What is PIIERS reporting, why is it important and how can I sign up?
PIIERS is an acronym for Personal Injury-Illness-Exposure-Reporting System. This reporting system is sponsored by the Washington State Council of Firefighters (WSCFF) and creates a means for members to confidentially keep a record of their personal injuries and exposures throughout a career. These exposures/injuries are important to have documented. As an example, we remember Terence Goldberg: Terence was a Kirkland Firefighter who discovered he had cancer around eight years into his employment. At that time, cancers found in employees with less than 10 years of employment were deemed to not be job related. Kirkland had to research every call and potential chemical Terence had been exposed to during his career. It was laborious to say the least. Luckily, we were able to prove an on-duty exposure, giving his family much expanded protections after he tragically passed away. If you ask around, many members have been through their own cancer battles and debilitating injuries. With PIIERS, you have a complete documentation of exposures/injuries immediately at your fingertips. Signing up is easy, and more importantly FREE! Log in to the WSCFF website, https://www.piiers.org/, and fill out the registration form. An App is available to download to your phone or computer as well. If you have any additional questions about PIIERS, please contact any member of your Executive Board.
I’m thinking about retiring, when should I start making plans?
Your E-board is currently forming a committee to outline the necessary steps toward planning and preparing to make that next major step in your career. We anticipate having more information posted under a “retirement” tab of the union webpage by May 2021. More to come soon!
I made a mistake off duty and will potentially be facing fines and or criminal charges. Do I need to report this to the employer, and what will happen if they find out?
Every year we have members who find themselves in trouble of varying degrees. These can range from simple driving infractions to more serious offenses that can lead to severe penalties/consequences. Your Executive Board encourages all members to contact one of us, whoever you are most comfortable dealing with, as soon as possible. All information will be held in strict confidence. Many resources are available to help our members navigate through these difficult situations. The one thing you should never do is keep these things to yourself, hoping the employer doesn’t find out. Those few instances over the years have proven to be the most difficult to work through, and have almost always led to disciplinary actions taken by the employer. Your E-board is ready to assist; please reach out as soon as you know of a problem.
Do you have a question not listed here?
Please send any member of your E-board the questions you would like to see posted on this section. Our goal is to keep this up-to-date and current with issues/questions facing the membership.