The purpose for which this Corporation is formed is as follows: To educate residents of the State of New Jersey and of each community therein, through local chapters of this State Association, in the prevention, detection  and extinguishment of fires; To enhance the safety of all who reside or pass through this State by continuing the training of firefighters and the public in fire safety and by the training of firefighters in the protection of life and  property; To promote and encourage the formation of local branches; To aid and  assist by the moral support and influence of this State Association all  aforementioned qualified members of this State Association, and their widows/widowers and orphan children who may not otherwise be provided for, and  to encourage said Locals to educate and assist the public in any manner possible in connection with the area of emergency services, including but not limited to  encouraging greater public understanding of fire safety and fire fighting; To  instruct the youth of this State in fire safety and prevention and to encourage Locals to sponsor programs and to encourage youth involvement in fire  prevention; To provide for the mutual benefit and advancement of the interests and prosperity of all firefighters in the State who are now or hereafter become members of any Local; To protect and defend, as deemed advisable, the rights,  benefits and privileges to which any member now or hereafter may become entitled; To collect and compile from time to time the statistics and other  information concerning firefighters to better protect the public welfare.

New Jersey State Firemen's Mutual Benevolent Association proudly maintains an active membership of over 5,000 career personnel.

“The Million Dollar Maybe”

Collective bargaining continues to be a great challenge for our local union negotiators.  Local presidents and delegates continue to report frustration in delays, cancelled meetings, busy schedules of arbitrators and salary cap considerations.  A process that has never been easy has now been become even more arduous and complex.    Many municipal negotiators will try to convince us that everything must be on the table and givebacks in benefits are inevitable.  We as labor negotiators sitting across the table must be just as resolute and convinced that health benefits are hard earned reward for placing our personal health in jeopardy on a daily basis.  Our ability to argue our case and our commitment to financing our argument as well as our willingness to wait as long as it takes to insure a positive outcome can, have and will sustain our collective bargaining agreements. We as individual locals must be willing to fight as intellectually and professionally as possible to defeat an enemy that grows bolder and less sympathetic to our profession daily.  Just because legislators and government officials are campaigning publicly that we are unaffordable does not make it so.  What it does do, however, is make our jobs that much more difficult and underscores the importance of dedicated and informed union (FMBA) representatives. The difference of 1% per year in a four-year contract for a membership of 100 is worth $ 1,000,000.00 when pension and life expectancy are factored in.  Consider the size of your bargaining unit and do the math.  Our local presidents and delegates and executive board members are charged with negotiating contract worth millions of dollars.  This is not a job for the least among us, rather, the brightest and best informed and most dedicated among us.  Union leadership (FMBA officials), should not be left to those with nothing better to do or to those who can yell the loudest or complain the most.  FMBA leaders are negotiating sophisticated contracts with absolute vital significance to each and every one of our members’ lives.  FMBA leaders should be treated with the respect and compensation and support that they’re positions and duties demand.  If they fall short of what is required to be successful then replace them with somebody who can deliver.  Reward commitment and have no time for pretense. I have witnessed outstanding leadership and commitment at the bargaining table and watched locals be rewarded for patience and the willingness to fight, sometimes against all odds. Protecting health benefits and longevity and negotiating more than pattern settlements are not done by luck or with mirrors.  Benefits and successful salary negotiations is accomplished with hard work, patience and the resolve to do what is prudent despite criticism.  Union leadership is a noble calling and a damn difficult job.  Do not compromise your ability to earn a fair wage and be represented by the absolute sharpest among us.  While you contemplate who you want negotiating these million dollar contracts, remember you will get what you pay for and pay for what you get. The most appropriate item you can spend union dues on is the negotiation for and protection of your collective bargaining unit.  Do not be penny-wise or you will no doubt be dollar foolish.  These tough times call for tough negotiations and tough, well prepared union negotiators.   Support your cause and your cause will be supported.

Ground Hog Day

Times are tough in New Jersey.  There is no doubt that the fiscal crisis in our State is having a significant impact in many, if not most, of our municipalities.  Threatened cuts to expected municipal aid has caused local governments to in turn threaten City Employees with cutbacks, layoffs, reduction in work force and hiring freezes just to name a few. This is a scenario that has played itself out many times in the past.  State mismanages tax revenue, threatens to cut aid to municipalities, municipalities threaten to cut staffing and on and on and on.  Unfortunately the government leaders know all too well that the work force that will evoke the greatest public outcry are Police and Firefighters.  Therefore, we are traditionally the most often targeted labor group. In fact, our good relationship with the public often is the very reason officials threaten to reduce our ranks to exact public protest toward Trenton and pressure legislators to restore aid to municipalities.  While this tactic is unfair and disingenuous it is, nonetheless, effective. Many of our local union leaders have reported serious threats to staffing, requests for givebacks, protracted negotiation etc...  Now is not the time for panic.  Now is not the time for capitulation.  Now is not the time for divisive pleas for immediate retirements.  Now is the time for resolve and adherence to collective bargaining agreements.  Now is the time for unity. The obligation to safely staff municipal fire departments rest squarely on local elected government officials.  While local fire unions are charged with continuing to pressure government for manpower it is not our responsibility.  It is our responsibility to demand the highest standard of working conditions, maintain the collective bargaining agreement, protect the rights of all members and negotiate the best possible contract for our members. To negotiate with the threat of layoffs as a backdrop is not an enviable position to be in.  We cannot, however, allow management to undermine our position by pitting our members against one another.  We advocate for all members, the most senior and the most junior.  It is never in our best interest to sacrifice one for the other.  That would only accelerate a race to the bottom and the surrendering of hard fought benefits only to be further eroded in subsequent negotiations.  The reduction of staffing and the compromising of public safety as well as the safety of public employees are irresponsible acts and those who choose to play with lives must be held accountable.  Scare tactics and blackmail have no place in negotiations and must not be tolerated under any circumstance.  To cave into such unjust strategies would only lead to an undermined work force and create an eventual collective bargaining agreement that wouldn’t be worth the paper it is printed on.   Layoffs or the prevention of layoffs are not, and should not, be a function of collective bargaining.  Safe staffing and an adequate emergency response are the sole responsibility of local government officials.  Any dereliction of that duty falls at the feet of those entrusted with the public’s interest. As difficult as it may seem FMBA locals must stand firm, negotiate without apology, provide for the greater good and defend the entirety of our collective bargaining agreements until management understands that we will not be bullied or compromise our right to negotiate uncompromised.

Ignorance, Not Bliss

Whether or not you work in a public safety position, as a police officer or firefighter, regardless of rank or municipality; it is clear that we all must recognize a constant shift in political and public opinion.  There is no longer any excuse for any member of the Police and Fire Pension System, or any State run pension system to not be concerned as to the administrating, funding, and future of the aforementioned systems.  As the State of New Jersey hurdles toward fiscal revolution and economic solutions ranging from toll hikes to increases in the gasoline tax in an effort to reverse decades of fiscal irresponsibility and neglectful spending, we find ourselves in the crosshairs of legislators and public advocates. Despite a storied tradition of great public image and overwhelming goodwill purchased by the courage and dedication of firefighters throughout our history, we now find the fire service in a battle for the publics’ resolve to continue to place funding our health and benefits as necessary versus unaffordable.  The tighter the purse strings become in local and state government, the brighter the light shone on cost and funding municipal fire and police becomes. Daily arguments in Trenton and in city halls across the State surround the affordability of every economic benefit we currently enjoy. The New Jersey State FMBA and the New Jersey State PBA recognize the difficulties ahead and must enlist the support and conscientiousness of every member of our respective organizations.  To say our livelihood, staffing, benefits and future are under attack is a gross understatement.  As Governor Corzine completes the last of his 21 county meetings on toll hikes and the fiscal state of New Jersey, the public cry for cutbacks in police and fire pensions and benefits grows ever stronger.  The need to impact public opinion and shed light on the  truth regarding our pension system, our funding of same and the difference between our occupations and others, grows ever more immediate and necessary. Those of you who attend local and state meetings and offer support do well in continuing the tradition of union solidarity and are acutely aware of the challenges we face.  For those of you who are currently unaware, and uninformed, and uninvolved, you enhance local and state government’s opportunity and likelihood of initiating irrevocable harm to our industry, our future retirement benefits, and all of the progress we have struggled for and made thus far.  I cannot overemphasize the need for all to rally behind your local union leaders and support, physically and financially, the campaign to set the record straight and safeguard the very basic contractual benefits we current enjoy and seek to maintain.  IF you are currently uninvolved, any continued lethargy , regardless of your rank, will simply lend further support  to government’s position and undermine our own. I anticipate that those exposed to this message, will recognize our situation and act according.  Together we can continue to advance our agenda, however, without the support of each and every  member we may in fact fall prey to a climate of fear and propaganda.  Be aware, be vocal, and take nothing for granted.  “Inaction, contrary to its reputation, is neither safe nor comfortable.”

Evil or Necessary

As salaries of Chief Officers continue to raise some eyebrows and the differential for each rank promotion becomes increasingly appealing, the focus on union involvement turns somewhat ironic. Some locals have expressed frustration in their inability to attract interested parties to serve as union officials due to the increased attention surrounding promotions and advancement through the ranks.  Clearly, the NJFMBA supports and encourages all of it’s’ members to study, compete and advance to higher ranks.  An educated fire service is a safer and more effective fire service. It is because the “union” supports the advancement of its membership and advocates for the just compensation for additional responsibilities that causes the “union” to be sold short at times.  At what point do the laws of diminishing returns catch up with us and leave a void in the very foundation that has made advancement so lucrative. Where’s the irony? Absent the union, Firefighters’ salaries and benefits and that of Fire Officers and Chief Officers would not be as attractive as they are.  We must remember as we move up the ladder that the “union” and more importantly the union officials need the support of Officers, especially Chief Officers so they may continue to sustain our way of life, our wage increases and our pensions and benefits. So as we advance, it is even more important for us to recognize how we arrive and why it is so financially rewarding to get there.  Union meetings, negotiation appointments, legislative sessions and conventions are about the business of protecting not only what firefighters enjoy rather what every member of the fire service enjoys. I have been fortunate enough to work for Chief Officers who support the union and the labor movement.  Extra efforts to provide time to members, to do the work of our membership should be significant.  Those who resent the union and the time needed to protect the professional fire service are short-sighted.  Make no mistake; any success of the Firefighter’s union is the success of every Officer and every Chief.  Unity and support should not be turned on and off.  We can disagree without being disagreeable.  The union must appreciate the position of management. Likewise, management should never dismiss the union and its point of view.  Forgetting the role of the union, and the absolute need to hold government accountable without prejudice, is a prescription for disaster. Study hard, advance and lead, but when you arrive remember officers make great union members and leaders too.

Remembering our Brothers called to Active Duty Service