Heat on Volunteer Firefighters - U.S. Act Could Shut Down VFDs

by James Sherk, Analyst Labor Policy at The Heritage Foundation: You probably haven't heard Congress is about to shut down many of America's volunteer fire departments. Not intentionally, perhaps. Yet a little-known bill advancing through Congress would do just that. Nearly 26,000 volunteer fire departments protect tens of millions of Americans and their homes from fires. Almost 3 in 4 firefighters in the United States are volunteers, and smaller towns and cities call on them for protection. A town with 3,000 residents simply cannot afford the expense of hiring full-time career firefighters. They rely on volunteers. . . . Who would want to shut them down? The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), that's who. The IAFF represents career firefighters. Volunteers who give their time and efforts to their communities allow many communities to do without full-time career fire departments. This means fewer jobs for career firefighters, and fewer dues-paying members in the union that represents them. So the IAFF does everything in its power to stop "two-hatters" from volunteering. The IAFF constitution prohibits its members from belonging to a volunteer fire department. . . .

Enter the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, which would make it significantly easier for the IAFF to close volunteer fire departments. The bill, which passed the House and is before the Senate, has nothing to do with employer-employee cooperation. This bill requires every state and local government to collectively bargain with their police officers and firefighters, . . . If this bill passes and forces every local government to collectively bargain with its firefighters, the IAFF's membership rolls will swell and the union will have enhanced powers to negotiate away the freedom of its members to volunteer. Many career firefighters who want to serve their community will lose the ability to do so, unless they want to lose their jobs. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: collective bargaining, fire department, firefighter, IAFF, police officer, unions, US Congress, VFD, volunteer To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!