Temporarily our Office Hours will be 8:30am to 2pm.  Please call first to make sure someone will be in the Office when you plan on stopping by.  (410) 987-1180

Attention Members of Local 1563

In accordance with Article 8 of the Local’s Constitution and Bylaws, nominations are now open for the 4 District (old term -Battalion) Representatives and the 2 At-Large District Representatives.  All offices are for the term of 2 years (July 2008- June 2010).  Nominations will be closed near the end of the regular meeting on May 13^th, 2008 @ 8:00am.  The meeting will be held at the Local’s office at 412 Headquarters Drive, Suite 5 in Millersville, MD 21108.  If you wish to place your name on the ballot please contact the nominations committee chair Brother Bob Howarth on 23 “C” Shift or by email at hogwart635@hotmail.com .

Fraternally,

Craig Oldershaw, President

Brothers and Sisters,

With the approaching implementation of the Telestaff parallel testing
there will almost certainly be issues that need to be addressed.  In
order to have one common collection point of issues dealing with Telestaff
I have asked Russ Davies to be the point of contact for the
membership.  If you are contacted by a member with a concern with Telestaff which
has not been corrected by utilizing the chain of command, please ask
them to e-mail Russ at russdavies@verizon.net.  Ask them to be as
specific as possible as to the problem they have encountered so that we may
approach administration with these unresolved issues.

Fraternally,

Craig Oldershaw

President IAFF Local 1563 

The IAFF and Pfizer are working together to help the IAFF become the first tobacco-free union in North America. This initiative to encourage IAFF members and their families to take on healthier lifestyles by quitting smoking includes:

• Information on the health risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting
• How to encourage group health insurance plans serving IAFF families to provide smoking cessation coverage
• Tips for discouraging children and young adults in IAFF families from starting to smoke
• Suggestions for encouraging all firehouses and fire departments to adopt anti-smoking policies
• Creating anti-tobacco leadership and advocacy throughout IAFF

Another feature of this program will include video testimonials of IAFF members that have successfully quit smoking and how it has changed their lives.

We need your success stories. Regardless of the method you used to quit smoking, we need your story. If you or any of your members would like to join the campaign to save 2 million years of life by sharing their story with fellow members, please contact me by phone or email.

Fraternally,

Jim Brinkley