A BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR ASSOCIATION

The Burlington County Professional Firefighters' Association, Local 3091, is affiliated with the International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL/CIO/CLC.  In addition, we are members of the Professional Fire Fighters Association of New Jersey, which is the State Charter Association for the International. 

We are the oldest bargaining unit for career Fire Fighters and Emergency Medical Technicians in Burlington County.

We received our charter on March 10, 1987 and through the years we have seen our Association grow from our first President, Joseph Verrill, and 2 initial founding members, Bruce Adams & Jay Saymon of the Cinnaminson FD, to our present active membership of 140 and growing. 

We are presently involved in  numerous charitable fund-raising activities on an annual basis, including Alex's Lemonade Stand and our "Fill the Boot for MDA" campaign, which occurs each year right before Labor Day .

Proceeds from our Poker Night events are utilized to support the "Sean Fund."  The "Sean Fund" is a fund established to assist members of our local, or their family members, who might need financial assistance with any medical condition in which their medical coverage or insurance falls short, or those members who are falling on hard times.

HISTORY OF THE PFANJ

The Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey was originally established and chartered as a State Association by the International Association of Fire Fighters on October 29, 1929. It was called the Uniformed Firemen’s Association of New Jersey, and included charter locals Newark Local 71, Carteret Local 292, Perth Amboy Local 286, Woodbridge Local 290, and Rahway Local 295. A short time later, the union’s delegates saw fit to change the association’s name to Fire Fighters Association of New Jersey, and it operated as such for more than 30 years. Delegates to the 1996 convention, however, were concerned that there would be no misunderstanding of the union’s calling and mission. They moved by resolution to change the name of the organization to the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey.

Today, the PFANJ is often referred to as the IAFF. The IAFF exists in three places: our parent IAFF headquartered in Washington, DC; the IAFF State Association, the PFANJ, headquartered in Trenton; and our local affiliate unions spread across New Jersey. These organizations are designed to allow information to flow back and forth for the benefit of all members.

Since 1929, the PFANJ has grown to upwards of seventy local unions of varying size and complexity, representing over half of New Jersey’s approximately 6,000 professional firefighters. In addition, the PFANJ represents more than 500 EMS professionals who are members of PEMSA (Professional Emergency Medical Services Association) IAFF Local 4610. In all but a few cases, PFANJ/IAFF affiliates are the recognized bargaining agent responsible for terms and conditions of employment in their respective venues, regardless of any other affiliation.

Our local affiliates range from small fire districts, to full-time round-the-clock suburban fire and rescue agencies, to the state’s largest and busiest urban fire departments.

OUR CALLING

Professional firefighters take an oath to protect life and property. Professional emergency medical personnel make a promise to serve the public. We do not agree to die, nor to become seriously injured or permanently disabled by virtue of our occupation. In a few instances, however, we must make the ultimate sacrifice. To save another, we may lose our own lives, a possibility that sets our occupation and membership apart from all others.

In numerous instances, however, our injury or death is the direct result of an unsafe workplace and an under-prepared workforce. As trade labor unionists, we strive to make our workplaces safer and our workforces better prepared to face the challenges of a potentially dangerous and debilitating occupation. Those who insist we work in an unsafe, under-prepared environment can and will be held accountable for their misdeeds against our membership, our families, and the citizens we are sworn to serve.

They say some things never change. Our profession requires us to get as close to a fire as possible to apply water until it’s extinguished. While the water part remains unchanged since the Stone Age, ever-evolving technology allows us to get deeper into fires and their hazardous environments for longer periods of time than ever before. Our jobs have therefore become simultaneously more efficient and more dangerous.

Also unchanged is the notion of cutting costs on the backs of firefighters and emergency medical personnel, relying on their good nature and dedication to get the job done no matter what. Our forbearers needed a strong union 88 years ago, and we need one today. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

You may ask yourself, “Why should I belong to a state union?” Brothers and Sisters, there has never been a more important time in our history than now for us to come together as one! We are being vilified on every front, portrayed as the cause of New Jersey’s terrible economy. We must come together as one union to speak in one voice, under one banner, to refute the fallacies orchestrated against us and to protect our hard-earned rights and benefits!

We can no longer rely upon the good nature of the public we serve to support our initiatives and to sympathize with the dangers associated with our calling. We must stand shoulder-to-shoulder to ensure the hard work of our forbearers was not in vain.