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The following email was sent by the Local to the DC Council regarding the renewal of the contract with PFC Associates. We urge all of our members who are DC residents to also email the Council expressing your reservations with the award of the contract.

Councilmembers:

I hope that my testimony provided to the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary regarding the renewal of the contract with PFC Associates, LLC, for the operation of the police and fire clinic was illuminating.  My concern is that the council will approve the contract even though there are glaring legal questions regarding the individuals represented by my Union.  Paul Quander, the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) of the PFC Contract, did not provide any statutory, regulatory or other basis for the inclusion of the civilian EMS members as full service clients. He further stated that civilians from other agencies are included but fails to note that those civilians were included following a request from their individual Unions.

The issue of the grievance that was mentioned during the hearing, involves contractual issues and questions of law or statutory interpretation is tangential to our issue.  This administration has garnered a reputation for its misapplication of law and even its ignoring laws that it believes are obstacles to their end, this should not be the case here.  It is obvious from the testimony provided on Monday, January 25th 2010, that the PFC, with the aid of this contract will continue to be used for reasons that are suspicious and harmful to those who are forced to participate.

This contract should clearly outline an appeals process which it does not.  This contract should clearly define a complaint process, which it does not. This contract should clearly define what services are provided to what group of individuals and at what cost, which it clearly does not.

The strategy of waiting until the last moment to submit this contract for approval and then claim it to be an emergency, should not be a reason that the council ignores questionable practices or applications of the law.  It is an opportunity however to place the responsibility on the administration to, "get it right".

This is a contract in the amount of $36 million dollars. If there is to be accountability and transparency, then the line should be drawn clearly in the sand. The award of this contract should be held in abeyance until ALL of the outstanding legal and regulatory issues are resolved completely.

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FLSA ARBITRATION

The Arbitrator has decided in our favor. We expect the City to appeal to PERB. The arbitrator's decision can be downloaded here.

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Drug Testing Grievance

A grievance on the random drug testing has been filed. A copy of the grievance can be found here. Those Employees who have been served with the notice of occupying a safety sensitive position or have been selected for random testing, please contact Steve Chasin.

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The Local has filed a Petition with PERB to modify its unit certification in order to represent any employees already designated as All Hazard/EMS Specialists or those employees that will be designated as such. More information and the petition can be found here (info) and here (petition)

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Rubin's response to Councilmember Mendelson's letter regarding the highly questionable and newly created Battlion EMS Supervisor Captain and Fire Fighter/ Paramedic Lieutenant positions is available here along with the DC Code regarding lateral transfers to firefighter positions and the PERB certification for IAFF Local 36.

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