BUENA PARK : Firefighters to Join International Union

The city’s firefighters have voted to join the International Assn. of Fire Fighters, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, fire officials said.

David C. Dorn, president of the Buena Park Firemen’s Assn., said the union has a membership of 195,000 firefighters in the United States and Canada.

Dorn said that about 40 of the association’s 52 members voted to join the union. Members who are on vacation, assignment or leave are also expected to favor joining the union, he said.

“We’re certainly glad to see them affiliated and welcome their membership,” said Dallas Jones, president of IAFF Local 1014, which represents firefighters in the Orange County Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department and El Monte Fire Department. “We will do everything we can do to assist them in obtaining their goals and objectives.”

Dorn said that Buena Park’s rank-and-file firefighters have been discussing joining the union for more than a year. He added that the decision to affiliate with the IAFF was not prompted by recent bitter labor negotiations with the city.

The key advantage in the firefighters’ joining the IAFF is the union affiliation, Dorn said.

“But whether we’re an association or a union, the job is to represent members on (issues such as) wages, hours, working conditions and other terms of employment,” he said.

Dorn also said that being a member of the IAFF is “going to give us a greater networking and resource pool.”

Jones said that other advantages of union membership include the availability of resources for labor negotiations and up-to-date information on health and safety issues.

Jones said that Buena Park firefighters will have their own union local--if the city decides not to contract with the county for fire protection services.

The City Council will decide Monday whether to continue a study by the Orange County Fire Department to determine how much it would cost the city to contract with the county for fire services.

Jones said that if Buena Park does decide to contract with the county, then the city’s firefighters would become part of Local 1014, which represents 2,700 firefighters.

Fire Chief Herb Jewell said he does not expect any major changes in the day-to-day working relationship between labor and management within the Fire Department.