IAFF affiliates are eligible to receive discounts from AT&T Wireless for members, union offices and union staff. Through negotiated discounts with the AFL-CIO, savings are also available for AT&T local and long distance, Internet, video and web conferencing and other communications technology services that can help IAFF affiliates cut costs and make members' dues go farther.

AT&T is the only unionized national wireless provider. For more information on how to save on services from AT&T, contact Judy Miller of Union Plus at 1-800-472-2005 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

http://www.unionplus.org/

October 12, 2011 -- In a 50-50 vote late last night – just 10 votes shy of the 60-vote supermajority needed to shut down the Republican filibuster against the bill – the U.S. Senate blocked the first stand-alone measure from President Obama’s jobs bill – the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act, , S.1723, which would have provided $35 billion in funding for public safety and education, including funding for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, which would create up to 10,000 jobs.

At a rally in support of the jobs bill on October 19, IAFF members, police and teachers joined Vice President Biden and key senators on Capitol Hill to urge Congress to invest in programs to put fire fighters, police officers and teachers back to work protecting the nation’s communities and educating its children by passing the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act. The rally on Capitol Hill was one of several events staged by the IAFF and its state affiliates in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia designed to pressure Congress to vote on President Obama’s jobs proposal.

Despite the long odds against it, the IAFF lobbied for this critical piece of legislation to put thousands of workers back on the job. “Generating support for a jobs bill has been a tough road from the start,” says IAFF General President Schaitberger. “But regardless of the outcome of the vote, we have once again established the strength, power and influence of our gold and black political brand.”

Kentucky Senator and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell organized the entire Republican Caucus to oppose Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's effort to close debate and move to a vote on the bill, along with two Democrats (Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson and Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor) and one Independent (Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman).

IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger, along with family and friends, honored the lives of 87 fire fighters who died in the line of duty at the 25th IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial service in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Hundreds of family members and nearly 900 members of IAFF Honor Guards and Pipe and Drum corps assembled September 17 for the annual memorial service. The service began with the rolling thunder of more than 400 riders with the IAFF Motorcycle Group (IAFF-MG) and the Wind & Fire Motorcycle Club joining a procession of more than 50 fire apparatus. President Schaitberger greeted them all as they proceeded past the memorial site.

President Schaitberger also reflected on the fire fighters who perished 10 years ago in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"In 2002, we etched every single name of our September 11 fallen on those great walls behind me, one at a time, letter by letter, with love and dignity because in this profession where loss is a part of what we all call the job, it is our duty to honor and reflect on each loss, each life, one at a time," he said. "And we did that for every fire fighter who perished on 9/11, just as we have come here today to honor and celebrate 87 times the individual lives and stories of our brothers and sisters we lost over this past year."

Schaitberger addressed nearly 5,000 people in attendance at the Memorial, among them families and friends of the fallen, their brothers and sisters, members of the IAFF and the IAFF Executive Board.

The elaborate though somber ceremony began as President Schaitberger and IAFF General Secretary-Treasurer Tommy Miller laid a wreath at the Wall of Honor, where earlier hundreds of family members had etched the names of their loved ones on paper.

Colorado Springs Local 5 President Jeremy Kroto welcomed those in attendance and said he shared in the grief what they felt because one of Local 5’s own – Pamela J. Butler – was also being added to the Wall of Honor.

“With the loss of our Local 5 sister, we are once again reminded of the emotional toll that comes with placing a member of your own Local on the wall,” Kroto said.

Legendary General Secretary-Treasurer Vinnie Bollon, who died March 28, was added to the Wall of Honor. In a touching moment his widow, Linda, was presented with the IAFF flag before President Schaitberger presented her with the IAFF Medal of Honor.

In his remarks, President Schaitberger said budget cuts are making the fire service increasingly dangerous, and he encouraged everyone to renew their commitment to safety on the job. "I believe it is now up to each of us to dedicate our lives to the safety and well-being of those who are living and working on the frontlines right now. Our duty as leaders and members of our great union is to make this promise to each other – that the legacy of each of the 87 we honor today should be that we do everything within our power to make sure we don’t have to come together like this anymore," he said.

"There are those who stand with us during ceremonies much like this one, who like to sing the praises of the work our fallen did while on this Earth, and who then go back to their offices and with no more consideration than they give to any other line in a budget are making decisions that put our members’ lives and the communities they serve more at risk,” Schaitberger said. “It is in the face of this challenge that we must pull together as one big family like never before to make sure all of those standing at attention in their dress blues here today can go home safely at the end of their shift and live out the remaining years of their lives after a career of protecting others. That is our task. That is our duty."

It’s been 10 years since the terrorist attacks on September 11 that claimed the lives of 343 FDNY members. Every day since the terrible tragedy, the IAFF has made sure the fire fighters lost that day are always remembered and never forgotten.

On that day and the days after, the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) Local 94 and Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854 responded with incredible courage as they rescued thousands from the site of the World Trade Center.

At the Pentagon, hundreds more IAFF members from locals around the Washington, DC metropolitan area battled the flames and risked their lives to pull victims from the rubble.
In the aftermath, the International and its affiliates reached out to help members and their families affected by the tragedy, including financial support and counseling services.

And in the days, weeks and years since, the IAFF has made every effort to always remember and never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice helping others. The International continues to make it a top priority to ensure safer and healthier working conditions and to advocate through the political process for benefits and protections for IAFF members and their families.

Just last year, after a decade of persistent lobbying and effort, the IAFF – along with Local 94 and Local 854 – were successful in passing the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (the Zadroga bill) to provide medical monitoring and treatment to World Trade Center responders and others who became ill as a result of exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.

“The IAFF still has much work to do to ensure that our members have the tools, training, protections and resources necessary to do the job,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “But today we will remember the 343 lost on 9/11 and take to heart the lessons their dedication to duty has taught.”