VOL. 42, NO. 6 November/December 2004

The

Los Angeles FirefighterOfficial Publication of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City—Local 112, IAFF, AFL-CIO-CLC

The Los Angeles Firefighter1571 Beverly Boulevard

Los Angeles, California 90026(#ISSN01907573)

November/December, 2004

PERIODICALPostage Paid

atLos Angeles, CA

In This Issue . . .Article Page(s)In Memoriam – Kelly Hoss and Bob Aker. . . . . . . . . . 1,6,7Report from the President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3New Labor Code Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4CPF Christens “The Daniel A. Terry Labor Center” . . . . . 4CPF Fallen Firefighters Ceremony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Paycheck Calculator Now Available. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5IAFF News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8New Work Comp Law Affects Temp. Disability . . . . . . . . 9Your Health… Kidney Stones – Avoid Caffeine . . . . . . . . 9Journalism Awards Winners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes FF Legislation . . . . . . 11

Proper staffing credited for lives saved…

Five Rescued From South Los AngelesApartment Fire

by Paul J. GilbrookDirector and

Mike McOskerFirst Vice President

In the early morning hoursof Friday, September 24th,Los Angeles City firefight-ers responded to a deadlyfire in a two-story commer-cial building with sixillegally converted housingunits on the second floor.The first two truck compa-nies on scene at Normandieand Slauson took quickaction. In the finest LAFDtradition, they initiatedsearch and rescue, ventila-tion, and ladder work.

Inside Firefighters madethe difference

Firefighters soon observedresidents trapped by securitybars on the second floor. Asluck would have it, the firsttwo arriving truck companies,Trucks 66 and 33, were proper-ly staffed with five members.Inside Firefighters—who arespecifically dedicated to open-ing up all avenues of egress fortrapped victims—began usingrotary saws to cut away thebars on the windows. As thebars were removed firefighterspulled victims to safety.

In all, LAFD firefightersrescued six people. Four vic-

tims were transported to localarea hospitals with injuriesranging from minor to critical.Two of the rescued civiliansrefused transport. One victimwas not breathing and had nopulse when she was pulledout. Unfortunately, she waspronounced dead at the hospi-tal. Due to the heroic actionsof LAFD firefighters, andthanks to properly staffedTruck Companies on the ini-tial assignment, there wasonly one fatality.

UFLAC – sponsoredmotion to restore staffingat seven truck companies

On the very day of the fire,Los Angeles City Coun-cilmember Eric Garcettiintroduced a UFLAC-spon-sored motion to restore fullfive-member staffing at seventruck companies. In the weekleading up to the introductionof the motion, UFLAC Presi-dent Pat McOsker andLegislative Director SharonDelugach met with Coun-cilmember Garcetti, and thetwo seconders of the motion,Councilmembers Martin Lud-low and Tony Cardenas.

The motion will be heard inat least two City Council com-mittees: Public Safety and

Budget. It may also be heardin the City’s Housing andCommunity Economic Devel-opment committee because ofthe larger housing issuesinvolved.

UFLAC will keep the pres-sure on to make sure themotion moves through thecommittees and onto the Coun-cil floor. We want the seventruck companies restored to theproper five-member staffing atthe earliest possible date.

We’ll keep our membersposted on the progress of themotion. Be prepared to callyour Councilmember to ask fortheir support!

Firefighters rescued residents trapped by security bars on the second floor (see circle). Morephotos on page 12.

Photo by Martin Nate Rawner.

In loving Memory of Brothers Kelly Hoss and Bob Aker…

LAFD Loses Two More Active MembersKelly Ryan Hoss passed

away on September 9, 2004 atage 32 of cardiac arrest. Kellywas healthy, athletic and activeuntil two months ago when hewas diagnosed with a rare dis-ease.

Kelly was born in LongBeach, California and raised onAlamitos Bay Peninsula. Hegot his Bachelor’s degree fromCal State Long Beach, and wasalso a graduate from theOrange County Fire ServiceAcademy.

He raised a family whileworking two jobs and fighting

Kelly Ryan Hoss Bob Aker

fire for the Hermosa Beach FireDepartment for two years.Kelly still found time for surf-ing, skateboarding, going tofamily retreats in Mexico, play-ing golf and basketball.

In April, 2000, Kelly realizedhis dream of being hired by the

Continued on page 6

Bob Aker was the first Sec-retary of UFLAC (after thehistoric merging of the old Pro-fessional Firefighters Local112 and the Fire side of the Fireand Police Protective League)

and could not have been morecommitted or effective in rep-resenting firefighters’ interests.He had the amazing ability totake verbatim notes (in upper-case printing no less). Thistalent was vital to our negotia-tions and resulted in manywonderful victories for ourside. When you can read aman’s words back to himdirectly at the negotiating table,you have a powerful weapon tofocus the discussions and elim-inate the bull.

Bob Aker was also a whiz atContinued on page 7

South Los Angeles Apartment Fire

Page 2 Los Angeles Firefighter November/December 2004

These emblems on the masthead of any labor publication certifies that the publi-cation is a member in good standing of the International Labor Communications

Association and is bound to observe the ILCA Code of Ethics

IAFF and AFL-CIO affiliates have prior approval to reprint or excerpt articles inthe Los Angeles Firefighter — Please include credit line.

Note: Photos and cartoons may not be reprinted without the expressed writtenpermission of the photographer or artist.

The Los Angeles Firefighter(ISSN #0190-7573)

Local 112, IAFF, AFL-CIO-CLCOfficial Publication of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City is

Published Bi-MonthlyPeriodical Postage paid at Los Angeles, CA

Known Office of Publication isUnited Firefighters of Los Angeles City,

1571 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles,California 90026-5798

POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to The Los Angeles Firefighter1571 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90026-5798

Union Office Phone NumbersAdministration:

(213) 895-4006 - (213) 485-2091 - Toll Free (800) 252-8352Benefits:

(213) 895-4990Code-a-phone:(213) 485-2090

FAX: (213) 250-5678EAP Office: (213) 895-0910 or (800) 252-8352

EAP FAX: (213) 481-1038EAP 24 Hr. Help Line

Answering Service: (213) 250-1212

AffiliationsInternational Assn. of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO-CLC

California Professional Fire FightersL.A. County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

California Labor Federation, AFL-CIOAmerican Federation of Labor

International Labor Communications Association, AFL-CIO-CLCWestern Labor Communications Association, AFL-CIO

Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper StaffJim Perry-Editor

jpfire1@charter.netMember of the Communications Workers of America

CWA Local 9400, Southern California Newspaper Guild, AFL-CIO-CLC

Harry Carter, Ph.D - Staff Writer Aaron Espy - Staff WriterPeggy Sweeney - Staff Writer Jerry Smith - Staff Writer

Contributing Photographers

Note: CFPA denotes membership in theCalifornia Fire Photographers Association

Ross Benson, CFPABonnie Burrow

Isaac Burks, LAFD Gene Blevins, CFPABrian Haimer, CFPA

Bill Hartenstein, CFPAChris Jensen, CFPA

Brian Litt, CFPAJuan Guerra, Valley News Service

Allison MeadowsMike Meadows, CFPA

Jeff Miller, CFPA Martin Nate Rawner, CFPA

Boris Yaro

WESTERN LABOR COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION

This union newspaper is printed by a union printer on union-made recycled paper.

UFLAC 2002-2004 Executive BoardUFLAC 2002-2004 Executive Board

PRESIDENTPatrick S. McOsker, Engineer. . . . . . . . . . . . UFLAC Office

SECRETARYDon R. Forrest, Inspector I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UFLAC Office

FIRST VICE PRESIDENTMichael K. McOsker, Engineer. . . . . . . . . . . UFLAC Office

SECOND VICE PRESIDENTStephen E. Norris, Captain II. . . . . . . . . . Fire Station 63-B

TREASURERBrian K. Hishinuma, Captain II. . . . . . . . . Fire Station 38-C

DIRECTORRandy W. Beaty, Captain II . . . . . . . . . . . Fire Station 60-BJames G. Featherstone, Captain II, . . . . Fire Station 64-ALawrence D. Fierro, Firefighter III . . . . Fire Station 114-BPaul J. Gilbrook, Apparatus Operator . . Fire Station 11-ATed E. Nonini, Firefighter III . . . . . . . . . . Fire Station 70-C

LEGISLATIVE DIRECTORSharon Delugach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UFLAC Office

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE DIRECTORJerry Brakeman, Retired FirefighterAttendant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UFLAC Office

EDITORJim Perry, Retired Fire Captain II. . . . . . . . UFLAC Office

Paramedic CommitteeMembers

David PimentleCommittee Chair . FS-46-ABill Ramsey . . . . FS-74-ADave Barnes . . . . FS-86-CMike Brown . . . . FS-84-ACedrick Cleveland. FS-38-BRey Delgado . . . . FS-42-BJim Gibson. . . . . . FS-6-AAaron Mungary. FS-47-CDave Raya . . . . . FS-44-BPaul Semerjian FS-105-CStacy Taylor . . . . FS-27-CLou Torres . . . . . FS-20-C

General Membership Meetings

UFLAC-Union Offices1571 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles

Refreshments and Free Parking Available

November 17“C” Shift9:00 a.m.

December 22“B” Shift9:00 a.m.

If You See An Error…

The Los Angeles Firefighterstrives to maintain accuracyand fairness in all stories,graphics, photographs andother copy that appears in ourunion newspaper. It is our prac-tice to correct errors in theissue immediately followingtheir discovery.

If you have a correction orclarification request, please callthe UFLAC office at 800-252-8352 or email the editor:jpfire1@charter.net

Steward’s Corner

by Paul J. GilbrookDirector

Brothers and Sisters,As a reminder, Stewards

meetings are held once a monthat 7:30 a.m. before the GeneralMembership meeting.

We need more involvementin the Stewards program.

Please check the Station Stew-ard list on this page and see ifyou have a Steward at yourwork location. If not please getinvolved yourself or talk it upwith your co-workers andencourage another Brother orSister to be your Steward.

Check our UFLAC Website:www.uflac.org.

This Steward Program hasbeen successful and is going

strong. We will be offeringStewards seminars on griev-ance handling, rights offirefighters, arbitration proce-dure, etc.

Please contact Paul Gilbrookif you wish to attend one ormore of these classes.

To keep our Stewards’ listaccurate please call UFLACwith any changes that haveoccurred.

Station StewardsBanks, Michelle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-QISCastro, Joe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HDQ-PIOCarpenter, Gary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High Rise UnitChan, Reuben . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-64-AColeman, Joe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OCD-BCrandall, Michael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-105-ADelgado, Ray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS- 42-BDonato, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-112-CFabela, Dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-27-BFletcher, Craig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-109-CGibson, Jim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-56-AHaro, Ray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-23-AHurtado, Francisco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-70-CJames, George . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-61-AJaminal, Adelino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-27-CJust, James A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-69-AKennedy, Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-15-AKennington, Tom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-3-CKleckner, Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-40-CLibby, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-37-A Madrigal, Greg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-37-CMalais, Gerry B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-88-BMerrel, Brett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-4-AMolina, Alexander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OCD-AMullen, Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-94-BMyers, Ron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-96-APinel, Michael A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-2-BRicardo Najera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-89-BOropeza, Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S&MPimentle, Dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-43-BPowell, Mathew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-85-BPumphrey, Robert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-34-CRainey, Tom F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S-80-CRamsey, Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-74-ARaya, David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-44-BRickey, Jeff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-70-B Rivas, Richard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-25-BRiley, Bryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-12-CRuffino, Bob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-74-CRuvalcaba, Leonard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS -17-CSanchez, Joe R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arson SectionSamama, Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS- 61-B Semerjian, Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-105-CSifuentes, David. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-47-CSmith, Doak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-14-ASullivan, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-92-ASouter, Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-9-CSutliff, Steve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-98-CTeeter, Jason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-60-BTorres, Lou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-20-CUglesich, Michael . . . . . . . . . . . . Industrial/CommericalWilkerson, Leslie D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arson SectionWilliamson, James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FS-4-B

November-DecemberStation Stewards Meetings

Time: 7:30 a.m.Prior to Monthly Membership Meetings

EAP MeetingDates

Dr. Garrett O’Connor’sMonthly Training

9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

November 18 (Thursday - A Shift)Subject: “First Year in Recovery After

Treatment”

December - No Meeting Scheduled

Where:

United FirefightersUnion Office Upstairs

1571 Beverly Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90026

Information:(213) 895-0910 or the Union

Website: www.uflac.org

Refreshments and FreeParking provided

November/December 2004 Los Angeles Firefighter Page 3

Pat McOsker

Report from the PresidentReport from the President

Photo by Joe Ortiz, LAFD-HS

Two years ago your UFLACExecutive Board made a com-mitment to build a foundationfor long term success by work-ing to reestablish Local 112’spolitical power. We reasonedthat the only sure way to getthings done for firefighters wasto enlist the support of the peo-ple who set our staffing levels,vote on our budget, and super-vise the Fire Chief. We rolledup our sleeves and began a pro-gram of more active candidatesupport, support of elected offi-cials, participation in commu-nity events and charities, andregular attendance at CityCouncil meetings.

Union moves to next level of effectiveness at

City HallDuring the past two years,

we’ve had regular one-on-onemeetings with the Mayor andwith individual City CouncilMembers to discuss every issueof importance to firefighters.Our political strategy is work-ing. Local 112 enjoys greatersupport for our agenda thanever before. But you shouldknow that your ExecutiveBoard is not content just yet. Inlate August we embarked on atrial program designed to takeUFLAC to the next level ofeffectiveness at City Hall.

By a vote of 8 to 1, the Boarddecided to hire a business agentto coordinate and enhance ourlobbying efforts, and to do sofor a trial period of fourmonths. Our decision coincid-ed with Sharon Delugach leav-ing Councilmember MartinLudlow’s staff. We were able toconvince her to come and workfor firefighters. As of this writ-ing, Sharon has been workingat Local 112 for just over amonth. Though currently work-ing for UFLAC on a fourmonth trial basis, early resultsare more than encouraging, and

the Board may well decide toask her to extend her stay here.

So why did the ExecutiveBoard decide to try thisapproach? The answer is“because everyone else mightknow something we don’t”. Wedo know that every other union,professional organization, busi-ness interest and communitygroup that has issues before theCity Council uses either part-time “consultants” or full-timestaff lobbyists to move theirissues. Here in Los Angeles,firefighters have been the onlyones to go it alone at City Hall.Lobbyists do have their place.They are experts who have theadvantage of understanding thelegislative process intimately,knowing the important players,and having relationships thatopen doors.

Over the past two years,UFLAC has gotten pretty darngood at opening doors, too. Butno one person should lobby onevery issue, and being tied upat City Hall every day meansnot being able to be as effectiveas possible doing all of theother things that the member-ship expects from its President.

Full-time on-staff lobbyistmakes more sense

A “trial run” of a full-timeon-staff lobbyist made muchmore sense than hiring a con-sultant. We reasoned that, giventhe number of issues that wedeal with during the course ofthe year, a full-timer would beless expensive than a consult-ant. A full-time lobbyist alsocould work on several of ourissues at once, and participatein goal-setting, and implementlong-range plans. He or shewould answer only to us, andbe recognized at City Hall as asingle-minded representativeof firefighters only.

So why did we hire SharonDelugach? A better questionwould be how did we hireSharon Delugach? Sharoncomes to us with such a wealthof experience and skills thatshe could have gone just aboutanywhere she wanted. She saysshe took our trial-basis offerbecause of her deep belief inthe union movement and hergreat respect for firefightersand the work that we do.

Sharon has great union andCity Hall credentials. As ateenager, Sharon’s first job wasorganizing for the United FarmWorkers. Later she held aTeamsters card, and served as ashop steward, then rose up

through the ranks of that inter-national. Along the way shealso found time to work forSEIU, now the nation’s largestunion. Sharon’s strong unionbackground and a history ofcommunity organizing were thequalities that Councilmember-elect Jackie Goldberg sawwhen she hired her in 1993 asher Chief of Staff. Make nomistake about it; on most issueswe had no better friend onCouncil than Jackie Goldberg.Sharon was a big part of thereason. As the Chair of the Per-sonnel Committee, Goldbergsat on the EERC and was ourmost reliable vote on all of ourimportant issues, includingcontracts, pension benefits,Truck Company staffing, andStaff Assistants. Unfortunately,that fact was never properlyacknowledged by the Local 112leadership of the time, and itwas therefore not recognized orappreciated by the membership.

Sharon’s interventioncredited with saving

firefighters’ lifeOne behind-the-scenes inci-

dent particularly stands out.Late one Friday evening in1993, Mike McOsker contactedSharon Delugach regarding arecently retired Fire Captain.For several weeks Local 112had been working to convincethe Work Comp administratorto pay for a heart transplantthat was needed to save his life.Cambridge Integrated Services(then known as Hertz) seemeddetermined to bog him and hiswife down in red tape until theyeither gave up or he passedaway. Sharon picked up hertelephone immediately andbegan taking on the bureau-crats. Within days of herinvolvement our retired Broth-er was scheduled for the opera-tion that he couldn’t live with-out. He and his wife credit thatintervention for saving his life.

For the year prior to startingat UFLAC, Sharon served asPolicy Director for Coun-cilmember Martin Ludlow.Martin was elected with a greatdeal of support from Local 112and he is one of the most ener-getic and labor-friendly individ-uals ever to serve on the CityCouncil. Councilman Ludlowput Sharon in charge of Local112 issues on his staff. Her helpwas critical on our successfulbudget requests, our contract,our Kelly Day proposal, OCDstaffing increases, and ourbanked overtime victory.

Sharon “hit the ground running”

So what has she accom-plished in five weeks? In weekone, Sharon managed to get aWork Comp death benefit paidto Firefighter Jaime Foster’smother. Her research and per-severance uncovered a newstate law so unknown that evenWork Comp attorneys wereunaware of its existence.Thanks to Sharon, the full$250,000 benefit will go whereit should—to a family memberleft behind by the tragedy.

Sharon also stepped in on anissue of great importance toformer single-function Para-medics who resigned andtrained as firefighters prior tothe integration of paramedicsinto the police and fire pensionfund. These members had longsought the option of buyingback prior-service credit inTier 5 of the pension system sothat all of their LAFD servicemight count toward retire-ment. We originally broughtthe request to the EERC manymonths ago, and the commit-tee appeared to support thenotion. Unfortunately theissue languished in the bureau-cratic maze. I put Sharon onthe case in September, and shehounded the CAO, wrote factsheets and lobbied each mem-ber of the EERC face-to-face.We were put back on the agen-da on September 20th, and fol-lowing my comments, theyvoted unanimously to supportour position. As a result, theeffected members will soonhave the opportunity toimprove their pension benefitsfor the rest of their lives.

Now working on InsideFirefighter staffing

Also in mid-September,Sharon and I met with Coun-

cilmembers Garcetti, Cardenasand Ludlow in their offices todiscuss Inside Firefighterstaffing. We were able to securecommitments from these threeallies to sponsor a Councilmotion to staff-up seven moreLAFD Trucks with Inside Fire-fighters this fiscal year. OnSeptember 24th, the very sameday that Inside Firefighterssaved several lives by cuttingbars off windows at a structurefire at Slauson & Normandie,(see page 1 article) the motion(penned by Sharon) was intro-duced at Council. As of thiswriting, committee hearingsare being scheduled and we aregearing up to aggressively pushit through and get the trucksstaffed without delay. And restassured that we won’t be theleast bit shy about highlightingthe heroics of firefighters atSlauson & Normandie in thosehearings.

So far – So goodIn the meantime, our trial-

basis Legislative Director isworking on a whole host ofother issues. So far, this trialrun—-designed to take Local112 to the next level of effec-tiveness for firefighters—- hasbeen successful. If the situationchanges at any time, I’ll be thefirst to say so and end the exper-iment. As your President, I’mcommitted to putting yourmoney to effective use. But ifthe next three months are evenhalf as productive as Septemberwas, we may well look back atour decision to bring on a CityHall professional as the smartestthing that Local 112 ever did.

Fraternally,

Taking UFLAC to the Next Level of Effectiveness

Sharon Delugach discusses current issues with UFLAC full-time assigned Executive Board members. Photo by Jim Perry

Sharon Delugach

Page 4 Los Angeles Firefighter November/December 2004

New labor code law…

The Answer to Unfair Death Benefit Payments

by Ted NoniniDirector

When our beloved sister,Jaime Foster, died in the line ofduty on August 14, 2004, herfamily faced not only a devas-tating loss but confusion abouttheir own future. Jaime’s moth-er, Gloria, had the challenge ofmaking her way through amaze of federal, state and localbureaucracies. UFLAC Presi-

dent Pat McOsker took a largeportion of that burden uponhimself.

Foster’s death benefitwas to be paid to the

State of CaliforniaOne challenge that Jaime’s

family faced was that the Cityof Los Angeles and their work-ers’ compensation administra-tor intended to pay her deathbenefit to the State of Califor-nia. The insurance companytold Pat that the State’s Work-ers’ Compensation law speci-fies that if a deceased personhas no dependents, their bene-fits are paid to a State fundcalled the Death WithoutDependents Fund.

UFLAC’s new legislativedirector pursued options

to unfair State lawThis struck Pat as unfair, but

when he checked with arespected Workers’ Compensa-tion attorney, the attorneyagreed with the insurance com-pany’s assessment of currentState law.

Pat then turned to just-hiredlegislative director SharonDelugach to try to find out ifthere was a legislative “fix”possible. Perhaps there was away to make an exception forJaime Foster, or maybe therewould need to be an amend-ment to the law in the next leg-islative session.

New labor code law wasthe answer

Sharon began by calling thestaff of the Senate Labor Com-mittee and attorneys for theDepartment of Industrial Rela-tions (DIR) to find out the statusof the current law. Their researchrevealed that indeed another

workers’ compensation bill—AB 749—had passed in 2001and specifically addressed theissue of deceased persons with-out dependents. The bill wassigned into law in January 2002.The key features of the law tookeffect on January 1, 2004.

State legislative analysts andattorneys explained that one ofthe main differences of the newlaw was a change to the laborcode. The new labor code,4702(a)(6) stated that the deathbenefit of a deceased personwithout dependents would goto their beneficiary in theamount of $250,000. The newbill not only changed whoreceived the death benefit, butdoubled the amount that thebeneficiary would receive.

CPF assisted in verifyingnew law

Sharon and Pat reached out

to the California ProfessionalFirefighters (CPF) to ask fortheir help in verifying that thenew law had indeed gone intoeffect. They also called work-ers’ compensation attorneyswith the new labor code sec-tions who in turn called work-ers’ comp appeals courtexperts.

Attorneys predicted thatinsurance companies wouldsue before they paid the largeramount to the beneficiary. Butonce they got wind of all of theinvestigations and research, theCity’s insurance companydecided to do the right thingand pay Jaime Foster’s motherher rightful benefit.

In coming months, UFLACwill host workshops for stew-ards and interested membersabout all of the changes in theState’s Workers’ Compensationlaw.

CPF Christens its Headquarters…

The Daniel A. Terry Labor Centerby Kristina Wilson, Editor

California Professional Firefighters

For over three decades, CPFPresident Emeritus Dan Terryhas made it his life’s work towatch over and protect Califor-nia’s front line firefighters andtheir families. Leading thecharge since he first took officein 1973, Dan’s innovation,vision and unwavering com-mitment has truly made thedifference in the lives of over30,000 men and women forwhom he has dedicated his lifeand career.

On the afternoon of October8th, the members of the Cali-fornia Professional Firefight-ers honored their President byofficially dedicating CPFHeadquarters in Sacramento –the “Daniel A. Terry LaborCenter”.

“The Daniel A. Terry LaborCenter is the only place in Cali-fornia where firefighters cancome and see what organizedlabor means for firefighters. Itprojects the remarkable accom-plishments Dan Terry hasachieved on behalf of all profes-sional firefighters across ourgreat state. It is not just a nameon a building, it is the symbol ofa life long cause,” said CPFPresident Lou Paulson.

Under the stewardship ofPresident Emeritus Terry, CPFhas achieved landmark suc-cesses within the halls of Cali-fornia’s State Capitol. Becauseof his efforts and ability todevelop long-term relation-ships with members of the Leg-islature, firefighters are wellprotected by statewide legisla-tion that includes, among oth-ers, binding interest arbitration;enhanced retirement benefits;survivor benefits; in addition todisability and workers compen-sation benefits.

Thanks to the efforts of DanTerry, the first cancer presump-tion law in the entire nation

was signed on behalf of Cali-fornia firefighters in 1982.Years later, additional firefight-er illness presumption lawshave also been added to thebooks which have assisted ourfront line firefighters and theirfamilies during their darkesthour.

On April 6, 2002, DanTerry’s most personal and pro-fessional accomplishmentcame with the unveiling of the

California Firefighters Memor-ial in Sacramento’s CapitolPark. Since its unveiling, thou-sands of firefighters, familymembers and grateful Califor-nians have visited the impres-sive monument to reflect andremember the contributions ofour brave colleagues who havemade the ultimate sacrifice inthe line of duty. The CaliforniaFirefighters Memorial hasindeed answered prayers and

has brought peace to so many.During his tenure as CPF

President, Dan Terry alsodeveloped a number of highlysuccessful business and non-profit ventures under the CPFumbrella. In 1982, he foundedthe California Fire FighterJoint Apprenticeship Commit-tee (CFFJAC), which he con-tinues to co-chair with theOffice of the California StateFire Marshal. The CFFJAC is

the premier fire service trainingand apprenticeship program inCalifornia.

Dan Terry also developedFireStar Productions, a state-of-the-art video productionstudio; Firefighter Print &Design, a full-service unionprint shop. Both offer award-winning media services tolocals, other labor groups andseveral commercial clients. Inaddition to these successfulindependent businesses, Presi-dent EmeritusTerry created theCalifornia Callback Associa-tion, representing CPF’sretired members; and the Cali-fornia Fire Foundation – CPF’scharitable, non-profit organi-zation that provides programsof public awareness and assiststhe families of our fallen fire-fighters.

All organizations, foundedby President Emeritus Terry,are all housed within the CPFHeadquarter building, proudlybearing their creator’s name,“The Daniel A. Terry LaborCenter”.

“I am overwhelmed by thetrust that has been placed in meover the years,” said Dan Terryas he choked with emotion. “Inever considered my presidencyas a job – rather, I considered itan honor and an opportunity tomake life better for my fellowfirefighters and their families. Iam grateful to have served inthis role for over 30 years… ithas been my life’s passion to doright by the men and womenwho risk their lives each andevery day.”

This dedication of the“Daniel A. Terry Labor Center”is more than a gesture by theentire membership of the Cali-fornia Professional Firefight-ers. It is symbolic of the jour-ney that the firefighting profes-sion has taken, and a timelesstribute to honor the extraordi-nary legacy of an extraordinaryleader… Daniel A. Terry.

Photo by Kristina Wilson, Editor, California Professional Firefighters

November/December 2004 Los Angeles Firefighter Page 5

Removing the Guesswork from Your Paycheck

by Randy BeatyDirector

Why is our paychecksuch an enigma?

I can look at my check andtell you when various celebra-tions, parades and festivitiesare but I can’t tell you if I amreceiving the correct amount ofmoney. There are six differentcolumns of graduated pay foreach rank listed in our Memo-randum of Understanding. Andyet there is no mention of whatcolumn I am paid at on mycheck. Even knowing my rankand grade require that I knowthe numeric codes for each andwhere they are reflected on thecheck. I am left to figure it out.

What about any bonuses Iam routinely earning?There is no indicator that I

have established an EMTbonus, and education bonus,bilingual bonus or any otherbonus for that matter. If weearn time-and-a-half or straighttime, our paychecks combinethe total of those overtimehours together and we are leftseparate those hours. Verifyingthat we were properly paid is adaunting task for even a sea-soned timekeeping aficionado.

Personnel Section mis-takes can be costly

Our paychecks have remaineda mystery for many years. Andsometimes that mystery has hurtour members. It is not com-pletely uncommon for a smallnumber of our employees totransfer from an ALS position toa BLS position and accidentallycontinue to receive the ALSbonus. Months later, when thePersonnel Section catches theirmistake, our members havebeen billed for thousands of dol-lars. Retroactive checks havebeen paid out incorrectly and

our members have been billedfor these overpayments.

The United Firefighters ofLos Angeles has been involvedin representing many people inhearings who have been bothoverpaid and underpaid. One ofthe strong contributing factorsto the problem is that our pay-checks are obscure and lackclear displays of informationmaking biweekly audits nearlyimpossible.

“Paycheck Calculator”now available

This became the driving forceto pursue an idea that was bornin the field. Would it be possi-ble to develop a “PaycheckCalculator” and put it on theUFLAC web page so that all themembers could easily entertheir information and press abutton and cross check the“gross amount” earned on anycheck? The answer is yes and Iam excited to announce thatyou may now do exactly that.

Through the hard work of ourweb site company, UnionCentrics, UFLAC has taken thefirst steps toward bringing an

understanding of your paycheckto your fingertips. All you needto do is go to www.uflac.organd locate the “Paycheck Calcu-lator” button. This will bring upa tool that we hope you will usefor the remainder of your timeon the job.

There are a couple of pointsthat will help you to be a betterself-auditor that you shouldknow. First, it is prudent if youaccess the Department’s MITSpage on the Intranet that dis-plays your personal data andexactly how you are paid. Ifthere is an error in your pay-check, it might be because theDepartment has not updatedyour MITS information. If youare a first-time user your UserID is your initials and the lastfour digits of your SSN. Yourpassword (initially) will beyour entire SSN without anyhyphens.

Work in ProgressSecond, the Paycheck Calcu-

lator is a work in progress.Because of the complexities insome of the formulas, program-ming is continually being done

to accurately display your earn-ings.

On that note, we gladly wantto encourage you to report anyproblems you may experienceso that we can improve this fea-ture on our web site. Feel freeto access the message box andreport any problems you mayexperience. It is no secret thatthe Fire Department has one ofthe most complex payment sys-tems in the City.

Knowing what you earnshould never be a mystery andyet it has for so long. That isabout to change.

On a Personal NoteI wanted to take a moment to

thank everyone that helpedmake my time as a UFLACExecutive Board Director apositive experience. I havedecided not to pursue anotherterm in office. I have grownand enjoyed the experiencebeyond anything I ever expect-ed. Thank you for allowing methis opportunity to serve. Wetruly are a part of a magnificentunion and I am proud to be amember. I hope you are too.

Honoring the fallen…

Bagpipes wail as firefighters salute their lost comradesby Elizabeth Hume

Bee Staff Writer©2004 Permission to reprint

Sacramento BeeThe sound of bagpipes filled

the Capitol grounds as hun-dreds of firefighters gatheredSaturday in Sacramento tohonor 13 colleagues who haddied in the line of duty over thepast 18 months.

Bagpipes, traditionally playedwhen a firefighter dies, havebecome familiar in California.In this area they were heard lessthan a month ago after EvaSchicke, 24, a CaliforniaDepartment of Forestry and FireProtection firefighter, died in arapidly moving fire in theStanislaus National Forest.

Among the others honoredwere Jaime Foster, 23, of theLos Angeles Fire Department,who was killed in a vehicleaccident about a month earlier,and Novato fire engineerSteven Rucker, 38, who diedOct. 29, 2003, while battling tosave a structure near the townof Julian during devastatingwildland fires last year inSouthern California.

“We have been tested inareas we have never been test-ed before,” said Lou Paulson,president of the California Pro-fessional Firefighters. “Thesenames remind us of the suddendeath that our profession canbring.”

In addition to the 13 recentdeaths, the names of 24 otherfirefighters were recognizedand added to the imposing fire-fighters memorial wall.

Most of those whose nameswere read died from occupa-tional cancer or heart attacks.Two were a father and son whodied within about three years ofeach other, each from cancer.

“All these things happen tofirefighters, but given thechoice, firefighters wouldnever change it,” said retiredMountain View Capt. DaleKeursten.

The ceremony representedthe third annual CaliforniaFirefighters Memorial Serviceat the limestone wall in CapitolPark. For the first time, thestate ceremony coincided withthe smaller Sacramento memo-rial service at the Exempt Fire-men’s plot at the old city ceme-tery on Broadway.

About 100 Sacramento fire-fighters, along with their ownbagpipe band, gathered at thecemetery Saturday morning fortheir 17th annual ceremony,during which they recognizedall 13 of the statewide deaths.

Pointing to a raised plot wheremore than 20 firefighters areburied, Sacramento Fire ChiefJulius “Joe” Cherry remindedhis colleagues that they are onefamily, and what befalls a fire-fighter from Novato or LosAngeles touches them all.

“This is about everybody ful-filling the answer to a call,”Cherry said. “There’s been a lotof people before you, andthere’s going to be a lot of peo-ple after us.”

Cherry introduced theyoungest member of the audi-ence, Naamveer Singh, a 13-year-old McClatchy student, tothe oldest, Carl Schultze, a 90-year-old retired Sacramentocity firefighter.

Dressed in a fire departmentsweat shirt and hat, Schultzeslowly walked to the ceremoni-al fire bell. After the 13 nameswere read by Cherry, Schultzerang the fire bell from the oldStation 6, the house fromwhich he retired in 1973.

“I was almost in tears when Iwas ringing it,” he said after-ward, wiping his eyes. “It’s justso emotional when I get achance to reminisce.”

After the local ceremony, theSacramento firefighters joinedcolleagues and families fromabout 50 California agencies inCapitol Park.

Sacramento Area FirefightersLocal 522 President Brian Riceremembered Eva Schicke fromwhen she played basketballagainst his daughter at ElCamino High School.

“This year’s ceremony feelskind of different,” Rice said.“Eva was just a kid.”

Silence overtook the crowdas each name was read. Stillovercome by grief, most fami-lies asked that their privacy berespected.

For Catherine Rucker, the

widow of Steven Rucker, griev-ing her husband has becomeroutine.

“Certainly I think about him

every day,” she said. “But peo-ple need to remember that theywould want you to carry on andenjoy life.”

Rudy Santiago of the Los Angeles Fire Department presents a flag Saturday to Barbara Ott,whose husband, 35-year veteran of the Los Angeles force, died of cancer. Capt. Ott was one of13 firefighters fallen within the last year and a half who were honored during the ceremony.

Photo by Lezlie Sterling, Sacramento Bee ©2004

Ross Torstenbo presents a flag to Gloria Foster, the mother ofJamie Foster, the first LAFD woman to die in the Line of Duty.

Photo by Kristina Wilson, Editor, California Professional Firefighter

Page 6 Los Angeles Firefighter November/December 2004

Los Angeles Fire Department. A devoted dad and husband,

Kelly leaves behind his sonBailey (age 9), daughterKendall (age 8) and his lovingwife Cheryl. Kelly is also sur-vived by his parents, Janice andRick Hoss, his brothers, Jeffand JJ, his sister Natalie, andhis grandmother, along withuncles, cousins and in-laws.

In his short 32 years, Kellylived a full life of sports, enjoy-ing nature, and helping others.Our hearts go out to his wifeand young children. Kelly’ssisters and brothers in theunion will do everything wecan to help them through thisterrible time.

Burial was at sea on Sep-tember 15 and a memorial

service followed at Alami-tos Bay Yacht Club at noon.The Service was conductedby Chaplain George Negreteand the reception hosted byUFLAC and the ReliefAssociation. In lieu of flow-ers, a college fund has beenset up for the Hoss children.Donations can be sent toCollege Fund of America,2118 Via Teca, SanClemente, CA 92673 orHoss Children’s Fund LAFiremen’s Credit Union,P.O. Box 60890, Los Ange-les 90060-08090, telephone800-231-1626 or Los Ange-les Firemen’s Relief Assn.,2900 W. Temple St., LosAngeles, CA 90026, tele-phone 800-244-3439.

Continued from page 1

In loving Memory…

Kelly Ryan Hoss

I would like to thank theLos Angeles City Fire Depart-ment for all their help andsupport through this toughtime.

Kelly was my brother andmy best friend…he was somuch fun to be around. I can’tput into words how much hemeant to me. He was a hugepart of my life and he’llalways have a place in myheart. Those that knew himbest know you that couldn’task for a better husband,father or friend. There won’tbe a day that goes by that Iwon’t think of my brother,Kelly.

My Mom tells me that heuse to look up to me, but thefunny thing is, I looked up tohim in so many ways. I had adeep respect for Kelly for somany things he did and theway he acted.

He raised a family whileworking two jobs and volun-teering at Hermosa BeachFire Department before he goton with LA City Fire. Thiswas for three years and henever complained.

As most of you know hewould do anything for hisfriends and would stand upfor what he believed to beright…Kelly would alwayshave your back.

When we were growing upmy Dad use to tell me thatevery time he would be shop-ping alone with Kelly, hewould let Kelly get a piece ofcandy or something and Kellywould always say “what aboutJeff, can I get Jeff one too?”

There was a Christmas backwhen I was 10 and Kelly was7. Kelly and I were waiting inhis room until we wereallowed to come out to seewhat Santa had brought us.When we were given the okayby Mom and Dad, we wentout to the living room andthere were two bikes underthe Christmas tree… The firstthing Kelly said was, “Jeff,you got two bikes.”

His favorite poem is from

the Wizard of Oz, called“Courage”. You know, wherethe Lion gives his speech onthe yellow brick road and says“why does the muskrat guardhis musk? Courage”…”Whydoes the elephant guard histusks? Courage”… Kelly hadthis poem laminated and post-ed in his garage…

I’ve never met anyonequite like Kelly. He was sooriginal and I often won-dered how he learned to doall the things he did. He putin their dishwasher, air con-dition system, upgraded hiselectrical fuse box, put in thesliding door, and made anattic stairway. I could go onand on and each time I wouldask, “did someone helpyou?” And he would say theguy at Home Depot told himwhat to do. Unreal…He musthave gotten all the handyskill genes from my Dadbecause I didn’t get any.

He also amazed me withsome of things he did. Kellywas a great athlete. An exam-ple of this was the physicalagility test at the Rancho San-tiago Fire Academy. All therecruits have to pass this testto get through the academy. Ithas nine events like climbingstairs in full turnouts whilecaring a heavy hose, extend-ing a 35-foot ladder andthings like that. The timelimit for this test is 5 minutes.Kelly set the all time recordby completing it in 2:59…thiswas back in 1996 and Ibelieve this is a record thatstill stands today.

He was the best brotheranyone could ask for and I’llalways cherish the time wehad together.

In closing, I want everyoneto remember the good thingsabout Kelly and know that heis in a better place. He would-n’t want anyone to feel sorryfor him. He knows how muchwe all loved him and cared forhim.

His loving brother,Jeff

Eulogy by Jeff Hoss

In Memoriam

Kelly Ryan HossActive FirefighterFire Station 29-BBorn: April 29, 1972

Appointed to LAFD: April 3, 2000Died: September 9, 2004

The officers and members of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City

Local 112, IAFF, AFL-CIO-CLC offer their heartfelt condolences to

the family and friends of our brother Kelly. May he rest in peace.

Kelly in the LAFD Academy.

Kelly was an avid surfer.

November/December 2004 Los Angeles Firefighter Page 7

math and this talent was thedirect cause of our discoveringand winning the “7.8% lawsuit”.While discussing the issue withDepartment and CAO represen-tatives at the old Union office oneday, Bob tapped me and showedme some figures he had printedon his meeting notes. The figureshe showed me revealed an errorin the City’s addition/subtraction.Our side called a caucus, dis-cussed Bob’s figures andconcluded he was correct.

When we showed the Citynegotiators their error theyrefused to believe that the

CAO’s figures were incorrectdespite the clear errors in simplemath calculations. Subsequent-ly, we were forced to go to courtto prove the City figures werelies. The court agreed withBob’s calculations and awardedus a retroactive 7.8% payincrease. I will always be grate-ful for Bob’s brilliance in thisissue but it is only one represen-tative example of the manyways he served to improve ourunion and the L.A.F.D.

His contributions were neverrewarded as he probably holdsthe L.A.F.D. record for being

passed over on the BattalionChief promotional list. Italways baffled me that theDepartment would stifle thisbrilliant man’s career at a levelwell below his worth. He gavebetter, he deserved better.

I will miss his unwaveringfriendship and his devotion toour job. To the extent thatUFLAC and the L.A.F.D. haveimproved since the 1971 merg-er that created UFLAC, BobAker deserves a large share ofthe credit.

…Don Wallace, RetiredFormer UFLAC President

Continued from page 1

In loving Memory…

Bob Aker

To the fire fighting personnelof Station 112:

As you have no doubt heard,my dad, Bob Aker, has lost hisfight with colon cancer. Inaccordance with his wishes,there will be no public obser-vance of his passing, whichleaves it up to those of us leftbehind to work through ourgrief in our own way.

As you may or may notknow, Bob Aker is not my “bio-logical father.” I was twelvewhen he and my motherrenewed their on-again, off-again romance which startedwhen he was seventeen and shewas fourteen. And for manyyears theirs seemed to be a true“happily ever after.” It was dur-ing those good and happy yearsthat I got to know Bob Akerand the Los Angeles FireDepartment, and learned tolove and respect them both.

Dad was a career firefighter.There were few things he lovedmore than a good fire, and histime with LAFD was very sat-isfying to him overall. The lastcouple of years before Dad wastransferred to Station 112,however, it was obvious thatsomething was wrong. For thefirst time I could recall, Dadseemed bored with his job andwas gradually becoming moreand more dissatisfied. Partlythis was due to his inability tomake Battalion Chief, partly itwas due to personal matters,but the overall effect was thathe was unhappy. I began to fearthat he would take his retire-ment, which for some is a goodthing, but Dad didn’t reallyhave a life other than his work.Yes, he liked to travel and have

fun with his girlfriends, but hedidn’t really have any hobbiesthat would or could occupy histime if he retired.

Then Dad was assigned toyour station and everythingchanged. For the first time inyears I saw joy come back intohis life. There was the familiarspring in his step and sparkle inhis eye that I remembered frommy childhood. “Fireman Bob”was back, and it was wonderfulto behold.

I know that I only came tovisit Dad at Station 112 once,but I still got to hear about hisadventures there and I saw theeffect that working with youhad upon him. Simply put, youdid something miraculous. Yougave delight and fulfillmentback to my dad in a way I neverthought possible. For that I willalways be grateful, more than Ihave words to express.

There is one other thing. Inkeeping with Firehouse Tradi-tion, I am buying you all icecream. Dad is the first of myparents to go, and while I maynot be a firefighter myself, Ican’t think of anything moreappropriate to do. Please findenclosed three envelopes con-taining gift certificates to BaskinRobbins, one set for each shift.You are, of course, welcome toget whatever flavors you want,but Dad’s favorites wereJamocha Almond Fudge andPecan Praline. And, if you like,I’m sure Dad would understandif you told stories about himover dessert. Especially embar-rassing ones.

Fondly,Bronwen K. Aker

In Memoriam

Robert E. AkerActive Captain II

Fire Boat 2-AFormer SecretaryUFLAC - Local 112

Born: March 31, 1940Appointed to LAFD: January 16, 1965

Died: September 15, 2004

Our hearts are heavy with the passing of Brother Bob Aker. We pray that his family and many friends find comfort in knowing that he

is now at peace.The officers and members of

United Firefighters of Los Angeles CityLocal 112, IAFF, AFL-CIO-CLC

A serious and loyal union representative and acompetent and fair fire department officerby Jim Perry

EditorIn the early 70’s Bob Aker

served on the UFLAC Execu-tive Board as our Secretary. Iwas privileged to work withBob on the union board and gotto know and appreciate hismany talents. Bob often saidthat he didn’t like to talk, but hecertainly made up for that byhis incredible ability to doresearch and take verbatimnotes.

I was reminded by formerUFLAC President Don Wallaceand board member MarshallPrindle about the time we werein a meeting with the CAOregarding an upcoming salaryadjustment. While a heated dis-cussion was going on, Bobtook the CAO’s offer and start-ed reviewing and crunching thenumbers. He slid a piece ofpaper over to Wallace andwinked. We took a short recesswhile Don went over Bob’snumbers and sure enough, theCAO’s numbers just happenedto be several hundred thousanddollars off.

The short side of this story isthat we ended up in a classaction lawsuit (known as the

7.8% lawsuit), joined by theLos Angeles Police ProtectiveLeague, against the City of LosAngeles. We were victorious inwinning a judgement of over$31 million that went into thepockets of all Los AngelesFirefighters and Police Offi-cers. It also set the foundationfrom which all subsequent payadjustments were based.

Lyle Hall, another formerPresident of UFLAC, recalledhow Bob often stayed with himuntil one or two in the morningworking on various projects.Bob could cut through verytechnical material and break itdown into simple language andgraphs.

There was another side toBob that only a few got to wit-ness. He had GUTS. Not onlywas he a worthy adversaryagainst management’s mis-deeds and flawed argumentsand documents, Bob had aphysical side that seemed tosurprise many of us.

Each year the San Jose andSanta Clara County Firefighterssponsored a professional rodeo(for charity) at their county fair-grounds. During the middle ofthe week before the pro’s per-

formed on the weekend, fire-fighters from throughout thestate of California would com-pete against each other on thesame livestock that the real cow-boys and cowgirls would use.

One event was bull riding.While all of us would be wear-ing our oldest blue jeans andcowboy hats, Bob Aker showedup in a neatly tailored bluecowboy suit and Stetson hatthat he had just purchased froma famous western clothingstore in North Hollywood. Theway he was dressed we thoughtthat Bob was going to be theMC…but he said, “I came toride the bulls.” And sureenough, Bob held on longenough to place in the top threeriders. He didn’t get the silverbuckle, but he got the respect ofall that saw him ride.

Yes, there was much more toBob Aker that many whoworked with him knew nothingabout. He was a serious andloyal union representative anda competent and fair firedepartment officer. I am sopleased have known Bob and Ishare the heartbreak in hisearly passing. May he rest inpeace.

Bob Aker, left, on the top deck of LA Fireboat 2.

Do you think one votedoesn’t make a difference?Let these examples answerthat question.

It is important that you exer-cise the enormous power ofyour constitutional right to votefor those you feel will repre-sent you the best, whether it isfor our own local union, or ourrepresentatives in local, stateand national offices.

Back in the 70’s we actuallyhad a tie vote in our union elec-

tion for the position of SecondVice President. The electioncommittee counted the ballotsthree times to make certain,and then had to mail out anoth-er ballot.

Here are some other exam-ples of why One Vote Counts…

• California (1850), Idaho(1890), Oregon (1859), Texas(1845) and Washington (1889)were all admitted to the unionby just one single vote.

• In 1962, the governors of

Page 8 Los Angeles Firefighter November/December 2004

Fallen Firefighters Memorial…

IAFF Says Farewell to 106

The mood was solemn onSaturday, September 18, 2004,in Colorado Springs, Col-orado, as fire fighters, familyand friends remembered the106 IAFF members who diedin the line of duty over the lastyear. Those fire fighter namesjoined the 1,689 others thatgrace the IAFF Fallen FireFighter Memorial located inthe shadows of Pike’s Peak.

Thousands of people fromacross the United States andCanada looked on as all of thefallen received the traditionalfire fighter memorial with bag-pipes, drums and trumpeters.Those attending came not onlyto remember those they lost,

but also to carry on the missionof the Fallen Fighter Memori-al: to honor the ultimatesacrifice made by IAFF firefighters and emergency med-ical personnel.

As each name was read, abell rang and a representativefrom the deceased fire fighter’sIAFF affiliate presented thefamily with a wood-and-glassencased IAFF flag.

“With this tribute, weremember and celebrate theirlives, memorialize their sacri-fice and commemorate theirservice,” eulogized IAFF Gen-eral President HaroldSchaitberger. “Once again, westand together as one union

and come together as one fam-ily. And today, I say to you, theloved ones and family mem-bers of our fallen, you willalways remain a part of ourfamily.”

Since its creation in 1976,the names of fallen IAFFmembers have been engravedinto the Wall of Honor locatedbehind the memorial. Theorganization also providesassistance to surviving familiesand serves as a public reminderof the risks fire fighters takeevery day.

“Abraham Lincoln said, ‘I dothe very best I know how —the very best I can — and Imean to keep on doing so until

the end,’” said General Presi-dent Schaitberger. “Nothingmore appropriately describeshow those in our chosen pro-fession live their lives. Whensudden danger arises, theyanswer the call.”

And in conclusion, Schait-berger left those in attendancewith this: “I ask that in theirhonor and for fire fighterseverywhere that we offer thisPrayer to Saint Catherine ofSiena: ‘You were full of wis-dom, the special gift of God,and you knew how to guideeven Pontiffs as well as howto extinguish fiery passionsand restore true peace amongpeople.’

“How inspiring your spiritualwritings and how heroic yourabstemious life,” he continued.“Fires are today unfortunatelyall too common. Please protectand encourage fire fighters intheir heroic efforts to savelives. Together we will leavehere just as we came, embrac-ing the hearts and memories ofthose we loved and have lostand praying for the lives ofthose still with us.”

Before and after the ceremo-ny, IAFF staff and ColoradoSprings, CO Local 5 fire fight-ers worked hard to welcomethe families, embrace them andgive them the support theyneeded.

IAFF Honored by MDAThe International Associa-

tion of Fire Fighters presentedthe 2004 Jerry Lewis MuscularDystrophy Association (MDA)Labor Day Telethon with $20.3million, money its membershad raised in Fill-the-Bootstreet-side collections, golf andsoftball tournaments and otherevents.

During the 50-year partner-ship between the IAFF andMDA, recognized with videoand live presentations in therecent telethon, IAFF hascontributed more than $220

million.IAFF President Harold

Schaitberger appeared in sev-eral videos with Mattie J.T.Stepanek, the late child poetand MDA National GoodwillAmbassador who had dreamedof being a firefighter.

Five-year-old MissouriMDA Goodwill AmbassadorMorgan Fritz, daughter ofIAFF Local 2665 memberRon Fritz, was featured on thenational telethon and in“Parade” magazine’s Sept. 5issue.

The IAFF mobilized itsresources and support capabili-ties in this very activehurricane season by establish-ing the 2004 IAFF MemberHurricane Disaster ReliefFund and assistance program.

An IAFF staff HurricaneSupport Team worked in coor-dination with District 12 VicePresident Dominick Barberaand District 14 Vice PresidentDanny Todd to assess the dam-age and loss incurred by IAFFmembers in the wake of hurri-canes Charley, Frances, andIvan.

The Fund will assist IAFFmembers who have experi-enced loss and devastationfrom the hurricanes. Togetherwith the Support Team, a com-prehensive response programwas quickly developed to meetthe immediate needs of ouraffected members.

“We have reports of IAFFmembers who have experi-enced significant damage in thestorms,” says General PresidentHarold Schaitberger. “IAFFmembers in Florida and Alaba-ma, as well as other states hitby this incredibly unforgiving

hurricane season, will need thehelp of our entire union to getthrough these trying events,and we will be there for them.”

Immediately, you can help bycontributing to the 2004 IAFFMember Hurricane DisasterRelief Fund. Tax-deductiblecontributions can be madepayable and sent to:

2004 IAFF Member Hurricane Disaster

Relief Fund1750 New York Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20006

IAFF Mobilizes Fire FighterHurricane Support Team

The International Associa-tion of Fire Fighters MediaAwards Contest is conductedannually to honor reporting andphotography that best portraythe professional and dangerouswork of fire fighters and emer-gency personnel in the UnitedStates and Canada. It also rec-ognizes outstanding work doneby IAFF affiliates in promotingthemselves and communicatingwith their members and thepublic.

IAFF Affiliate Publication

Jim Perry, editor of TheLos Angeles Firefighter, thebimonthly publication of Unit-ed Firefighters of Los AngelesCity, Local 112, IAFF, AFL-CIO-CLC, received the Sec-ond Place award and a checkfor $200 in the category BestAffiliate Publication. Thejudges wrote, “This is a well-rounded and energetic newspublication, covering a vari-ety of news, information andphotos related to local firefighters and fire fightersfrom across the UnitedStates. The newsletter isappealing and very profes-sionally organized.”

Affiliate WebsiteMikel Bullis, Webmaster for

the United Firefighters of LosAngeles City, Local 112,www.uflac.org , received aSecond Place award and acheck for $200 in the categoryAffiliate Website. The judgeswrote, “The Los Angeles Cityfire fighters’ web site is aninformative, interactive, effec-tive, and easy-to-navigate website. It provides relevant unionnews and International-relatedinformation to fire fighters andpromotes union activism. Thesite has very methodically usedsimple graphics and pictures tocreate an excellent layout.”

News PhotosGene Blevins, photographer

for the Los Angeles DailyNews received an HonorableMention award in the categoryBest News Photo in a publica-tion of Over 100,000 Circula-tion with his photos of the “SoCal Fire”. The caption of thephoto selected was “Anexhausted fire fighter in SimiValley takes rest where he can.”

Gene has captured severalawards in past IAFF Awardscontests, including two FirstPlace awards

2004 IAFF News MediaJournalism

Awards Winners

IAFF President Harold Schaitberger, left, presentsIAFF Affiliate Publication award to Jim Perry.

The Power of One Vote!Maine, Rhode Island and NorthDakota were all elected by amargin of just one single vote.

• The Alaska Purchase of1867 was ratified by just onesingle vote.

• In 1776, the official lan-guage of America became Eng-lish instead of German by juston single vote. Note: the son ofa German immigrant cast thedeciding vote.

• In 1845, President AndrewJohnson’s impeachment wasdefeated by just one singlevote.

• Thomas Jefferson waselected President of the UnitedStates in 1800 by just one sin-gle Electoral College Vote.The loser? Aaron Burr.

• In 1649, King Charles I ofEngland literally lost his nog-gin by just one single vote,when a final “head count” of 68for 67 against, got him behead-ed.

• John F. Kennedy’s marginof victory over Richard Nixonin the 1960 presidential elec-tion was less than one vote perprecinct in four states (Illi-nois, Missouri, New Jersey andTexas).

• In 1923, members of anobscure new political party metin a Munich beer hall and elect-ed ex-soldier Adolf Hitlerleader of the Nazi Party, byjust one vote.

November/December 2004 Los Angeles Firefighter Page 9

New Work Comp Law Affects Temporary Disability

by Robert J. SherwinLewis, Marenstein, Wicke

and SherwinAs you all know, April 19,

2004 was a terrible day for Cal-ifornia workers, includingsafety members. With a shortstroke of a pen, the Governorsigned into law a workers’compensation “reform” billthat eradicated injured work-ers’ rights that had beenenacted more than 90 yearsago. In addition to drasticallylimiting medical care forinjured workers, the bill elimi-nates many rights and benefitsthat labor unions fought foryears to achieve. One aspect ofthe bill that will seriously affectLos Angeles Firefighters is alimit on the amount of tempo-rary disability compensationthat a firefighter may use.

Formerly, if a firefighter wasinjured on the job, he or shecould draw up to five years oftemporary disability compen-

sation and sometimes more, ifthe circumstances warranted it.The first year is paid at fullsalary and is otherwise knownas Injured On Duty (IOD) pay.If a firefighter remained tem-porarily disabled beyond thattime and exhausted the oneyear of IOD pay, they wouldthen receive the maximumallowable under state law(known as the “state rate” oftemporary disability) which iscurrently $728 per week. Veryfew firefighters and injuredworkers, however, are tem-porarily disabled beyond oneyear and seldom exhaust theiryear of IOD.

IOD Time is CumulativeFurther, the IOD is one year

total and not one calendar yearfrom the date of injury. Thus afirefighter could suffer aninjury and be temporarily dis-abled for a few weeks, return towork, and then become tem-porarily disabled again if theircondition worsened or theyrequired surgery for the injury.Each time the firefighter wouldgo off work, they would receiveIOD pay until a full year isused.

Because certain legislatorsand the governor perceivedextensive fraud in the workers’compensation system, theyincluded a provision in the newlaw that, but for a few excep-tions, now limits temporary

disability to a period of twoyears from the first date of dis-ability. Thus if a firefightersuffered an injury on August 1,2004 and was temporarily dis-abled from the date of injuryfor a brief period of time, andthen returned to work, but lateragain became temporarily dis-abled, no compensation wouldbe paid past July 31, 2006. Thisscenario is one that is frequent-ly seen, not only withfirefighters but all injuredworkers. Most firefighters aremotivated to return to work asquickly as possible, whetherfull or light duty. That does notmean, however, that treatmentfor their injury is concluded.Indeed, treatment may beextensive and a reputablephysician will not rush to judg-ment in performing surgery butrather treat conservatively untilall options are exhausted. Itmay be months, or perhapsyears, before a doctor decidesthat surgery is necessary to tryand cure the firefighter. If sur-gery requires the firefighter tobe off work (temporarily dis-abled), no compensation willbe paid, even if a full year ofIOD time hasn’t been paid, if itis beyond two years from thedate of the first payment.

…a city employee maynot use sick time for an

industrial injury.

Now....most of you are think-ing “no problem, I’ll just useaccrued sick time if I gobeyond that two year period.”Wrong! Under the City Admin-istrative Code, a city employeemay not use sick time for anindustrial injury. Thus youcould find yourself in a situa-tion being carried absentwithout pay if you becometemporarily disabled beyondtwo years from the date of firstpayment. Of course, theframers of this great bill andthe governor never thought thisthrough (or perhaps they did)and what effect it will have oninjured workers, and in particu-lar, firefighters. The end resultcould be firefighters requestingsurgery sooner then they wouldor should obtain it. Further,firefighters may return to workwhen they are not physicallyready simply out of financialnecessity.

Need to Amend City Administrative CodeOne possible solution, short

of amending the work complaw to allow some exceptions ifgood cause is established bythe injured worker, is to amendthe city administrative code toallow for use of sick time whentemporary disability compen-sation is no longer payableunder the Labor Code. Thissolution is being looked at butobviously will take time to con-

vince L.A. City legislators thatthe administrative code needs asignificant change.

Keep in mind that the two-year limitation on temporarydisability is from the date offirst disability and not neces-sarily the date of injury.Further, the limitation is notapplicable to medical treat-ment. While you may not beentitled to temporary disabilitycompensation beyond twoyears, your right to continuingtreatment (subject to other lim-itations of the new bill) is notaffected.

In the coming months, I willcontinue to educate you on theonerous effects of the newwork compensation legisla-tion. It is truly sad that ourlegislative leaders felt theneed to “gut” the workers’compensation system in orderto placate the insurance indus-try’s cries of “massive abuseand fraud”. This bill waspassed without any provisionto regulate insurance ratesdespite the 11 billion dollarsprojected savings from thesecuts. Insurance companieswill profit, businesses may seea small premium decrease andinjured workers’, includingfirefighters, will suffer theconsequences by having littleprotection when they areinjured protecting the peoplewho cut their benefits. Untilnext time, stay safe.

This bill was passed without any provision to regulate insurance rates despite the 11 billion dollars projected savings from these cuts…

Your Health…

Sufferers of Kidney Stones Should Avoid That Cup of Coffee

by Debbie Bustamante, Consultant

Fickewirth & AssociatesUnlike cancer and heart dis-

ease, kidney stones are not acondition that captures muchmedia coverage. However, justask anyone who has experi-enced a kidney stone, or has aloved one who has felt itswrath…it isn’t pretty. In fact,kidney stones are consideredone of the most painful of theurologic disorders. An articlepublished in the August 2004Journal of Urology issues anew warning to those who suf-fer from this condition – caf-feine may increase the risk ofkidney stones. When investiga-tors gave people with a historyof kidney stones a dose of caf-feine equivalent to that foundin two cups of coffee, theybegan to excrete more calciumin their urine, putting them at

an increased risk of formingkidney stones. The bottom line:people who are prone to kidneystones should limit their caf-feine intake.

According to the NationalInstitute of Diabetes andDigestive and Kidney Diseases(NIDDK), kidney stones areone of the most common disor-ders of the urinary tract.Patients made more than 1.3million visits to their health-care providers to have kidneystones treated in 1997. In 1999,more than a quarter millionhospitalized patients had adiagnosis of kidney stones. Forunknown reasons, the numberof people in the United Stateswith kidney stones has beenincreasing over the past twodecades and it is now estimatedthat 10 percent of the U.S. pop-ulation will have a kidney stoneat some point in their lives.Men tend to be affected morefrequently than women, andkidney stones most typicallystrike between the ages of 20and 40.

What is a Kidney Stone?The kidney stone itself is a

hard mass that develops fromcrystals, which separate fromthe urine and build up on theinner surfaces of the kidney.Normally, urine contains chem-icals that prevent the crystals

from forming. However, theseinhibitors do not seem to workfor everyone, so some peopleform stones. If the crystalsremain tiny enough, they willtravel through the urinary tractand pass out of the body in theurine without being noticed. Ifthe kidney stone moves in theurinary tract and is largeenough to cause irritation orblockage, EXTREME PAINmay result. Typically, a personfeels a sharp, cramping pain inthe back and side in the area ofthe kidney or in the lowerabdomen. Pain may laterspread to the groin and nauseaor vomiting may also occur.

If the stone is too large topass easily, pain continues asthe muscles in the wall of thetiny ureter try to squeeze thestone along into the bladder. Asa stone grows or moves, bloodmay appear in the urine. As thestone moves down the uretercloser to the bladder, the indi-vidual may feel the need to uri-nate more often or feel a burn-ing sensation during urination.If fever and chills accompanyany of these symptoms, aninfection may be present. Inthis case, the individual shouldcontact his or her doctor imme-diately.

Fortunately, most kidneystones do not need to be treat-ed with surgery. They can pass

through the urinary systemwith plenty of water to helpmove them along. When treat-ment is needed, extracorporealshockwave lithotripsy (ESWL)is the most frequently usedprocedure. In ESWL, shockwaves that are created outsidethe body travel through theskin and body tissues until theyhit the denser stones. Thestones break down into sand-like particles and are easilypassed through the urinarytract in the urine.

What Causes KidneyStones?

Doctors do not always knowwhat causes a stone to form.While certain foods may pro-mote stone formation in peoplewho are susceptible, scientistsdo not believe that eating anyspecific food causes stones toform in people who are not sus-ceptible.

A person with a family histo-ry of kidney stones may bemore likely to develop stones.Urinary tract infections, kidneydisorders such as cystic kidneydiseases, and metabolic disor-ders such as hyperparathy-roidism are also linked to stoneformation. In addition, morethan 70 percent of people witha rare hereditary disease calledrenal tubular acidosis developkidney stones.

If a person has had more thanone kidney stone, he or she islikely to form another, so pre-vention is important. A simpleand most important lifestylechange to prevent stones is todrink more liquids – water isbest. In addition, as recentresearch suggests, these indi-viduals should also avoid caf-feine.

For more information aboutkidney stones and other dis-eases of the urinary tract, ahelpful website to visit ishttp://kidney.niddk.nih.gov.UFLAC members can also con-tact their primary care physi-cian to learn more about kidneystones.

Through the Blue Cross Cal-iforniaCare HMO and PrudentBuyer PPO plans, UFLACmembers and their familieshave access to the finest doc-tors and two of the most exten-sive networks in the state. WithCaliforniaCare, you can builda relationship with your pri-mary care physician andreceive almost all benefitsincluding office visits, hospital-ization, surgery, routine physi-cal exams, well baby care andeven vision and hearing exams,for little or no out-of-pocketcost. Additionally, PrudentBuyer is the best fee-for-serv-ice type health plan availablefor UFLAC members.

Page 10 Los Angeles Firefighter November/December 2004

Los AngelesFirefighter Wins

Press Club AwardJim Perry, Editor of the

Los Angeles Firefighterreceived a First Place awardin the category Best InHouse or Corporate Publi-cation at the 46th AnnualSouthern California Journal-ism Awards Banquet. SecondPlace went to the Los Ange-les Times. The dinner andawards program honored thevery best Journalists inNewspapers, Television,Magazines, Radio, Art/Pho-tography and the Internet.

Bill Rosendahl made thepresentation to Perry at the St.

Regis Hotel in Century City,CA on June 12, 2004.Rosendahl, former Presidentof the Los Angeles Press Club,is a multiple award-winningproducer and moderator ofseveral critically-acclaimedpublic affairs shows on Adel-phia Cable and hosted over3,000 shows from 1987 to2003. He is currently a Distin-guished Professor at Cal StateDominguez Hills and is a can-didate for the Los Angeles11th District City Council seatcurrently held by Cindy Mis-cikowski.

Western Labor CommunicationsAssociation

Journalism Awards WinnersRepresenting the 14 Western States

The Los Angeles Firefight-er newspaper recently pickedup eight awards at the WesternLabor Communications Asso-ciation Journalism AwardsLuncheon in North Holly-wood, California.

WLCA President Rob Wein-stein presented the prestigiousawards. Entries were for articlesand photos submitted during thecalendar year 2003. The jour-nalism contest recognizesindividuals for outstandingachievement in the field of labor

journalism and photographyand includes entries from mem-ber publications throughout the14 Western States, includingHawaii and Alaska.

Pat McOsker, UFLAC Pres-ident - received an HonorableMention for Best Column/Edi-torial “Difference BetweenLife and Death”

Mikel Bullis, UFLAC Web-master - received a Third Placefor Best Website

Joe Castro, UFLAC StationSteward - received a Third

Place for Best Feature Story“One Civilian Fatality”

Gene Blevins, CFPA -received a Third Place and anHonorable Mention for BestPhoto

Mike Meadows, CFPA -received an Honorable Mentionfor Best Photo and also ashared Third Place with JimPerry for Best News Story,“Firefighters Shot in Ambush”

Jim Perry, Editor - receiveda Second Place for Best Over-all Publication

Bill Rosendahl, left, making First Place Award presenta-tion to Jim Perry, Los Angeles Firefighter Editor.

Photo by Lyle Hall, LAFD Retired

Mike Meadows and Gene Blevins with theirWLCA awards.

Mike Bullis receives his WLCA and IAFFawards from UFLAC President Pat McOsker.

Joe Castro receives his WLCA award fromPat McOsker.

Pat McOsker receives his WLCA award fromWLCA Vice President Jim Perry.

Thousands BidFarewell to Fallen

CDF Firefighter Eva Schicke

by Carroll WillsCommunications Director

California Professional Firefighters

Elite Helitack FirefighterEva Schicke took her lastflight in the storied foothillsof Calaveras County.

Thousands came to bid herfarewell.

In an emotional ceremonythat mixed fire service tradi-tion with the sorrow of lostyouth, uniformed firefightersfrom up and down the statemarched solemnly into theCalaveras County fairgroundsto honor Schicke. In her fifthseason as a CDF Firefigther,Eva died September 12thwhile battling a fast-movingwildland fire in the StanislausNational Forest.

Schicke is the first womanin CDF history to die inaction, and the first CDF fire-fighter to fall in action since1990.

More than 300 pieces ofapparatus, including oneentire CDF unit, stretched

through narrow foothill roadsfor nearly two miles. Theyjoined a uniform processionnumbering some 2,000 — aprocession so long it tooknearly an hour to fill the fair-grounds amphitheater. All fellin behind CDF Engine 4474— Eva’s engine when sta-tioned at the CDF Arnold sta-tion — which bore her flag-draped casket.

With her Helitack crew aspallbearers, Schicke’s casketwas lifted tenderly from therig and presented with fullhonors.

“My sister was everythingto me,” mourned Brother JohnSchicke. “She was the wisestyoung person I have everknown.”

Tough ... sincere ... deter-mined ... courageous. Theseare some of the words used todescribe Eva Schicke.

A varsity basketball star atCollege of Stanislaus, Evecame to CDF as a rookie fire-fighter in 1999. Four yearslater, she was tapped to be

part of the elite Helitack crew— firefighters airlifted intodifficult fire areas as part of astrong initial attack.

“Eva thrived in our world,”recalled Battalion Chief JeffMilar, the officer who recruit-ed Schicke. “She loved thechallenge and was tough asnails. There are not enoughwords to describe how specialshe was.”

As she was eulogized forher strength, competitiveness,commitment and faith, Eva’sHelitack crew members —many of whom were them-selves injured in the incidentthat took her life — stood byas silent pallbearers.

As the ringing of the Fire-fighters Last Alarm echoed inthe foothills, a CDF helicopterhovered steadily overhead,floating painfully away as ifunwilling to let her go.

“Eva Schicke is a Californiabookmark,” said CDF Fire-fighters President Bob Wolf.“The decency, discipline,delight and honor that Eva

brings to our profession isnow a part of our history.”

Finally, when the timecame, it was her crew thatgently carried her away inHelitack Copter 404.

Eva’s last flight.Editor’s note: The cause of

Sister Schicke’s death – andthe fire – are still under inves-tigation.

Those wishing to sendcards, or letters can do so atthe following locations:

Schicke Family c/oCDF Arnold Station

2517 Highway 4Arnold, CA 95223

Ebbetts Pass FPD Station 11028 Manuel RoadArnold, CA 95223

November/December 2004 Los Angeles Firefighter Page 11

Governor Schwarzenegger VetoesCDF Binding Arbitration Bill

Governor Arnold Schwarz-enegger has vetoed AB 1362(Pat Wiggins, D-Santa Rosaand Russ Bogh, R-Cherry Val-ley), a bill co-sponsored by theCPF and CDF FirefightersLocal 2881. This importantmeasure would have guaran-teed state firefighters the samebinding arbitration protectioncurrently available to munici-pal firefighters and lawenforcement.

“Binding arbitration has beena core issue for our organiza-tion for more than threedecades,” said CPF President

Lou Paulson. “We will contin-ue to work with our CDF broth-ers and sisters to ensure that allCalifornia firefighters enjoythis basic, common-sense pro-tection.”

As you may recall, duringCPF’s political seminar inSacramento earlier thismonth more than 100 of ourlocal and county firefightermembers signed individual,personal letters of supporturging the Governor to signAB 1362 into law. Those let-ters were ultimately compiledand hand delivered to Gover-

nor Schwarzenegger’s officeon September 2, 2004.

While we’re deeply disap-pointed in the Governor’s veto,we want to thank all of ourmembers who came throughwith their political grassrootsefforts by showing their loyaltyand unwavering support for ourCDF brothers and sisters.

Editor’s note: It is most dis-appointing that the Governorchose to veto this bill as prepa-rations were being made tobury CDF Firefighter EveSchicke, killed in the line ofduty on September 12, 2004.

Governor Schwarzenegger VetoesFirefighter Survivor Benefit

LegislationIn his swearing-in remarks

delivered November 17, 2003,Arnold Schwarzenegger recog-nized that our state had endureda myriad of natural disasters inrecent months, including earth-quakes, floods and fires.

After touring the SouthernCalifornia fires last fall and wit-nessing the devastation firsthand, the Governor specificallyacknowledged in his remarksthat the fires, which ravaged ourstate’s southland, “destroyedlives, homes, businesses, anddevastated hundreds of thou-sands of acres of the land welove.”

“As we watched thefirestorms raging, the Governornoted, “we saw bravery thatnever faltered and determina-tion that never wavered in afight that never flagged.”

To the surviving families ofthose who gave their lives, theGovernor expressed that their“loss is ours,” and “as Califor-nians, we mourn together, wefight together and we willrebuild together.”

Hollow Words - No ActionNearly a year after speaking

those words on the West Stepsof the State Capitol, Governor

Schwarzenegger has missed notonly one, but a few importantopportunities to prove that hisadministration is serious aboutlearning the lessons from lastyear’s devastating fires and pro-viding for the families whoseloved ones become injured ordie as a result of performingtheir job-related duties.

Governor Schwarzeneggerhas vetoed two CPF-prioritybills approved earlier this yearby the Legislature that wouldhave directly benefited the fam-ily members of those firefight-ers injured or killed in the lineof duty.

The first vetoed bill, AB 3051(Joe Nation, D-San Rafael andJuan Vargas, D-San Diego),contained an issue outlined in aresolution adopted by CPFconvention delegates in 2002and would have built upon leg-islation sponsored by CPF lastyear that was signed into lawunder the former governor.

If a firefighter dies as a resultof an occupational illness, otherthan asbestosis, more than fiveyears after he/she is diagnosedwith the fatal disease, his/herdependents are precluded fromapplying for death benefits. Thisfive-year limitation can pose aparticular hardship on survivingfamily members in instanceswhere a firefighter succumbs toan occupational disease, such ascancer, that, before becomingfatal, had a gestation period ofmore than five years from thedate on which it was initiallydetected. AB 3051 would haveextended the existing one-yearfrom date-of-death limitation,as applicable to asbestosis-relat-ed deaths, to claims for work-ers’ compensation death bene-fits involving other categories ofwork-caused diseases that havelong gestation periods.

The second vetoed measure,AB 1324 (Darrell Steinberg, D-

Sacramento), would haveexpanded existing presumptivelaw to include a dependent orformer dependent of a firefight-er who contracts an infectiousblood-borne disease from thefirefighter and in doing so,enabled that dependent to becompensated for any disease-related health care costs.

In the same week as hevetoed the above dependent-related legislation, GovernorSchwarzenegger dealt anotherblow to the families of fallenfirefighters when he declined toattend next week’s CaliforniaFirefighters Memorial annualceremony on the grounds of theState Capitol.

Shortly after he took office,the CPF invited the Governor tospeak to the hundreds of fire-fighters, surviving family mem-bers and other Californiansgathering in Sacramento onOctober 9, 2004 to honor andpay tribute to those front linefirefighters who paid the ulti-mate sacrifice while protectinglives and property this past year.Our initial invitation was fol-lowed-up on several occasionsthis past year, and the Adminis-tration notified us that GovernorSchwarzenegger will not be par-ticipating in the ceremony.

October 1, 2004Dear Jim:

Here’s a picture of Sgt. TravisPerry on the left, and myself.Travis is a firefighter on theHouston Fire Department…sothe torch in Najaf is beingpassed on between us firefight-ers. My mission here is done.

I’m in Baghdad now, and willbe back in CONUS within 5-6

days and California within 2-3weeks.

I want to thank you, the local,and members of the LAFDfamily for all your support dur-ing my deployment here inIraq!

SincerelyScott CarterFirefighter/Paramedic

Jim Perry, EditorYour Sept.-Oct. issue is an

absolute font of informationand history. It is the finest issueof a specialized paper that Ihave ever read.

You’ve combined the ele-ments of sadness and pridewith expository genius and lotsof pictures, too!

The stories, from the “ParoleDenied” to the coverage of

Jaime Foster’s funeral weresuperb.Boris YaroLos Angeles Times Photographer, Retired

WTC Rescue and RecoveryWorkers Show High Rates of

Health ProblemsPreliminary data from

screenings held at the MountSinai Medical Center show thatboth upper and lower respirato-ry problems and mental healthdifficulties are widespreadamong rescue and recoveryworkers who dug through theruins of the World Trade Centerin the days following itsdestruction in the September11 attack.

An analysis of the screeningsof 1,138 workers and volun-teers who responded to theWorld Trade Center disasterfound that nearly three-quartersexperienced new or worsenedupper and lower respiratoryproblems at some point whileworking at Ground Zero. Halfof those examined had upper orlower respiratory symptomsthat persisted up to the time of

their examinations – an averageof eight months after theirWTC efforts ended. In addi-tion, more than half of theGround Zero workers whowere examined had persistentpsychological symptoms.

Based on these findings,Stephen Levin, M.D., associateprofessor of Community andPreventative Medicine atMount Sinai School of Medi-cine and co-director of theWorld Trade Center Workerand Volunteer Medical Screen-ing Program sees a “clear needfor this group of workers andvolunteers to receive ongoingmonitoring and treatment, andfor rapid clinical response tofuture disaster settings.”

The findings were released inthe September 10, 2004 Mor-bidity and Mortality Weekly

Report (MMWR) of the federalCenters for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC), whichprovided funding for the med-ical screenings after the IAFFaggressively lobbied Congressto approve the funding. Thefirst time Congress providedthe funding, President Bushvetoed the legislation; the sec-ond time, the money wasincluded as part of an omnibusappropriation that Bush couldnot veto.

Currently, CDC has provided$81 million to continue med-ical follow-up screening forresponders for an additionalfive years.

For more information aboutongoing free medical screeningexaminations, WTC responderscan call a toll-free hotline at 1(888) 702-0630.

News from the War Front

Page 12 Los Angeles Firefighter November/December 2004

From the front page…

Proper staffing credited for lives saved

As Firefighters make entry in the front of the structure, a neigh-bor in the rear alley tries to make good with a garden hose. Aman calls for help from the furthest left window (in circle).

A man wrapped in a sheet is helped down a ladder to safety.

Firefighters assist victims that were rescued in the designated triage area.

A Firefighter from L.A. Task Force 33 utilizes a rotary saw tocut through iron bars and a metal screen to rescue a resident.

Firefighters and Paramedics perform CPR on a critical victim.

Firefighters and Paramedics rush a critical smoke inhalation victim to anearby ambulance.

Photos by Martin Nate Rawner