Past President Messages

Negotiations may have taken a tremendous amount of time and effort from the Union Executive Board this month, but the focus has had to be shared with the latest antics of Chief Gallagher, which continue even as we’ve completed our rally for his removal.

Initially, let me say a word on the latest rash of grievances. Apparently, Chief Gallagher is not happy with fully staffing the outlying stations with all the new employees the City has hired. It has not been enough for him to slash the budget used to hire back firefighters to fill daily slots left when firefighters are sick or injured while squandering the left over money on the new salaried positions he’s created or simply giving up approved budget money to the City (over $600,000 in 2004 at the expense of the safety of the citizens and firefighters). He now has resorted to shutting down apparatus in districts serving the neighborhoods of Midlane Estates, Pleasant Hill, River Road, Country Lane, and the new Midlane Legends to have firefighters provide limo service to his top brass friends with errands to the airport and to pick up sandwiches for chief meetings. The firefighters cannot sit idly by and cross our fingers that nothing happens in those neighborhoods while the rigs are out of service! Instead, we certainly feel obligated as safety professionals to alert those citizens to this clearly unsafe practice.

In contract negotiation news, the City had decided to sit down and finally deal, after 13 months of near stagnation, once an arbitration date was not only a threat but was set for October 15th.  Between October 5th and through the 15th, 30+ hours of negotiation took place, tentatively agreeing to 42 of 44 items on the table. While this tentative agreement represented a promise between the City and the Union, our Rogue Chief Pat Gallagher, broiling from the list of TA’s that reigned in some of his tainted “discretion”, decided that the deal was not satisfactory and intentionally leaked information to a select few union members in an obvious attempt to sabotage the delicate arrangement. This action on his part was hopelessly blatant and indisputable, a purposeful and damaging drift beyond the boundaries of good faith bargaining (an action for which Waukegan had already been reprimanded by the Labor Board during these same negotiations in 2006).

Word of this leak took several days to trickle down to the Union Exec Board from the masses but when it did, another ULP was filed and the City legal team was off to the pharmacy to pick up more band-aids. The agreement was in jeopardy and the City, recognizing this enormous buffoonery, offered passageway to the entire on-duty compliment to attend a damage-control meeting at the Union hall on October 26.

On the 29^th, when we seemed headed to arbitration with 3 issues, the City committed a late-inning balk and were decidedly against certain economic issues previously agreed, citing “miscommunication”. Reparations are already under way on these issues, but the damage done by Gallagher’s latest act has left the bargaining teams shaken and frustrated.

On a brighter note, a sincere “thank you” goes out to our brothers and sisters from around the state who joined us on November 9 on Waukegan’s City hall steps to rally against our chief who continues to attempt to cause so much damage to labor and the fire service. The gathering was a huge success and we will be keeping the state posted on the progression of this campaign! Please check the state site for more photos.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you, my family, brothers and sisters from Local 473 and from around the State of Illinois, who have supported me these last 9 years in a very  successful effort to strengthen labor and, specifically, Local 473. Our endeavor continues with a seasoned and experienced executive board that represents the forward progress of local labor and the union movement. Thank you and continue to support your executive board and progress. I am, of course, not disappearing but will continue to work to forward our cause in Local 473 and throughout the state as best I can.

Negotiations may have taken a tremendous amount of time and effort from the Union Executive Board this month, but the focus has had to be shared with the latest antics of Chief Gallagher which continue even as we head into our rally for his removal.

Initially, let me say a word on the latest rash of grievances. Apparently, Chief Gallagher is not happy with fully staffing the outlying stations with all the new employees the City has hired. It has not been enough for him to slash the budget used to hire back firefighters to fill daily slots left when firefighters are sick or injured while squandering the left over money on the new salaried positions he’s created or simply giving up approved budget money to the City (over $600,000 in 2004 at the expense of the safety of the citizens and firefighters). He now has resorted to shutting down apparatus in districts serving the neighborhoods of Midlane Estates, Pleasant Hill, River Road, Country Lane, and the new Midlane Legends to have firefighters provide limo service to his top brass friends with errands to the airport and to pick up sandwiches for chief meetings. The firefighters cannot sit idly by and cross our fingers that nothing happens in those neighborhoods while the rigs are out of service! Instead, we certainly feel obligated as safety professionals to alert those citizens to this clearly unsafe practice.

In contract negotiation news, the City had decided to sit down and finally deal, after 13 months of near stagnation, once an arbitration date was not only a threat but was set for October 15^th. Between October 5 and through the 15^th, 30+ hours of negotiation took place, tentatively agreeing to 42 of 44 items on the table. While this tentative agreement represented a promise between the City and the Union, our Rogue Chief Pat Gallagher, broiling from the list of TA’s that reigned in some of his tainted “discretion”, decided that the deal was not satisfactory and intentionally leaked information to a select few union members in an obvious attempt to sabotage the delicate arrangement. This action on his part was hopelessly blatant and indisputable, a purposeful and damaging drift beyond the boundaries of good faith bargaining (an action for which Waukegan had already been reprimanded by the Labor Board during these same negotiations in 2006).

Word of this leak took several days to trickle down to the Union Exec Board from the masses but when it did, another ULP was filed and the City legal team was off to the pharmacy to pick up more band-aids. The agreement was in jeopardy and the City, recognizing this enormous buffoonery, offered passageway to the entire on-duty compliment to attend a damage-control meeting at the Union hall on October 26.

On the 29^th, when we seemed headed to arbitration with 3 issues, the City committed a late-inning balk and were decidedly against certain economic issues previously agreed, citing “miscommunication”. Reparations are already under way on these issues,  but the damage done by Gallagher’s latest act has left the bargaining teams shaken and frustrated.

This is a further call to you, our members, to react to such a directionless backlash during negotiations, a despicable act designed to undermine both the Union and the City for personal reasons, with a show of allegiance on November 9^th. The Local sees 1,000 firefighters as our goal to show that we do not intend to spend our careers on our knees to a fire department regime obsessed with personal vendettas over operational concerns. See you there!

     Several new developments have taken place since the last installment of which I think everyone should be aware.  After public statements four years ago by Mayor Dick Hyde explaining that it is a basic freedom in America to live where you want, coinciding with the City’s proposal to drop residency in exchange for minimal raises, he has gone back on his offer. He now publicly seeks to reverse this “freedom” in the City contracts this year, and his lawyer has put forward proposals to reinstate residency requirements for City employees.

     At least their inconsistency is consistent.  At the same time, and during negotiations, our Chief has violated section 14(l) of the FLSA several times, inviting a new myriad of problems. This will
certainly be addressed in the current ULP, which is similar and follows closely behind the Unfair Labor Practice last summer where it was found that Waukegan was bargaining in bad faith and exhibiting “inherently destructive” behavior towards the firefighters.  Brother Liginski, whose grievance will be heard before an arbitrator in June, has been dealt another unbelievable blow by Waukegan. Giving rise to the above grievance, Tom’s contract rights were violated when the City stopped paying their portion of his insurance premiums following one year off the job with a catastrophic injury. The HR director informed me in writing that this was perfectly within their right as an employer because of  "pending" litigation and legislation. After he and his family survived paying five times his normal insurance premiums on 2/3 of his salary for several months, he was finally awarded his pension. But, unlike those before him, he was not paid for his past premium rip-off nor was he being compensated for future premiums as the law demands. He and his family are being held hostage by the same city for which he has sacrificed forever his physical health. We intend to correct this horrific situation and to
prove the Mayor wrong when he tells us as employees “the City owes you nothing! You owe the City!” Plans are also in the works for some assistance to Tom and his family in the meantime, so please keep them in your thoughts.

     Although neither of our alderman candidates won their primaries, our PAC activities have sent an undeniable message this year: that firefighters are willing to put themselves forward and work for the good of the City and their candidates. It is true that there are many humorous stories of Larry
Tenpas chasing us around in his car while we campaigned like we were some of his truant students in the 1960’s, hurling threats and insults all the while and taking our pictures(?). But besides the good times, it is important to remember that Local 473 ran one of our own for 8th ward alderman in our first-ever campaign against an incumbent who had the full, public backing of the Mayor and lost by only 10%. This type of showing is a testimony to our capacity for political action, and I’m sure
we’ll just get better at it each and every time. 

     Don’t forget! This year’s golf outing is on Thursday June 7, 2007 and the fliers are coming out very soon. It is again going to be the biggest ever and includes huge sponsorships from Budweiser and from WXLC, who is hosting a $10,000 putting contest pre-party this year. Sign up when you see the
flier!   Also, Squirt the Skirts is on June 9th.  The retirement dinner is on May 11, 2007 this year. Please purchase your raffle tickets which help pay for the event as any unsold will cause your
union to subsidize the ceremony.

Thanks and Aloha.

President's Message 6/1/07

     Recently, there has been much ado about the Chief's new practice of ordering that "counseling sessions" be held with union members who have used an accrued sick day on a shift that is near a vacation or Kelly day.  Last month, this change in working conditions has extended to ominous letters for each and every instance this occurs that are to be placed in your file.  This baseless presumption of guilt meant to further harass bargaining unit members and degrade the bargaining process should not worry you and there are a few things that you should consider:  

    Contractually, your sick time is YOURS, no matter how much the Chief may disagree, and the Union's agreement with the City of Waukegan states the five reasons that are ACCEPTABLE for its use. The unprovoked suspicions and paranoid pinings of the administration are just that and are not punishable under the agreement. Additionally, this recent practice during negotiations is just one more of many Section 14 (l) violations that only serve the Union's favor during the bargaining process and beyond.

     Second, you work for the busiest department in our county and among our awarded comparables. You run more calls per firefighter than all of them and have more patient contact and stress and strain than they do. It would follow logically that you would be sicker than they are and YOU ARE NOT. You use only 2.5 sick days per year and that cannot be construed as abusive no matter how you spin it.

     Thirdly, the odds are very strong that if you were to fall sick, it would be on or coincide with a Kelly or vacation. Out of our 13 periods per year, at least one period is where we choose our 3 & 1. In that period, there is a 2 out of 3 chance that your illness will bring a cautionary letter. In periods where you use a 1&1, which is likely more than half the year in most cases, the odds are 50/50. Only in periods where you have only a Kelly and no vacation is there a 1 in 3 chance of being improperly sick; still a verifiable risk.

     The point is, don't allow some clerical blabbering deter you from your work, put fear of consternation above respect for the wellness of yourself or your brothers and sisters, or cause you to lose sight of the value of your family's health. For most of us, family is first and always will take precedent over some unwanted junk mail. You're a firefighter and your union has fought for years to give you the benefits that will protect you in this dangerous profession and safeguard your health.

     Don't allow six years of sick time fixation destroy your self respect or dignity in this perilous occupation when you are merely doing what you have to do.

Jon Nordgren, President Waukegan Firefighters L473

President's Message 8/11/07

    An arbitrator has been chosen for our interest arbitration (contract) and a block of dates is being sought. The “when” at this point is hard to say as cancellations in the arbitrator’s schedule occur regularly which may bring a closer date. For now, know that your retroactive wages are secured and watch as the police sergeants begin arbitration at the end of August visiting many of the same “sticking points” as ours. Things are progressing.

     The arbitration fighting the eradication of insurance premium assistance to Tom Liginski while he was employed and on OJI was heard at the end of June and we await the decision. The hearing exposed some very creative lines of thinking at City Hall, specifically the HR department. We have gained a lot of confidence and insight from just sitting at this hearing.

     The witch hunt launched against Bob Callahan made it to the interrogation level in July complete with a City lawyer and stenographer (City expense). One word: Harassment. Enough said.

    Al Ramos’ “formal investigation” (Jeez, I think we are up to 10 or 12 at this point) will be on August 30.

     There will be an informational special meeting at 730 on Tuesday August 14 at Madison Avenue. Attorney J. Dale Berry will be speaking on issues regarding our local and City. Hope to see you there.

     Finally, Chief Gallagher has filed an appeal to the latest By law change approved by President Schaitberger on May 17,  which removed him and others whose position represents a conflict of interest in union affairs and whose continued appointment is clearly linked to allegiance to the City, its’ view, and politics. The appeal is being addressed.

     Sign up or call Brother Repec to get out for “Fill-The-Boot” on August 16 and 17. This is a huge MDA fundraiser and always ends with fun money counting festivities (party)!

President's Message 9/19/07

This fall is a busy season:

     This fall is a busy season for your executive board and negotiation team. Along with interest arbitration and a sizable Unfair Labor Practice, Exec Board members have been balancing 11 grievances in 2007 and 2 “formal investigations” over the summer.

     The two formal investigations involved Bob Callahan and Al Ramos. For background, discipline from the fire chief is restricted to 1 shift suspension before invoking the Fireman’s Disciplinary Act (formal investigation, right to an attorney, stenographer), a fact we lobbied to clarify in Springfield some years ago, and to 5 calendar days before having to involve Civil Service. In both instances this summer, rather than hand down 1 shift suspension without invoking the Act, Gallagher, through the City’s wallet, paid for a Seyfarth and Shaw attorney, a stenographer, and copies of the transcript to hand down 2 shift suspensions. “Just cause” has been an issue with the chief for years and it appears he sought to be more punitive than this or he wouldn’t have wasted so much City money, but his idea of discipline is apparently just too far fetched for the misguided allegations filed. On a related note, thank you again to all who attended the suspension party and helped ease this hardship for Bob and Mindy.

      The Civil Service commission has asked that a test be conducted for the rank of Captain. The Commission understands the Union’s right to bargain over this issue and assured me through their secretary that they were not attempting to undermine a process by bringing it forward. The problem lies with the Chief, knowing full well that we are mandated to meet and negotiate the parameters of the exam, in unilaterally posting the test and eligibility requirements himself. This is a blatent attempt to circumvent the bargaining process while scapegoating the Civil Service Commission who is only seeking to do their duty under the law.

      Bob Callahan’s harassment has prompted a very sizeable Unfair Labor Practice, which is to be filed this week. When it is finished, I’ll make sure it is posted. Gallagher’s unjust discipline, wrong on so many levels, is the culmination of years of problems with the fire administration and it’s reference in this ULP will help Local 473 in our planning of a state wide October rally in downtown Waukegan. Details will be forthcoming as the plans take shape and interested members can contact me for details.

      Our fundraising group, “Sports Legends”, has begun collecting for our firebook to be distributed at a Spring basketball game between Local 473 and some famous ex-Chicago Bears football players. The game date will be coordinated later. Trustee Joel Verbrick is handling that committee so please direct any questions or calls to him or myself.

      The Local has our first interest arbitration hearing for the contract on October 15. Members will be able to attend so continue to save the date.

     Remember to stay unified, look out for each other, and be safe!

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