Jumpline MAG_Winter 2026 - Flipbook - Page 6
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1403 Of昀椀cers
Chris Fink
Local 1403 Secretary
Morning Brie昀椀ng
I hope everyone has a safe and blessed
Holiday season and a Merry Christmas.
It is hard to believe that we are closing
out 2025 and beginning to prepare for
what will be a very busy 2026. Here are
a few updates on a couple of topics:
CBA Negotiations:
The negotiating team has begun meeting in preparation to negotiate the 2026 – 2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement. We
received hundreds of suggestions for contract improvements
from our members. Thank you to all those who submitted suggestions and to those who completed the Survey Monkey. The
team has compiled a list of those suggestions and is in the process of reviewing them.
Up to $460/ month until age 65
Up to $230/month after age 65
Eligibility:
Must be retirement eligible (Age 55 or 25 years of service)
Vesting:
Must have a minimum of 10 years in the health trust to be
eligible to receive at least 40% of subsidy.
Bene昀椀t Calculation:
(4%) x (Years of membership in the health trust) x (Monthly
Subsidy)
Pro-rated based on years of membership in the health trust (if
retirement eligible)
Recruit Classes:
Congratulations to Class 158 on their graduation from recruit
training on November 20th and welcome to the 1403 family.
Welcome aboard to Classes 159 and 160 which started their
MDFR journeys on November 10th. Class 159 has 76 certi昀椀ed
recruits and is the largest class in MDFR history. The class will
graduate on April 9, 2026. Class 160 has 36 non-certi昀椀ed recruits and will graduate next summer. During the union recruit
orientation and insurance signup, we were able to collect some
background data about the class members. Below is a summary of that data.
Class Size: 76 recruits
Average age: 28
Median age: 27
Youngest Recruit: 21
Oldest Recruit: 45
# of Recruits < 25 years old: 21
# of Recruits > 30 years old: 25
# of Recruits > 45 years old: 5
We asked the recruits where they were employed prior to being hired by MDFR. 59 of the 76 recruits came from other 昀椀re
rescue departments. Those 59 recruits came from 27 different
昀椀re departments. As Paul Blake often tells the recruits, “There
are two types of 昀椀re昀椀ghters: those that work for Miami-Dade
and those that want to work for Miami-Dade!” Of the remaining
recruits, one recruit came from MDFR’s Ocean Rescue Bureau,
and one came from another County Department. Six recruits
were previously employed by local hospitals. Two recruits came
from local ambulance companies. Four recruits worked in various occupations and three failed to answer the question.
The following table is a breakdown of the 59 recruits and which
Department they came from.
Key points:
Current Subsidy:
Winter 2025 | JUMPLINE Magazine
