PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE | BRIAN K. RICE
COVID-19 one year later
On February 6, 2020, San Jose Firefighters Local 230, responded to a call for Patricia Dowd who had suffered a catastrophic heart attack. Autopsy results later revealed that hers was the first U.S. COVID-19 death in the U.S., a full three weeks earlier than had first been reported. That February, the virus spread throughout San Jose Fire, resulting in 16 firefighters testing positive and forcing almost a quarter of the department to quarantine.
As with so many other disasters, it was our firefighters who were “first in” on the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that month, more than half a million Americans have died, among them dozens of firefighters, including our California brothers Jose Perez and George Roque from UFLAC Local 112 and Chris Metz from Rancho Santa Fe Local 4349.
Looking back on the year, we went from knowing very little about COVID-19 to having safe and effective vaccines in record speed, thanks to advances in science. In between that time, our priority has been to protect the health and safety of our members on the job, and we continue to do so today.
At the onset of the pandemic, we worked to ensure that firefighters were protected. An executive order issued by Governor Gavin Newsom with CPF’s support established short-term COVID-19 workers’ compensation presumption, covering firefighters and other essential workers.
The COVID-19 presumption was enshrined in law with the governor’s signature on CPF’s co-sponsored SB 1159. CPF also worked for passage of AB 1867, which extended supplemental paid sick leave for emergency workers exposed to, or infected with, COVID-19. This ensured that firefighters would not lose their accrued sick time to the extreme circumstances of the pandemic. CPF also won a victory for transparency with AB 685, which required stricter disclosure of workplace exposure to COVID-19.
With those protections in place, we moved our attention to delivering safe and effective vaccines to our members by ensuring firefighters were recognized as part of the first response to COVID-19. Through that work we successfully placed our members in Phase 1-A of vaccine distribution.
Still, as the vaccine rollout got underway, it became clear not enough was being done to educate firefighters on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Working with public health leaders, including three county health directors — Peter Benson (Contra Costa); Clayton Kazan (Los Angeles), and Kevin Mackey (Sacramento) — CPF launched an education effort, including a widely distributed virtual town hall, as well as episodes of CPF Fire Wire and robust social media advocacy. You can find all the vaccine education materials and much more about COVID-19 specific to firefighters at cpf.org/covid19.
In a year filled with local stay-at-home orders, CPF found new ways to stay connected with members. Virtual town hall meetings allowed leadership and members to connect on critical issues — not only COVID, but retirement and union business. This past December, CPF conducted a successful day-long Virtual CPF Convention, passing dozens of resolutions setting the agenda for the next two years. One of those resolutions established a Human Relations Committee to improve on the cultural and diverse needs within the fire service and the communities we serve.
The experiences of the past year have inevitably shaped the contours of the agenda for the year ahead.
Our most important legislative goal is to strengthen our critical workers’ compensation presumptions. Too many firefighters have found themselves trapped in a system seemingly stacked against them. From the slow-walking of critical health care to the random and automatic denial of legitimate claims, employers and third-party administrators are unreasonably denying presumptive injury claims. CPF’s sponsored SB 335 by Sen. Dave Cortese would attack these injustices, shortening the time period to accept or deny presumptive claims and boosting penalties for unreasonable or arbitrary denials. This will make the system more efficient and employers will be pushed to review and approve presumptive injury or risk facing penalties.
With the pandemic appearing closer to an end and hope on the horizon, our work around COVID-19 is not over. There are still too many unknowns about the long-term effects of the virus and a significant number of our members are suffering those lasting effects. We will keep a vigilant watch on the implications this virus may have over the next several years and move to protect the health and safety of all members impacted.