Politics:
Nominations for Executive Board positions have concluded. Congratulations to President Ricky
Grau on his unopposed reelection!!
I would like to thank each and every one of you for the opportunity to represent you as DVP9!!
You, the members, are the only people I work for and will continue to represent you with
passion, integrity and common sense, regardless of the feathers I ruffle in the union office.
Congratulations to the following Executive Board members who went unopposed for their
election/re-elections: Secretary/Treasurer Jason White, DVP1 Brent Henderson, DVP3 Jeff
Rudd, DVP5 Justin Schainuck, DVP7 Angelo D’ariano, DVP9 Jose Gonzalez, DVP11 Maria
Gonzalez, DVP13 Nick Duffy, DVP17 Jeff Miller, Trustee1 James Schaffner, and Trustee3 Mike
Heisler!!
We will be bringing the ballot boxes around February 19, 20, and 21 for voting on Trustee 5
position. Ken Fisher, the current Trustee, will be seeking reelection against Armand Nault.
Voting will end promptly on the 21st at 1800 with counting of ballots taking place after.
Condolences/ Well wishes/Etc
Well wishes to Ed Morejon for his speedy recovery from a recent health issue.
Congratulations to DC9/A James Schaffner on his election as Trustee 1. You are a great addition
to the Trustees, we are lucky to have you!!
I would like to welcome everyone that has recently bid into Battalion 9!! I would also like to bid
farewell for those of you who were awarded bids elsewhere, good luck!!
Military Deployment:
We currently have no deployments from our battalion. Please keep all of our American soldiers
in your thoughts and prayers during this holiday season as they are deployed defending our
nation.
Upcoming Events:
Department physicals will be completed at the PBC FF Employee Benefits Fund Health &
Wellness Center, 7240 7th Place North West Palm Beach, Fl 33411, (561) 969-6663 starting
January 14, 2013.
Benevolent Trustee opening, letters of interest detailing a short history of why you want to serve
the members of the Benevolent should be sent to the E-board no later than January 11, 2013.
Next union meeting is Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 at 8 am.
Jupiter Fire-fest is February 10th at Jupiter High School
Old Business:
Next contract meeting will be January 7, 2013 at 0900.
PBCFR will be advertising for our new Fire Administrator in the next couple of weeks with
hopes to have one in place within a month. There are a lot of rumors out there regarding who will
become our next Chief. The only things that can be verified are they will be a current or retired
employee and have a Bachelors degree.
The Captains test has finally been resolved!! The language in the CBA will be tightened up and
be used for all future exams. The current practical exam will be graded and the promotional list
posted as soon as the grading is complete. I would like to extend my sincere apologies to all of
you who have had your lives thrown into limbo over the last 2 months over the uncertainty of
this test. For those of you that I have personally discussed this issue with, you know I have been
saying since day 1 the only resolution that was acceptable was to correct the CBA and grade the
test. You didnt have to be a lawyer to figure out that past practice combined with vague CBA
language equaled only one acceptable resolution!! If Law Degrees were given for common
sense, I guess I could call myself a Lawyer too!!!
New Business:
Secretary/Treasurer White stated he would be reviewing the budget at the next general
membership meeting in February.
Proposed Bylaw Changes were presented last night and will be voted on at the February meeting
with a 2/3 approval required to make the changes. The proposals are required to be posted 15
days prior to the February general membership meeting.
There was 1 article that was amended at the meeting and another that was not submitted. I have
listed the changes in bold and underlined, after the proposal:
Article 6, Section 8- Executive Board- Proposes changing when the E-board meets to the 3rd
Wednesday of the month instead of the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month currently. It also
proposes changing the amount of money (currently 20K, to 50K) that the E-board can make
decisions to use without having it go to the vote of the membership.
*****This was amended to remove language to go from meeting twice a month down to 1
meeting a month, which would keep it the way it currently is. The only change to this
article would be the amount of money the E-board can make decisions to use (currently
20K, going to 50K) without it having to go to the vote of the membership.
Article 8, Section 1- Dues- Proposing changing “Dues shall be 1.25% of each member’s
REGULAR gross earnings every pay period” to “Dues shall be 1.25% of each member’s
GROSS earnings every pay period”.
******The proposal to change from “regular gross” to “gross” was not proposed after all.
Ironically, the reason why it was not proposed was due to it violating Article 8, Section 3,
which basically states that any “INCREASE” in union dues, must be sent out 30 days prior
to the vote. I caught a lot of flak from those pushing for this “INCREASE” because they
were adamant it was not an “INCREASE” in dues and accused me of spinning this
incorrectly. Well, I take great pleasure in telling those individuals I TOLD YOU SO!!! I am
nowhere near perfect, but have, and will always, lead with integrity and demand
Communication, Accountability, and Transparency!!
Good and Welfare:
Please notify me when any of the following occurs: Change of address, phone number, or
email address, death or illness in your family (so that we can send flowers) and when you
get married or have children.
If you are from another battalion but would like to be put on my email list send me your name,
battalion/station/shift, and your personal email.
Thank You,
Jose Gonzalez
District Captain 9/A
DVP, Battalion 9
IAFF Local 2928
[email protected]
(561)603-0194
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid.
John Wayne