I hope this letter helps your members see the Light...


What does it take to have your Union Voice heard and respected across
Florida by members of city, county, state and federal government?  It's
all about who votes and who does not.



Early in my union career, the city that I work for had a large retired
population living in a development called Century Village. In the
Village there was a man nicknamed "Trinchi".  I did not personally know
him but his name was always connected to politics and the political
influence that he helped Century Village develop.  Over the years, we
finally had a chance to become friends and I spent many hours in his
office discussing politics.  His office wall was filled with pictures of
all kind of elected officials (i.e. presidents, United States senators,
governors, as well as many others) that had attained a high office in
government and had Trinchi to thank for it.  His phone never stopped
ringing, requesting his support.



I remember the first election that I worked in the Village.  They had a
turn out of about 6,000 to 8,000 voters. What amazed and humbled me was
the fact that many people were physically restricted to using walkers,
canes, wheelchairs.  Some even carried oxygen bottles with them to help
keep them alive. Yet there they were, struggling to reach the ballot
box.  The image that people would risk physical harm just to cast a vote
had a very powerful impact.



Over the years, the amount of voters slowly became fewer and fewer.  As
a result, the attention they got from the powerful politicians became
less and less. Trinchi finally passed away and the Village's political
influence has not been the same since.



Why is this story so important?  We need to learn from it because it
perfectly mirrors the effects of firefighters' voting records and our
political involvement. We have morphed into a group that throws money at
politicians and then expects those contributions to translate into
loyalty on our issues. The days of groups of firefighters holding signs
or walking neighborhoods is quickly disappearing. Our "Bark" is no
longer bigger than our "Bite".



We need to focus on what made the Village powerful and mighty. It was
the "VOTERS" who made the difference and made the Village's support
valued and courted by all the candidates and elected officials. We have
a "Sleeping Giant" with firefighters, our families, and our individual
circles of influence.  That Giant needs to be re-awakened because we've
let it sleep far too long. We need to harness its strength and hold our
elected officials collectively accountable for their actions.  By making
sure all members are registered voters, we can take advantage of
technology and use the voter absentee ballot to our advantage. We just
lost a critical race in Collier and Broward counties because our own
MEMBERS did not vote!



We sent personal letters from three different organizations, begging our
members to vote and it still did not happen. Enough is enough.  We have
got to work smarter and have a greater accountability.



The last legislative session should be proof enough that Tallahassee has
slammed the door in the faces of all firefighters across the state.  The
blatant disregard for our members has left none of us untouched. Sadly,
this is just the beginning.  Impending cutbacks will cause all of us to
be exposed to a greater risk coming to work, whether through increased
workloads, reduced staffing levels, or both.  Simply failing to replace
retiring firefighters is an example of a passive, artificial layoff.
Anyone that understands government realizes that those positions are
pretty much gone for good.  I hope I'm wrong in saying that, but don't
think so.



How can you help?  Here are just a FEW of the ways:

*        Register to vote online - we don't care which party you join.
*        Request an absentee ballot now!  Then, remember to USE it.
*        Forward a copy of your absentee ballot request confirmation form
from the Supervisor of Elections office to the FPF Office. OpenProtect
has detected a possible fraud attempt from "by102w.bay102.mail.live.com"
claiming to be fpf@fpfp.org
<http://by102w.bay102.mail.live.com/Local%20Settings/Local%20Settings/Te
mporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK7A/fpf@fpfp.org> .  Why forward the
request? Because the FPF can build a data base of how many votes are out
there that are firefighters.  Remember:  NUMBERS EQUAL POWER.
*        Check the FPF Website and Newsletters for up to the date
information on endorsed candidates.



Last, but not least, don't voluntarily surrender the right that other
nations fight wars to obtain, and our own Troops have died to protect.



GET OUT AND VOTE!