Appeal to 522

WHEREAS the distribution of overtime and the payment of incentives are mandatory subjects of bargaining under the Meyers-Miias-Brown act, and subject to meet and confer requirements; and

WHEREAS Local 522 has attempted to satisfy this meet and confer requirement by way of the roll call committee; and

WHEREAS the roll call committee answers to Local 522; and

WHEREAS Local 522 answers to the 522 Membership; and

WHEREAS the current rules related to the relief team run counter to our well-established standards of fairness and equity, specifically seniority and pay; and

WHEREAS the current rules related to the relief team often result in the lower-paid and more senior members bearing the brunt of the workload, while the higher-paid and less senior members benefit; and

WHEREAS the current system is not sustainable, and will continue leading to greater division within our bargaining unit; and

WHEREAS the current system causes disruptions in crew continuity, daily operations, and station drills; and

WHEREAS Section 12.1 of the current MOU expresses a desire to “avoid hold-overs and unnecessary moves,” the current relief team process of moving on-duty personnel causes unnecessary overtime holdovers, and results in twice as many personnel moves as necessary; and

WHEREAS the current process also causes crews to run short, adds unnecessary cost to the Department in the form of inventive pay and mileage reimbursement, and places liability on our members due to the City’s refusal to cover employees who are involved in on-duty vehicle accidents in their personal vehicles; let it be

KNOWN, that we, the undersigned, demand that Local 522 take whatever means are necessary to ensure that the following rules regarding the usage of the relief team be instituted into the roll call manual as quickly as possible:

      1) That the relief team only be used day-of. No pre-scheduled use of the relief team will be permitted.

      2) That the relief team only be used when the department is overstaffed, or is using mandatory overtime in the firefighter rank.

      3) That, should an on-duty firefighter be moved out of his/her suppression spot to fill an ambulance vacancy, anyone voluntarily signing up for overtime after the move shall be moved to the ambulance vacancy, and the on-duty firefighter shall return to his/her suppression spot.

Signing in support:

Relief Team    Contact the author of the petition