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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The positive results of Proposition F are in! Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our membership together with community support, the Fire Department has been mandated to ensure that all engine and truck companies are up and running, resulting in our timely response to fires and medical emergencies, with companies not having to wait for water at fires. Companies can now extend themselves at emergencies to make the save of San Francisco residents, knowing that the next due engine/truck company is responding and not closed! Congratulations to all. As you are all aware, on-the-job cancer continues to plague us as a union. Our cancer rates (or cancer clusters) in certain battalions is staggering. Male or female, the percentage of our firefighters who come down with cancer is higher than any other occupation. |
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| The Union is taking a pro active position, and we have written to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta (all funding is currently directed towards Bird Flu) along with numerous letters to the Chief’s office. As of this date, our only responses have been referrals by the Center for Disease Control and minimal response from the Chief’s office when you compare it to the scope of the venue. However, keep in mind that we’ll all soon have nametags for our uniforms! Priorities… what can I say.
I know that I can speak for all of us when I say that we are especially offended when Workers’ Compensation responds to the cancer patient with an investigation as to whether or not the cancer is job related. It is disheartening to look into the eyes of a brother or sister knowing that now they are faced with fighting the system as well as the cancer. It appears that The City consistently questions any firefighter’s claim of a job-related illness be it cancer, heart disease or any other disability. Forget City stat. If the DP rates are high, it’s because we work in a demanding field of employment; people get injured and sick. Congratulations to our recent retirees – may you have a long and healthy retirement. To Paul Chin at Headquarters, a great friend and a guy who never forgot his roots; we expect to see you at the Firefighters Toy Detail. Speaking of the Toy Program, they will be having a Chili Cook-Off Fundraiser for firehouses in September. Contact Dan (The Pole Dancer) Gracia for information at Station 1. We have received numerous letters from the community seeking the whereabouts of a firefighter who has been described as a blonde, stout male with surfer-like tendencies. They claim he roamed the outfield for the Junkyard Dogs (Station 9). We have investigated this thoroughly and have decided that this must be Captain Magnusen (Captain Morgan). He DID roam the outfield of his beloved home company, Station 9, for 30 years. All of us miss the Lonnie Logic and his public school wit. Lonnie is doing wonderfully in retirement and has not forgotten his Richmond District roots. Congratulations to Station 6, SFFD Softball Champs (Pride of the Castro) and the Red Team SFFD Open State Softball Champions and the “39 and Over” SFFD State Fire Department Champs. Fraternally, |
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