On the Public Dime
Resolution 33, which failed at the recent IAFF convention, spelled out in great detail the amount that was received in 2015 alone, from MDA, and how the IAFF either did, or did not, account for it.
Long story short, the IAFF received $1,400,000, provided a bogus expense accounting for about $700,000 and didn’t even try to explain where the other $700,000 went.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to Vancouver, WA, Local 452 for their diligence in following the issue and trying to make the IAFF honest.
Their work shows that the actual IAFF MDA expenditure is around $180,000 meaning that $1,200,000, money given by the public to help sick children, is missing in action.
An Oath of Honor
Faced with these new facts, some IAFF members have fallen back on the lame excuse that someone, somewhere, sometime, told them that money collected locally stayed there so that must make the great IAFF rip-off of sick kids OK.
That is willful ignorance that is both unethical and dishonest.
It’s the same as saying during the Nazi Holocaust that no Jews were taken from your block.
Passive ignorance fails the test of personal honor.
If the IAFF is in a true partnership with MDA to heal and care for sick children and you have or will collect from the public for that purpose, you are under an oath to make sure every penny possible goes to kids in need.
That $1.4 million coming from the MDA through the efforts of firefighters is dependent on our collective moral character.
Remember, silence equals consent.
Big Strings Attached
A huge portion of the $585 million dollars collected by the IAFF is done so by thousands of fire departments using either on-duty firefighters or an arrangement whereby public assets, such as fire department vehicles, communications infrastructure, etc., are employed at taxpayer expense.
Using public assets to solicit donations which then become part of a fraudulent expense scheme poses a serious problem for fire department officials as they now know that funds are being improperly received by the IAFF in what is effectively a “pay to play” scheme.
Thus, fire department managers and other officials who knowingly allow public assets of any kind to be employed in such an effort are effectively aiding and abetting fraud.
There is another and equally serious aspect to the issue: the fact that these assets, personnel, equipment, etc., have been, in many cases, obtained with federal grant funds.
Federal Office of Management and Budget regulations are quite clear that a grantee must avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Participating in a campaign where citizens are solicited for money, typically under the guise of lawful government authority, which is then given to a private entity, the IAFF, as part of a known fraudulent scheme is an egregious conflict of interest in fact rather than appearance.
Willful Ignorance?
Now that the truth is out, will the IAFC and the USFA turn a blind eye to fraud on a massive scale?
How can they state that they are operating in a manner respectful of the public’s trust and confidence if they allow this to occur?
In fact, the public’s trust in firefighters is largely based on their belief that we always strive to do the right thing.
Not here, and not now.
The unfortunate fact is that our union, which many of us love, has become so corrupted that it not only steals from sick children, but just ratified that intent at its most important gathering.
We shouldn’t have to rely on fire department “bosses” to keep us honest, but that is now where we find ourselves.
More to the point, if they sit silently by, they also forfeit their ethical and moral standing as public leaders and leaders of firefighters.
Leadership requires a sense of honor and courage of purpose.
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