State firefighters union chief resigns over remark

[HelenWheels]

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Rick Gale, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, resigned Tuesday from the union post amid mounting criticism over reports that he made a racial slur against President-elect Barack Obama.

Gale, a lieutenant with the West Allis Fire Department, also resigned from all public and government boards he served on, according to his resignation letter, which was included in a union statement announcing the resignation.....

....Others, however, have said Gale used the N-word in describing how he would address Obama.




Read more: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/34705759.html

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Racism is alive and well. This is so sad and disgusting. But I'm glad he said it where he was overheard and now has some consequences for his bigotry. I do find it hard to believe that after all the years he was on the force that anyone would be stunned.

[PeaceNikki]

1. Oddly, he worked on Obama's Wisconsin presidential campaign.

He was appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle(D) to the Wisconsin State Fair Park board of directors in 2004 and the Wisconsin Retirement Board in 2006.

[LiberalFighter]

2. That doesn't make sense.

[margotb822]

7. Yea, my thoughts exactly

Was it because of his union? I would think that they couldn't force a person to work on a presidential campaign, even if that union endorsed the candidate...

[skeewee08]

3. Didn't Obama get the support of the Fire Fighters Union?

I don't get this.

[underpants]

4. Yes the IAFF almost always supports Dems

which, most probably, why Bush immediately tried to end the FIRE act once he took office

Good history of it here. Basically it was a grant to local fire departments for equipment, training, and retention but most importantly it funded PREVENTIVE measures and community awareness.
http://www.firehouse.com/news/2001/2/28_funding.html


http://firechief.com/leadership/management-administration/Bush_budget_0205/
IAFF: Bush Budget Threatens Safety

Feb 5, 2008 12:45 PM

The International Association of Fire Fighters say President Bush's proposed FY 2009 budget short changes first responders. Cuts in grant funding prompted IAFF General President Harold A. Schaitberger to call the president no friend of firefighters.

“A president interested in protecting Americans would not cut funding for the Homeland Security Department’s first responder grant programs," Schaitberger said. "President Bush is surprisingly ignorant of the value that the FIRE Act and SAFER grants provide to the smallest towns and the largest cities across this country.

http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=905
FIRE Act and SAFER: President Bush requested $300 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (commonly known as the FIRE Act), the same amount proposed in the Administration’s FY 2008 budget. He also requested $0 for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act grant program. These proposed funding levels represent a significant decrease from the $560 million for FIRE and $190 million for SAFER that Congress appropriated for FY 2008. Taken together, these two grant programs have been reduced by sixty percent in the proposed FY 2009 budget.

While the FIRE Act is designed to provide funding for a wide array of purposes, the president’s budget proposal sought to limit the programs for which fire departments may use this money to training, equipment and personal protective gear. President Bush has proposed this change in previous fiscal years; however, each time Congress ensured the funds could be used for all hazards and for all types of programs, including wellness and fitness, fire prevention, public education and modifications of facilities for the health and safety of personnel, as the original legislation intended.

[Bombero1956]

5. Like I've always said

by and large the IAFF supports the Dems but individual members tend to cut their noses off to spite their face and support Repugs. They tend to vote for Repugs based on single issue reasons like guns or military support. That an IAFF member is making racist remarks doesn't surprise me at all.

[No Elephants]

6. Pubs don't support the military. Dems do.