The IAFF's national collective bargaining bill, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (S 1611) has been reintroduced by Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA), just moments before the Senate adjourned for its month-long summer recess. This gives IAFF members the opportunity to lobby their senators during the August break when many will be in their home states.

"The more cosponsors we can add over the next few weeks, the better our position will be to move the legislation when Congress returns in September," says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. "I urge all IAFF affiliates to meet with their elected officials during August to discuss this vital initiative."

The bill is currently sponsored by a bipartisan group of nine senators. In addition to Gregg and Kennedy, other sponsors include Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Dodd (D-CT), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mike Johanns (R-NE).

The reintroduction of the bill brings the IAFF one step closer to guaranteeing that every fire fighter in the nation has the right to bargain collectively. For more than a decade, the IAFF's chief legislative priority has been to enact legislation guaranteeing collective bargaining rights for professional fire fighters nationwide. IAFF affiliates across the country -- in collective bargaining and non-collective bargaining -- have worked tirelessly as part of this unprecedented grassroots effort. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle have responded with unparalleled support year after year.

"This is yet another important milestone on the road to a national collective bargaining law," says Schaitberger. "Judd Gregg and Ted Kennedy have been stalwart champions of this effort and our union owes them both our deepest gratitude. With their help and with the White House on our side, victory is within our reach in the 111th Congress." 

Last Congress, the full House of Representatives approved HR 980, introduced by Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI), by a convincing vote of 314 to 97, with a majority of both parties voting to pass the bill. S 2123, the Senate counterpart, carried similar support, winning an astounding 69 votes, including 17 Republicans, on a procedural vote to bring the bill to the floor for consideration last May. 

So far in the 111th Congress, support for the House collective bargaining bill remains solid. HR 413 has quickly garnered 133 cosponsors, maintaining the bill's tradition of strong bipartisan support with 97 Democratic and 36 Republican cosponsors. 

For more information about the Gregg-Kennedy collective bargaining bill,
<AHREF="HTTP: ct ? p1wuae41gaq5 www.unionvoice.org>click here.

IAFF members who plan to meet with their elected officials during the August recess are encouraged to contact the IAFF Department of Governmental Affairs to obtain the latest information.

IAFF Continues to Work to Ensure Fire Fighter Pensions Remain Unchanged    

At the urging of the IAFF and other public sector groups, the IRS has announced it will delay implementation of a regulation that would change the rules for determining pension eligibility.

Under a proposal issued last year, the IRS sought to do away with using years of service as a criteria to determine eligibility for a pension, seeking to replace it with a straight eligibility age.

The new regulation was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2009, but after hearing about the serious disruptions this would create for public pension plans, the IRS postponed the effective date until January 1, 2011.

The IAFF will continue working with the IRS and its allies in Congress to assure that fire fighter pensions remain intact.