IAFF Local 2970 West Valley City Fire Fighters

2 weeks ago

From the International Association of Fire Fighters General President.

Brothers and Sisters,

As your General President, I’ve made it my goal to ensure that your voices are heard by IAFF leadership and to provide transparency in how we make decisions. I consider this a priority at all times, but as we approach something as important as a presidential election, we especially want to hear from you.

That’s why, over the last few months, and for the first time in our union’s 106-year history, the IAFF Executive Board has taken unprecedented steps to get your input and hear from the campaigns as we consider whether to make a presidential endorsement. These steps include:

➡️Conducting focus groups, led by Republican pollster Dr. Frank Luntz, with members and affiliate leaders.
➡️Inviting as many members as possible to take a survey to determine which policy issues matter most to IAFF members and how the union should engage in the political arena.
➡️Holding in-person town halls in Minnesota, Connecticut, Ontario, Pennsylvania, and Florida to allow you to share opinions with IAFF Executive Board members.
➡️Hosting a virtual town hall with state and provincial presidents, secretaries, and treasurers.
➡️Hosting two online town halls attended by close to 1,000 rank-and-file members.
➡️Welcoming Democrats vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and GOP/Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance to speak at the IAFF’s 57th Convention in August.
➡️Asking both campaigns to complete a detailed questionnaire about their stances on IAFF issues. Those completed questionnaires will be shared soon with every member for whom we have a valid email address.
➡️Researching the candidates’ records on fire fighter and labor issues; and continuing to solicit feedback and questions via email: feedback @ iaff . org.

The survey results tell us that, like the United States and Canada more broadly, fire fighters are divided on a range of national issues. But when it comes to the IAFF and political endorsements, one thing has come through very clearly in the feedback we’ve received: the IAFF has a duty to inform members of where candidates stand on fire fighter issues and should base any endorsement solely on core fire fighter issues.

At the IAFF’s Executive Board meeting the first week of October, the Executive Board will examine your feedback from the survey and town halls, the candidates’ records, and the campaigns’ completed questionnaires in considering an endorsement in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

While we fully recognize that no decision on this matter will make all of our members happy, know that we take this responsibility extremely seriously. The Executive Board is committed to doing whatever is in the best interest of our union. That’s why transparency and seeking input from you have been our priorities every step of the way.

We will continue to share news and information with you in the weeks ahead.

Be You. Be Strong. Be Fire Fighters.

Sincerely,

Edward A. Kelly
General President

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