General Meeting Notice: June 9, 2016

General Meeting Notice

LOCATION: Marin Joe’s – private room
IAFF LOCAL 1775
Date: June 9, 2016
Time: 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM – VOTING

Principal Item of Business: VOTE to increase Union Dues

Dear Local 1775 Member,

The Local 1775 Executive Board strongly recommends amending the Local 1775 by-laws, Article VIII, Section 2, which reads “Dues shall be eight-tenths (8/10th) of one (1%) percent of the average salary of non-supervisory, top step firefighters in the County of Marin.” The recommended amendment will provide that “Dues shall be 1.1% of the average salary of top step firefighter and when CPF and IAFF per capita exceeds $15.00 per member and the North Bay Labor Council per capita exceeds $1.50 per member all future per capita increases will be “Passed Through” automatically on the effective date of implementation”

Increasing dues to 1.1% of the average of Top Step Firefighter is necessary to cover increased costs and expenditures required to continue to run the union to best represent its memberships, and importantly, to make Local 1775 eligible to receive financial assistance from the IAFF (requiring minimum dues of 1%) as part of a Political Referendum Operations Partnership (PROP Loan) the Emergency Disputes Fund, or the Guardian Policy.

[NOTE: a special web page has been established on our "Members Only" website with additional information - http://members.iaff1775.org/members/2016-proposed-dues-increase]

Projected Increases: (Upon an affirmative vote by the membership. The effective date will be July 1, 2016) Average of Top Step Firefighter as of January 1st 2016: $7548 
New Dues rate at 1.1% = $ 83.03 per month (an increase of $22.03) 
Currently per Capita are IAFF - $13.14; CPF - $13.50; North Bay Labor Council - .70 cents 
Average dues of all Bay Area Locals – 1.36% ………….. $131.58
Click here to see comparable union dues for all Bay Area Fire Agencies (CPF District 4)

Local 1775 does an excellent job advocating for salary, benefits, and working conditions of its members. However, the rising costs associated with maintaining political influence and the legal cost of combating the attacks on our profession and representing our members have increased exponentially. In 2015 Local 1775 addressed 3 complex personnel issues, a PERB complaint regarding affiliation vote, Fact Finding in an MOU Negotiation, Civic Openness in Negotiations (COIN), and complex Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations in 10 Fire Departments in Marin.

Further information regarding the proposed dues increase and for comparison the CPF district 4 (Bay Area Locals) dues spreadsheet is posted in the members section of the Local 1775 web site (http://members.iaff1775.org). As always your Shop Steward(s) and Local 1775 Officers are available for you.

All members in good standing of this Local are eligible to vote. Per our bylaws, all voting must be done in person and members must bring photo identification. Voting will take place between 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM on June 9, 2016.

Sincerely,

Todd Lando, Secretary
Marin Professional Firefighters
IAFF Local 1775