The End Of Volunteer Fire Departments?

There is a bill going through Congress, H.R. 413 that, to some people, threaten the existence of volunteer fire departments throughout the country. It is called the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act.
A description of the bill comes via Firehouse.com: "Collective bargaining for all of the nation's public safety workers is a step closer to becoming law.
The measure -- that's been in the works for about 16 years -- has been included in the House Supplemental Appropriations Bill.
IAFF and FOP officials are working closely with legislators to insure that the amendments presented are acceptable, and will gain the necessary votes.
"We've had bi-partisan support in the past, and we still do," said Barry Kasinitz, IAFF director of government affairs.
He sees the inclusion of the measure in a bill that funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and relief from the massive oil leak as the perfect vehicle to move it through."
http://www.firehouse.com/news/top-headlines/public-safety-collective-bargaining-measure-could-become-law
First, any time a law has to paired with bills about the oil spill disaster and war funding, tells me that this law is unpopular and not needed. If it can't stand alone, then it shouldn't be a law. Also, if they have been trying to get the bill passed for 16 years, then it is not a good law.
From Human Events.com: "Volunteer fire departments are about as American as apple pie. But under legislation moving quickly in Congress, this staple of American life could soon be a thing of the past.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D.-S.C.) wants to include the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act as part of the war supplemental coming before the House this week. The bill forces state and local governments to collectively bargain with police, firefighters and emergency workers. Its critics say it would compel volunteer firefighters to join unions, threatening the survival of America's nearly 26,000 volunteer fire departments."...
Critics of the bill call it anything but reasonable. The Heritage Foundation's James Sherk documented the consequences to volunteer firefighters last time the bill was this close to passage in 2007. Sherk noted that nationwide 72% of firefighters are volunteers, serving mostly communities with fewer than 25,000 people.
Under the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, also known as PSEECA, the International Association for Fire Fighters stands to gain. The union, which represents career firefighters, strongly opposes volunteers and prohibits its members from belonging to volunteer departments, even when they're not on duty.
"Firefighters unions vehemently oppose volunteer firefighters because they reduce the need for paid firefighters," Sherk said. "They levy stiff internal fines against unionized firefighters who volunteer off-duty. By requiring all states and localities to collectively bargain, PSEECA would make it easier for unions to crack down on volunteer firefighting."
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=37738
There is no doubt that many unionized firefighters dislike volunteers. Just look at the comments on this blog and in the local newspapers in the past. The fewer volunteers, the more paid union firefighters.
In Clark County, you know the firefighter union would love to put full time firefighters in the volunteer stations, especially in Mount Charleston, Blue Diamond, Moapa and probably in Logandale and Overton because these departments have a fairly high call volume as compared to other volunteer stations in Clark County. This law appears to make this more likely to happen.
This does not seem like a good bill. Volunteer fire departments are a valuable resource in America and the way the economy is going, there may be fewer paid departments and more volunteers because of falling tax revenue. Most volunteer departments are highly trained, maybe not quite at the level of most full time departments, but the volunteers are not slouches either. Volunteers can handle most any emergency that full time fire fire departments can handle and they do it with less expense.
Can a volunteer fire department take over a CCFD or Las Vegas fire department, of course not but they can take over duties of a city with say 15,000 or fewer people and you would get as good as or better service. EMS is another issue, though.
This is a bad law and needs to be defeated.