Mainline - San Francisco Firefighters Local 798

Letter From the
Director
Stephen Giacalone
Brother’s & Sister’s,
Hello again! There are several topics to
discuss in this installment. This; however,
will be an installment with an election/
political tone.
First, a big thank you to the members
who gave-up their free-time to walk
neighborhoods and precincts for the June
2010 election. They helped get the message
out to the public about the importance
of Measure “B” and to help with the
campaigns for Democratic County Central
Committee of Keith Baraka and Dan Dunnigan.
Measure”B” passed resoundingly
with nearly 81% approval! Unfortunately,
neither Keith nor Dan were successful in
their bids, but kudos to them for the desire
to be part of the political process!
Second. Thank you to the membership for
ratifying the changes to our MOU which
will help save the City nearly $20 million!
The negotiations with The City were long,
but the negotiating team from Local 798
was tireless in their efforts to get the best
deal possible for the membership. The
MOU was ratified by a vote of 210-38.
Now, while this is an impressive margin, it
is disappointing to see such a low turnout.
There are nearly 1400 members eligble to
vote in this local! I truly hope the members
are not complacent! Our “victories”
now and in the past are hard fought, and
believe me, that in the future it will only
become increasingly difficult!
Third. Jeff Adachi and Meg Whitman.
These two “people” are out for blood!
Adachi wants more money from you for
your pension and to double the cost of
your healthcare! Combined, you are looking
at an almost 10% pay-cut! In a recent
poll, Adachi’s charter amendment would
PASS with almost 65% of the vote, and
that same poll shows 50% of “union”
households would support this measure!
OUCH!! Meg Whitman is pulling NO
punches in her message about wanting
serious pension reform as well! This is going
to be an “all hands on deck” fight to
defeat these two people. It is going to require
many hours of hard work by the Executive
Board, but more importantly, hard
work from and by you, the membership!
The Executive Board WILL be asking for
your assistance and my hope is that the
membership will step forward!
Fourth. The inaugural shooting contest
fundraiser for the San Francisco Firefighters
Toy Program was a huge success! Congratulations
to Danny Gracia, Mike Quinn
and Tony and Terry Smerdel for their incredible
work! Congratulations also to all
those who participated and bought tickets
for the raffle! Thank you very much!
Fifth. Thoughts and prayers to the family
of Joe Delfino(Ret. AP). Also, thoughts
and prayers to Mike Cochrane and his
family on the passing of his father, Bill
Cochrane(Ret., Battalion 3).
Finally. Thank you again for everyone’s
hard work and thank you in advance for
your help with these upcoming political
battles. Don’t forget to mark your calendars
for September 25 and the Chili Cookoff!
That’s all for now!
Stephen V. Giacalone
STATION 3
PRESENTS:
(An H.O.A. production)
a banquet in honor of five retired
members of singular distinction
from 1067 post st.
Andy “Assman” Assereto
Larry “I’m a patient man” Zammarchi
Dan “the exposed nerve” Dente
Louie “lotion louie” Ramirez
Charles “the dumbest white man” baker
Thursday October 21, 2010 (tour 14)
s.f. Italian athletic club
1630 stockton st.
cocktails 6:30
dinner 7:30
$80 & entrée choice (BEEF,CHIX,FISH) BY 10/13/10
Checks To:
Station 3
1067 Post St.
San Francisco, CA 94109
www.sffdlocal798.org Main Line 17