Letter to Council

Summary of Tentative Agreement Amendments

Directive on Paramedics

Stockton Firefighters have always been willing to sacrifice to protect services.  Starting in 2008, firefighters were the first employee group to offer concessions as the City’s fiscal situation began to worsen.  Firefighters did the same in 2009.  Last year, despite firefighters offering over $5 million in 2010 concessions, the city rejected the offer and imposed cuts instead.  Services were cut, but still firefighters and the department contributed to the budget cuts.

This year, firefighters’ concessions make up more than 50% of the City’s stated $37 million budget deficit.  The Fire Department makes up just over 25% of the General Fund budget.  Last fall City leaders promised that Measure H wasn’t put on the ballot to reduce services–but that’s exactly what has transpired.  A truck company is closed.  An engine company and fire station are closed.  Daily staffing will be down by more than 25%. You can read and view some news coverage of the tentative agreement here and here.

The agreement must be ratified by the members of Firefighters, Local 456 and approved by the City Council.

Several fire agencies in the state are actually hiring firefighters.  However, they’re rightly choosing to hire off of the California Displaced Firefighter List.  In order to get on the list, a firefighter must have received a formal layoff notice.  Stockton Firefighters have agreed in negotiations to lift all staffing requirements, allowing the City of Stockton to fully determine staffing levels and to layoff firefighters if they choose to do so.

If the City fails to issue layoff notices by June 15, 2011 then it must wait until July 1, 2011 due to City layoff policies.  This keeps Stockton Firefighters from getting on the Displaced Firefighter List while scarce firefighting jobs are being filled.  All your Stockton Firefighters have asked the City Manager for is a little compassion in letting those firefighters who are most likely to lose their jobs, to be able to begin to find new employment to support their families.

Why has decency failed in Stockton?  The City Manager is going too far.  We’re hopeful that the City Council will intervene to assist firefighters and their families in moving on.

National Tour of Pink Fire Trucks to Make Stops in Stockton

The internationally recognized “Care Enough to Wear Pink” campaign, led by founder Dave Graybill, will come to Stockton for two days to help raise funds and awareness for women battling cancer.  Graybill, a former Olympic and professional baseball player turned fire fighter, along with fire fighters from several states and Canada, volunteer their time and travel across the country in pink fire trucks as part of the annual “Pink Heals Tour.”

With support from Stockton Firefighters, the Pink Heels Tour’s pink fire trucks will come to multiple locations in Stockton to promote cancer awareness and to raise funds for cancer research and causes. “We wear pink because pink stands for women,” said Graybill. We bring our pink fire trucks to cities so that they may hold fundraisers and generate proceeds that will stay in their communities to help pay bills, support research, and to provide general financial help for families that may be struggling.  We are a non-profit organization, and the money raised in each community stays in that community and can continually be generated. We just show people how.”

Begun in 2008 with a single pink fire truck, the annual Pink Heals Tour has expanded to include two annual tours and features 4 trucks on tour with 20 pink firetrucks in five countries on three continents.  If you would like more background on Pink Heals, you view this short video.

Main Awareness Event:

Thursday, May 19, 2011 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

ADDITIONAL PINK FIRE TRUCK STOPS (All locations in Stockton)

Thursday, May 19, 2011

9:00-11:00 AM

12:00 PM

12:45 PM

2:15 PM

2:30 PM

FRIDAY May 20, 2011

9:00 AM

10:45 AM

12:30 PM

March 25, 2011

Today, the City Manager is set to present a catastrophic budget scenario to the City Council for the Stockton Fire Department.  The proposal calls for a 40% reduction in daily staffing and the closure of five fire companies.  The Manager’s analysis simply states that response times “will be extended.”  The reality is the cuts probably would have prevented firefighters from saving two children last week.  Read the letter from Stockton Firefighters to get a more complete context as to what these cuts mean.  Stockton Firefighters Letter to City Council.

Wednesday, December 15, Santa Claus will ride on a classic Stockton Fire truck to deliver approximately 6,000 pounds worth of turkeys to the Emergency Food Bank in an effort to assist many of Stockton’s less fortunate families this holiday season.

Stockton Professional Firefighters, the Stockton Police Officers Association, and Food 4 Less/Rancho San Miguel are donating $4,500 worth of turkeys to the Emergency Food Bank.  Firefighters, the Police Officers Association and Food 4 Less/Rancho San Miguel will donate $1,500 each towards the effort.

The event will start at Food 4 Less (Hammer Lane & Lower Sac Road) on the loading dock.  The turkeys will be loaded on the fire truck and be driven in a procession with Motorcycle Police Officers, Santa, and other Fire and Police vehicles  which will be traveling south on Pacific, east on Harding, then south on Center to the Emergency Food Bank on  Scotts Ave.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 beginning at 8:45 AM.

Procession Begins                                         Procession Ends

Food 4 Less Entrance                                          Emergency Food Bank

789 W. Hammer Lane                                         7 W. Scotts Avenue

Stockton, CA 95210                                             Stockton, CA 95203

Stockton firefighters will donate $5,000 to Susan G. Komen—Passionately Pink for the Cure, a non-profit that focuses on raising funds and awareness for breast cancer research and patients.  In addition, off duty firefighters in their pink duty T-shirts will be bagging groceries at Safeway Supermarket to help raise funds in conjunction with Safeway’s Breast Cancer Awareness Program.  Firefighters will also be selling the pink T-shirts to help raise funds for Susan G. Komen—Passionately Pink for the Cure.

If you are interested in making a monetary donation to help the cause, visit the Stockton Firefighters team at this link.