Time for MAST to tighten belt

[spenac]

I hate to sound like a jerk but why in the hell would EMS join a fire union? What did you expect when things are between EMS and fire the IAFF is always going to choose fire.

You need to force feed the letter from IAFF that says in part you can't do multiple jobs well in regards to having police take over fire to all those in charge. Same principle applys.

Screw the union if you guys don't rebel against the IAFF you will be out of jobs. Plus any that keep their jobs will see bad if not worse work conditions.

[CivilDisobedience]

I hate to sound like a jerk but why in the hell would EMS join a fire union? What did you expect when things are between EMS and fire the IAFF is always going to choose fire.

You need to force feed the letter from IAFF that says in part you can't do multiple jobs well in regards to having police take over fire to all those in charge. Same principle applys.

Screw the union if you guys don't rebel against the IAFF you will be out of jobs. Plus any that keep their jobs will see bad if not worse work conditions.

That was in place before I started. I don't know the rationale behind it. We had a union, IAFF Local 34, which was EMS only. But the union representing the fire fighters, Local 42, took them over. 34s wasn't the best run local and there were some "irregularities" to put it lightly. 42s came in promising a lot of things, including a pension plan. That was 5 years ago. The city of Kansas City has roundly rejected a pension time and time again. But a lot of the old timers who have no retirement at all are banking on a pension and want some way to get it. I agree with you completely on us being out of jobs. The IAFF makes no bones about it -- EMS should be done by fire fighters and nobody else. But Missouri is not a right to work state, so you have to pay union dues whether you join the union or not. So it makes no difference when it's a closed shop.

[spenac]

Since you guys at MAST were union all be it fire union you at least must have gotten good pay. How much per hour did each level make?

[WolfmanHarris]

To echo Spenac, why would any non-firefighter join the IAFF?! I will give them their due, of all the unions and associations out there, they stay on message and have a very clear goal. But guess what folks, it puts FF jobs above all else. Honestly, how dumb are we in EMS that we'd invite the wolf into the hen house and be surprised that we're getting gobbled up?!