Secretary-Treasurer’s Message

As I sit to write this, we are starting to see the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. I recently received my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. My extended family all have had their first shot. I have not seen my parents in person in well over a year, which I hope changes by the time you read this. The lack of social interaction is something I never expected to be a significant problem for me. I consider myself an introvert, and I am often happy to deal with people by email or text. The work that I do for the Association is not particularly public and is mainly behind the scenes. Our office doors were closed early in 2020. We had a few in-person meetings in the late summer and fall before closing again. We have only used the office for activities that cannot be done virtually, such as signing cheques. I speak with Frank and Kevin daily, but far less with the rest of the Board. I hold telephone staff meetings weekly. Our Executive Board and General Member’s Meetings have moved almost exclusively online. I have missed the personal interactions with the board members and general members that would regularly come through the office.

On a personal note, I had both children away at school this year. I am also an assistant coach with the Etobicoke Dolphins, which I took on when my daughter stopped playing. The girls played one game before COVID shut the season down. We held a few small group practices before the provincial government stopped that as well. Admittedly, all of this has taken a toll. I have struggled to stay focused on the things I need to do. I find myself becoming short with people, perhaps losing a little empathy along the way. I cannot tell you how sick of online meetings I have become. The interaction is not the same at all—no ability to read the room. The side conversations and humour are entirely gone, as only one person can speak at a time. The online conventions and seminars don’t allow any networking at all—no opportunities to learn from others or provide input on how we do things in Toronto. I cannot tell you how much I look forward to getting back together. The TPFFA Annual Picnic and Golf Tournament should go off in a typical format (or at least close). We are anticipating a Children’s Christmas Party that will be the same as usual. We hope to be back in the office for our Executive Board and General Member’s Meetings; I hope to run into many of you at one or more of these events.

We had two new additions to the Executive Board during COVID. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for Justin and Geoff to start their union careers this way. I am hopeful that we will be back meeting in person soon after the results of our general election come out. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with a new board. I hope we can say that we had an excellent voter turnout. Electing two new principal officers is bound to have a significant impact. By the time you read this, we will have met already and started discussions on the future of our great association.

We have some significant issues to deal with over the next two years. I anticipate the City of Toronto to be in a difficult financial position moving forward, meaning a tough fire service budget fight. Our Government Relations Committee will be working hard to ensure that all city councillors understand the needs of the fire service. Hiring will need to keep up with our needs at the same time. I anticipate the success of our upcoming recruit class of 96 firefighters. The changes that we have made to our Training Division and ATIs should ensure this. By the end of the term, we will need to begin our preparations for bargaining. You will have the opportunity to put forward proposals to provide direction to the Bargaining Committee.

Finances:

The IAFF Convention action from

January of this year raised the per capita rates. The rates have moved from $14.84 to $15.20. The result to our Local is an increase of approximately $13,000 per year. The most significant growth came from a resolution that allows automatic increases to per capita based on the Consumer Price

Index (CPI) increase. Nearly 100% of the IAFF budget is subject to inflation. This increase accounted for the majority of the per capita increase. The logic was that inflationary costs cannot be avoided and should be in the budget.

The OPFFA Convention was held virtually on June 7th, 2021.

The Convention action resulted in a reduction of the per capita rate from $12.04 to $11.81. A significant decrease of $0.38 from the building line due to the sale of the OPFFA office space. Locally, on July 1st, the first-class rate will increase by 0.97% to $105,506. All salaries based on a first-class rate will increase accordingly.

James Reed, Secretary-Treasurer Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association I.A.F.F. Local 3888