Jumpline magazine JUNE 2023 pages - Flipbook - Page 5
William McAllister IV
President
President’s Report Continued
5
been, and if we want to accomplish great things
ticking. Weeks passed as many involved were
in the future, how important they will always be.
awaiting actuarial studies requested by SimpLike all things with our profession, preparation
son. There was a sense of hopeless foreboding
is key. We must put in the work. A few dollars
being conveyed from Tallahassee. After a third
here, a few hours there. Each member should
stagnant week, we were given bad news about
Each member
be donating at least five bucks per pay period to
the future of the FRS that “change was coming,
should be
our PAC (if you aren’t, please send an email to
little could be done for now and we should get
donating at least
Paul at treasurer@local1403.org). When there
on board.” So, John Lancaster and I felt pretty
five bucks per pay
are requests for 2-3 hours of your time once evfrustrated and hopped in the car to do someery two years to help during election season,
thing about it. We arrived at the Florida Capitol
period to our PAC
show up.
around 3 AM to talk with a few elected friends in
the House’s inner leadership circle.
Our greatest strength lies in our numbers.
When a resident smells smoke in a high rise, 45 of us rush
By nightfall the next day, the House leadership saw the bettoward the building. When the first firefighter confirms there is
ter decision in that moment was to just wait. 2021 was not the
a fire,15 more immediately respond to help. And while those
year to enact such FRS reform, dramatically altering the sys60 brave men and women work together to mitigate that sintem’s operation to reduce benefits paid. In a moment where so
gle emergency, another 450+ Metro-Dade firefighters working
many lives were in upheaval and migration around the United
throughout the County do their part. It’s such an incredibly
States was peaking (and Florida was winning), such a decicomplicated effort doing what we do, yet it appears so effortsion could make the State of Florida a less attractive place to
less from the outside looking in. We all just do what needs to
move. House members, particularly the poker phenom Blaise
be logically done because we are helping each other. The poIngoglia, understood the Senate’s financial concerns were not
litical arena is no different than the fireground. Our unity on isas dire as represented, and the opportunity to reform FRS,
sues common to firefighting in South Florida is powerful - both
improving upon benefits paid, would soon come. Time was our
in our ability to spread an understandable message to the
ally. We just needed a few months to close out the fiscal year
residents we serve and to magnify our influence advocating
on June 30th to prove us correct.
for safer communities. By standing shoulder to
The informal phrase we caused to circulate
shoulder, whether to extinguish fires and save
on the fourth floor where House leadership oflives or to galvanize public support to make our
fices were located was “The juice wasn’t worth
working conditions safer, our collective strength
the squeeze.” The Senate would go on to hold
can inspire real change that resonates far bea couple of public hearings, and attempts were
When there are
yond Miami-Dade County and for generations
made to shovel through the legislation in a
requests for 2-3
to come.
House Committee. Advocates from the Senate
hours of your
There’s a short story in Aesop’s Fables eastried and tried, but the House was steadfasttime once every
ily summarized: Sticks in a bundle cannot be
ly united in its opposition to legislation which
broken, but sticks taken singly can be easily
would diminish the retirement system. When
two years to help
snapped in half. This maxim applies to firefightthe session ended, so did Simpson’s ambition
during election
ers. Individually we can never accomplish quite
to deliver his death blow to FRS.
season,
show
up.
as much as when we stand together to work as
How the FRS was preserved in 2021 is a lesbrothers and sisters.
son in how important this Union’s politics have
Paul and I with “future
House Speaker Danny Perez”
Our visit with Speaker Pro Tempore Bryan
Avila, who was a key player in the 2021 efforts.
Michael Chang is on the far left side and Kirk
Orr is on the right side next to me.
June 2023 | JUMPLINE Magazine
Fall of 2021, with Senator Ed Hooper (to my
right) and Representative Demi Busatta (to
my left). He would end up becoming the bill’s
sponsor in the Senate and she would be the
cheerleader on this issue overall and the bill’s
sponsor in the House.
