this writer that no one can take over an office and do everything successfully right from the start. That's a given. And there were those who said "Give the man a chance to prove himself". Okay. That's fair. Based on what the members have seen so far could it be said that he's progressing? Maybe. But if you believe what you read on this site he's making some very bad choices and mistakes. This is not a time to be sending in a 16 year old to do a man's job. Things are dicey and headed toward getting worse. Reality is that the members of this Local have done themselves a very great disservice in their choice of leadership. Whether knowingly or not it's too late now. So here's your choices. There are only two. Continue to allow this member to keep the office of president and follow him down a path of unskilled attempts at everything or provide the member with help from those who know the ropes and have been where he has never been. Recall is not an option in an organization with little or no spine. So if you want to ever get back to the point where Winnie left off you better start educating your choice of representation. It will take many months of time and effort but it can be done. Now one other scenario is that Mr. Blank will have such an exemplary opinion of himself that he will reject the help. Having seen here the examples of his past willingness to accept help I doubt that it will work. But it's worth a try. If failure is the victor in this matter then those who saw this member as a way to change the Local for the better were sadly mistaken and your future is in extreme jeaopardy.
Received via Email: 02-09-12 Have I made my point yet? You made the same mistake the American public made in 2008. You believed and swallowed the mantra of "change". Now you got it. Getting rid of it will be a lot harder.
Dick
Received via Email: 02-09-12 I'm sure I've seen it but what's duration about? Lets see if I can explain it in a way we can all understand. You meet a beautiful women and strike up a conversation. Later she talks you into a contract that says you will have sex everyday for the next 3 years. You jump all over that, then you find out that the agreement is for you to have sex with her brother whos name is Bubba, and your new name for the next 3 years is Bi*ch... You never sign the bottom line until you know whats at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. Get it now, your president just signed the last page of the novel.
Received via Email: 02-09-12 hey #2/2-9. I like that guy we the Union members all elected in 2008. The country is in better shape than the union..4 more years! Informed change is good, bringing in someone because you don't like the other guy, hell thats a shit sandwich with a slice of Blank..FTM
Received via Email: 02-09-12 It seems that Mr. Blank has elevated himself to the rank of ASS CLOWN in less than 6 months. Now who said he wasn't a go getter. To achieve such a high honor takes alot of motivation.
Received via Email: 02-10-12 Dick, you can cry all you want but you aren't getting a raise. Nobody is. Why not go back into refinishing furniture until the economy improves?
Received via Email: 02-10-12 If Dick gets a pay raise it will only be 1/2 of 1/2 of one. In negotiations the other day the mayor and the fire chief offered us a 7 day work cycle which means more overtime in your check. The mayor and the fire chief figure it's worth about 1.5%. BUT, BUT, IF the city offers us a raise in the FUTURE the road they'll subtract out the 1.5% and you and I will get what's left over. Overtime is not pensionable so fuk off. Offering us the cheapest of the extra benefits that the captains and DC's get is shit and to later use it to steal from us again is bullshit. Fuk that. Why are we still negotiating against ourselves Mike Blank? Why have you not gone to the table with any offer of any sort? Council told the mayor and the fire chief to negotiate with us to get drug testing and physicals that they would not impose on us because Winnie whooped their ass. Why are we not asking for a true 7 day work week. Why not ask for sickies not to affect the time off book? Why no 7 year Drop that costs nothing? Why no 48 hour week. The captains and the DC's gave up their 4th amendment rights and their right to privacy and what they got in return is everything they won't give us. Why are we still negotiating TAKE AWAYS that those assholes broght to the table. Tell them we want nothing less than waht they gave the captains and the DC's and walk the fuk away. What's so hard about asking for what you want???, MB??? If you can't get this done on your own, Call Winnie, call the international, call the lawyers, just call someone, please. You haven't set foot in the union hall in 15 years and you've never attended a negotiations and the entire staff is laughing all the way to the bank because your about to give away everything that Winnie built for us. And lets talk about that for a minute. You are required to do certain things around her to keep your job or you get written up. When you do get written up you piss and moan and if you're smart you'll call the union for representation. The dept. holds your accountable and there's shit you can do about it. When Winnie was running the union he held you accountable too but because he isn't hired as the union president but voted in, you all get upset because you got sand in your snatch when he pressed you to get up of of your asses and do what needs to be done. for that you fired him. The problem with this local is shit members. You don't listen and have ADD if you are listening.The difference in being accountable to the chief is he'll write you up if you don't do as your supposed to . What happens when a union president who's working for you tells you the way it is and tells you that he's working for you but he can't do it on his own. You fire him and fire your only chance at getting the whole enchilada. We are close now to really getting fuked than at any time that I can remember. Even when Pete Grasso was in office he figure it out and stepped back and let Rick Feinberg negotiate for us. Some people have what it takes to stand up against a room full of attorneys and Mike Blank doesn't . He doesn't like confrontation and he cowers away from confrontation. Lets stop the bleeding of benefits right out the window. PS If you see any of our retired friends like Mike Moore or Chris Davis running around, tell them to keep the fuk out of our buiness. They got what they got when they retired and they ain't gonna get shit from us because their only connection to this place is Mike Blank and he's got no juice.
Received via Email: 02-10-12 Dick find something else to do. Everyone else has!
Received via Email: 02-10-12 To 2-10 #2 Holy shit brother. Tell it like it is. I like it.
Received via Email: 02-10-12 Think about this, the only presidents this local has had that where worth their salt in the past 25 years where Feinberg and Newton. I come to that conclusion because they both poured their hearts and souls into what they did 24/7/365 and they stuck with it for more than 1 or 2 terms. The other names we like to throw around like Chris Davis, Mike Wimmers, Mike Moore, and Pete Grasso didn't have what it took and all knew enough to step away from the responsibilites. Hey Mickey Blank are you understanding what we are saying?
As far as Dick Tully, keep it up some of us are learning a few things and it scares the others. Past history is almost as good as photos and they hate that.
Received via Email: 02-12-12 I guess I need to start taking my laptop out of the car when I hit the station. I can't believe how many posts I missed!
Received via Email: 02-12-12 Besides a few members,and former Pres. of our Local Dick Tully has more knowledge in his pinky than you do in your swollen up head. Keep on suckin up to Steve Hitler and the Blankettes. You'll hit gold soon. FTM
Received via Email: 02-12-12 Received via Email: 02-10-12 Think about this, the only presidents this local has had that where worth their salt in the past 25 years where Feinberg and Newton. I come to that conclusion because they both poured their hearts and souls into what they did 24/7/365 and they stuck with it for more than 1 or 2 terms.
Now for those of you that are still wondering...This is a true definition of Duration.
Received via Email: 02-12-12 Hey Michael Blank. A wise man once asked of his opponets, "Are your mental models sufficiently structured, understood and internalized that you can quickly respond to questions and pursue debate even in areas where you may not have specific knowledge of circumstance? Will you crumple and collapse under stress?"
Well can ya Punk? I think this guy should be asking this of you.
Received via Email: 02-14-12 Wait a minute, I was looking over there while you were talking, say that again.
Received via Email: 02-17-12 Is everyone as stunned as I am at this great contract offer? All I've heard people saying is we want parity with the capt's and DC's and they offer us a 7 day pay cycle. Is this the best we can negotiate in all these months? What the eff are we doing?
Received via Email: 02-17-12 See the shiny object over here? There's a signed MOU that's part of the supervisory unit's CONTRACT guaranteeing the 7 year DROP for everyone. Let's not let the shiny object be the ONLY object of our desires. We heard at the union meeting last night by some members who have been paying attention, that the only thing being offered that's new is the 7 day pay cycle without strings attached. The 7 year DROP was offered by the city in the first round of negotiations and the mayor decided to pull a fast one by jerking it off the table. It's all drama and it's intended to draw our attention away from the fact that there is no substance to the city's final offer. All the stories last night related to random drug testing of people who simply made the mistake of wrenching their back's and then using one of their loved one's prescription meds, ought to leave a big impression on everyone. Good people can get caught up in the dragnet, too. Bad contract language is no different than an improperly constructed law. Many will get jammed up before the law gets changed so why allow bad contract language to be initiated when we supposedly have some input? The shiny object is just one in a large group available to us and we already own it. Because THE CITY HAS RE-MANUFACTURED IT AS A BARGAINING CHIP they're not going to come out and say "Yeah, we screwed up and we'll make it right." They're going to keep making us jump through flaming hoops as a distraction.
Received via Email: 02-17-12 This is the Mike Blank dont make waves gambit. He is hoping it will be over with and he wont have to worry about it no mo.
Received via Email: 02-17-12 What's the city offering the medics? How many of us jumped through all the hoops to get here and to get "county" certified only to find that we can't get "classified" as medics by the city but we still function in every way as medics? And what about manditory overtime at time and a half? Are we bargaining to see a change? We should be bargaining to make all hours outside of our normal work schedule time and a half hours. Stop any one of the medics who works for Sunstar and they will tell you that even if they have a sick day in their workweek they are still paid time and a half overtime for all hours worked outside their regularly scheduled hours. I'd really like to see that here too.
TEAM: You raise some very good points, Bro'/Sis'. We're going to work on a project to showcase some of these disparities and your help will be invaluable. We'll get back to you when we get it put together. Thank you very much.
Received via Email: 02-17-12 Go work at sunstar then. I am all for time and half. If you are off though why still get time and a half?
TEAM: Apparently some have negotiated for it. Try telling members of departments that have suspicionless, mandatory random drug testing about what's contained in our current union contract as it pertains to the subject. Their question to you will be: "Why no suspicionless, mandatory random drug testing?" It's all a matter of perspective - what you grew up with. Some Locals not so adept at bargaining have been rushed to the bargaining table recently, and are now reeling at what they've 'given' away. This city asks for a lot and in return foot drags and offers little in the way of real benefits gain. Harold Schaitberger says it quite frequently and it is the truth. "No politician just woke up one day and said, "I'm going to do something nice for Fire Fighters, today.""
Received via Email: 02-17-12 Brainwashing 101: "If you are off though why still get time and a half?"
If you've worked 56 hours all your life, why 52 or 48?
If you've got a medic patch and you work with an EMT why do you think you deserve the pay?
If there are sick people out of work why shouldn't they take up a vacation time slot?
If you work your 24 hour shift why do you think you can't be held over for another 12 hours if there's no emergency?
If you don't like it here go work for Sunstar then.
I CAN KEEP GOING BUT I THINK YOU GET THE IDEA. F++K ALL YOU ASSHOLES IN THE FRONT OFFICE.
Received via Email: 02-17-12 They gave the sup unit double rdays that ='d 216 additional hours off, reduced their annual hours worked, raised their base pay an average of $3.00 per hour. They raised their holiday storage, they get the higher life insurance coverage paid by the city, they get premium pay for doing nothing, they still get EMT pay for doing nothing. On the other hand they are offering the rank and file members 8 hours of personnal leave, no increase in your base pay. What is so great we ask?
Received via Email: 02-18-12 I see that HR really took to heart what council said when they told them to "negotiate" a contract. How do you think council would react if they were to hear that HR isn't doing shit to move the football? It's simple, folks. They want something and they have to GIVE something in return. They aren't done. We are. We're done with their bullshit offers but I'm not sure Blank has figured it out yet. He has not negotiated a single thing for US but apparently he's been doing a GREAT job of working the deal to get us drug testing and manditory physicals. We're bargaining against ourselves for the first time in a lot of years. They know it but we don't.
Received via Email: 02-18-12 I was really grateful when the captains and chiefs boldly took an extra R day to help lead the way for us to get the same. But now that we all see it's impossible for us to follow, how about we find out what we can get if they give their extra R days back? It's a win-win!
Received via Email: 02-18-12 Billy Mott was sick the day of our last negotiations so I stepped in to take written notes. I digitally recorded them also and since negotiations sessions are open to the public (unlike union meetings) I've placed the audio tracks on a cloud. There are two tracks. One that is a little over 30 seconds in length and the second which is about 24 minutes in length. In trying to increase the mic. gain of the recorder, I inadvertently bumped the OFF button when picking it up. After a pause of a couple seconds, the recording picks back up with a bit more mic. gain. Downloads are located here: http://tinyurl.com/82pc2hq and http://tinyurl.com/6qz9vfj.
Fraternally,
Jon Pearl
Received via Email: 02-18-12 Dont fall into the lairs den by thinking that the few in the supervisory unit are concerned that we should jump at our chance to get this great shit sandwich we have been offered. What they are really after is to make sure we get the extended 2 years in the DROP so they dont have to front up their own money to take the fight to save what is theirs.
Received via Email: 02-18-12 I listened to the audio. This is their best and final? We've been negotiating for a year now and been to impasse and this is their best and final? Let's take it to a vote. I'll prove my point again.
Received via Email: 02-19-12 0% 0% 0%!!!!
Received via Email: 02-19-12 Ok, tell me again which guy is our union president. I listened and heard something i expected to hear. Mike Blank getting rescued by Rick Pauley.
Received via Email: 02-19-12 2/19 your ears weren't deceiving you. Mike's a nice guy but it's obvious that he's in over his head. He's clonic with fear and wants to take breaks to see if he's doing right. Apparently when they took the first break Pauly and Blank headed for the hallway to talk and Blank wasn't happy that Rick kept asking questions. Well excuse me but he's asking the questions that need to be asked. Blank's not tendering any proposals and merely reacting to the city's proposals and they are the same take aways that we voted down twice. As one other said, let's vote on this bullshit. There's no substance here it's all bullshit and it's an effort to shift from the city having to do what they are obligated to do by MOU to us voting and passing a contract with a 7 year DROP. I've talked to Pauley and he's told me that he's informed the city several times that the first time we took this to a vote 4 people thought it was worth a shit. The next time when they added the 7 year DROP another 40 people jumped on it. 40 people? Are you shitting me? If this is a poker game these folks must have a hell of a poker face because they don't have shit for a hand. Let me say it again. They don't have shit for a hand. They are hoping to use the 7 yeard DROP as their big draw card. Are you city people f--ked in the brain? We're not all stupid you know. You've got no leverage but your hoping too get us to sign off on a contract where most of the poople voting can't spend the 7 year DROP for another 25 years. They wan't results now. The city attorney and Knight keep telling us that they don't want to give us a pay raise or a reduced workweek because they don't know what's coming in the future. Try this on for size........ NO PAY RAISE 0 0 0 AND NO REDUCED WORK WEEK. There, I can tell you the future. The fire chief made good on his promise to take care of his captains and chiefs and he made even better allies out of every one of them. He doesn't need to take care of us bottom feeders. We're the ungrateful ones that keep stirring the pot. It doesn't matter anyhow. We're not going to pass this contract for you to gloat on chief. You're going to be stuck with haveing to eat your words. The captains and the chiefs are going to get to keep the 7 year DROP which costs nothing and you're going to be stuck with no leverage in contract talks until you finally tell the city that you've got something to offer for the enormous, giant, fantastic drug testing that you want out of us. Any other fire dept. that has random piss testing had it imposed on their members or it was bargained for at a pretty penny. Why? Because it's worth something mroe than a 0 0 0 promise.Try getting it imposed on us. Do you remember shat the council members said. They don't half like the idea either so shoot for imposing it on us a second time. I say a second time a second time a second time...... F--k you, you disgust me. Shut us down and declare impasse!!!!!! What? No can do? Righhht. Because you and the mayor were told to get this done and it's not happening inspite of the fact that you got the tool of the century voted in as union prsident. To accomplish that task you'd first have to quit taking the FF 's for fools and offer something other than $500 non pensionable offers through your chief suck boy Knight. It's great anit it chief. You send him out fo do your dirty work and he looks like a dick. Well he is. It doesn't matter if he's sitting in a chair taking a nap or doing rescue breathing on the president of the US, he's what he is. You sip coffee and eat donuts at the MFS and eveyone thinks your the coolest. That's weak. Be a fire fighter and be a man. Be a do boy and be a pussy for the rest of your life. FU. I'm getting a headache talking about you dicks.
TEAM: Wow. It's been a couple of weeks since we've seen one of your monoblock rhetorical's. Thanks.
Received via Email: 02-20-12 Why are they so hell bent on sewing up another contract but leaving the pension article open? Could it be that they want us to operate from day to day not ever knowing what's next. You new guys need to realize that at any time they could come along with a 401k and totally replace your pension and don't think they're not wating for some signal from Tallahasse to do it. We need to vote on a contract with the pension article that's closed when we're done bargaining. We also need to either have a min/max for a pay reopener in years 2 and 3 or put the pay raise in there now and accept nothing less. There's just too much talk about them not knowing what the future holds so now we're supposed to fall for this new tactic? Leave the pension open and sign for 3 years with reopeners starting at 0%? Are you stupid? Let's take this to a vote and watch it die another quick death. If you've been reading the paper lately, there are cities giving out pay raises again because they value their employees. Here, not so much. FTM
Received via Email: 02-20-12 Let's face facts.
The truth is . . . the members of this Local shit in their mess kit due to a collective knee jerk reaction of "anybody but Winnie".
The truth is . . . that the vast majority of the members failed to mentally project just what the outcome would be should their "savior" win.
The truth is . . . the members of this Local now are beginning to see the error of their thinking.
The truth is . . . that no matter how badly the members want to take it back that’s not going to happen. If there ARE any articles of impeachment in the constitution and by-laws then that would be a possibility but if not then the status quo will be the screw du jour.
The truth is . . . that the contract being negotiated at this time is for three years. That’s a year longer than this president will be in office. Even if a new president is elected in two years there will still be one year of no chance of change.
The truth is . . . this membership is about to get three years of no, no, and no. And there’s nothing that can be done about it.
The truth is . . . that if the president is left to his own volition the members will live on what they’re living on now for three years into the future. And that doesn’t start until October and that’s only with a ratification. Remember that the status quo is what is maintained should there not be a contract. What a brave new world with nothing but a glorious future in the fire service.
The truth is . . . that if someone doesn’t find the stones to talk the current bargaining agent out of being the lead negotiator we will only suffer.
The truth is . . . the membership should demand a bargaining agent that isn’t necessarily the president of the Local. It is only a matter of time until this change should and will take place. If it requires a change in the constitution and by-laws then get busy. If not then someone or a group of someone’s should make it clear to the present president that the members would rather that someone with skills and knowledge do their bargaining for them.
What a concept.
The truth is . . . the union is being made to look like fools at the bargaining table. Don’t believe me? Just listen to tape 2. “Uh, OK”, is most often the current response given by the union rep. No new articles from the union. Use of the simpleton response of “current language” which translates to the city plug as “I don’t know, what was the question?” Not exactly the responses the members were hoping for.
The truth is . . . the Local needs desperately to put someone at the table that will stand up to the antics of the city plug. If you listen to tape 2, at the end of the tape the plug does something that completely seems to take the union rep by total surprise. He says “. . . and this is the city’s best and final offer.” Since nothing changed coming from the city and the union had virtually nothing new to talk about . . . what was the purpose of the session?
It makes no sense. The city isn’t budging and the union has no changes they want made to the contract. How can this be negotiating? That is one hour of both their lives they won’t get back. And the whole thing could have been done over the phone:
Union Rep: “Has the city got any changes we need to look at?”
City Plug: “Nope” “You got anything you want to present?”
Union Rep: “Nope”
City Plug: “Um, this is the city’s last and best offer. . .”
Union Rep: silence
The truth is . . . It’s time to take the control away from the president and give it to someone who has the ability to perform as the bargaining agent for this Local. If they don’t currently have the credentials then get them. But don’t continue down this path of destruction. It’s totally in the worst interest of the membership.
There will be those who will say this is just a way to put Winnie back in the driver’s seat. This writer can’t think of anything that could be better. But even if we went on the scenario that Winnie moved out of town and wasn’t available to serve then it would mean that the Local should pick the most qualified and best possible person it could find to do the job. Then get him qualified with the state and send him to the table. Either way it’s better than what we’ve done to ourselves already.
Received via Email: 02-20-12 "The truth is . . . that the contract being negotiated at this time is for three years. That’s a year longer than this president will be in office. Even if a new president is elected in two years there will still be one year of no chance of change."
If you think Blank Stare is a lame duck now...wait until he doesn't have to worry about us and our contract for he last year of his term. Might as well go out to the bars with him and learn about cornholeing, and you we had better start liking it.
Received via Email: 02-21-12 "Be a fire fighter and be a man. Be a do boy and be a pussy for the rest of your life. FU. I'm getting a headache talking about you dicks." I love you man.
Received via Email: 02-21-12 Yesterday I was having a conversation with a guy from the MFS who was visiting my station. I asked what the general consensus is at his station and he told me that they either thought the city's offer was the best it was going to get or that they were just tired of fighting. How can any of you be tired of fighting. Ask the guys showing up at the table fighting for your benefits package if they're tired yet. If this goes to a vote will you be too tire to fight? Will you be too tired to vote NO for this crap or will you vote YES because it's easier to get to at the top of the page?
Received via Email: 02-21-12 I love it 75% of the membership aint done shit for nothing ad they are saying they are tired. This just keeps getting better, I wonder if this means they are tired of the 4 months of President Blank stare as well? At least they gave Newton 9 years.
Received via Email: 02-21-12 Billy Mott. If you're reading this and this piece of shit cheap ass offer comes to a vote, please put the NO at the top of the page because our membership is sooooooo tired of the hassle. I'm afraid if you don't put the NO at the top they'll be too tired to move down the ballot to put a check next to it if it's down the page from YES.
Received via Email: 02-22-12 You don't have to ask me twice. I'll vote NO all day long. I've got an easy question for all of you and especially you guys at the MFS because you are the one's being overly influenced by the chief. I'm not picking on you and I'm not meaning to be a smart ass. I just know the conditions you live under. Tell us all what's different about the contract offer that the city is calling their BEST AND FINAL and the other two offers that you voted NO for by a huge margin, last year? Can one of you please respond here. Thanks.
TEAM: VG question.
Received via Email: 02-22-12 I can't answer for the master station guys but i know one guy down there who bitched the chief out everyday when he saw him and that was Mitch Paul. Maybe Mitch can tell us what's different now because he was the most vocal one there at the time.
Received via Email: 02-23-12 2-22 #1 I;ve got an answer for you. You forget that MTB is down here. He's the union president now and when anyone here has a question he;s here he;s the go to guy. It;s not that the offer is so great it's that he's telling everyone that nothing better is coming and we'd better sign now. Large is backing him so he backs the story so guess what? I thought that the union had to make offers to keep going. Why would the city keep negotiating with us if we;re not making offers. Is;nt that bargaining in bad faith?
Received via Email: 02-23-12 Is;nt that bargaining in bad faith?
Only if your negotiator knew what that meant. MTB is only interested in getting this over and done with. He is soooo glad to have a "Best and Final" offer from the city. We can only guess what the explination meetings are going to sound like, but I can guess that it will sound something like this, Well ya know that the city is really struggleing with the $100 MILLION dollar pier and the $50 MILLION dollar police headquarters, that they just dont have anything left to give us. We had better jump all over this thing before they comu to their senses and pull back the good stuff (whatever that is). As a matter of fact I would be surprised if we dont even have 2 days of explinations. You folks had better get wise real fast and figure this clown out. None of us are deserving of what this great offering will bring upon us.
Received via Email: 02-23-12 "Received via Email: 02-23-12 2-22 #1 I;ve got an answer for you" Brother it gets even better than that. Not only is Blank swinging his dead cat at the MFS, he's actually making the rounds at fire stations today, Thursday Feb. 23rd. When did you ever see Winnie out trying to sell a deal like this? Never. I can't wait till we have an informational meeting on this horseshit. Blank I'm gonna have your ass. You're the biggest coward I've ever met in all my life. You are pitching a deal for yourself and f**king every one of us to do it. You are a clueless ass clown selling yourself off as a union president and spending our money and you should be thrown out on your ass. If the deal's so good, why do you have to go out and pitch it? Did you think this wouldn't get out? You wanna know why this is the best deal we're going to get? Because you're the idiot that's negotiating it!!!!!!! If 747 had a real union president instead of a fire chief's puppet and I heard the words "this is the best deal we're ever going to get" I'd still want to know why someone else has to tell me that. I'LL DECIDE IF THIS IS THE BEST OFFER WE'RE GOING TO GET. NOT YOU. I'M NO ASS CLOWN AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT! F**K YOU AND THE WHORE YOU RODE IN ON.
Received via Email: 02-23-12 What's with the idiots at 11a liking this turd of an offer? Art, we do not need you and your cronies around for another two years.
Received via Email: 02-23-12 To 2-23 #4 Art Meyer is as #11. Art doesn't care if you take money from him he wants the 7 yr. drop. Something they were offereing last year.
Received via Email: 02-23-12 So Chief, dont touch my pension, or my over priced salary, or my 11% non contributory 457 that the city gives me to keep saying Yes Sir may I have another Large, has Mikey Boy out selling this great contract offer. Mikey has alraedy accepted the fact that since the city has uttered the words "Best and Final" its all over. In other words no more lost time making a show at the negotiations table for him. Well they just dont get it, we still have the magic bullet, all we have to do is to keep voting this piece of shit offer down, over and over and over until the city has to shit or get off the pot and accept the fact that they have no alternative but to pass the ordiance for the DROP extension like they know they have no way out of. Why do so many of the unknowing still believe that they are offering it to our group as an entitlement when its really a done deal? Also I think I have figured out why the Blank one is so willing to get this as a 3 year deal.
This will put us out of importance for the next mayors race, not that the Blank one would spend to much time on that anyway, but now I know that I have absolutly no reason to support Mayor Baker 2.0 for anything ever again. So in a nutshell, Chief Large keeping hanging out at the Master Station I am sure those 2 words make you feel invincible and you dont foul the air at my station, to our Mayor, dont waste gasoline coming out to anything related to a fire cause we dont want to see ya, and to the air head thats running the local into the swamp, take ahike a get lost somewhere. We sure dont need you and truthfully we wouldnt have to worry about doing any worse without ya.
Received via Email: 02-23-12 That's what the post says. Idiots at 11A. I'm not pissing in a cup so he can suck the system for two more years. Its time to go.
Received via Email: 02-24-12 Contract.. What contract? As long as I have been a member of 747, I’ve always tried to believe our Pres. had us as his primary interest, and not the suits on the west side of the block. Wow, I try to be an optimistic but just can't swallow this B.S. In a perfect word, (contract) I would luv to see a 7 year drop without this other shit thrown in. It’s getting close to a 7 year scenario for me too. BUT I will give up those 2 extra years to insure my brothers and sister firefighters don't get screwed with," let’s leave the pension open clause". Since MTB has taken us nowhere but the roundabout that circles HQ, we need to step up as members and just say hell no MTB your plan suxs. If we can't hire Will Newton as our negotiator, (come on E board present that one, please!) Let’s send MTB out to Las Vegas and give the lead to Big Country. He knows what he is doing. Just ask anyone at the last nego.'s MTB was so embarrassed after our awesome EVP took charge and questioned the powers that be, MTB called him out in the hall, and tried to threaten him with an after school detention if he didn't stop! Thank God RP didn’t listen. Your 15 minutes are up MTB. Find the door and go back to Gulfport. Say didn't you use to hang out with that red head guy that is in the State's housing program? Hummm just askin. FTM
Received via Email: 02-24-12 I see a lot of anti Blank posts here, where are all the pro Blank supporters that got him elected? Second thoughts maybe?
Received via Email: 02-24-12 Again, if it's so bad why isn't anyone doing anything to change the situation? All this rhetoric about what an imcompetent asshole MB is will not put a dent in the problem. In almost any organization there are fail safes for commiting acts detrimental to the organization. One of these methods is impeachment. Another is what I describe in a previous post.
Look, it's too late to cry foul now and it's asking way too much for anyone to step up and have the stones to implement an impeachment process. Neither of these will happen. And they don't have to happen to solve the problem. The historical process of choosing a bargaining agent (for those who've never attended a negotiations session, he's the guy who does the talking and is responsible for making decisions on stuff during the process) has always been that there WAS NO PROCESS.
It was just a given that the president of the Local was one who had all the things that the current president doean't have. That over the years the person elected to the office had participated in the many and varied processes and held offices in the union. He had been part of the group making the decisions on a day to day basis.
This is all stuff every member of this Local knows or should know. But we've done ourselves a great disservice in having never said "what if. . ." And now we have allowed, not through any single person's fault, a very large problem to have happened. And most of us who are members of this Local don't really know what to do next. It's a problem that has never had to be addressed even though there were a couple times when it came really close.
Now we find ourselves being represented by a president that has absolutely no skills or knowledge of the field in which he finds himself and in which we've put him. Actually that would have been the case no matter who, other than Winnie had been elected. So to continually bad mouth and denigrate MB it would be a helluva lot more productive to at least make an attempt to convince MB to listen to reason and allow some other person with the knowledge and experience to be the bargaining agent.
This isn't to demean MB or to support those who are not fond of him. This is to protect what has been gained and not take any steps backward. MB could easily run the Local and be a confident and viable president and with attendance at the bargaining sessions could be up to speed in time for his next election.
But right now we need someone who has the attributes to go to the table and produce. It's just not MB at this time. That's not so hard to understand, is it? Is it really MB or nothing? Think about it. This could be something that has happened that will wake up the membership of this Local and make them realize that it's not your daddy's Local any more. Things have gotten a whole lot tougher and more complicated than when we first started. And no one who hasn't been a part of the leadership of this organization will never have the skills necessary to negotiate right out of the box.
It's a choice that's up to the membership. It's also a decision that will affect each and every member of your family. Think. Common sense should tell you that we're doing it wrong right now. And a change needs to be made ASAP.
Dick Tully
Received via Email: 02-24-12 I say we take a vote of NO CONFIDENCE IMMEDIATELY
Received via Email: 02-24-12 Hey chief. I hope you're on the phone with Mikey tonite. I think you just got him in over his head big time.
Received via Email: 02-24-12 I see a lot of anti Blank posts here, where are all the pro Blank supporters that got him elected? Second thoughts maybe?"
This just proves the point, there was never a push for Michael Blank, it was an anybody but Winnie campaign.
Received via Email: 02-24-12 Glad to see Rick Mull out and about working the crowds on his shift. He's been so active in union business all these years it does my heart good to see him educating eveyone on the benefits of the latest contract offer. I know Rick's only educating the younger guys because the 7 year DROP is far more important to them than a reduced workweek or time and a half overtime for all hours worked outside their regular schedule or sick leave people impacting time off slots or their 4th Amendment rights or HIPAA law violations by the fire chief, etc., etc.,...... Hey Mr. webmaster. Have you got another one of those awards for guys like that?
TEAM: Yeah, but it involves going to confession afterwards.
Received via Email: 02-24-12 How come all of a sudden all of these chiefs and captains are coming out of the woodwork to try and sell this piss poor offer to those of us who it will affect most? They got everything for giving up piss testing and intrusive physicals and we get shit and they're out there selling our members on what a great deal this is? These guys sound like car salesmen and some of you are acting like it's your first car purchase. The only reason these guys are even taking the time to give it or us a second glance isn't because they love us or feel sorry that we didn't get what they got. It's because they're afraid by us not rushing to vote of a lame contract that they'll lose out of their 7 year drop. Good. You guys haven't been there for us since you got the extra R day and now you've got the balls to show your face and tell people what a great deal this is (for you, you mean). Every one of you pitching this should be called Judas for selling us down the river.
Received via Email: 02-26-12 When you are approached by one of these members of the Supervisory unit just strike first and ask straight on. Why are you so concerned about my contract? How does my vote benefit you? Are you in the DROP, or getting in aytme soon? Don'y let them get off track by telling you about ALL of the other pluses we will get. By the way, this is what they are calling a home run, $832.00 dollars from EMT patch pay becomes pensionable (oh yeah it will cost you an extra $58.00 in pension deductions), Insurance coverge for same sex partners Other units in City already have), Increasing your life insurance coverage from the same low as the folks that work on vehicles to an amount equal to your annual salary (again the same as other employees in the city that sit behind desks and never leave their vehicles), Full reimbursement for Structural fire boots (whoo-hoo), Allowing you to store your holiday hours or in other words not put in for pay as often (like the Capts a
nd DC's). Now ask yourself and them, is ALL this really worth me giving up my rights and be considered an abuser of drugs, or reporting to work while using prescription drugs for a condition that is protected under HIPPA rules, or you came in to work today after a night of celebration and are legally considered under the influence of acholic beverage? Is this really worth my oss and his underlings knowing my entire medical history along with that of my family members? Of course thet will tell you that they accepted all of that with no problem. Of course they will forget to tell you how they turned 9 R-days into 18, which also reduced the hours they work annually by 216 hours and oh yeah resulted in an adjustment in their hourly rate of pay by approximitly $3.00 an hour which is a plus for them every week when they have their staff meetings, Gran Prix, I need you to do this for me assignments etc. etc. Lets not forget ALL of the things that we are looking at as well. I am wil
ling to bet ya they dont even mention ALL of those great deal sealers since they meant nothing to them either.
So there you have it. There is nothing there without the reduced work week, and we need to tell those in the Supervisory unit, to go talk to the hand.
Received via Email: 02-26-12 Have you seen the price of gas? We're pussing footing around with the city and we should be demanding parity! I have yet to vote up a contract that I thought sucked. Now what really sucks is captains and chiefs pimping this contract around to who? You and me. How come? The DC's are making the rounds because they're afraid they aren't going to get the last golden egg. It's a benefit that costs nothing, brothers and sisters? This city isn't going to let this fire chief cost them any money but they'll damn sure allow him to send his goon squad out to see how weak minded all of the rest of us are. If this vote is so important to them and they got a shitload of great benefits last time, I say not on my dime. Get your shit from the city not off of my back.FTM and that's most of you captains and DC's using us.
Received via Email: 02-26-12 Mike Blank, I want you to read this. It's been on this website for a long long time.
“We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” —C.S. Lewis
Received via Email: 02-27-12 I guess like all the rest of you I missed today's negotiations meeting BECAUSE IT WAS A SECRET. Seems that MTB wanted to have a quiet little meeting with little opposition at the table so that he could sign off on the contract and then rush to have two days of info meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. Rick Pauley stomped a mud hole in his ass by objecting to the fact that only one person showed up at the meeting and he'd heard about it at shift change. There was never a memo. MTB is in such a hurry to deliver a 3 year contract to the chief that he's now making mistakes that no other union president before him has ever made. He hasn't proposed a pay raise. He hasn't proposed a reduced workweek. He hasn't proposed new overtime rules. He hasn't proposed giving paramedics more time off slots to use. He hasn't fixed SL offsetting vac. time slots. He hasn't proposed fixing manditory OT language. He hasn't proposed guaranteeing our COLA by the city. What he has done is give bullshitters a bad name. What he has done is to work to get us a 3 year contract with no benefit.
Next negotiations session
City of St.Petersburg / C shift, Thursday March 1st, 2012 MSC building room 800 @ 10:00 am.
Received via Email: 02-27-12 Mike. You're turning out to be a big disappointment. I haven't found anything in this contract to vote for, now I know it's all bullshit. Cheater.
Received via Email: 02-27-12 But you just don't understand Michael, he really meant to call, I mean email, or was it text the info out but somehow thought that by calling his bitches at the MFS to put it on the NEW and Improved Union Face Book page (look for it under Uninformed is good) he thought he was telling it to Dave Nolshiem who is the one that has posted every other message that was sent to him without fail, but he had one of his Blank moments. Or was it that he was more concerned how to get to his Softball tournament this past weekend without anyone finding out he was out on sick leave? MTB has a lot of important things on his mind that are important only to him and certainly not us. Give Mikey a little more time and he will show us all the proper ways of selling out. This will certainly be a Presidency to forget. Mike who?
Received via Email: 02-27-12 How is it that the Negotiation infomation for this Thursday march 1st has already been posted on this site, the Offical www.IAFF747.com website, sent out via text from the offical www.IAFF747.com system, and made it into the stations in memo form? Oh yeah, Billy Mott, Dave Nolshiem,
Rick Pauley, and Winnie Newton know about it this time. How interesting. I guess that makes a world of difference from Mike Blank and Spaffords 2-face book.
Received via Email: 02-28-12 Is the E Board keeping track of this crap?
Received via Email: 02-28-12 I've just got to ask but is anybody thinking that rushing to a 0% 0% 0% contract offer is just a little bit dumb? From what I'm reading our new union president hasn't officially asked for a pay raise and now that the city has said best and final we're all done? I don't ever recall that happening before and if that's the case and we do nothing more, isn't this a deadlock?
TEAM: You're correct. If in the situation that we're in, 'best and final' is called by the city, they should be waiting for a response from us. If we continue to bargain for 'something' they'll either play or declare impasse. What's the chance of that happening? We don't think it's a good bet that the city will declare impasse any time soon and here's why. If we go back and fold like a lawn chair, it will force a vote by our membership on a contract that offers little of value. If we continue to fight, this poses a couple of problems for the city that they don't want to deal with. To continue to bargain, slows the train down and it really needs to and here's why:
1. City Council voted favorably towards us at impasse. We know some of you weren't happy that we didn't walk away with a pay raise and thus labeled the impasse hearing a failure, but that's not why we were there. Pay was not at impasse! If you were watching and listening they really treated us well. They didn't buy the Mayor's argument that drug testing and intrusive physicals needed to be forced upon us. Instead what they did was to give the Mayor and his staff a mandate to bargain with the Local to accomplish those tasks. They essentially told them to bring back a contract that included some form of random drug testing with the EAP "Get out of jail card" exemption that we already enjoy in our current form of drug testing.
2. The other item that they mandated the Mayor and his staff to bargain with the Local for, was physicals via your own medical doctor.
If the truth be told, these two items have been the only things really talked about to any degree during negotiations and what's problematic about this fact is that they are not our proposals. We're bargaining over the merits of the city's proposals. It's like we're bargaining against ourselves. City Council is expecting a contract that includes some form of random drug testing and physicals for all. How they arrive at that task is really up to us. If we just give up and give in, they'll have what they want and we'll pay a heavy price over the next several years for not having the bargaining skills to sell them what they want from us instead of just giving it away. To be clear: City Council is asking for something of high value and they acknowledged that fact during impasse. It bothered some of them to hear that "for a price" we'd sell them drug testing and access to our body's during physicals. Even after hearing this, they didn't force it on us but instead forced the Mayor and his staff to bargain with the Local for the privilege of gaining access to our body fluids and more. They recognize that this usurpation of our 4th Amendment rights is worth something - so why don't we?
Here's what we need to do. Stop talking about the 7 year DROP. We already own it. Management is throwing a strawman in our path and we keep tripping over it. It's merely a distraction. And stop believing that you've won the Lotto with a 7 day work cycle offer. It has a value but it's not much and it doesn't count towards your pension. Call your union president and ask what written proposals have been proffered by Local 747. Good faith bargaining requires both sides submit written proposals and we have produced none! Ask him why he is of the belief that once the City declares 'best and final' that he has no further obligation to bargain but rather to rush to agree to all of the city's terms. Ask him why he has yet to proffer a single written proposal demanding parity with the captains and DC's.
Council didn't tell the Mayor and his staff to make you give away your benefits. They told them to bargain for them.
Received via Email: 02-28-12 I heard that the secret meeting was video taped yesterday. Any chance of that showing up somewhere?
Received via Email: 02-28-12 How about a vote of "No Confidence". It's obvious he doesn't have a clue on how to negotiate. I blame all the lazy bastards who were to busy to return their ballots when MB got voted in.
Too bad we don't have these sessions recorded on video so everyone can see what an idiot he is at these meetings.
Received via Email: 02-28-12 What E Board? There hasn't been an E Board since Winnie left. When I was a little kid my momma always told me that "actions speak louder than words." In this "club of the clueless" there's only talk and no action. The whole E Board should be ashamed of their lack of concern and inability to maintain a Local of the IAFF. This is how you run a "club" of 8 year olds. You're grown men for God's sake and every one of you act like you're wondering where to build the next fort. Why is everyone so afraid of Mr. Blank? What does he have over you that you have suddenly decided to leave your balls at home on duty day? For that matter every day. Or is it that once they fell off you could no longer find them? Are you afraid of the chief? Or is it that you're just too f**king stupid to figure it out? What a bunch of pantywaists. Go check your asses for scabs and bruises from getting screwed on a daily basis from MB. E Board? What E Board? This local is void of leadership from the gound up. Why don't we just turn in our affiliation with the IAFF and go back to just taking whatever the chief wants us to have? After all, it looks like that's what's happened already. Just a bunch of fu*king assholes just like MB. No wonder it's all going in the shitter.
Received via Email: 02-28-12 The price of gas is going up again and I'm supposed to take it in the ass for another 3 years? If you hear of any of the new people on the job who are still in the steps please tell them that it aint a pay raise that they're getting once a year. I love the way this city tells us that they don't want to offer us the 7 year drop '''''''unless'''''' we sign for a 3 year contract. Why" Because it's somehow magically cheaper that way? B4 they were saying that they didn't want to give it to us because they wanted to be able to '''''manage''''''' their people in case of layoffs. What the fu*k does that mean. They don't want to give you a pay raise because they don't know if we'll be transporting or not. Right. So tell me again why Mr. Pumkinhead said if we transport they weren't going to give us anything extra there either. Why do we have a union at all? We have a president who's not listening to his sec.treasurer or VP tell him how it is. He won't even ask for a pay raise and he's already to walk to prove to his daddy jimmy large that he's a tough sum bitch. Well, he's a bitch anyhow. I way we need to keep pressing until we get something. The captains and the chiefs struck gold. They work less and make more. They are big time part timers and now they stick their nose in our business like they've got something to say. F**k that! I want to work less and make more. Sounds greedy doesn't it? Well it is if you're the first and we're not, they are. This city isn't offering anything for what they want out of us and what they want they want in the worst way. They offer nothing at contract time and nothing in the future and I hear guys like Art Meyer and Walt Eanis and Dick Johnson talking about this contract offer like it's the f***king holy grail. Are you guys morons? The chief has his fingers all over this and your all to dumb to believe that really smart guys like you could be duped by a gee shucks fire chief who pretends to be everybody's buddy. He's a 1%er!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at $17000 a month and you will never be. Stop defending shit that keeps helping him staff HQ 100% of the time while he browns trucks out. Stop salivating when he walks in the door like your life depends on getting promoted. He's the 1% and you are not. He'll tell you that he can't be in your pension anymore and poor poor jimmy only gets a 401A plan that dumps 11% of his salary every month. That ought to tell you something right there. There's no more that you can do to help his pension because you're not contributing to it anymore. But he'll take anything he can get that will make his job easier so he doesn't care if you do better. He does better even when you and I don't.
Received via Email: 02-28-12
"I heard that the secret meeting was video taped yesterday. Any chance of that showing up somewhere?"
"Too bad we don't have these sessions recorded on video so everyone can see what an idiot he is at these meetings. "
They're public meetings so anyone is welcome to record. The only portion of the video not seen on Youtube is that which contains our caucus discussions.
Jon Pearl
Received via Email: 02-28-12 hey that vote of No Confidence is a great idea. Hows about a No Confidence poll? I'm all in.
Received via Email: 02-28-12 Great to view!!! thanks john....
Received via Email: 02-28-12 People are going to be talking about the next few weeks forever. Jimmy, Mike, Pumpkinhead, you're the stuff that legends are made of. Bad legends that is. Hey Jimbo. If your wife looks over your shoulder as your reading this tonight tell her it's all going to be ok. You're still the same guy she married. Nothing's changed. No really. Nothing.
Received via Email: 02-28-12 Whu? Mr. Confidence almost choked on his words? Winnie would have never let that embarrasing scene happen to us. That was horrible When I first heard about this I thought maybe the city was in on this rush to sign shit at a secret meeting but after seeing that uneasy moment it looks like they were more than a little embarrassed for us and our pathetic leader who hasn't showed any interest in anything involving the union for more than 10 years other than just ignoring it. Mike i'm sure you're a real good Santa Clause and a real good softball player and a real good inspecter and a real good drinking buddy. Whatever made you think you could be a union president and walk in Winnie's shoes? Vote this piece of shit down and send Mr. Choke back to the locker room. Where's Winnie? Call the bullpen.
Received via Email: 02-28-12 I went to the union website to look at newly uploaded files after receiving an email tonight. Looks like our COLA is doing nicely. If the city keeps screwing with the Capt.'s and Chief's over the 7 yr. drop we may lose some of that money. It's time to take the 7 year drop back from those Judas's.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 As I just watched the video Blank got it handed to him again. THANK YOU RICK!! How dare you Mike Blank even wear a union shirt. You a clearly batting for the other team!! For gods sakes please stop wearing your 2 pairs of glasses!! They make you really look stupid. Oh thats right its not an act. You are.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 A little sleight of hand is okay when you're sitting at the table and you're trying to work the deal but b4 we even get to the table is bullshit. Who does this shit with 300 firefighter looking over their shoulder?!?!?! You'd have to have a pretty good contract offer going to risk looking like a total idiot and I don't see one. What an assclown.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 Blank sure does a lot of squirming in his seat when he's busted. He ran out of words pretty fast too, Can we caucus? and where was his support network? That's one hell of a secret meeting when even the next union VP Spafford doesn't show up. How did you keep such a good secret Mikey?
Received via Email: 02-29-12 2-28 #11 Holy shit. #11? "Where's Winnie? Call the bullpen." you know ehere Winnie is. He's in Tallahassee (sp) working for everyone of us including all the high risk pension union members hiding out the rest of their career's behind a desk at HQ. FTM and there's a lot of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Received via Email: 02-29-12 Write on the board 500 times. I WILL NOT HOLD SECRET MEETINGS. I WILL NOT HOLD SECRET MEETINGS. I WILL NOT HOLD SECRET MEETINGS. Impeach Now!
Received via Email: 02-29-12 This is how Boston did it:
"Contract talks between the city and the union had already reached an impasse in August 2007 when a blaze at the Tai Ho Mandarin and Cantonese Restaurant on Centre Street in West Roxbury killed two firefighters. Autopsy results made public that October showed that the two men may have been impaired.
One of the firefighters had traces of cocaine in his system and the other had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27, more than three times the state's legal limit.
The revelation prompted the Menino administration to renew a push for random drug and alcohol tests. Firefighters accused the city of inappropriately leaking the autopsy results. The union demanded compensation in exchange for testing, arguing that there had been quid pro quos with other public safety unions. "
If it's worth something to the city it's worth fighting for. If we vote in anything that Mike Blank has his hands on we're going to become the laughing stock of the Tampabay area.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 We're gonna burn thus mutha down!
Received via Email: 02-29-12 THIS IS MARS CALLING THE BLANK ONE....... SWEETIE, IT'S TIME TO COME HOME.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 Too late. We already are.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 Pack the room during Thursdays Negotiation session. Put up a fuss if MTB even looks like he is going to sign anything. Make sure everyone that is sitting on the other side of the table (they are the ones laughing uncontrolably) that we aint there with the idiot
Received via Email: 02-29-12 HEY SPAFFY what happened to the LOCAL BROTHERHOOD it has been quiet for awhile since we have seen anything including notices of negotiations.I thought it was made up by YOU to keep us informed. Or did you draw a BLANK???
Received via Email: 02-29-12 A nyone notice what The Great Pumpkin and his sidekick carried into this very important negotiations session besides a "don't give a shit attitude?"
NOTHING BUT KOOL-AIDE BOTTLES!
They usually bring paperwork with them when they're in for a big fight. Why none this time? Because they had already rehearsed our fate at HQ on Friday when Blank went over the message he was going to deliver to Guella!!!! A good friend very close to the loose lips group at the MFS said that there was going to be a meeting that wasn't going to be published and Mike was going to sign off on the entire contract and rush two days of explanation on Wednesday and Thursday. Mike's first problem came Sunday night when one of the Shift VP's called him and told him to look in his email for a letter from the entire E Board ordering him not to sign anything without first reviewing it with Rick Pauley, Bill Mott and our labor lawyer. The second problem came about when Pauley found out on Sunday night that there was a meeting the next morning.
This story might find a friend of two if it was us doing battle with the other side. The trouble here is the fact that Blank is doing battle with us and this isn't good having the fire chief running the Local through a hand puppet.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 I just watched it again. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.......I'm telling mom on youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 Tomorrow is gonna be worth the full price of a whole book of E tickets. I suggest you all be there. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chief Large and Mayor Froster in the audience. Wouldnt that be something. Maybe a few council folks need to hear about this too. Oh yeah all Mike needs to do is go talk to them, if he really wanted to. Right now he is more interested in endorsing someone for judge instead of the future of his members.
Received via Email: 02-29-12 You lay down with dogs, you get fleas. Itchy, Blank? FTM
Received via Email: 03-01-12 I put this up on the big screen. Bob Basset's eyes tell the whole story. See his reaction when Blank gets busted. Telephone, telegraph, telefireman and we all know.
Received via Email: 03-01-12 "one of the Shift VP's called him and told him to look in his email for a letter from the entire E Board ordering him not to sign anything without first reviewing it with Rick Pauley, Bill Mott and our labor lawyer. "
Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout. That's the spine I think we've all been looking for. That's a start in a process that will put the brakes on a runaway situation. Perhaps I was wrong when I said the E Board was...well, you know. But I have to apologize and take back most of what I said. I do apologize and thank the members of the E Board for showing some intestinal fortitude in this matter and doing the right thing. I, like most, will be watching for further displays of affirmative action in relation to the structure and future of Local 747. You've done us a great service. We would hope you won't stop now.
I am guilty, like many others who are sometimes careless in being patient and letting things happen in a normal fashion. When I, like many others, see what we believe to be downright destructive activities being executed by the leadership we become incensed and angry and want to break out the forcible entry tools. At times I, like many others, cannot understand why it is taking so long for the rest of the members to be able to see what is so plain to us. Especially when the actions of the leadership not only affect our jobs but also effect our families. We are not in this on an individual basis. No. The 250 or so of us only make up one third or even one fourth of the total number of people involved. I think this is a fact that is most often ignored but needs to be remembered by every person who speaks for us. Every time Blank goes to the bargaining table he's not only talking for us but also for every member of our families. So when we lose something, anything, we're
not losing it on an individual basis but instead it's being taken from each member of our family too. Think about it.
I, like many others, wonder how it can be that it takes so long for many to recognize the problem we see and we vent, scream, accuse, and employ every means possible to bring the mess to the attention of those of us who don't or won't see what's right in front of them. But it would seem that because of or in spite of our efforts there has been a definite action taken in the taking back of this Local by those who would not sell us out. And I for one think that's freakin' great. So to the E Board I so wrongly accused in haste I do sincerely apologize for my actions and will do my best to be a little more patient in the future. Thank you again.
Received via Email: 03-01-12 Even Chris from the cities side of the table made mention today that the Union has no idea what it wants as far as a contract. Whats the matter? I thought under this new lame duck this was supposed to be a done deal. I guess they forgot that there were 3 people that make up the bargaining team. Mike had a couple of bright moments today but he is still in over his head. Most of his show today was a ruse.
Received via Email: 03-02-12 Look at the 2nd video starting at about the 2:30 mark. Blank has a real problem with running off at the mouth. Winnie calls this language "strategy" and he would never talk strategy in front of outsiders. Blank is an idiot that can't help himself. He tries to complete Guella's sentences for him. He's so eager to please that he's like a puppy dog with a wagging tail and it's obvious to everyone but him.
Received via Email: 03-02-12 All this talk is good and I think it's helpful but we can't lose sight of one fact and I think I'm going to keep reminding US all of it. For good or for bad, politics has us where we are, today. We have a mayor in office that doesn't support our cause and in return we don't support him. On the other hand we support a number of council members and they showed their support for us by not breaking it off in our arse during impasse. That's the number 1 place we need them!
What the mayor wants is drug testing and intrusive physicals yet to this day, we find ourselves endlessly negotiating on their terms over chicken scratch. The mayor wants what he wants and until council turns their back on us and imposes drug testing and physicals - I truly believe that we hold the high ground but we've all got to believe it. One of the ways that Chris Guella shows his contempt for us in the second video is by saying that we want the city to simply 'give' us benefits that we ask for, but that we require the city to 'bargain' for what they want from us. Given the circumstances surrounding the flap over the 7 year DROP and the corner the city has painted itself into, I see it the same way Brother Mott does. We already 'own' that benefit. As to other benefits that we may seek, we're not simply asking for them. As Brother Pauley says, we're going to pay a high price for them and the price of admission is drug testing and intrusive physicals. One statement that Chris Guella made, does resonate with me, though. He's of the opinion that we may not know what we want. I think we do. I think our union president is having a difficult time playing catch-up for ten years of union inactivity and current distractions like softball tournaments to sit down and enumerate on paper what it is that we actually want and then stick to those demands like glue. This game isn't for the weak and having a beta male in charge of our union will only ensure our downward spiral.
Received via Email: 03-02-12 Blank is embarrasing us. The reason the lawyer popped off was because he was getting frustrated with dealing with an idiot pretending to know what he's doing. All of you who can't get along with Winnie and voted him out need to watch and learn.
Received via Email: 03-02-12 "Council didn't tell the Mayor and his staff to make you give away your benefits. They told them to bargain for them."TEAM I want to thank you for your explanation of our current situation. I'm afraid what you said means nothing to the majority of our members who seem to suffer from ADD.
TEAM: What is it that your parents always said? "You have no one to blame but yourself." Sadly, ignorance is bliss.
Received via Email: 03-03-12 The more I watch that video the more pissed I get. This asshole lawyer talks down to us like there's 300 chiefs jobs out there for the grabbing. I wonder what they do when a lawyer dies in the line of duty? I guess the others all go through his personal shit and then scatter like rats.
Received via Email: 03-03-12 Why are we allowing them to offer us EMT pay as pensionable but we're not asking for EMT as a classification? I thought we were working on that? Amd what about driver engineer? We seem to be negotiating ourselves away from all the things that are important to us and to listen to the city's attorney he says he's not sure we know what we want. Do ya think? We're no longer negotiating for future benefits bt how we're going to take drug testing. I'm not voting for a 3 year contract where the city has guaranteed access to our pension and no pay raise for 3 years. Pauley is right, we're going to wake up one day and ask what the hell we just voted for. I vot e no.
Received via Email: 03-03-12 It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figger out why this web site is called Us Vs. Them. How do you suppose Guella got a copy of a union memo unless one of the shitbirds gave it up? Some of you folks that voted Blank in drank too much of the Koolaide. Here's the scoop. It doesn't matter who is in the office of union president. These pricks don't ever let up. They sold you a bill of goods by telling you shit like "we need to have better relations" or "the union needs to quite fighting everything" blah blah blah. It's all bullshit. The next time one of you geniuses who voted for this dope gets in trouble tell yourself that you don't want to fight for your rights because we all want to work in a better place and live happily ever after, blah blah blah. Or better yet do like someone did recently with a Group 3 writeup. He called the union president and suggested he talk to the fire chief. We've got stupid people wanting to vote this contract in and they don't even know what they're voting on. We are totally fu**ed.
Received via Email: 03-03-12 Two questions: How do we get the DC's and Captains out of the local and how do we stop Blank from bargaining against us?
Received via Email: 03-03-12 I'm sure there's an attorney somewhere that can tell us. Blank is like a Nazi colaborator. Everyone thinks he's one of the good guys but he's working for the other side
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN THE
CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG
AND
THE ST. PETERSBURG ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, LOCAL 747
SUPERVISORS UNIT
SUBJECT: Reopener of Articles 21.1 Pay and 26 Pension for the Supervisors Bargaining Unit consisting of Captains and District Chiefs.
Both Parties agree that unit members shall not receive a general wage increase for Fiscal Year 2012; however, progression in the pay plan will remain status quo as per the current Agreement. The parties agree to reopen Article 21.1 no later than June 1, 2012 to bargain the general wage increase and step progression provisions applicable to Fiscal Year 2012.
Both parties agree that the DROP period for members of the unit shall increase from five (5) years to seven (7) years no later than May 15, 2012. It is understood that the maximum years of service combined with DROP participation shall remain at thirty-five (35) years. The remaining provisions of Article 26 shall be status quo. The parties further agree to reopen Article 26 no later than June 1, 2012 to bargain pension changes for Fiscal Year 2013.
Signed by the duly authorized representatives of the above referenced parties this 16th day of June, 2011.
Let the facts be your guide.
The MOU is a part of the Supervisory Unit contract and says nothing about drug testing or any other subject that was being bargained for at the time. It simply states that in lieu of taking a GWI for 2012, the bargaining unit would instead take a two year extension to their DROP!
The city has three options:
1.Honor the negotiated, agreed upon and ratified change for all members of the supplemental plan.
2.Apply the change to the supervisory unit only, causing the city to lose millions in ch. 175 money and causing a fracture between the parties.
3.Renege on the negotiated change and force the union to file a ULP and/or a grievance causing an arbitrator to force the negotiated change.
This language was easily found at the top of the 'Downloads' page at www.iaff747.org Don't let fear and intimidation rule your day. Don't accept a contract that offers you little and in return takes a lot. Don' t be swayed by compelling stories without checking the facts, first. And as always, if it sounds too good to be true, it is!
Received via Email: 03-03-12 I see that the MOU was signed by none other than this Chris Guella stooge. It is obvious to me that we can no longer trust this man as a negotiator. He had no problem telling the world that the city would simply pull back the signed agreement that was reached between the City(aka Mayor Foster) and the Union (aka Past SPAFF, President Newton). Mr guella cant make a decision at the table to give us new shoe laces without conferring with the Mayor his Staff, and that of Chiefs Large and Knight. I must deduce that for a statement as eye opening as what Guella said at the table must have had the fore knowledge and full agreement of the Mayor. So who do we believe now? The Mayor and his mouth pieces, or those that are still showing up at every single announced and unannounced bargaining session to date? I applaud the folks that sit on the left and right side of our so called "Bargaining away Agent". Does anyone ever remember Newton getting backed into a corner that made it necessary for Billy Mott or Rick Pauley to come out swinging? No you wont. Another reason for this was the fact that they had confidence and respect for President Newton's skills and strategy. Too many of our members no little or nothing about anything further than how to show up every 3rd day. Think about this, how many cant even remember to bring their money for chow on a daily basis?
Received via Email: 03-03-12 Well, I must say I can say I've seen it all. The Youtube video is going around the stations and they were right, you just have to see this to believe it. The city attorney's a dick but that's no surprise, that's what they pay him for. What sucks is we look like we're lost as lost can be and they know it. Mike Blank won the election for a number of reasons and it is what it is. But what we need to realize that every day that he's negotiating for us he's killing us. Someone needs to take him aside and ask him to hire Winnie back as a negotiator or we're going to take the beating of our lives for the next 3 years and then some to undo the damage he does. I'm willing to bet you that when it comes to bargaining for the captains and chief that they ask him to sit out. Now wouldn't that be wonderful. They want to manipulate our membership into a vote on anything that Blank brings back but drop him like a hot potatoe to get what they want.
Received via Email: 03-03-12 It sounds like Mayor Foster has no honor. Therefore by association neither does Chief Large.
Received via Email: 03-04-12 Careful what you ask for. Mike Blank is one of these guys that told everyone that *if you don't fight with the city so much it will get better. All the union's (Winne) been doing is pissing them off.* So how's it working out for us? How much has the chief and the mayor given up since Blank's been in office? Something? Nothing?
Received via Email: 03-04-12 Hitler told the people that he would keep them safe, so there was no need for guns. The people gave up their guns and what happened next? The Nazis rolled through their own country gassing the Jews and gypsies. Who was safe? Who kept their rights? We voted our biggest gun right out of office and now they're coming for us. What part does Blank play in this?
Received via Email: 03-04-12 3-4 #1 This is the point I was trying to make on here weeks ago. Blank has changed nothing. Everyone looking for change, you got it, you got a new president. Everything else is SAME SHIT, DIFFERENT DAY. You can keep fooling yourself but more people are starting to figure it out. Electing Blank was all part of Large's smoke and mirrors act. Large is still the biggest prick fire chief in the county and the city is still the biggest prick county that doesn't give a shit about you and me in the state.
Received via Email: 03-04-12 03-04 #2 Blank is the Nazi collaborator. He has turned on his own people and should be brought to trial.
Received via Email: 03-05-12 Talk about your 1,2 punch. The DC's came around for a solid year shitting on Winnie. My DC kept telling us that maybe if we had a differen't union president the city would treat us differently, now this. First they infect all the stations by driving around all day and telling everyone how much better it could be if we voted Winnie out and now they drive around again telling us how much better it could be if we just voted on this contract. Does anyone see a pattern here? I'm not talking about the DC's sprinkling fairydust, that's what those faggots do. I'm talking about Blank being the result of the first losing vote and this contract being the result of the second losing vote. If we don't start thinking for ourselves we're going to be selling off a lot of rights for nothing for a long time and there's no one around to help once we've made the mistake.
Received via Email: 03-05-12 I think its funny how ketchup dick's like Art Meyer are running around telling people that the 7 day work cycle is like getting a 1.5% pay raise. Funny thing tho graduate of UTI School of Law, Chris Guella says it's really more like 1%. Funny how when they're trying to sell it, it's worth 1.5% but when we're trying to buy it, it aint. Untrustwory Fu*kers. (UTI: Urinary Tract Infection) and you thought it meant United Technical Institute. I'm a scream.......
The video at 1:40 tells the whole story of how this fight got started and why this ignorant fool shouldn't be our union president. "The ah, and I'll touch base again with the 14 to 7 day DROP in place of in lieu of." You don't have to wonder why Guella starts shaking his head. Blow it up and play it over and over again. You'll want to pull your hair out. Watch everyone's eyes as they just can't believe this guy is sitting in the same room with them trying to put a sentence together than makes sense. Someone tell me we're not paying for this fool to represent us? This is the same guy who had to be introduced to these people because they'd never seen him ANYWHERE BEFORE except maybe waiting for a city plaque!!!!!!!
Received via Email: 03-06-12 Well, our Cracker Jack President is going to give it another try for the Chief, Mayor Foster, and his Indian Giving Negotiator, this Friday March 9th room 800 of the Municipal Services Building at 1:00 pm. Come out and watch the show. Maybe someone from the audience can yell out shenanigans. That would be a hoot.
Received via Email: 03-06-12 Did anyone else see this email? Here's what you can do when you have balls, MTB.......Judge Jackie Fulford's decision regarding FRS lawsuit: "Senate Bill 2100 abridges Article 1, section 6 (of the FL Constitution) by effectively removing the subject of retirement from the collective bargaining process and rendering negotiations after the fact futile....The portions of Senate Bill 2100 imposing a 3% mandatory employee contribution and eliminating the cost of living adjustment for future service are unconstitutional as applied to individuals who were members of the FRS prior to July 1, 2011, and defendants are permanently enjoined from implementing these provisions as to such individuals..Defendants are further ordered to reimburse with interest the funds deducted or withheld, pursuant to the challenged provisions of SB 2100, from the compensation or cost of living adjustments of employees who were members of the FRS prior to July 1, 2011."
Received via Email: 03-06-12 This LADY Judge proved that you dont even need a set of balls when the other team has no common sense. Lets hope our teams leader aquires some of that common sense stuff before its to late. Lets also hope that he isnt able to schedule another non posted meeting so he can go it alone with the set of tower guards sitting on both sides.
Received via Email: 03-06-12 Damn, the notice for the next negotiation session has been posted again. Damn them meddlin kids.
Received via Email: 03-07-12 I'm not going to say who I heard it from and I'm not going to tell you who I'm talking about but I heard that someone hight up in the city (not the mayor) thinks this contract isn't going anywhere and they're ready to drop the drug testing because they don't want it as much as the chief wants it. The story's true now you go find out who.
Received via Email: 03-07-12 so Blank's got a secret weapon he's going to unleash it on Friday. i can't wait because he never gails to entertain.
Received via Email: 03-07-12 what is wrong with random drug testing? we shouldnt be using illegal dugs.
Received via Email: 03-08-12 Thumbs up to whom ever is doing the recording of the bargaining sessions and posting them to youtube!
TEAM: 03-07 #3 We'll take a shot at answering that one. The union has said all along that it isn't necessarily opposed to random suspicionless drug testing. So long as City Council isn't willing to impose it on us - rather bargain with us over the subject, we'd prefer to get something of value through negotiations in return for the intrusions. The captains and DC's were asked to allow the city to perform intrusive physicals and random suspicionless drug testing and in return, with nary a fight, bargained a two-year DROP extension and a reduced work week. What's in your wallet?
Received via Email: 03-08-12 What kind of man pretends to be his brother's keeper yet spends all day at headquarters and and charging us for mileage, too?
Received via Email: 03-08-12 If we can't get another r day why don't we try getting it for a smaller group like the Lt's or the medics? And reading the MOU for the 7 year drop the supervisors gave up a pay raise for 2012 and the city won't even talk to us about 2012 because there's no money budgeted so what's a nother year with no pay raise worth to us?
TEAM: Exactly. Chris Guella asked Billy Mott if he thought the city was required to negotiate for everything that it wanted while conversely the union should just have what it wants handed to it. Well, if you look at their shell game for what it is, they didn't negotiate away 2012 pay. They simply told us that they weren't going to give us the money because the city didn't budget for it. To add insult to injury, they also told us that they won't zip up the contract in its entirety because they can't tell what the future holds. So now we're supposed to allow the specter of the unknown to rule supreme over our benefits or lack thereof? Name one thing that they've offered us through negotiation in exchange for keeping the pension article unzipped and open to attack? Nothing! If you've got less than 25 years on the job you should be up in arms about the prospect of them coming along at a later date and changing your future pension benefits. We've allowed them to dictate terms to us that we received nothing for in exchange. They steal from us, right out in the open. Maybe they're right. That's not bargaining.
Received via Email: 03-09-12 I watch the video and ask myself why our union president doesn't know how the stack pay offer works. Mike you're lousey at hiding the fact that you work more for the chief and his mutts than you do for us. POS
Received via Email: 03-09-12 I want to know where the city's lawyer gets off beating on us by reading an internal union document. I guess the union shouldn't communicate with it's members and just wait to be spoonfed bullshit from assholes like him. Maybe the better question should be, who is the BROTHER that handed it to him?
Received via Email: 03-09-12 "They simply told us that they weren't going to give us the money because the city didn't budget for it." This is the reverse of what is or was used as an example in the explanation of the PERC Florida Statute. I believe in there it states that if the city agrees to a pay raise and then doesn't fund it it's NOT an unfair labor practice. Somehow that always stayed in my mind. It's definitely not unlike something the city of SP would do but they apparently have found a new way to implement it. In this case they tell you straight up they're not going to "fund" or accumulate the money needed to "fund" a pay raise. This, it would appear, keeps the union from filing a ULP against them.
Also I thought that I just read somewhere that nothing in the contract can be changed without collective bargaining. It seems very suspicious that the city would want to leave the contract unzipped. And of course the question is would we allow it under ANY conditions, zipped or unzipped. If they offered a pay raise of whatever value in lieu of keeping the pension article open for further tinkering down the line . . . would we ratify something like that? With or without a quid pro quo would we be stupid enough to go for that. At least I hope not.
"They steal from us, right out in the open". Not to be argumentative but it's easier to see the enemy when they get right in your face. I'd rather have that than some underhanded behind closed doors shit they could pull. Not that that won't happen anyway. But in the long run the bottom line is getting the contract ratified. And no one in good conscience could sign that pile of outright drivel that the union is being almost forced to take at this time. Maybe it's time to go with a Mexican standoff and let the current contract prevail for another year. Just a thought. By that time the current bargaining agent would have time to read it and perhaps peruse the PERC law too. Maybe. It's getting harder and harder to see the improvement in benefits falling in our favor and with no one to prevent further losses it's not going to be pretty.
Dick Tully
Received via Email: 03-10-12 just watched the latest video. Thanks for taking care of business Rick. If you ask me it looked like the cat had MTB's tounge.
Received via Email: 03-10-12 If you watch the videos closely, your will see the Blank stare on Mikeys face turn to uncontrollable fidgeting. This is when the stupidity is fighting to get out. His system can only hold it in for a certain length of time.
Received via Email: 03-16-12 I heard Blank was going roll into the union meeting last night with his entire posse. What happened Mikey, posse keep on rolling by?
Received via Email: 03-19-12 As of late, I haven't seen much of the Anybody but winnie "pusse" group. They were short time puppets that did what the chief told them to do. They had no staying power or guts, hence the wolf pack mentality. I wouldn't be surprised to find them on the depts payroll during the elections.
The next negotiation session is scheduled for Wednesday March 21
2pm
Room 800
MSC Building
Received via Email: 03-19-12 Have no fear...there is a posse. Bring the contract offer to a vote and you'll be surprised how many vote for it. There is still something to be said for making common sense decisions. By the way, I'm hoping these common sense folks show up during the next round of elections to vote Pauley and Mott the fuck out of office.
Received via Email: 03-19-12 Why would ANYONE vote for a 3 year 0% raise contract? The better alternative would be to vote no and go to impasse and work under terms and conditions for 1 year or maybe Blank hasn't told you of that option.
Received via Email: 03-19-12 3/19 #2, your a cluelss fuck if you think anyone but Mott & Pauley have kept this local afloat. Things like the 7year drop had nothing to do with Blank they were already there, just watch the vids ya fino. Blank is deadwood, and hooked up to the chief's dick, right next to you..FTM
Received via Email: 03-19-12 Webmaster, if the "contract" doesn't get voted in, will the 7 year drop still be implimented? Has the here-say about they got it we will too count here? Or will the whinny lil city guy toss away all that fed money? Havent been able to ask the local guys figured you are the next brightest in the mix! P.S. Luv your site! FTM
TEAM: The city always has their eye on the money. If there were a conversation between the Fire Chief and Tish Elston, it would probably go something like this: "Chief, I understand what you're trying to do and we fully back you but we've got a deadline to meet. We'll let you play your card for a time but please remember the hard deadline. If you can't get your Rank and File Unit to simply give away their two huge bargaining chips, we're going to have to pull the trigger and either give everyone in the Supplemental Pension Plan the 2 year DROP extension at no additional cost or we're going to have to pull it from the Supervisory Unit and that will cost money."
Bargaining chip - synonyms: advantage, clout, edge, influence, leverage, power, pull, weight
Received via Email: 03-19-12 I won't be surprised at all of your advanced knowledge of the outcome of the vote. There certainly is something to be said for common sense and you aren't making it. As for using the same common sense to vote out the rest of the current elected officers of the local, that is totally up to people such as yourself and your fellow goose stepping high handed followers. It will be a sad day when the only common sense that goes on in the union office will be how much nothing can we do for each other today. I hope you know that the random drug testing that you are so anxious for can't even be forced on you by the police. Also you seem to think that only Billy Mott and Rick Pauley are holding up the process, but I seem to remember that during the last 2 negotiation sessions, there were no members present that spoke in favor of the cities deal. I guess you weren't there or either you were lying, as is the common choice of the Pusse group run by President Large.
TEAM: Posse. The word is posse. ;>)
Received via Email: 03-19-12 Now that's what I'm talking about, TEAM. Some of our members place little value on what the city is trying to negotiate away from us when we should wake up and realize that if they really want it they're going to have to pay for it.
Received via Email: 03-19-12 No, I am speaking correctly. The term is "PUSSE" as in I got sand in my PUSSE. or my PUSSE is bleeding etc. The followers of President Large are members of the no honor "PUSSE". I dont think I can explain it any simpler.
TEAM: The TEAM abides...
Received via Email: 03-20-12 Mark Sweet was making the rounds to the stations on the C shift to tell everyone to vote "yes" on this shitty contract offer. To him it's all about the drug testing and that its supposedly being fought in the courts in OTHER states and that we ought to just go along for now. Mark, your a slimy puss bag sucking off the chief for a promotion and you don't have a clue how to lie well. Suck one you pussy.
TEAM: Drug testing is no-doubt involved in our voting process. It remains a certainty if our union president can't dissuade council members to drop the subject altogether. The other certainty lies in the fact that we're heading down the path of giving away two very big items that the city places a very high value on. Why give away for nothing, what the captains and district chiefs traded away for something of value? Every year we slip further and further behind the cops and now our own people. Why is that? Could it be because the city see's us as weak? We're all ears.
Received via Email: 03-20-12 Sweat should be thrown out of the union for being Large's piss-boy. The fact remains, drug testing is on the table for a price. I don't care what other states are doing about drug testing and I really don't care what the state of Florida is doing about drug testing. When you AGREE TO RANDOM DRUG TESTING AS A PART OF YOUR CONTRACT, GOD AND ALL THE ANGELS CAN'T HELP YOU.
Received via Email: 03-20-12 I can water this whole thing down to somthing much simpler than all of that. We currently have random drug testing. It takes a $72K Lt. and a $95K DC who has a 2nd R Day and vacation time slots that aren't affected by people on sick leave to do their job and send someone suspected of being compromised out for a piss test. Word on the grapevine has it that a certain B shift Lt. at station 6 told his crew on March 18th that he had been over served during his St. Patty's night partying and during the rest of the shift they were to observe "quiet time." I guess the DC's were'nt making the rounds on that day or Lt. Quiet Time might have found himself at the other end of the drug testing that he's trying to sell to all the rest of us. All everyone has to do is their job. How is it that the fire chief is so observant as to witness someone wearing a fucking hat inside a building and make a huge stink about it but neither he nor anyone on his staff can find a Lt. who was overserved? Our current drug testing policy works, but it's only as good as the people admistering it.
Received via Email: 03-20-12 Mike Blank - former Local 747 Member In Good Standing. Management Sell Out!
Received via Email: 03-20-12 I heard at the union meeting that Ariel Young was having a hissy about our negotiations team looking like fools on the videos. Uh.....forgive me but if she's not talking about Blank and is making remarks about Mott and Pauley looking like fools she needs to check herself. Blank has no clue about his job and has been negotiating the city's position for the past 8 meetings. How come he hasn't met with a single city council member but the chief has been to meet with all of them? How come he won't include Pauley or Mott in his conversations with our attorneys? He's dirty and it's obvious. All this fighting for a 7 year drop? Really?
Received via Email: 03-20-12 I got a bunch of years on the job and I know I'm not voting for this. If you've got just a few years on the job you shouldn't be voting for this either. They keep leaving the pension article open and if we don't get anything done with this contract, the one thing that we should demand is that if we're going to get nothing for our effors that this rich city leave our pension plan alone and leave it closed during non nego years.
Received via Email: 03-21-12 3-2- #6 That's why I don't go. I'm afraid the camera might make me look foolish. I'm really not. It's the camera. No really.
Received via Email: 03-21-12 I was at the meeting and Ariel and Nyhart both said the videos made the negotiations team look stupid. Howz that work? I saw the videos and there's only 1 person looking stupid.
Received via Email: 03-21-12 Somewhere there's a village missing an idiot.
Received via Email: 03-21-12 They said our leadership looked fractured. You know.......like when Chief Wallace of Largo went out on his own and voted just the opposite of the way the Chiefs Association told him to vote on the transport issue. And what did Large and company do? They told Wallace that if he didn't step down as their representative they would force him to. Shocking similarity. Shocking hypocrisy on our members part.
TEAM: Holy shit, eso va a doler. (that's going to hurt.)
Received via Email: 03-21-12 3/20 #1 great video about union voting. Anyone of you that think roght wingers can represent you, wow, you are so wrong!! Even if I was Mitt, or Newt's cousin, I'd still vote for Pres. Obama! Go Union!
Received via Email: 03-21-12 Nyhart & Ariel? Now theres a pair of conjoined ass twins switched at birth...FTM, and W in this case...
Received via Email: 03-21-12 Mouth breathers... FTM
Received via Email: 03-21-12 I heard we finally faced down the city today. Where's the video? We want the video.
Received via Email: 03-22-12 Watching Guella and Pumpkinhead discuss PM time off slots is like watching Lizard Lick Towing. That whole thing had to be scripted because they came off as such bullshit artists. It must suck to be suck total dicks 24-7.
Received via Email: 03-22-12 I'm starting a pool. The crux of the pool would be the date that the city removes the pension plan from us for good. You'll have three years or maybe a little more to watch the council and the mayor manipulate the money and the people in order to justify taking away the most important thing each member is working for.
We know that pensions are a dying entity and we can refuse to acknowledge it or we can try to offset it. When they take it way we need to be climbing over the table to give them OUR substitute for a pension.
We need a plan that will counter the attempt by the city to remove the pension altogether. And if the contract is left open for it's entirety you can bet your next paycheck it's gonna go away. There's no way any thinking member would agree to sign a contract with an open clause on the pension.
So it's going to be up to the council to make it happen. This, of course, if the situation comes down to a SM resolution. We'll win at the SM hearings but since the council has the last word and their decision is final you can pretty much know what to expect from them. I know, I know. They want to resolve this too. But that doesn't mean they'll resolve it in OUR favor. They just want it to go away.
Now you can pick up your tickets for the pool at the Trop ticket office. Ask for them by name. I, myself, think that those dates around the beginning of the third year will be hot. That's close to Christmas and will make the biggest impact. White hankies will be handed out at the time of purchase to each person who buys a ticket. Then on the day of the removal of the pension each person with a hankie can go outside the station and wave goodbye to their ass.
One last thing. I noticed that when the camera panned the "audience" there was only one person seated there. And I'm not sure he's even a fire fighter. All the other seats were empty. I can't understand why no one is even willing to take the time to go and watch the procedings. Especially those who would aspire to higher office in the Local. What that empty room tells the city is that you don't give a shit. That's right. Where are the members? Why don't they care? Ah, yes, that's it. They've given up. Maybe we could PAY some homeless guys to dress up in some fire department uniforms and sit there and sleep for an hour or two. At least it would LOOK like we care. We're our own worst damn enemy.
Tickets are $10.00 each. You can purchase as many as you want. Buy a whole month block. Based on what I've seen we're making so much money we don't need to worry. Three hundred crummy bucks. If you win you could get way more than that. Hell, next time we're hoping to put the whole damn contract up for bid. It'll make the DROP look like small potatoes.
Almost forgot . . . thanks for the on-screen dialog. Very impressive.
Get 'em while they're hot,
Dick Tully
Received via Email: 03-22-12 Guella and the Great Jack-O-Lantern have nothing to do with what you saw. You give them way too much credit. You heard what Guella had to say last time. He talked about fairness and brought it back to Large and HE'S the one who fu++ed us over. Make no mistake. The city doesn't give two shits, it's Large trying to break the back of the union and who always ends up taking it in the sack? Paramedics. Quit trying to look for reasons to like Large by letting him off the hook. You'll only end up dissapointed.
Received via Email: 03-22-12 Going to meet with our council members is what we should have done a long time ago. We need them to know why their night school educated lawyers isn't bringing them back a contract. Nuff said.
Received via Email: 03-22-12 Guella is such a lil ball park hot dog. He keeps looking at the camera and frowning.....Oh well, and as for the 2 super admins at the head of the desk.. Worthless. Did you notice if you look at the cup Bob B is using the word RAT appears! Now isn't that special! FTM
TEAM: Can't hide from 1080p
Received via Email: 03-22-12 Dick, The 1 lone person that you saw in the audience was in fact a fellow firefighting brother, Mike Lewis. A second generation one at that and the son of one of our own that has elevated himself to the rank of Chief in Pinellas Park. I am certain that at least he is one of the few that not only gives a shit but realizes that with our current Train conductor going full speed into deadmans curve someone has to be there to stomp on the brakes when the time comes. He's only been here a year, but he has horse sense and he shows that he is smarter than average. As for the rest, you and I know that what you are predicting is heading our way and the masses just dont care. I am wondering if they think that since the world is ending in December anyway, why take the time.
Received via Email: 03-22-12 "Mouth Breathers" What he said!
Received via Email: 03-22-12 Thanks for posting the videos. I can usually make morning meetings going off duty but the afternoon ones are tougher because I live in Pasco and would have to come back for meetings that sometimes only last a few minutes.
Received via Email: 03-22-12 This is precious. Guella says to the great pumkin "I don't want to put any pressure one you." Like yo douche' boy. We're in the room too. Why not ask us if we want to redistribute the wealth before talking to the great orange one?
Received via Email: 03-22-12 FYI...Mike is actually a third generation St. Pete firefighter, his grandfather was on the job until maybe the late 70's or early 80's.
"A combination of depressed property values, slumping sales tax revenue and rising costs in health insurance, fuel and pension contributions are to blame for what City Administrator Tish Elston says could be the biggest one-year shortfall since the 2008 financial crisis."
Hey, the unions bargaining team was told that they are in no way bluffing on their decision to not give the rank and file the 2 year extension and they are willing to suffer the consequences. Hey Chief Large, when you read this ask yourself this, if I let the extension go through then that is 2 more years x 45+ folks that I wont have to pay pension contributions for. While your at it, be sure to let Tish know of your decision as well. Then take away the take home cars and the toll passes for the skyway bridge to help with the fuel costs. After that, shit can your bogus training division and let fire fighter Darrin Anderson run it on duty like he does for the most part now. And if your really serious about saving money, get rid of the Captains positions, the haz mat team, the trt team, the dive team, and let the cops run their own swat team and have Sunstar provide the medics like they do in the rest of the county. Then shit can the hurricane chief and his staff. If the mayor deems this as important then let him fund it out of his budget. Make the department PIO a $30,000 dollar a year job and get rid of one of the 2 Fire Marshals or whatever you think they are. Get rid of the Prevention chief and make the Ops Chief do the job of protecting the public all inclusive.
Wow, as the cities negotiator likes to do, lets recap this. We get rid of 14 captains, the entire training division, the 4 specialty teams, all take home cars, 2 fire marshals and the prevention chief, the 40 hour Lt that listens through closed doors to the DC's office, Extend the drop for the rank and file 2 more years and pay no pension payments.
OMG I think I have solved it. Oh yeah chief, while your at it FTM's and Have a coke and a smile and (you fill in the rest)
TEAM: Darth Vader: "The Force is strong with this one." Union Strong, Union Proud - Local 747
Received via Email: 03-23-12 Have a coke and a smile. ROTFLMAO That shit's good.
Received via Email: 03-23-12 One has to wonder how it is that Chris Guella comes by rumors.
Received via Email: 03-23-12 MTB's gran daddy was a fireman? Wow must have been a super one, never heard a word abouthim either..FTM>
TEAM: Mike Lewis...
Received via Email: 03-24-12 I rode the puke truck with Harhhy Lewis. Out of #7 in the mid 60's. Harhhy was a good guy. And you better spell the name with two h's. lol Doug came on before I retired but I didn't work with him except for when he was on probation. Don't know Mike but a lot of us could take a lesson from his example. I'd have to say Harhhy influenced some excellent generations.
Received via Email: 03-27-12 I'm glad the union is going to meet with council members. Large has been, so we should be doing the same. If they just leave us alone as the union asked it would cost nothing. If they don't do another thing with the drop extension but follow the MOU it will cost nothing. Let Large near our contract and it's going to cost the city big. For a city that's looking like it's going to be $10M in further in debt next year this chief sure doesn't mind spending more of the citizens money chasing his phantoms.
Received via Email: 03-27-12 Just in, log into your city email account now....Chief Duh munnie has just had Kathy Zigler post a Thank you for everyones help during the race. Now if we can all print that out and send it to our mortgage company in place of your regular payment, you will see exactly howmuch it is worth. Get used to it because thats all your gonna get sucka's.
Received via Email: 03-27-12 I just printed mine out and I've already put it deep into the back of my safe. I'm putting alot of faith that this will outperform my 457 when I get ready to leave this joke stage. Thank you Chief dough-boi for doing something for the future of my family. Did the Union have anything to do with this windfall?
Received via Email: 03-27-12 I asked the chief the other day if he really thought this contract offer was a good one and he said YES with a straight face. I feel bad for the do boys at HQ that serve at their master's pleasure. You've all sold your soul's to a liar.
Received via Email: 03-28-12 Silly me. Maybe I'm a little slow but what did you expect the chief to say? "Hell no, this contract offer from the city is a steaming pile of fresh shit made especially for you." "If you sign off on this it would make you and all the other members look like desperate fools that will fall for anything." "Plus it would make the mayor a very happy man and he'll teach the next one how to screw over the firefighters on a regular basis." I kinda doubt he'd actually say anything like that but I know where you're comin' from. The boys at HQ are just the balls in a continuing game of pocket pool played by Gimme Jimmy. You got the answer you knew you would and you shouldn't expect a change.
That chief already got his. He's golden. Ironically enough there's a story going around that three of them were required by Gimme Jimmy to ask their significant others a certain question that would enlighten them. The question was "What can you tell me that will make me happy and sad at the same time". Two of the three were puzzled when the response was "Out of all your friends YOU have the biggest dick". This apparently doesn't apply to the third one. Either he has no friends or a really short dick. Try and figure out who these three are.
"But during testimony Friday in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Baker described a different management style, one that was decidedly more detached in the oversight of the city's $400 million investment portfolio when he was mayor from 2001 to 2010. "
Boohoo. Our poor broke city. City Council sent the mayor back to negotiate with us for drug testing. I talk to a new guy that I see for the first time at the MFS and I ask what he's been told about the contract and how he's going to vote. He tells me that he's going to vote FOR the offer because we'll look like greedy firefighters if we keep fighting.
My pension is in good shape. All you new guys better worry about your future because you are huge pussies.
"NEGOTIATIONS"
Rank and File SPFR
APRIL 11, 2012
2PM
MSC Building
Room 800
Received via Email: 04-01-12 Get a "facial" from the Chief. Vote YES on the contract. Line forms to the right. You'll recognize the Chief out of uniform. He's the one you swore allegiance to when you were hired. You do remember giving a "hand" to the Chief that day don't you? It would seem there's been a lack of indoctrination on the part of the Local and it's members. You boys who are new hires look like ass lickers to the rest of us. "We'll look GREEDY"? You poor delusional fool. You're drinking the Kool Aid and it's affecting your thinking ability. Are you here to work for free, you morons? Or did you get the job because you pledged your undying allegiance to the liar in the Chief's uniform? Either way you are not to be TRUSTED and definitely not to be BELIEVED. Wake up new boys. You work for a Chief that will put it in your ass every time and laugh about it. You fools need to man up and get educated. You may THINK this is the best job you ever had and you'd be right. It didn't get that way because we believed what the Chief says. The UNION made this the department you work for and don't you forget it. Too bad we can't make you wear yellow uniforms. That way we could pick you out without listening to you. "Oh, I don't want to piss off the Chief because he promised me he'd let me hold it for an extra ten minutes if I voted for the contract." You pussies are all a little bunch of trouser ticklers. Come to the meetings and learn the truth. Better yet talk to any member. Someone needs to teach you the ropes.
Received via Email: 04-01-12 I see the writing on the wall, the Blank one is now in the DROP, all he has to do now is to deliver the shit sandwich to President Large and then the good ole boi can move Mikey back into a cushy 40 hour reward gig in Fellatio Central. After that happens we will need to forever recognize the old Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) as the Conspired Betrayal of Authority. Well I guess some of us were just so tired of waiting for the chance to take the first bite. I hope President Large will at least nibble the crust off of the turd biscuit.
Received via Email: 04-03-12 Heh heh heh . . . Someone we all know and love has taken the most famous of all fire fighter slogans and jammed it straight up every ass in the Local. And of course that slogan is "I GOT MINE". Now, get yours. But you can't get yours because someone needs to provide it for you.
And the city mooley that laughs all the way to the mayor's office is ecstatic. Our president is like a rat leaving a sinking ship. Only in this case he can't get off quickly enough. Correct me if I'm wrong but when he signed into the DROP didn't he do so for only five years? I can't keep up with the changes that occur in the Legislature and the negotiations so I'm going on a slight guess.
Point is that it looks like he's already given up on getting the seven year drop. Could it be that he is privy to information the rest of the members are not? No one is saying that if he is qualified to DROP that he shouldn't be allowed. But wouldn't it be financially productive to be in the DROP for seven years rather than five? And the choice is obviously his but it waves a red flag to the rest of the members that the chances of parity with others in the same department is not likely and he's getting the hell out of Dodge.
The thinking would be that the chances of getting the seven year DROP plan is iffy at best so I better settle for the five because that’s what it’s going to end up being anyway. I know if it were me and I was getting ready to retire I would, in the latter years want to be eligible to DROP for as many years as possible. But if the horizon didn’t provide for seven years then five will have to do.
The city wants to mentally lord it over the membership that the Captains and above have something more than the rest of you. If they can get in your head about the superior benefits and provisions for retirement they have got you. It's the old divide and conquer. They had to let the Capt.’s and DC’s into the Local but they still are finding ways to separate them from the rest of the members. At least that’s the way it looks to an outsider.
Just when I thought that we were protected at the bargaining table by more knowledgeable heads he sneaks one in on us. But it’s only sneaky if he is doing it because of inside information. Otherwise it’s his prerogative to do whatever he deems he needs to. It’s his life just as it’s each of yours and if he’s eligible then he’s eligible. If he’s doing it because he has been told things by those who whisper in his ear then he’s a low down scoundrel.
The best thing to do at this point is watch. See what he’s up to. Attend the negotiation sessions so that you know from the horse’s mouth what’s going on. If you feel the council will give the rank and file a seven year DROP then . . . that’s all the better. But I wouldn’t bet my next paycheck on it. And if the council has injected any thinking along with the mayor to the mooley it will show up at the table in the dialog. How we respond will speak volumes. And don’t eat that shit sandwich of a contract offer.
Dick Tully
Received via Email: 04-03-12 I think you're right Dick. I also believe it is time to get the Lts. out of the Rank and File agreement so that there is a clear distinction between groups.
Received via Email: 04-03-12 "But it’s only sneaky if he is doing it because of inside information." Nothing he has done so far has impressed me as being for our benefit. What I mean by that is that if Rick Pauley weren't sitting at the table we would already be voting on a contract that Blank has told everyone to vote "yes" to. I was talking with someone from another station the other day about Blank and he asked me if I really thought he was playing for the other side and when you break everything down there are just too many examples to cite for it all to be a tidal wave of coincidence. I don't talk to him and he doesn't exist.
Received via Email: 04-04-12 Yes get me out so I too can have a second r day.
Received via Email: 04-04-12 Blank is too stupid to even make an attempt to look like he's the least little bit involved. He soooo much wants to take this crapola contract offer to a vote but he keeps getting pressure at the bargaining table to act like a union president. When he's done at the table he rushes to HQ and asks for forgiveness because he's weak. Then he heads across the street to the MFS where he gets beat on all day long by Kidwell who keeps telling him he's got to bring this thing to a vote because the most important thing in the world to Kidwell is the 7 year DROP. All the youngsters who don't have a voter ID card sit and listen to these two talk this offer up and want to please their heroes by voting like them. Firefighters are a stupid bunch of sheep who will make up stories about how they threw the plumber or the AC guy out of the house and onto their ass for doing shit work but can't make an educated decision about how to SELL the city what these two senior men keep trying to give away for nothing. What a surprise.
Received via Email: 04-05-12 The worst thing about all of this is...Who are we going to blame when our benefits and rights get thrown out with the bath water? Is it the fault of who we put in charge? Or is the fault of WHO put him in charge? There were plenty of happy days and high fives going on after Winnie was voted out of office, lets see if those same people can remember that they were the ones responsible.
Received via Email: 04-06-12 Just when I thought that we were protected at the bargaining table by more knowledgeable heads he sneaks one in on us. Whats this "we" shit tully, aren't you under the hallowed pension that keeps us from getting any benefits? When we finish paying for you old guys then we can protect what we have earned. Just quit pontificating of what you don't know and whittle something.
Received via Email: 04-07-12 Nice try. My pension doesn't begin to compare with yours. Sorry asshole but I just don't give a shit about it.
Dick Tully
Received via Email: 04-08-12 To 3-31-12. That's a great news story. The one thing everyone is missing is the fact that this city always fights and sometimes wins.
Rule No. 1 If you don't fight you can't win.
Rule No. 2 If you're not fighting, see rule no. 1.
Funny how the fire chief and some of his suck boys make their way through the stations carrying his Koolaide telling everyone that the "UNION" fights too much. See rule No. 1 semen lickers.
Received via Email: 04-10-12 Thats funny. Why is it that Mayor Froster continues to fight for what aint right at the whim of his do boi Gimme Jimmy? It is common knowledge that Jimme is the only one pushing for the drug testing and that is what is holding up this whole damn contract. We all know we aint gonna see another damn dime outta this city for a couple more years, so lets get our bunker boots so we can continue to wade through the shit they keep slingin at us and tell the Invisible man that he really aint what he used to be (whatever that was) and he isnt worth to shits to anyone except his doctors that he keeps in business. Hey mayor Froster, if we vote this turd smear in without the drug testing would you put Chief Large out to pasture? I mean way out with no chance of ever infecting any of us again with his I'm the chief mentality. And while your at it, open your search window to people from other than the incestuous brood of zombies that are wondering around HQ.
The negotiations session scheduled for 2 pm today (4-11-12) has been canceled. We know this is going to upset the hundreds of FF's that would normally show up but please don't call the union hall demanding an explanation. Apparently deciding to seek out each individual Council person to discuss the current state of negotiations has placed a chink in Bill Foster and Jim Large's armor. When Council hears only one side of a discussion, unintended consequences can occur. We are not pursuing them. They are pursuing us. In these tough budgetary times we have asked for nothing and are prepared to take nothing. Somehow spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on intrusive physicals (PD optional after age 35) and suspicionless random drug testing must be of little value because we've been offered nothing in return. As a result of our conversations with Council members, a closed-door Executive Session has been scheduled for the 26th of this month.
Received via Email: 04-11-12 I heard that Blank isn't real happy with Rick Pauley because he keeps stepping on his toes. Blank is supposedly going to make a big stink at the next union meeting because he was forced to meet with counsel members when that wasn't his plan.
Received via Email: 04-11-12 Being the union president isn't like being a fire inspector or a fire chief. You can't learn it in the stations and you can't learn it by quitting from the union, cold for 15 years. What makes Mike Blank think he's got enough knowledge walking in off the street to second guess Pauley who has been doing this every day? I guess when you keep Mike Moore, Rick Fienberg and Mike Wimmers more up to date than your own union membership, the information you're going to get from them is bound to be anti-Winnie (Yo asshole. He's not in charge anymore) pro fire chief, wrong politically and from the mouths of losers like Blank who haven't give the union a second thought in years. Telling your VP and Secretary Treasurer that you're constantly on the phone with council members doesn't make you any smarter either because nobody believes it.
Received via Email: 04-11-12 You can't serve two masters MTB. You're now in the drop and I'll bet you're looking forward to your next job in prevention as a civilian. We need a new mayor and we need a new fire chief. Inbreeding doesn't work in dogs and it doesn't work here. You listen to Pauley cuz he's right and you listen to Large cuz he's promising you something. That's called being played and it makes you dirty.
Received via Email: 04-13-12 I understand Blank didn't have shit to say when they were meeting with council. He either didn't know what to say or had nothing to say because going wasn't his idea. He wants to bring this shitty contract offer back to a vote so badly because he's been out telling people how good it is. When did you ever hear Winnie tell you that? Let me ask a question. Is it more important to be TOLD how good an offer it is by the union president or KNOW how good an offer it is by reading it? We get everything we deserve around here and many of you are at fault.
Received via Email: 04-13-12 Blank's biggest problem is he's a class clown. He's this department's class clown. We're in the situation we're in because Winnie did the best job a man could do to protect us but because a whole bunch of you don't know that we're under attack 24/7 by the fire chief, you voted in a class clown who would sit and joke with you at the table and promise you the world. Large and Blank are a lot alike. They'll both sit at the table and joke with you while others are working.
Received via Email: 04-18-12 Is it just me or does it look like the Blank one is walking around wearing a smirk of guess what I just did? There are rumors that he is close to making a decision on his own to get this contract over and done with. I hope that our people can see this for what it is, this is an attempt by Ron Kidwells cleanup boy to make a major decision that will change our contract not for the better. Oh Boi, cleanup in aisle 8.
Received via Email: 04-20-12 If your planning on signing the opt out form for this years physical you have until April 22nd. DO IT NOW.
Received via Email: 04-28-12 Here's an article for Jimmy The Drug Czar.
Just when you think there is not a shred of sanity left in how we run this state, you get a sign.
Two, even.
As Gov. Rick Scott has surely noticed, not one but two federal judges have ruled against his plans for the drug testing of two different groups of Floridians, raising questions of constitutionality.
Last year, it was a judge in Orlando issuing a temporary injunction against testing welfare applicants. This week a Miami judge flat-out ruled randomly testing state workers unconstitutional.
It's "suspicion-less drug testing," wrote U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro, which could be a succinct description of the state of government intrusion in our state.
Scott thought it a fine idea to make people who apply for a cash welfare program pee in a cup first to prove they are worthy. Also, an executive order from Scott mandates randomly testing thousands of workers whose sole crime may be being employed by the state of Florida.
Negotiations Session #11
Wednesday May 2, 2012 (B Shift)
1:30 in the MSC Buiding room 700.
Received via Email: 04-28-12 I can imagine our union president got back some wonderful news from Jimmy the Koolaide Kult Leader. Council just met and already we're heading back in to NEGOTIATE??? so that Mikey can put this one to rest and get on with doing absolutely nothing for the rest of his term other than taking $2K a month of our money. Did you get your marching orders from Jimmy the Koolaid Kult Leader when you spent the entire week (month(s)) at HQ sucking him off, Mike? I think everone's having buyers remorse right about now. Our union isn't a fan club and it's not the Kiwanis it's a labor organization and you don't make many friends at the top when you're doing the work that needs to be done to protect everyone convered by a contract. Your trouble is you don't make friends at the top because you spend ythe time you should be spending in the union hall reading the contract, over in the chief's office. How fucked is that? I'm talking to all of you stupid assholes on this job that voted for the AsS cLoWn Mike Blank. Shit doesn't get done on it's own and that's exactly what's going to happen with union president Mike Blank at the helm. If Rick Pauley weren't keeping his boot up Blank's ass we'd really know what it's like to have a weak person, firefighter, fire inspector, union member and union president running the show. I just can't wait to see how obvious management around here gets when it comes time for the supervisors contract to come up for negotiations. I hear Ray Landis is already (((Helping))) Mike Blank with our contract, so it ought to be a real show when all of them start telling Mike Blank what to do to make their contract even better once they've shit ours into the trash can one more time.. The one guy that he should be listening to is Winnie Newton. God forbid he'd call his black ass up and ask him anything. The good ole boys in Large's Koolaid Kult would have a shit fit to find out that Bank is actually working on behalf of the firefighters and not the Kult. Poor Mike. He's caught in the middle. More like he's caught with his head in the gears. If any of you thought you could run this guy off by outwaiting him,, don't be fooled. He's too dumb. He's so stupid that you can't even insult him. What's that say about all of you total fucking morons that voted for him, (I mean the Kult.)
Received via Email: 04-28-12 4-28 #1 Have you ever heard the term USEFUL IDIOT before? You don't have to look it up. Just get a picture of your union president walking up to HQ on any given morning. Useful idiot.
Received via Email: 04-28-12 The Invisible Man, The Great Pumpkin and Useful Idiot = Labor Unrest!
Received via Email: 04-29-12 You better pray to whatever god you talk to that nothing happens to Rick Pauley OR Bill Mott. It appears that even with them working to keep the Little General in line he keeps on doing end runs and finding his way back to headquarters. It doesn't appear that Winnie has much, if any desire to be involved with this Local in a leadership capacity. I'm sure he'd provide it if asked but he also knows that it would be listened to and then ignored. Like pissing up a rope. So if you think he's going to charge in and save the day you're probably dead wrong.
There are a lot of things that project an image of the membership of an organization. It would seem that the members of this Local have lost sight of the meaning of "union". Instead of being of basically one mind and purpose it is pretty clear that the membership has a large number of individual agendas that continually screech for attention. Petty, imagined or conjured wrongs that are the basis for less than inteligent thinking. And it's getting worse. All things that take away from the basic intent of being a union member. This profession is, in most places, made up of adults who in some way or another think of it as such. It has a meaning that goes beyond being just a job. Unfortunately most if not all of the things that make it a profession are ignored by not only the leadership but also a large number of this membership. The actual fire fighting is exemplary. But the rest of the time it's the stroking of the individual agendas that keep cropping up and making many look like fools.
That's probably a large influence on those who are actually in charge. The Council sees this Local as a bunch of whiners and crybabies who have inadvertantly stepped in their own shit by electing a weak and uneducated member to the office of President and then have the balls to send him to the bargaining table unarmed. They don't want the union to come half assed to the chambers to plead it's case. It would appear that they would like for this contract to be negotiated and agreed to by both parties before coming to the Council for a final determination. The only way that will happen is to keep sending the parties back to the table to do two things; give the union fledgling President some experience and to provide every opportunity to the union to meet with the city rep and accomplish something besides vocalized grunts and drivel for contract language.
If it weren't for a handful of dedicated members who have kept this Local on it's feet for a very long time it's possible that the charter would have been given up at some point. The mind set of much of the membership is that of "where's my free shit". When it comes to doing the job when called on there is no finer department in the state. It's a known fact that this department does more with little or no leadership and little or no support than any other department in Florida. And that's an extraordinary reputation that is to be proud of. It's the lack of focus and like-mindedness that's killing the membership. Everybody has their own set of what they think is the right or wrong way to do things. They have their own real or perceived notions about the leadership abilities of their immediate supervisor all the way to the Chief. It's fine to recognize things but a person has to filter out those things that aren't all that important and focus on those that can improve.
Until more of the members can find a way to do this there will be no gains on the day to day workings of the department.
Received via Email: 04-29-12 If you dont make every effort to be in the room during this next negotiation session than you have NO right to ask "what happened" or "where are we at". Its yours and yours alone to take responsibility for your actions. For once in your life come see what it feels like to act the part of a grown-up.
Received via Email: 04-30-12 WOW THAT HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!!!!
Orlando FD is hiring and here's what they're offering, walking through the door!
Job Flyer - Print it! Tell all your friends your friends that you've visited Disney.
STARTING SALARY between $44,015 and 46,105 based on experience. Additional $3,259 per year for those employed as EMTs; $9,343 for Paramedics. Incentive pay for those assigned to special teams.
LONGEVITY: Annual longevity payment based on years of service: 5 to 10 years, $600; 10 to 15 years, $1100; 15 to 20 years, $1,600; 20 to 22 years, $2,000; 22 years or more, $2,300.
HOURS: 24 hours on, 48 hours off. 48-hour work week, additional 24 hours off (Kelly Day) each 8th working day plus two regular days off.
VACATION: Start to 2 years, 130 hours per year; 2 to 8 years, 156 hours; 8 to 18 years, 206 hours; 18 years to retirement, 250 hours per year.
HOLIDAYS: Eleven paid holidays. Shift personnel receive twelve hours of straight time pay for each holiday.
INSURANCE: Full life and health insurance. Dependent coverage is available.
COLLEGE: 100% reimbursement of educational expenses including tuition and required books up to $1,800 per year.
EDUCATION INCENTIVE: Additional money paid for college degree in Fire or EMS related field: AS, $50 per month; BS or higher, $110 per month.
PENSION: Retire at 68% of salary for 20 years of service or 85% of salary for 25 years of service. A 5% cost of living increase is provided every 3 years to those who retire with at least 20 years of service. A five year forward or back DROP is available
TEAM: It is our sad duty to report to you that during negotiations today, not only did you NOT get offered anything remotely close to what Orlando FD is offering its Fire Fighters on the first day of their employment but the whopping $768 per year for EMT certification that was previously offered has now been removed from consideration. How is it that we keep taking a bath with the City of St. Pete but we never really feel clean, just soaked?
Received via Email: 05-03-12 If Orlando is so great, why do we have a person trying to come back from there? Just saying.
TEAM: Take from it what you will.
Received via Email: 05-03-12 5/2 word has it she didnt like to transport as the wonderful world of O town does now....
Received via Email: 05-04-12 I watched the Youtube video. Why so many caucuses? Is Blank just winging this shit or what? I'm betting that if Pauley didn't straighten him out during the time out's we'd all be voting to see how big a steaming pile of shit we'd be eating right now. And why does Blank have to explain why we want anything? He owes this asshole lawyer nothing and explaining shit to him like we owe him anything is wrong. After looking at what Orlando's paying their people and the benefits they're being offered I'm glad Pauley has kept Blank from signing away our lives for the next 3 years. Too many people are waiting to jump at the chance to vote on something even if it's wrong and that's scary. The longer this thing plays out the more information we get. What are the chances we'll get good information out of Blank at an informational meeting? He's already corrupted half of the dept. with his stupid nonsense about the city's contract offer being the best it can be and every time they sit down at the table Pauley forces him to work and look where we are now. How chicken shit of a president do we have that he constantly wants to bring shit back to a vote rather than doing his job? He's a boy doing a man's job and it shows. We are way behind others in benefits and our union president keeps going around to the stations trying to convince members to give away something that the city wants very badly in exchange for something they already bargained to give our people. This guy's a HQ douche bag.
Received via Email: 05-04-12 Its to bad that the other 190+ of you folks aren't able to see what went on during those many caucus's. The Blank one was beside himself, throwing tantrums because he thinks is his right to bring this bull crap proposal to the membership for a vote. He wants to believe that he has done his best and maybe he has but the rest of the team isnt letting him get this giveaway done by a long shot. Those of you that dont show up tell the city that we just dont care. I'm saying it and the cities negotiator has no problem saying it every chance he can.
Received via Email: 05-06-12 Commenting on the last nego video, it's obvious that Blank has to take frequent breaks (and that's ok) because he's really not up to the task of negotiating benefits impovements. I talked to him early on and he pretty much told me that the city wasn't going to give us anything and he was going to let the members vote on it. Vote one what? Isn't the job of the nego team to bring back the best offer they can to vote on? Why bother me (who pays some attention) with voting on something that will strip rights from me for nothing in return? And why bring it back to a vote for all the new guys who don't even know what a union is? Please spare us all Mike and listen to Rick Pauley and the rest of the board. Why vote for something that won't benefit us by giving other benefits away? If drug testing is all that important, let them impose it on us. If physicals are all that important, let them impose them on us. As quickly as they folded on the drug testing, I think we've got them by the balls. Let's just keep negotiating. I'm sure that's what Orlando did and look where they are with bennies.
Received via Email: 05-11-12 So, while we cant get the right thing done with our contract he Mayor is making headlines by taking the cheap way out and extending a benefit to a rather small group of city employees and their same sex partners. When will i be able to get insurance for my girl friend that has been with me for the last 9 years and has provided me with 2 lovely children? I can get ins for my children but not for their momma. Like I said this is the cheapest thing the Mayor could ever do and reap the biggest bang with the media. All because it was the right thing to do. Lets get over this last step and make sure all of your employees are provided with the same opportunities.
Received via Email: 05-11-12 Glory be, is that Obama's former chief of staff that wants to screw firefighters? And we still support the democrats without question?
Received via Email: 05-17-12 Received via Email: 05-11-12 Glory be, is that Obama's former chief of staff that wants to screw firefighters? And we still support the democrats without question?
Yeah, go ask our St. Pete Beach Brothers how well, their Republican Friends are treating them right now.
Negotiations Session # (Does it matter?)
Friday May 18, 2012
10:00am
MSC Room 800
The city called to say "Please come back to the table. We want to give you a kiss."
Received via Email: 05-17-12 If you have the 3% multiplier you can thank your republican governor. Your democrat governor VETOED the bill. Don't hear to much about that do we?
Received via Email: 05-17-12 The city wants to give us a kiss? Usually when you're about to get boned maybe but I don't see that happening. Large doesn't have the juice he once did or thought he did. He's beating on the firefighters and city council doesn't like his tactics so he's just about out of ammo. Wait till the end of the month when Lecroix leaves. Big shit storm there.
Received via Email: 05-17-12 5/17 #2 yeah it was but thats long ago sh-t. Scott is one of your guys isn't he. ya know you sound a lot like that skinny rope hangin lt..take a break.
Received via Email: 05-17-12 The union filed a grievance today on behalf of all of us over the 2 year drop extension. Fuckin a right!
Received via Email: 05-18-12 Screw the 2 year drop. It's time to leave. You were rubbing it in our face how your in drop and you want out of here in 5 years and now you want an extra 2. I will help you pack your sh**. It's time to leave
Received via Email: 05-21-12 So I guess your OK with the city trying to once again say the hell with the agreement made to improve your contract? Thats what it is all about and nothing less. Someday even HATERS like you will figure out this simple logic.
Received via Email: 05-22-12 How is it that 7 months into Micheal T. Blanks rein of terror and we are no closer to getting a decent contract? I hear that the one, some refer to as Chief is getting so worried about his future as the top dog that his hair is falling out, he can't sleep, he looks more like death warmed over each and every day, and now with so many of our members finding they have some form of cancer or other, he is now going to his Dr. twice a week instead of his usual weekly visit. God loves all of his beings, but when it comes to consistent idiots he has been known to let a few suffer more than others.
Received via Email: 05-23-12 The one that some refer to as Chief is getting so old that his Bullshit has petrified. I wish he would dry up too. He cant even come up with a new line. Its like he only has 1 single from an old 45 record disk. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, like a scratched up record. I have to hand to him tho, he is extremely loyal to those that dont give a rats ass about him.
Read all of this and tell me there's not something familiar about it. Dirty city leaders. Dirty League of Cities. Dirty fire chief's all working against us. FTM
Received via Email: 05-29-12 Short crews, trucks out of service, long response times for backup, no OT for holdovers, no shortages unfilled in HQ, no command staff in stations, an occasional fire, 80% ems/20% fire so we play the odds, it all adds up to this dept becoming a laughing stock. Now we are told we are short of funds for important shit like fuel. I realize the long term sickies hanging out at HQ at exactly helping things, but thats what happens. If we werent bare bones we could overcome a few shortages. Lets not forget those that serve Military duty either. Thats their right and this city has always allowed it, but their absences hurt because of the way this administration has chosen to run things. No promotions must mean we dont need them. Now we are hiring to replace those that have left just in time for the next batch to leave. Mull, D. Johnson, King, LeCroy. Grossman, Murray, Wayne, Munsell, Cragle, Matthews, Turner, just to name a few with a few more making up thier minds to give it up at any time. We are headin for a shit storm and this admin dont give half a shit about any of us. But we did get our pretty uniforms. I wonder if the idiot called Chief still gets a hard on everyday he sees us wearing his pretties?
Received via Email: 05-29-12 You want to save money? Ask how many at HQ drive those city owned gas hogs across the Sunshine Skyway twice a day. They all hauled ass from Pinellas County to save money and the city repays their loyalty by giving them a car AND gas to burn. It's good to be the king. Shitcan the assistant chief's job and put a 40 hour DC on it. Fire two more DC's and we'll be down to a total of 4 DC's. Fire the Hurricaine chief and send The Great Pumkin back to being the EMS Bitch Boy. FTM and a big round of Fuck You to the Invisible Man and his Double Dipping $17,000.00 a month ass.
Respectfully,
A St. Petersburg Firefighter
TEAM: Seriously, now. The Chief's not going to be able to make any improvements without knowing your name. Your name?
Received via Email: 05-29-12 If there's a fuel shortage, then why all those cars over the bridge? Let them carpool in their own fuel funded car.
Received via Email: 05-31-12 That's really a good point about city cars driving across the bridge every day. Callahan used to park his car at a firehouse before heading to his Madeira Beach house (and nearby watering holes.) I believe the causeway requires a lot less gas than the Skyway.
Received via Email: 05-31-12 While we are saving money... why do we need captains?
How is it that the great Local 747 finds itself in a position to doubt that we could ever pull something like this off?
Received via Email: 06-01-12 It is evident that we dont need capts if the Dc is to have final say over what they do in their stations. Look at how many Lt's are on duty anymore and you can wonder why we need them either.
Received via Email: 06-02-12 We need a new contract and we need what tha capt.'s and DC's got for the drug testing they gave away. We also need to finally get paid as DRIVER ENGEINEERS AND EMT'S. The trucks don't move themselves and all of these ALS engines only have 1 medic onboard so it's way past time we started asking for DRIVER ENGINEER CLASSIFICATION AND EMT CLASSIFICATION. This city is crying poor mouth and getting ready to build a giant hunk of shit in the middle of the bay that nobody is ever going to visit. We got what we got because we don't stand up for ourselves and because we have a spineless fire chief who lets little Adolf run his dept. for him so he can come and eat donuts with the MFS boys and pretend to be their friens while fucking them over. Did any of you see how Pasco voted on their contract? Not a single member voted for it. That's balls and now the County is going to have to figure out what to do next because they know they're up against something big. Bernie Williams and Callahan got jacked up this week. When are you going to learn that it really doesn'[t matter if you kiss the chief's ass or not. If you suck him off and you do something, don't go kissing around him in the hopes that he won't write you up in the future. He just did, dumb ass. They're keeping a list of everytime a truck is out of servic e so they can make their point to the mayor. Great. How come we couldn't do it before they started dumping trucks from dispatch? There is no leadership at the top. Only a bunch of college educated boys who want what they want and you and I Are supposed to deliver it for them Hey HQ....... here's some news for you. SUCK THE BIG ONE AND BE SURE IT'S MINE YOU SUCK!
I've been saying all along that we're at over $500 million.
NEXT NEGOTIATIONS
SESSION #13
SPFR
for
Rank and File
Wednesday June 20, 2012
Time: 10:00am
Where: MSC Building Room 700
We just pulled this off of the union's web site. Are your eyes bleeding yet? We've got active grievances filed and Mike Blank has called for another negotiations session yet has not consulted with EVP Pauley, Secretary-Treasurer Mott or President Emeritus Newton. Why spend tens of thousands of dollars on labor attorneys to fight for what is already ours, only to turn around and negotiate with one of the devil's serpent's, over these very same issues? Who is Blank kidding? He's no negotiator at any level and he's about to place every one of us in a really bad situation with these amateurish antics. Have any of you taken notice of the number of 10 shift suspensions...or the fact that LeCroy is no longer working here? Every member of this union needs to show up at the next negotiations session or better yet, show up at the union hall and demand an explanation as to where he's leading this organization or else step down as union president. If you don't want to take a drive to find out what he's thinking, call 323-1786 or call him on his cell at 244-3572! This is really getting way past stupid, folks.
Received via Email: 06-17-12 It will do no good to talk with the Blank One unless you stick a finger or something else in his other ear. What goes in pours right out the other side. If we could enlarge that wind tunnel maybe we could rent it out to a Manufacturing company to test aerodynamics.
Received via Email: 06-17-12 10 Shift suspensions? Really? And there's not just one or two but more than that? I can't believe it. Why, this pride of Pinellas fire department couldn't possibly have that many people on suspension at one time. It's probably just the chief's way of showing everyone his superiority and ability to control. I'm sure the union won't sit back and let that crap go on very long. I know that if there's no basis for the suspensions that the president will be filing a lot of grievances to defend the members. After all, it's his responsibility to make sure that disciplinary action is warranted and justified and not just some prick of a chief throwing his weight around. It no doubt seems bad now but there's a good chance that much of the time off will be reduced or even dismissed.
What? You say the president can't find his ass with both hands let alone file a grievance? You say the president is too busy playing softball or taking time off in pool time to fuck around doing personal things? You say that the president of the Local is no negotiator on any level and will sell us down the river? No Shit? Really?
Well welcome to the real world, dumbass. And welcome to the world you built for yourself. With your whiny baby antics at election time and the encouragement of the "anyone but Winnie" mindset you've put a giant dick up your own ass and now you wanna cry about it. You won't find sympathy here. You voted for it with the mind of an adult and now you get to live with it. I hope you're happy. Every one of you who supported, encouraged, lied about, and promoted the election of the current dismal failure of a president should be held accountable for his moronic shenanigans. He's a nice guy but a dipshit at what he got elected to do. And bitching about it now will not make it go away. You all own it. Every day. So smile, act like a man, and when the elections come around again find a candidate who has the potential to do the job. And quit crying. It's embarassing. All the other departments know how badly you screwed yourselves so all that pompous hind sight isn't working. You're out there and there's no one to come to help you. Make the best of a bad situation and next time think before you vote.
Received via Email: 06-17-12 13 sessions!!! and you know what? President Blank one has yet to bring a new proposal to the table or T/A anything....For those of you keeping score, the Leader that was voted out under the pretext of not getting anything done is the owner of ALL of the proposals that the Blank one is sitting on. 13 sessions and we are no closer to getting a reasonable contract offer than when Newton was at the table making progress. Nothing happens overnight except in this case, we are on the brink of inner earth caving in and we are all on the edge looking to see it happen. Jealousy, stupidity, and ignorance will surely win out this go around. Lets just hope we can withstand 16 more months of this stupidity.
Received via Email: 06-18-12 Has anyone ever sat down and analyzed just how the dumb one got elected? Has anyone taken the time to review just who it was that started his drive to the top? Can anyone put together a time line as to when this union visionary decided to run for the office of President and who were the loudest supporters? Has is never occured to anyone that there's something fishy about the way this current president got elected? Sure, we can all bitch and moan now about how he's inept and uneducated and is the laughing stock of headquarters and city hall but it runs deeper than the results. I think it is the grandest and most sophisticated hoax ever perpetrated on a membership in this city.
And here's why. Until this loser ran for the office of President of Local 747 he rarely showed up for a union meeting and was voted into office as secretary-treasurer during the union's last low point, under Feinberg. Where was he in all of the intervening years? Before his ascension to the thrown, his station didn't have a steward and under his current leadership, the largest firehouse in the city still doesn't have a station steward! He never made himself available to learn about the modern union, union schools or involve himself in union functions. In other words, he was a blank sheet on which anyone could write. And someone took advantage of that.
Until this poser surfaced at election time he was pretty much ignored as just another person who did nothing and said nothing that invluded the union in any way. And suddenly, out of the blue, he is the champion of the majority of the members of this Local to be their President. Now, doesn't that smell just a bit fishy? Have you ever asked yourself just how that happened and just how plausable is it? Does anyone at all feel that they have been blindsided by this whole situation and do not and probably will not ever know the truth about the entire runup and finish when it comes to the election of Blank? Did it or does it ever occur to anyone that someone with WAY more skills than Blank or those who supported him was pulling the strings on this puppet and providing support?
Stop and look at who were the one's who were the loudest and biggest supporters and protectors of Blank when he suddenly came on the scene. Take a minute and go back and try to remember just exactly who was in bed with the future president. Ask yourself if any, any of these loudmouths and shit stirrers ever did anything positive for this Local. Did they come to meetings, help with political activities, help at functions, or even give a hint that they ever gave a shit about the union? I think you'll probably find that they were just as anonymous in the Local and the loser they were supporting. So this is a terminal case of the blind leading the blind. But that can't be all there is to it.
And here's a possiblity. Is it possible that when it came time to elect or re-elect the President of this Local that someone took the opportunity to influence some of the weaker members of this Local? Could it be that these members were the recipients of some monetary or other enhancements that influenced their enthusiasm about who should be the next President? It wouldn't be surprising to find that those who howled the loudest about electing the current president were the one's that had no allegience to the Local then and for that matter, don't now. It could be that some other city employee way far off in the distance could be the one who provided the support to those who were doing Blank's dirty work. It wouldn't be all that surprising that if someone investigated deep enough somehow that they would find a connection between certain members of the Local and another, unrelated to the fire service, employee who provided the incentive.
This election was the best chance the city had to remove Winnie from office and it's possible they, (you know who) realized that fact and took advantage of it. It wasn't hard to corral some members who had nothing to lose and were notorious for having loud mouths and weak minds. It will no doubt ever be known with any positive proof whether or not some members of this Local got paid off in some manner to work within the ranks to get Blank elected. Between them and the Winnie "haters" it was a win win for the city. The results speak for themselves. And the city pricks are laughing their asses off.
Received via Email: 06-18-12 Maybe 13 is MTB's lucky number. 13, thirteen, 10 bad attempts + 2 more bad attempts leads to a 13th bad attempt. If he only had a brain he would know that he can't bargain with Newtons articles because he has no idea what they are about. 13 plus 13 more and he will still not get it.
Received via Email: 06-18-12 Just as is pointed out in the 6.18.#1 post. Those that appeared from nowhere to prop up Blank for President have just as quickly disappered. If it wasn't for Mikeys daily doses of glub from the invisible man, and the A B and C shift hate everything crowd at the sandbox station Mikey would have no one to talk to at all.
Received via Email: 06-20-12 It is true, our President has agreed 100% to the cities demands for a 3 year contract. Yes we the opportunity to go 3 years with a pay raise, yes they do have reopeners but the city is facing another $15 million dollar shortfall for FY13 so what's our chance? Yes you will now have the opportunity to prove to yourself and Chief Large that you are not a drug addict. Yes, you will now be required to give up your personal information to the cities eyes regarding your lifestyle and that of your family. No you wont see more time off like your coworkers that bring home $30K more than you. No, you still wont be guaranteed time and one half for the additional hours you chose or are mandated to work, and no you wont be any better off than if you would have held out for something better to come along. Your president is also willing to let the members make the decision of if we need to be politically involved in the next Mayors election or anything in the future. So come on in to the hornets nest boys and girls because if this bag of shit is approved it wont even take 48 hours before it stinks REAL BAD.
Received via Email: 06-20-12 Michael T. Blank has just shown you what a nose ring wearing floower will do for those that put their full trust in him. Like all Assassins he has shown you that he has no loyality to anyone except the one that promises the most and any given point in time
Blank agreed to 3 year proposal to send out for a membership vote.
*Note: EVP, & Secretary Treasurer stated that they disagree with President Blank on his actions for sending it out for a vote.
Highlights of 3 contract year from City.
0% GWI for 2012 wages. Open for negotiations for 2013-14.
Step raises stay.
Fire boot reimbursement up to $300.00
Holiday time storage up to 300 hours.
Life insurance paid for by city 100% up to one year’s wages.
14 to 7 day work cycle.
7 year Drop. Total 35 years’ service.
When Drug tested, 8 hours personal time awarded.
1 time EAP excuse for substance abuse.
Physicals: Life scan not required, but personal physician visit with cities forms.
Stress EKG optional, regular EKG ok.
No re-opening of pension.
Stack Pay up to 60 cents.
NO RETRO on any of above if 3 year is ratified.
EMT pensionable after ratification of 2012 (3 year) NO RETRO!
Negative effects if 3 year approved:
We will be out of synch from other city bargaining units.
Out of the political arena. Mayoral election coming up. We have nothing to offer candidate if there are no pending contract talks..
Received via Email: 06-20-12 JUST GIVE ME A S##T SANDWICH HOLD THE MAYO!!!
Received via Email: 06-20-12 After I heard about what happened during todays negotiation session, I figured I would check it out for myself. So I goes to the Union Office to read the proposals that were agreed on. Guess what? The only member of the negotiating TEAM that had copies was the president and he was not there. In the past, I always remember every member of the team getting a copy and usually there where a few extras for those in the crowd, I guess that why Newton was voted out, to much information. I even remember our past president posting them onto the website for all to see and they are still there. I smell a big nasty rat here. What is being hidden from our view? When will we get to know what our President knows? Or is he afraid that we will find out what he does not know? I cant wait to sit in on this explination meeting. and Since Pauley and Mott(2/3rds of the team) have both said that they cant support this agreement, I wonder if they will be in the room to help those of us that have real questions?
Received via Email: 06-21-12 Be at the meeting tonight and let them know we're not gonna take this shit anymore!!
Received via Email: 06-21-12 6/20 #4. He wasn't there because he was out of the MSC building as fast as if Dean called chow! He was heading for lunch, with say a night, or any other Admin he can pick up!? WTF is happening here?
Received via Email: 06-21-12 This is just one solution in a hat full of them, so give it some though. Since we filed a grievance dealing with the DROP extension, one of two things can happen (that is if we continue with the grievance by voting this contract offer, down) and it doesn't require a rush to vote on a 100% 'city inspired' contract offer we've already voted down, previously.
1) We win the arbitration and everyone enjoys the extension, LeCroy gets rehired and is awarded back pay and we go back to the table to negotiate but without having to negotiate for the one thing that costs the city nothing -- and that's the DROP extension.
2) We lose the arbitration and go to the table to negotiate just like we did on Wednesday.
With open grievances we should never have gone back to the table. This serves no real purpose except to throw money down a well and confuse our labor attorney. We spend money 'judiciously' when we have to, to right wrongs. To show up at the negotiations table undermines our ability to win and sends a very bad message. We grieve to right the wrongs that have been perpetrated against us. The union president decided without consulting with the other members of the negotiations team or the E-Board that it's somehow 'smart' or 'right' to bring back to the membership a city contract offer to vote on. We had so little to do with the shaping of the city's offer to us, that it is quite frankly embarrassing. This can only be described as a grave philosophical, political and tactical error in judgement. Blank made statements to Rick Pauley just prior to the negotiations session to the effect that the E-Board and negotiations team members were trying to undermine his authority and attempting to make him look bad. Brother, you're doing all of that on your own. The principal reason we've all had to endure the record number of sessions that we've had to, is due to the fact that only minutes before each of those meetings, we've managed to get Blank to listen to reason. In each instance he would state his position as to why he wanted to rush back a vote and in each instance we would talk him through the pluses and minuses of his decision. What was his only reason for repeatedly wanting to bring the city's offer back to a vote? His answer time and time again was, "Because the members have a right to!" That's it! That was his whole line of reasoning, whether they were offering someing bad or something really bad. We were always of the belief that you don't keep spending $400 on mail out votes just to keep voting on the same offer. The rest of us were of the opinion that we only bring back an offer where we've gained some ground. There was always give and take but in the end he would agree that what we were telling him was prudent and he would then actively participate and call multiple caucuses to get our opinion on the direction we were headed. Throughout all of those meetings where we had come to find common ground, I can't remember a single occasion where he made a statement reflective of his current belief that we were trying to trip him up.
I said all that to say this: Admittedly, I like Mike Blank. Admittedly, I don't want Mike as my union president. He's not politically savvy - whether you agree or not, politics never sleeps and it is our life blood. He doesn't have a deep understanding of any of the challenges that face us. He doesn't listen to or take advice from those that this membership has elected to office to help him. He is incapable of doing research of his own. He's often late to arrive and early to leave functions that are designed to help us. As the president of the largest Local in the FPF 2nd District, he's neither trusted nor relied upon by other union presidents. They've taken notice of him and they always ask what our membership was thinking. He's not a critical thinker. Any decision by him to act on our behalf is often born our of emotion rather than logical thinking or having a good grasp of possible alternatives. Again, a lot of this comes back to a lack of research on his part. He doesn't do his homework and when he does, he has admitted that his 'speed dial' circle of insiders are either at HQ or are retired. He actually told me after one negotiations session where I commended him for standing his ground, that he felt like he was on an island all by himself. I told him that he was mistaken. I told him that he was in the swamp and that he was slowly but surely dragging all the rest of us into it with him by his poor decision making process.
Bringing back to a vote a contract offer that takes much and offers little in exchange sends a message that our union is weak. It is. I believe that we are at our weakest point right now because Mike Blank is a pitifully weak leader. Ask yourselves what item in the city's contract offer is of the greatest value to you. If you said, "the two year DROP extension." many would agree. By comparison, there ain't much else there. It is also the one item that has no cost and has become a political pigskin. Lets do the right thing. Let's vote this contract offer down (again). Let's allow the grievance & arbitration process to tell us what we have a right to via a signed M.O.U. Let's continue to work with our City Council (who still has our back) to work towards a new contract where both sides benefit - not just the few on either side. Let's not give away two items that the city wants badly. For the Captains and D/C's the cost of admission to the city was the DROP extension and a 48 hour work week. If you want the 48 hour work week like the Captains and D/C's you have to continue to press for it and never let 'em see you sweat.
Fraternally,
Jon Pearl
