Vote YES on Proposal 2 to protect our jobs and working families.

Dearborn Firefighters IAFF Local 412 Endorsements

• Supreme Court
  • Bridget Mary McCormack
  • Judge Connie Marie Kelley
  • Judge Shelia Johnson
• State Representative
  • George Darany
• District Court
  • Richard Wygonik

• Dearborn Public School’s Board of Education
  • Mary Petlichkoff

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology found that the size of a firefighting crew affects how quickly firefighters could complete 22 essential firefighting tasks. Four-person teams were 30 percent faster than two-person crews and 25 percent faster than three-person crews.

Someone should have shared this report with elected officials because they are forcing dangerous cuts to firefighting crews across the state. From Detroit to Hamtramck to Taylor, mass layoffs have been issued.

Local communities are losing firefighters because politicians in Lansing keep handing out tax breaks to corporate special interests. Proposal 2 to protect collective bargaining will make it more difficult for corporate special interests to pressure Lansing politicians to do their bidding.

This is just a look into the world of the Dearborn Fire Department. We will give you a glimpse into the best in class services we provide to the residents of Dearborn and a way for us to say thank you for your continuous support

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-1228-mccarron-20101228,0,351806.story

Charles Kernaghan addresses the 2010 IAFF Convention regarding the battle between the costs/standard of living of the United States verses China.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccg_EZwWzEo

This is a real interesting link. Alabama Senator Shelby is a huge opponent against the "Big Three" getting their bridge loans. See some facts and contact this guy to let him know how he is affecting America.  The link is http://www.boycottalabamanow.com/. 

Joey Thorington

IAFF L412 VP

   We’re sorry for the delay in getting these pictures on the web. Go to http://profile.imageshack.us/user/dfdburndrive/images

   You can use the “My Tags to sort the list down to the Friday or Saturday pictures.

   Unfortunately, we had not planned on having to do this. The two printers failed at a critical time and we were just too far behind when we fixed the problem. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.

    This years Santa was a huge success and we thank everyone for supporting the DFD Burn Drive. Every cent we receive goes directly to help people in need. Some of our more recognizable charities are the U of M Burn Center, Children’s Hospital of Detroit, Detroit Receiving, Oakwood Hospital, Ronald McDonald House in Detroit and Penrickton Center for blind children in Taylor. These are just a few of the things we do. We often support local children and their families in times of need. You dollars are always appreciated as we continue to grow our organization.

    If you experience any difficulties with the pictures please contact me; Bruce Hamilton at bhamilton143@gmail.com.

Harper Woods Fire Department is battling PSO.  Their own Deputy Police Chief  (James Burke ) with the support of his police officers, have agreed to take fire training at the cost of the fire fighters... at the cost of their citizens.  I have attached the flyer that the Harper Woods Fire Fighters are handing out to their citizens.

Joey Thorington

L412 VP

Harper Woods.pdf

The branch offices of the Secretary of State will soon be implementing new requirements for individuals to receive the MPFFU License Plate.  You will have to provide proof of membership by showing either your IAFF membership card or a letter from the MPFFU verifying that you are a member.  Please call 800-886-7338 for more information.

You can also contact the MPFFU office if you are aware of a non-MPFFU member displaying the MPFFU License plate.  Please provide the plate number and the reason you believe the person is a non-member.  The SOS office will send a letter to the individual giving him/her thirty days to return the plate.

Pontiac had three Public Safety issues on their ballot.  The results are below.

• Repeal minimum staffing requirement at fire stations: Lost 68.3%-31.7%

• Reallocate 2 mills of property taxes from firefighters' salaries and benefits: Lost 62.4%-37.6%

• One-mill, 10-year increase for police protection: Lost 50.3%-49.7%

If you are having trouble viewing the furlough from home, you may not have excel.  Download the free excel viewer from Microsoft and it should solve your problems.  The link is below.

 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c8378bf4-996c-4569-b547-75edbd03aaf0&displaylang=EN

Joey Thorington

VP L412

Everything is being done that needs to be done. We have complete confidence in the companies working on the problems. They gave us the recommendations and all of them are being followed. There has been zero resistance from the city to get the hazards corrected and their actions have been swift.

            The problem at 3’s is that the asbestos must be mitigated before the mold can be in the crawl space. The area has been sealed off for occupant protection. The city must develop specs to contract the work. They are working as fast as they can. The threat to occupants was identified in this area of the station. No other immediate threat to life areas were reported. Professionals will be hired to do all of the recommended cleaning and mitigation. The companies were asked if the buildings should be shut down until the problem can be resolved and the answers were “no”. We need to allow the city the time to correct the problem.

The union will continue to monitor the progress as we already have. I do not believe we would see the actions being taken now had we not stayed on top of this issue. I know this is an inconvenience but please be patient.

            At this time the union does not believe it would be prudent to hire our own testing to be done. The results already received are trustworthy and we would likely have to hire the same contractors to do it anyway. If at any time we feel the need to, we will revisit this alternative. The city will likely expend over $120,000 on this issue before it is done. When this is complete we will all be in a healthier and safer environment than most of us have been in throughout our careers.

 Any concerns or questions are welcome.

 Bruce Hamilton

Newest SEMCOG Numbers show an  increase in Dearborn population of approximately 3,000 people as of last month.

Population and Households	Census 2000	SEMCOG Mar 2008	Change 2000-2008	SEMCOG 2035
Total Population	97,775	100,834	3,059	93,073
Group Quarters Population	401	401	0	451
Household Population	97,374	100,433	3,059	92,622
Housing Units	38,981	39,198	217	-
Households (Occupied Housing Units)	36,770	36,102	-668	37,438
Residential Vacancy Rate	5.7%	7.9%	2.2%	-
Average Household Size	2.65	2.78	0.13	2.47

	Annual Average
Components of Population Change	Census 1990-1999	SEMCOG 2000-2006
Natural Increase (Births - Deaths)	728	984
Births	1,649	1,893
Deaths	921	909
Net Migration (Movement In - Movement Out)	121	-541
Population Change (Natural Increase + Net Migration)	849	443
Source: Michigan Department of Community Health Vital Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, and SEMCOG.