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Local 414 - Fighting for your future... |
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Welcome to the home of local 414. My name is Jeffrey Weidner. I am the President of Kenosha Professional Fire Fighters Union. I am very proud of the work our Media Services Department has done to bring this website to you. Keep visiting us often as there are new changes and improvements almost weekly. Our office is located at 3030 - 39th Avenue in Kenosha. While we do not have regular office hours, we are available by appointment at anytime. On the home page you’ll find a link to the officer’s and Board members page. If you wish to contact us, click on the name of the person you wish to reach and an email window will appear. Our members (145) are proud to serve the City of Kenosha. Pride, Dedication, and Courage are the words that best describe the manner in which our services are delivered. Kenosha Professional Fire Fighters have been members of the International Association of Fire Fighters since 1936. It is through the hard work and sacrifice of our predecessors that we enjoy the ability to collectively bargain for the wages, hours and working conditions of our profession. Our affiliations in the labor community do not end there. We are also affiliated with the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, Kenosha AFL-CIO council, Kenosha Union Club, Inc., and the State of Wisconsin AFL-CIO. It is through these affiliations that we are able to help preserve the rights of organized labor as a whole. The success of our local has been a direct result of our affiliations and our past members such as President Emeritus Frank E. Blasi and President Emeritus Richard Lipke. These men set the stage and paved the way for Local 414 to become what it is today. Our motivation to continue our work both internally and within the community comes from hard work and the inspiration from people like Honorary Life Member John Lusignan. As union members we have accomplished much in the past and look forward to the future. Our service as a local has reached many people through the labor and funding of our members. Kenosha’s first Fire Safety House was built by Local 414 members that sought donations from the community to provide educational opportunities to children for the past 18 years. Local 414 members developed, coordinated and executed a free festival to teach fire safety. Appropriately named, Fire Safety Day was another example of members getting the message of fire safety out to the community. Local 414 has been an active participant in the annual Labor Day Fill the Boot campaign to raise money for the Muscular Distrophy Association (MDA). To date, Local 414 remains the state leader in most money raised in a single day, statewide. Our members continue to support the United Way through payroll deductions and ring the bell for Salvation Army every holiday season. While there have been countless charitable organizations that have benefited from our work, members are still finding new and challenging opportunities to help those in need. |
Local 414’s Executive Board has recently undergone a re-organization to help serve our members better. This structure is modeled after the organizational outline of the IAFF. Our Media Services Department is responsible for bringing this website to you and all of our members to better communicate with them and the public. They also advise the executive Board on matters of technology and provide IT services to the local. This department is headed by member Dan Radandt who serves with 4 other members to provide these services. Vice President Paul Murphy heads the Department of EMS where all matters of Emergency Medical Services are handled. This department advises the board of changes in the EMS field and provides detailed guidance on EMS matters during negotiations. As mentioned above, Public Relations are a very important part of what local 414 is about. The Department of Public Relations is headed up by Board Member Jeremy Ryan. This department coordinates all of the events Local 414 participates in as well as providing merchandise to our members. The local store is run from the union’s office. In an ever changing society, there comes a need for recognizing and preserving some of our most basic values. Board Member Phil Jacobs heads the local’s Human Relations Department. As Union members we are involved in furthering and preserving our issues in the political arena. Several of our members head up the Government Affairs Department where the impact of politics on the fire service is monitored and coordinated. Board Member Frank Rovella heads the Safety Department. In the fire service, there are ever changing safety regulations and new product innovations to help firefighters remain safe on the job. As part of our continuing effort to uphold our wages, hours and working conditions, I along with several members, heads up our Greivance Committee along with several Local 414 members. There are many exciting programs available to our members. Some of those include a reduced rate credit card from Union Plus, Inc. A link and application are available at www.iaff.org The IAFF has partnered with Nationwide Retirement Systems to provide a beneficial tax shelter retirement fund. This program is known as the IAFF Frontline Program as part of the IAFF Financial Corporation (IAFF-FC) A link is also available on the IAFF site. I hope we have provided some insight as to what Local 414 is all about. Our greatest asset lies in our members and their solidarity. Please take the time to sign our guestbook and visit us from time to time. Yours in Solidarity, Jeffrey A. Weidner
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