Chief Leader

Speaking before two City Council committees Sept. 29 examining health services for uniformed responders, Local 3621 of District Council 37" which represents Emergency Medical Service officers" blamed the FDNY for restricting medical treatment to its members, while the Uniformed Firefighters Association hailed its employer's efforts, and instead put the blame on a Federal health agency.

UFA: Working As Partners

UFA Health and Safety Officer William Romaka told the Civil Service and Labor and Health Committees that "the members of the FDNY have found partners willing to address the concerns of our membership," speaking of the FDNY's medical officers.

In a departure from the union's often-confrontational relationship with the FDNY, Mr. Romaka praised and promoted the department's medical and monitoring treatment program before the committees, which has come under criticism from Local 3621.

"Our many retired Firefighters still enjoy the warmth of the 'Bravest family' and are willing to return to our program to share stories and update us of their plights, though they always had the freedom to go elsewhere if they so choose," Mr. Romaka said. "We are proud of the fact that exit surveys show a strong approval of how our members are monitored and treated."

Mr. Romaka focused his criticism on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, saying that "One of our major supporters regarding outside counseling has been denied funding by NIOSH because they desire our members" both active and retired" confidentially and won't divulge names and Social Security numbers, which they don't ask for."

He continued that NIOSH has struggled in setting up a national program for 9/11 health treatment.

'Held to Higher Standard'

But Local 3621 President Tom Eppinger took his testimony in a different direction, saying that even though the FDNY could utilize its own records and those of the Law Department, it is now requiring EMS members to provide their own documentation that they worked at the World Trade Center site on 9/11.

"They just threw it on the member," Mr. Eppinger said. "We believe we live at a higher standard."

Also testifying with Mr. Eppinger was former Emergency Medical Technician Stephen Hess, a 9/11 responder who has claimed before the committees that the FDNY terminated him because of his various 9/11-illnesses and that he has not been receiving the pension to which he believes he is entitled.

The hearing occurred the same day it was reported that the James Zadroga Act, which would have secured Federal funding for 9/11 medical monitoring and treatment for residents and responders, faltered in the U.S. House of Representatives after Mayor Bloomberg withdrew his support because an amended version would have required additional city funding.

Lightning Rod in House

Adding to the tension between Local 3621 and the UFA last week was testimony by the EMS officers union's pension consultant, Marianne Pizzitola, who has accompanied Mr. Hess during past City Council hearings. Ms. Pizzitola, who is also the founder of the FDNY EMS Retirees Association, has raised the ire of the UFA and other FDNY unions over the last year by opposing a section of the Zadroga bill that would have compelled FDNY members with 9/11-related ailments to an employer-based treatment and monitoring program.

"All too often the unions tell me we should not worry about everyone and settle for whatever services the greatest good," Ms. Pizzitola said in her testimony. "But when I look at Steve, and his family, there is just no way I can accept that mantra."

The UFA along with the Uniformed Fire Officers Association and Local 2507 of DC 37, which represents Paramedics and EMTs, supported the Zadroga Act with the clause Local 3621 opposed, saying that an employer-based program would be confidential.

Mr. Romaka has maintained that Ms. Pizzitola's attention has been unfairly pointed towards the FDNY's medical program. In an e-mail to retiree advocates in August, he said, "Many of the problems she refers to had to do with the logistics in setting up a national program though it seems it is much easier to bitch than to try to understand the nuances."