Jumpline MAG_Sum_Fall 2025 - Flipbook - Page 2
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President’s Report
William McAllister IV
President
What does this
victory mean for
us going forward?
This is
an exciting
new chapter
in our history!
This year’s budget 昀椀ght over
Air Rescue will be remembered
as one of the de昀椀ning moments in our
union’s history.
What started as a small line buried in the county’s proposed
budget—the transfer of Air Rescue from the Countywide General Fund into our Fire Rescue Service District—quickly became a battle over our ability to grow, protect our members,
and save lives. On paper, it looked like an minor accounting
maneuver. In reality, it would have stripped away tens of millions of dollars that we need to expand units and lower response times.
And together, we rose to meet that
challenge.
Thank you to everyone who stood with us. Those who
showed up at BCC meetings made our strength impossible to
ignore. Those who sent emails gave added weight to our arguments. And those who donate to our PAC helped us build
the relationships that ensured our voices were heard when it
mattered most.
This movement took its raw and most beautiful form at the
昀椀rst Budget Ordinance hearing, when more than 100 members sat in solidarity wearing gold shirts as I and the Fire Chief
stood side by side, informing and educating the Commission
for over an hour on the facts at hand in the middle of the night.
That conversation ended abruptly when Commissioner Eileen
Higgins made a motion to return to the proper funding model
we had fought for from the start. That motion passed unanimously, 13–0. From that moment forward, the tide had turned.
We carried that energy all the way through to the end at 4
a.m. during the second Budget Ordinance hearing, with Lisa
Bullard, Paulie Blake, John Lancaster, Stephen Busse, and
our lobbyist Manny Reyes sitting side by side in those chambers. That arc—from the gold shirts at the 昀椀rst hearing to the
unanimous vote in the dead of night at the second—is the very
It means our Fire
Rescue District
is protected from
being drained of
resources.
heart of what it means to be in
this Union: when the call goes
out, we answer, and we see it
through to the 昀椀nish.
I want to highlight a
few names that deserve special mention. John Lancaster and Scott Mendelsberg devoted hundreds of hours combing
through budget documents with me, dissecting line items, and attending meeting after meeting with commissioners
and their staff. Their preparation and persistence ensured our case was undeniable. Stephen Busse organized our
members into a sharpened spear, giving our presence focus
and direction so that when it was time to act, we acted as one.
And standing until the last gavel fell, Lisa, Paulie, and Manny
embodied the relentless resolve of Local 1403.
This effort reminded us that even with allies, there are moments when friends disagree. Mayor Levine Cava has been
supportive of labor and a friend to our 昀椀re昀椀ghters, but on this
issue, we saw things very differently. That is part of the democratic process. Our responsibility as a Union is to stand 昀椀rm
when safety is on the line, and that is exactly what we did. We
had very clear conversations, we made our red lines known
well in advance, disagreed with respect, but also fought with
principle and conviction—and in the end, our position prevailed.
Our Board of County Commissioners deserves special recognition. In a unanimous vote, they restored Air
Rescue funding from the Countywide General Fund,
where it has always belonged. That decision reaf昀椀rms a
principle as old as our District itself: countywide services must
be funded countywide. Their unanimous support sends a powerful message that the mission of MDFR is understood, respected, and backed by those elected to serve.
What does this victory mean for us going forward? It means
Summer/Fall 2025 | JUMPLINE Magazine
