Members of Bath Iron Works Professional Firefighters (IAFF) Local 5257 have successfully bargained with management for a new safe and modernized fire station to work out of.
“Gone are the days of breathing in diesel exhaust every shift, having to walk in every weather condition 200 feet to the nearest bathroom, eating our meals five feet away from the apparatus, and countless other unsafe conditions," said Jesse Bell, shop steward for Local 5257.
Previously, BIW’s firefighters and fire inspectors were represented by the same union that represents shipyard security guards, but in 2020 they sought a more trade-specific union with the International Association of Firefighters. After the new local was chartered on January 4, 2021, members then met with the Professional Firefighters of Maine, a state association of the International Association of Fire Fighters to begin the process of organizing. One of their top priorities for founding President Paul Carpentier and the union's executive board was to improve working conditions at the fire station as they had previously worked out of a tiny, two-bay station.
Bell said the previous station was so cramped and crowded that the kitchen table was inches away from the ambulance when it parked. It had no bathrooms, no system for vehicle exhaust, no shower or decontamination facilities and the bays were so small that the old ambulance had "countless bumps & bruises from scraping the sides of the building” while the fire engine had to be parked outside for three seasons a year.
“We are forever thankful and when you think of what unions do, this is it,” Bell added.