STATE OF THE STATE COUNCIL Brothers and Sisters, I hope this finds you and your families well. As you may know this has been a very challenging fiscal year for the Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters. However, I am glad to report that we hit the ground running. Although we were not able to get all of the legislation we worked hard on, we have been somewhat successful in abating legislation that would be detrimental to our members. We were able to stifle attempts that bogged us down in the past, allowing us to better chart our future in these trying and politically challenging times. We have reorganized the Executive Board of The State Council and The Council itself. We have implemented several of the programs spelled out at our last Convention. While we have suffered from a cut back in the telemarketing fundraising that had basically funded our operation in the past, I believe we have turned the corner on fiscal responsibility and look forward to being able to go forward under our own steam. We have put into place a more inclusive State Council while building on our past accomplishments. We have made it a priority to visit and communicate with every affiliated Local in the State Council all across Missouri . We have asked for your input and listened to your concerns. Your thoughts and needs have given us the direction and drive to make the working conditions better and your voices heard from the smallest Local to the largest Local. We have made our presence felt in the halls of the Capitol, on both sides of the aisle and have garnered alliances with other Labor, Social, and Political groups. We have made it a point to befriend and partner with both the new Republican leadership, and the Democrats who have supported us in the past. I will highlight some of the things your State Council has been working on this past year:
Some of the things you can do to help us help you:
On a more somber note, this past year brought home the reality of what we do. Timmy Shane Hardy , a member of Neosho 's Professional Fire Fighters of Southwest Missouri Local 2001, Gave his all in the line of duty November 30, 2005 while working a fire in a agricultural food processing complex. Alan D. Leake , a member of Fulton Local 2945, Gave his all in the line of duty while working an MVA extrication in hilly terrain on April 7, 2006. God bless them and we pray for their families, They Will Never Be Forgotten. Fraternally Yours, Sherwood L. Smith President |
FIREFIGHTERS LEAD CHARGE AGAINST WORKER'S COMPENSATION BILL
December 15, 2005 – The Missouri State Council of Firefighters is among more than 70 unions and associations that have sued the state over Missouri's new workers' compensation system, calling many of the new provisions unconstitutional. The lawsuit asks the Cole County Circuit Court to strike down the law.
Missouri fire fighters argue that the public – as well as some political leaders – are unaware of the impact changes will have on public safety workers. Fire fighters could see their injury or death benefits cut in half because of changes that penalize fire fighters injured or killed in the line of duty if any of the fire fighters' equipment or actions is deemed faulty. Under the old system, compensation penalties were limited to 15 percent. In addition, the law's chief provisions make it tougher for workers to prove that an injury is work-related.
“Being in harm's way is part of the job; we understand that,” says Sherwood Smith, president of the Missouri State Council of Firefighters. “But, we expect our families to be taken care of if something does happen. You don't want fire fighters hesitating at the door because they are worried about what might happen to their families.”
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce contends that the labor groups are misrepresenting some of the changes.
“There are many scenarios that could leave a fire fighter and his or her family unprotected,” says Smith. “It's bad enough to think that mom or dad might not be coming home, but a fire fighter's family should not have to also deal with the loss of financial security.”
Both sides anticipate a heated legal battle in the coming months over the changes approved by the legislature this year.
For updates on more information on this case, visit www.mscff.com .
Lawsuit challenges new workers' compensation law
JEFFERSON CITY , Mo. - More than 70 labor groups filed suit Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of Missouri 's new workers' compensation law, claiming it tilts toward employers so dramatically as to breach a social contract established when voters created the system in 1926.
The lawsuit asks the Cole County Circuit Court to strike down a Republican-backed law revamping the workers' compensation system that took effect Aug. 28. In general, the law made it harder to prove injuries are work-related.
The new law "is an immoral assault on every working family in Missouri," Sherwood Smith, president of the Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters, said while announcing the lawsuit outside a fire station near the state Capitol. It "tosses aside previous fundamental protections and shifts the cost of workplace injuries to the employee and his or her family."
The workers' compensation system was created as a way to resolve injury claims through administrative proceedings rather than the courts. But the lawsuit contends the new law "drastically altered" the workers' compensation system by limiting workers' rights to the point that the system no longer is an adequate alternative to the courts.
The measure was one of this year's top priorities for Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and the GOP-led Legislature, who argued it would help reduce the rising workers' compensation insurance premiums paid by businesses, and thus improve Missouri 's business climate.
Among other things, the new law requires work to be the "prevailing factor" for people to be compensated for an injury, instead of the previous standard of a "substantial factor."
RECENT COURT CASE CONCERNING THE FIREMANS RULE!!!
Officer wins suit over injuries on meth raid
By William C. Lhotka Of the Post-Dispatch 02/26/2005
A St. Louis County police officer won $600,000 from a homeowner Friday in a civil suit over injuries he suffered investigating a suspected methamphetamine lab near Eureka.
The judge said later he had never heard of a case like it.
A St. Louis County jury found in favor of Sgt. David Ryan and against Violet Rademacher, one of the owners of the property.
Ryan's attorney, Rick Barry, argued that Rademacher had a duty to warn Ryan of dangerous chemicals for meth production on the premises. That theory, as it applies to public safety workers, makes the case the first of its kind in the county and at least rare nationally.
Judge Robert S. Cohen said he had not known of another one in his 31 years on the bench. "Around the country, with drug raids and meth labs and anhydrous ammonia and explosions, this could be an area of law that will be developing," he suggested.
The judge speculated that an appeal would probably use the legal argument that has usually controlled such situations - that police and firefighters accept risks of their work and cannot sue property owners for line of duty injuries.
County officers went to the home Sept. 7, 2000, to investigate a neighbor's report of smelling ether, a chemical used in making meth, from a half mile away. They said Violet Rademacher consented to the search.
Ryan said he was checking out a jug on the floor of a shed when the spout popped open and anhydrous ammonia fumes engulfed him, causing what he said were permanent injuries.
An appeals court previously removed David Rademacher, Violet's ex- husband, as a defendant, saying that since he wasn't home at the time of the raid he had no legal obligation to warn Ryan of danger. But that court allowed the case against Violet Rademacher to proceed to trial.
Defense attorney Dan Wilke said she was not a criminal, that her ex-husband was, and that she should not be punished for his misdeeds.
Although it did not come up in the civil trial, David Rademacher later went to prison on a meth-related conviction, and his wife pleaded no contest and got probation.
In closing arguments, Wilke played down Ryan's injuries, noting that the officer was back on duty in two weeks and since has risen to sergeant. Wilke also challenged Ryan's claim that the spout just popped open when he picked up the jug.
Mark Ezra, a mechanical engineer, conducted tests for Wilke on similar jug and concluded the spout could only be opened by hand.
Moreover, Wilke said Ryan is an expert on meth labs and their risks, and should have known to wear the protective suit he carried in his car.
Ryan testified that he and fellow officers had no evidence of hidden dangers and saw no indication they were looking for a "hot lab," where the manufacture of meth was in progress.
He said he has suffered from asthma since the incident; a doctor said Ryan's lungs were scarred by the fumes.
Michelle Ryan testified that her husband is susceptible to frequent colds, can't wrestle and play football at any length with his two sons, and doesn't have enough breath for the long hikes he used to take with her.
"The reason Violet is the one being sued," said Barry to the jury, "is she is the one who was on the premises and she had the ability to give a minimal warning and she chose not to."
Barry suggested that Violet Rademacher knew about her husband's meth making and could have warned Ryan without implicating herself. "All she had to say is, 'Don't go in there, or I wouldn't go in there if I were you,'" he added.
The total amount of the jury award, signed by 10 of the 12 jurors, was $750,000. The jury found Ryan 20 percent at fault for his injury and Violet Rademacher 80 percent at fault. Nine votes are needed to sustain a civil verdict.
Reporter William C. Lhotka
E-mail: blhotka@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-615-3283