Mehlville Firefighters Dissolve Chapter, Merge with Larger Union Shop

Mehlville firefighters will disband their union's local chapter and join a larger chapter—a move that could bring more training opportunities and other support—after votes on Tuesday and Thursday.

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1889, which began in 1969 and served 125 out of approximately 135 eligible firefighters in the Mehlville Fire Protection District, will now fold and its members will join the larger IAFF Local 2665, whose membership voted 306 to 0 to include the Mehlville shop. 

Former 1889 President Nick Fahs said that the local shop has been going to 2665 for advice and guidance for the past few years. The merger will also provide more resources for Mehlville firefighters in terms of training and expertise.

The change puts the muscle of about 2,000 members behind the Mehlville firefighters. Local 2665 draws members from across St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin counties. The union represents firefighters in the Mehlville Fire Protection District and negotiates with the board over wages, benefits and working conditions.

“We started to realize we were dealing with issues where we were going to them so often, maybe it would better serve us to join them like everyone else has,” Fahs said.

Local Autonomy

With the merger, 1889's members will join one of the seven districts in Local 2665. MFPD Capt. Mike Yemm will become the shop steward and function as the liaison between 2665 and firefighters, as well as between the district’s administration, board and the firefighters. 

“Mike still has the autonomy to run our group of people,” Fahs said. “We’re still the Mehlville firefighters, it’s just a different number at the end.”

Funding will also remain partly autonomous. Mehlville firefighters will still have local dues for their and election .
 
Added Resources

Mehlville firefighters will now pull from a larger pool of resources by joining 2665.

“It gives you a lot to draw from in terms of safety,” Yemm said. “They can send guys out to get trained on safety issues, on training issues, contract negotiation and election (issues).”

Yemm said members were asking questions that 1889’s leadership could not answer.

“If we have a pension question, they’ve got guys that they send to pension seminars every year,” Yemm said. “That’s the guy I’m going to call; the day-to-day operations should not change.”

Local 2665 also has access to training opportunities that won’t cost the district money. Yemm said the union can bring in experts to train firefighters in classes that are open to everyone. 

“No one had to pay because it was brought to them,” he said. “It’s expensive to train people, especially in hazardous materials, and they have people with those qualifications.”

Moving forward, Yemm will sit down with 2665 administration to outline goals. Mehlville firefighters will join the seventh district of Local 2665, under vice president Garry Olson.

“We’re very excited to have them (the firefighters) join and looking forward to an exciting change. The one thing everyone wants to see is consolidation in the county and that has to start with the unions,” Olson said. “The one thing they want to do is help people; they've been beat down and treated like second-class citizens.”

The district recently changed leadership when Brian Hendricks was named interim chief after former  in June. The union was also at odds with the board when they sued unsuccessfully over the board's decision to change the firefighter’s pension system from a defined-benefit to a defined-contribution plan in 2005.

For now, Yemm said he wanted to improve communication within the district and between the firefighters, board and chief.

“It’s gotten a lot better; we’ve made some good steps in that direction in the last few months,” he said. “It’s about the safety of the residents and the safety of the employees.”

Mehlville Fire Board Chairman Aaron said that while the district won't see any changes, he views the move as a positive change.

"The issues people point to happened years ago," he said. "I don't see any bad relations or problems with the way things are now."

"Local 1889 took them down a dead end road for six-and-a-half years. I would think a person who worked for the district would see it as a positive change," Hilmer said "(1889) always wanted to go down a path of warfare and lawsuits; it's never led them down a path that's benefitted the firefighters...The ball is in their court now."

A Long Process

Fahs and other 1889 leaders approached 2665 about a year ago about the possible merger of the two locals. After the April election, he made a more concentrated effort to make it happen.

“Also, one of our goals was to be debt-free when we went to them, because they would have had to assume that debt for us,” Fahs said.

Local 1889 incurred debt in the form of legal expenses after the pension lawsuit.

Local 1889 approached its members, and the move passed with a two-thirds majority.

The process is nothing new to 2665. The union represents firefighters in nearly every district in St. Louis County, with the exception of Lemay and Affton.

“They’ve done this so many times, someone’s paved the road already,” Fahs said.