• Important Message from the NYSPFFA Exec Board
    Updated On: Feb 03, 2023
    ‌ Dear Brothers and Sisters, On Wednesday afternoon, Governor Hochul released her executive budget which will dominate activities at the Capitol for the next 60 days, and we immediately began to scrutinize it. While there are literally hundreds of pages of written material and thousands of proposals included - we are alarmed about two measures that strike at the core of our mission, tradition, and commitment to one another. We will need your help and assistance to counter these proposals locally by sharing the following concerns with your individual state legislators: The Governor is proposing: Volunteer fire fighters be compensated for responding to calls within their community; and receive stipends for training purposes. These stipends are supported by a $6.5 million appropriation in her budget – while the needs of career fire fighters remain overlooked. It is clear that the model for providing volunteer fire services across many communities is broken – in fact, this proposal will do nothing to solve the problem of limited response to community alarms while volunteers are working full-time jobs; or supplement aging and depleted volunteer rosters. Further, the NYSPFFA opposes these short-sighted measures because they compromise the viability of the professional fire services and the role of organized labor throughout New York State. We have taken immediate action to blunt these corrosive policies, more specifically we have: Demanded an immediate meeting with the Governor to share our concerns and objections to this proposal and have engaged the president of the AFL-CIO to join us; Requested a similar session with the two most powerful legislators in Albany – the New York State Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the State Assembly; and Launched an effort with rank-and-file legislators across the state to question the merits of these proposed measures as state budget hearings are scheduled to begin on Monday. Our efforts are strengthened when local and active voices are added to our efforts. We know that you will go … Anywhere. Anytime. The fight for the career fire service and organized labor has begun. Stay tuned for additional details and updates in the coming days. Fraternally, The NYSPFFA Executive Board New York State Professional Fire Fighters | nyspffa.org Facebook ‌Twitter ‌ ‌ NYSPFFA 174 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12210 Unsubscribe robits@live.com Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by profire@nyspffa.org powered by Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today. Try email marketing for free today!