Members of Local 1747, 

Thank you for your understanding with the Eboard having to cancel our March meeting. We have our negotiations team currently at specialized training specific for public sector collective bargaining, another out of the USA and three in training classes for the RFA. Per the Union By-Laws, we must have a quorum of the Eboard to conduct a meeting and we were far short of a majority that was needed. 

Nick of Time 

Thank you to all those who helped at this event after the request. We had a great showing, and the Director of Nick of Time was very appreciative. 

Mechanics Collective Bargaining Agreement 

Our negotiations team finished their work several weeks ago negotiating a new agreement that will expire on December 31, 2026. The agreement has now been signed and we have been told the retroactive pay for those bargaining unit members should be on the 3/22 payroll cycle. 

BC/DC MOU 

A motion was passed to send a MOU to the BC/DC group to be voted on dealing with the reorganization of the RFA and loss of work at the February union meeting. The BC/DC bargaining unit (BU) voted to reject that agreement. Subsequently a survey was sent to that BU and if you have not completed it, please do so soon. We intend to have further discussions on the MOU soon.  

Union Scholarships for High School Seniors 

The WSCFF is offering scholarships for high school seniors looking to go further in their education. Click the link for WSCFF Scholarship which applications are due by 3/15. 

Social Worker Wage Agreement  

The 2024-25 Social Worker wages were pushed to the future when the SW/RN collective bargaining agreement was settled in early 2023. Negotiations have taken place over the last couple of months. This Tuesday the members of the bargaining unit started voting on ratification or rejection of the tentative agreement. If you are a member of this unit and have questions on accessing the website to vote, please reach out to Alex Riedo at alex@kentfirefighters.org. If you have questions on the agreement reach out to Nancy or other negotiation team members. 

Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) 

We have a new meeting scheduled with Admin in March to further the discussion and resolution to allow supplementation with our short-term disability insurance. As you recall, the Union's stance is to make changes to the definition of sick leave. 

Pregnancy Leave 

In December one of our sister firefighters was denied an accommodation that we believed was not within the law specific to a doctor's request. We had several questions of admin to determine if we had a grievance, which is a process to settle differences within our collective bargaining contracts. We received all the answers to our questions and with help from our Union's attorney, it was determined they followed the process correctly to review that accommodation and subsequent denial. Given such, we did not file a grievance specific to that denial of the accommodation. 

The RFA also recently had an accommodation request from a member to modify their work schedule to help work around childcare needs. The RFA denied that accommodation request, which was confirmed as a valid denial by the union attorney. 

These issues above brought light to other items with how the RFA manages pregnant firefighters or those seeking IVF and other types of fertility treatment. A couple of improvements have been identified that would help our sisters manage the risk of pregnancy and the vital period after their child's birth. Admin has agreed to review Policy #266 Reproductive Health with no timeline set. If you have any suggestions or questions, please forward those to Keven Rojecki at keven@kentfirefighters.org. 

Retirement Parties 

In recent times, all the retirement parties have been managed by several different people and they communicate individually with Gators where most are held. Gators has raised some concerns about trying to manage their business. Moving forward, we will have a point person from the local work to manage all retirement parties. For the past few years, the local has put up $250 for each member who retires. We will reevaluate that contribution amount soon. We are looking to set a minimum amount spent, a system to rsvp and keep coordination to one person from Eboard leadership to manage all retirement parties. 

For those supporting our retirees at these parties, please keep in mind we are having them at a business in our response area and our behavior should be above board. A few incidents have come to light in conversations with Gators staff and we desire to have a great relationship with them. The union tab is designed to cover drinks until we reach the set limit. If you are going to order breakfast, please be prepared to settle your tab before you leave. Please be respectful if service is slow as they may not have up-staffed because our RSVP was for 20 but we had 70 show up. You all get the point; let us help each other out and do not leave a friend with your tab and make certain to tip well. 

Next Retirement Party: Capt. Felicia Beluche celebration on 3/23 at 8:30 AM. More information will be shared once the location has been secured. 

Holiday Audit 

An audit of Holiday Time for those temporarily assigned to day shift has been taking place by HR and previously discussed at a Joint Labor Management meeting. We have been aware of several discrepancies with members accruing both 24-hour shift holiday leave and day shift simultaneously, along with accrual rates and deductions that were not correct.  

The execution of Article 33 Section C covers these assignments and work has begun to clear up the process outlined in Policy #326 Day Shift. If you have any questions or believe you are impacted, please contact Rob Mathey at rob@kentfirefighters.org.  

Union Educational Opportunities 

Cody has been working to create more educational opportunities for our members, something we have identified in our Strategic Plan. The last class in January had a great showing from our members and from local members that surround us. If you have suggestions or questions, please reach out to Cody Boyd at cody@kentfirefighters.org.  

Firefighters Foundation  

SeaTac Parks and Recreation & Local 1747 Easter egg hunt: Looking for volunteers to help stuff plastic Easter eggs with candy. We will do two "sessions,” one in the evening and one in the morning for folks coming off shift. Both are family friendly. Sessions are Monday 3-11 at 6 p.m. and Thursday 3-21 at 9 a.m; and they will be at Station 46. The event is the morning of Saturday 3-30 at Angle Lake Park; volunteers are needed to help with setup starting at 7:30 a.m. Please contact Jeremy Wood at (206)822-9957 if you can help with any of these events. 

There will be a Puget Sound Firefighters Foundation board election this month. Nominations are open for members interested in running for a PSFF board seat; self-nominations are accepted. Board terms run for three years. Reach out to Jeremy if interested. 

We still need an ongoing coordinator for the union family Christmas party and at least one person to work with Cathy on planning the PSRFA/Union holiday programs. 

Finally, there is an upcoming Senior Lunch at the SeaTac Senior Center on Wednesday 3/13 from 11:15-1300. If you can help, please contact Matt Doctor at 206 778 0564.