The leadership of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) have come together to co-sign the Joint IAFC/IAFF Labor-Management Initiative’s Guiding Principles, a core component of the organizations’ ongoing initiative to strengthen relationships between firefighters and chief officers.
Signed by Chief Steven P. Westermann, IAFC President 2007-2008, and IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger, the document both articulates how the two international organizations will move forward with improving labor-management relations and offers a model and a tool for helping individual fire departments do the same. The two leaders ceremoniously signed the Guiding Principles at both the IAFF Annual Convention and the IAFC’s Fire-Rescue International conference so that each organizations’ membership could witness the commitment being made on this critical issue.
“Probably the biggest expectation of both labor and management is to be able to work in a relationship of mutual respect and understanding,” said Westermann. “It’s my personal experience that in that kind of environment, we find areas of common ground more frequently and can constructively work through those times when we disagre–a critical foundation for enhancing both firefighter and community safety.”
The Guiding Principles are available online and herald the upcoming revision of the joint IAFC/IAFF Labor-Management Initiative curriculum, which is expected to roll out at the Labor-Management Initiative Conference in December.
CLICK HERE to download the document.
