What Your Union Does
Your local union, CPF and IAFF are there to protect you on the job while you protect the public. Together, we bring the strength and experience of over 100 years of advocacy advancing and protecting the rights, health and safety, wages, and benefits of our members.
Some of you may be new to unions and might be wondering what a union does for you. This is what it all means:
- A seat at the table: Every aspect of your salary, benefits and working conditions is governed by the contract negotiated by the local union. Without a union, firefighters are at the mercy of the whims of their employers. With a union, they have a voice.
- A champion for workplace safety: Firefighting is dangerous work, but it’s a lot more dangerous without the right gear. Every significant step forward for job safety – PPE standards, 2-in, 2-out, Cal-OSHA, NFPA 1710 – came not because employers loved firefighters, but because your local union and CPF, your state union fought to get them.
- An advocate when times get tough: As public safety professionals, firefighters’ are under close scrutiny, and discipline can be unfair and arbitrary. The local union contract secures firefighters’ basic workplace rights. The Firefighters Bill of Rights, brought to you by CPF’s multi-year legislative advocacy, guarantees you representation and protects your rights against unfair discipline.
- An outlet to get your voice heard: For workers who don’t have a union, filing a grievance is often a one-way ticket out the door. Through the union, firefighters can get their issues heard by management without fear of retaliation.
- A strong voice with the powers that be: Everything about a firefighter’s job is governed by decisions made by elected officials. Through political action at the state and local level, firefighters get to help choose their boss. And when it comes time to follow through, it’s the union that holds them accountable on your behalf.
How It All Works
The local negotiates pay and benefits, protects due process rights, stands at your side in disputes with management, fights for all of us in the halls of power. |
CPF stands up for 35,000 California firefighters on workplace safety and health, pensions, survivor benefits, training and so much more at the statewide level. |
The IAFF is our voice in Washington, D.C., representing some 352,000 firefighters throughout the U.S. and Canada. |