IAFF 2446 - Palm Bay, FL

NEWS ARCHIVES

FEBRUARY 2008

CITY MUST CHANGE HOW IT PAYS DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
UPDATED as of February 13, 2008
The City and the Union have been advised by the US Department of Labor that it must change the way it handles Daylight Savings Time. There has been a long standing (25 plus years) practice of how the City and Union dealt with the issue. The City never docked our members who worked the 23 hour day in the spring and we never asked for overtime for those who work the 25 hour day in the fall. That now must change. One of our members felt that he could no longer live with himself knowing that Federal Law requires payment for the 25 hour day and so he notified the Department of Labor of our practice. After an interview between a DOL agent, your Union President Dave Ginsburg and City Manager Lee Feldman, it was determined that we were in fact not in compliance with the law. The DOL agent did tell us that this little used regulation is usually overlooked by them until someone files an actual complaint. They are also aware that the way we were dealing with the issue is identical to hundreds, if not thousands of other departments nationwide. The DOL is required, when informed to act on the issue and such is the case here in Palm Bay, now. Effective March 8, 2008 “B” Shift works and 23 hour shift and each employee who works that day will be docked one hour pay, and on Saturday November 1, 2008 “C” will receive one hour of overtime provided they comply with the terms of our contract on hours worked. In a formal memo, the Union and City have agreed to the terms of the law and the Union will make no issue regarding the docking of employees.

UPDATE TO HEALTH INSURANCE
UPDATED as of February 13, 2008
The Health Insurance situation has been discussed at a Special Meeting held on Thursday, February 7 and the Executive Board has come by every station and facility to review it with the members personally. Further updates beyond that point will be placed in the Current Issues section of our web site. The Medical Clinic should be ready for its soft opening sometime in late February and open enrollment for your HMO or PPO benefit coverages should also begin around the same time.

ANNUAL FIREFIGHTER GAMES AND REGISTRATIONS
Updated as of February 13, 2008
Due to the way the State committee collects funds for registration, the Union Executive Board can not provide the funds to sponsor members to the Firefighter Games. This is the second year in a row that this has occurred. The State Committee will not allow one bulk payment for our members to register. They require each individual participant to register and pay the fee. The Union which in the past made the bulk payment for all of our members simply can not write over one hundred checks for registration. Treasurer Scott Adam has indicated that this would be a tremendous problem for the financial bookkeeping that our local is required to perform. The Executive Board in 2007 made the decision to not make individual registration payments and have carried it over to 2008. If the State committee that runs the event goes back to a bulk payment system, then we can once again sponsor our members to the games. We know this will disappoint some of you and we certainly hope you understand the reasoning behind the decision.


NEWS	NEWS ARCHIVES FEBRUARY 2008 CITY MUST CHANGE HOW IT PAYS DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME UPDATED as of February 13, 2008 The City and the Union have been advised by the US Department of Labor that it must change the way it handles Daylight Savings Time. There has been a long standing (25 plus years) practice of how the City and Union dealt with the issue. The City never docked our members who worked the 23 hour day in the spring and we never asked for overtime for those who work the 25 hour day in the fall. That now must change. One of our members felt that he could no longer live with himself knowing that Federal Law requires payment for the 25 hour day and so he notified the Department of Labor of our practice. After an interview between a DOL agent, your Union President Dave Ginsburg and City Manager Lee Feldman, it was determined that we were in fact not in compliance with the law. The DOL agent did tell us that this little used regulation is usually overlooked by them until someone files an actual complaint. They are also aware that the way we were dealing with the issue is identical to hundreds, if not thousands of other departments nationwide. The DOL is required, when informed to act on the issue and such is the case here in Palm Bay, now. Effective March 8, 2008 “B” Shift works and 23 hour shift and each employee who works that day will be docked one hour pay, and on Saturday November 1, 2008 “C” will receive one hour of overtime provided they comply with the terms of our contract on hours worked. In a formal memo, the Union and City have agreed to the terms of the law and the Union will make no issue regarding the docking of employees. UPDATE TO HEALTH INSURANCE UPDATED as of February 13, 2008 The Health Insurance situation has been discussed at a Special Meeting held on Thursday, February 7 and the Executive Board has come by every station and facility to review it with the members personally. Further updates beyond that point will be placed in the Current Issues section of our web site. The Medical Clinic should be ready for its soft opening sometime in late February and open enrollment for your HMO or PPO benefit coverages should also begin around the same time. ANNUAL FIREFIGHTER GAMES AND REGISTRATIONS Updated as of February 13, 2008 Due to the way the State committee collects funds for registration, the Union Executive Board can not provide the funds to sponsor members to the Firefighter Games. This is the second year in a row that this has occurred. The State Committee will not allow one bulk payment for our members to register. They require each individual participant to register and pay the fee. The Union which in the past made the bulk payment for all of our members simply can not write over one hundred checks for registration. Treasurer Scott Adam has indicated that this would be a tremendous problem for the financial bookkeeping that our local is required to perform. The Executive Board in 2007 made the decision to not make individual registration payments and have carried it over to 2008. If the State committee that runs the event goes back to a bulk payment system, then we can once again sponsor our members to the games. We know this will disappoint some of you and we certainly hope you understand the reasoning behind the decision.
Web Site Last Updated: February 13, 2008