Message: I noticed that your local are entertaining the idea of the 48-72. We had a vote with union members to take this to the fire chief to see if we could do this on a trial bases. With some opposition from a few members ( 6 members out of 26 didn’t want a change), we tried the schedule for 6 months. June to Dec. of 07. After the trial run, only 2 members were still against the change & now they have grown to like the change. The 48-72 is based on the group system. There are 7 groups.

We worked the 7 group system for about 25 years before going to the 48-72. Before that we worked A-B shift. During the trial run, the bean counters noticed that overtime went down and sick was cut in half.

If you like I can send you our Power Point presentation that we put together.

Sgt George Smith

Fort Myer Fire & Emergency Services

F-253, Northern Virginia