THE
SECRETARY-TREASURER'S REPORT
BOB SLEDGESKI
One of the prayers that us Catholics use is a confession of our sins. We not only ask forgiveness for what we have done but also for “what we have failed to do”. That thought has been resonating in my head for the last month..........have we done all of the things that we should have done? Some random thoughts......
Despite what one may read on “The Forum” or “The Watchdesk”, we spend a huge amount of time opposing the oppressive and ridiculous actions of the Goodwin Administration. We file grievance after grievance, we have argument after argument and receive threat after threat. Even the most recent tragedy is one more example of that. We are on the record, with copies of written documents, where we questioned the qualifications of Ken Hyde to be in charge of the Fire Academy. That question, besides being asked elsewhere, was addressed to the Mayor’s office. The questions of physical agility, hiring standards, and training were presented to Chief Goodwin two weeks before Racheal’s death. As usual, Chief Goodwin summarily dismissed any and all suggestions. We are constantly complaining about the trucks you all are being asked to use, but they always have an answer. We question their abuse of MOP 336, and wonder how they can justify testing us for poor judgement-but no one on Feb 9 was tested, and there was definitely some poor judgement going on there. We continue to have almost daily complaints about pay issues - despite Chief Goodwin’s aide saying that they are on top of the problem. Yes, I think that we are trying to do as much as we can against an Administration that is unapproachable. I also know that we will continue to do all we can.
I thought you all might be interested to know that Chief Goodwin has now threatened both Unions, stating that if we continue attacking him for the Calverton Road incident, that he will use Allan Robert’s death to get back at people, as well as fire several people that were at Calverton Rd. I would have thought that he would have been a bit humbled by recent events, but not our Chief. This is how he operates - by threat and bullying. Why change now.
The people in the PIO office should hang their heads in disgrace for their handling of Racheal’s tragic death. From day one, they spoke of her “collapsing” on the fireground - trying to make her death appear to be some kind of medical problem. Even with my limited medical training, I do know that a person would collapse after being KILLED at a training incident. This was not only an attempt to diffuse the situation, but it could have had an effect on any future investigation. A totally different group of people from NIOSH investigate medical emergencies that occur on the fireground as opposed to people being killed on the fireground.
Many of us on both Boards have been asked by Chief Goodwin’s aide,”What will you do when we are gone?” “Look at all we have done - who will run the Fire Department?”. The instant reaction is “Duh-you CAN’T be serious”. The scary thing is they are serious - they truly think that the fire trucks and medics will stop running if they leave. WOW!!!!!
Often, we will get to hear the speech of how wonderful everything is, and how Mr Goodwin did it all. He will speak about how the Dept is a reflection of his actions. Well-there you have it-we are what he has created. Now-how do we move on and undo it all?
Widows and Orphans Fund
I hope to write more in our next newsletter, but I did want to mention that our long-term investments have now topped $2 million. This year, we are sending all of the widows on record $100 to offset some of their medical insurance costs. If we can continue to grow the fund, we hope to be able to do more. This milestone has been achieved because of the commitment of the entire Board, who are committed to being vigilant with the use of W & O funds. If you are a widow and haven’t returned your form to us, you still have time to submit it. Just fill out the form printed below and return it to us.
STAY TUNED-THE TIME IS COMING!!!!!!!