IAFF: Too Lame for Shame
Vice-Presidents say, “We Got This.”
Faced with the bombshell revelations in secretary-treasurer Ed Kelly’s indictment of president for life Harold Schaitberger, the district vice-presidents said no to releasing the document apparently unaware that it was already fully available online.
Their reasoning was the standard and cowardly “attorney-client” privilege as if we didn’t have the right, as IAFF members, to know the details of the rape and pillage of our union.
Management always throws the “attorney-client” flag when they have something they want to hide.
The board assured us that they would follow the “Ethical Practices Policy” a phony, false and fake sham created several years ago to protect Schaitberger from an earlier conflict.
Then they said,
It can categorically be stated that at no time in the past twenty years have the district vice-presidents acted “with a focus on meeting our fiduciary responsibilities, protecting our members, our integrity and
the future of our great Union.”
If they had, we wouldn’t be where we are; it’s just that simple.
Time after time, they either sat quietly by or assisted Schaitberger as he wrecked the IAFF and enriched himself.
When the U.S. Department of Labor cited Schaitberger for a blatant conflict of interest involving one of his cronies and a house purchase, the vice-presidents rallied around him and approved the poor excuse for an ethics policy they now tout.
(Anyone who knows the ethics policy history, as the vice-president’s surely do, will confirm that the real purpose of the policy is to hide the matter from the view of the members and to identify and punish whistle-blowers. In fact, it is the polar opposite of an ethics policy.)
Citing this so-called ethics policy is both a con and a cruel joke.
But, I like this part best:
“While the politics of the day may attempt to divide us, attacking our unity, solidarity, or trust, we can assure you that we are on-the-job addressing matters as they arise.”
Word-for-word, this is the biggest bunch of bullshit you will ever read.
During Schaitberger’s presidency there is not a single instance where the district vice presidents have fulfilled their obligation as an executive board to actually ensure that the IAFF is operated ethically and honestly; they couldn’t even articulate the difference between being a district vice president and sitting as a member of an executive board.
Be assured this is not about politics.
This is about the exposure of corruption at the top of our union and what the “leadership” will do about it.
So far, nothing.
More coverage here: https://medium.com/@lamarericslamar/iaff-the-edzo-strikes-back-3a9044d9a3ec
Tell your vice-president to end the corruption now.
New York, New Jersey: jslevin@iaff.org
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska: mwoolbright@iaff.org (314) 393–9755
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont: jcolbert@iaff.org (617) 307–8076
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia: akpantelis@iaff.org (301) 674–3448
Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin: tthornberg@iaff.org
(612) 290–8015 (Cell)
Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territory, Saskatchewan, Yukon:
mcarter@iaff.org
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington: rwalsh@iaff.org
(509) 999–3090 (Cell)
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio: msanders@iaff.org
(513) 260–2381 (Cell)
Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming: rrahne@iaff.org
(303) 619–2462 (Cell) (303) 988–0177 (Home)
Arizona, California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Guam: flima@iaff.org
(213) 507–6317 (Cell) (213) 485–2091 Ext 1 (Office)
Canal Zone, Oklahoma, Texas: smcghee@iaff.org (918) 855–8228 (Cell)
Caribbean Area, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina: wdix@iaff.org (954) 444–8111 (Cell)
Manitoba, Ontario: fleblanc@iaff.org (613) 328–2195 (Cell)
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee: dtodd@iaff.org
(901) 386–3129 (Office)
New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec
dburry@iaff.org (709) 744–2709 (Home) (709) 689–7574 (Cell)
All federal fire fighters of the United States and Canada: jjohnson@iaff.org
(202) 360–1318 (Cell)
