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Our History

The Atlanta Professional Fire Fighters, Local 134 was organized on October 4, 1918, just nine months after the International Association of Fire Fighters had been chartered. Seven members of the Atlanta Fire Department met in a room over a drugstore in West End, at the corner of Lee and Gordon Street which marked the first meeting of the new union.

The names of these seven men were: H.O. Rosser, T.H. Askew, O.J. Boozer, B.L. Reynolds, J.G. Webb, Aurthur Farmer, and E.V. Butler. Mr. Rosser was elected the local’s first president and F.E. King, the first secretary. Mr. King along with others, had joined the Union before the first officers were selected, but their names did not appear on the original charter.

One of the first objectives of the new Local was to reduce the working hours of Atlanta Firemen which was finally accomplished on July 1, 1919. Before the advent of the two-platoon system each fireman had been required to work three days straight and being allowed on day off, and before that time he worked ten days and then was off one day.

The Local prospered and made progress until 1921, at which time it disbanded but did not surrender its charter. It disbanded due to some misunderstanding of the insurance and financial features of the Local’s activities, but by 1923 it had paid up all its obligations incurred by its insurance plans and was reorganized in that year. The local retained its charter as some of the faithful members had kept the per capita tax paid.

In 1925 the Local was able to secure legislation raising the salaries of the member of the Department from a base pay of $140 to $175 per month. In order to accomplish this the chairman of the Referendum Committee, Emmett A. Davidson secured over 5,000 names on the petition calling for an election to obtain the wage increase. A vote of the people of Atlanta was favorable by three to one. The new law was contested in the courts, and the pay increase was delayed for about one year. However, in 1926 the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled in favor of the firemen, and the pay increase was granted retroactive back to the time of the passage of the bill.

Also in 1925 the local was able to get a pension law through the State Legislature providing a pension plan on a sliding scale of from five to twenty-five years of service on half-pay, with a minimum pension of $100 per month. Widows and dependent children were also provided for in the new plan. Before that time firemen had to work for twenty five years before being eligible for a pension.

In 1936, the members of the Local expressed their desire to hold an annual memorial service for deceased members. Captain H.G. Pierce was selected as the chairman to head up the event. It was decided to hold the services annually in the early part of May each year commemorating the fateful day of May 6, 1925 when 6 Atlanta Firemen gave their lives in the Jass manufacturing company Fire at 321 Decatur Street. This year marks the 64 th anniversary of the Memorial Service.

On March 23, 1938 the Fire Department was placed under civil service which had been accomplished by the Local and included a 30-day leave for illness, allowing for payment of salaries to the men who became ill. This was the first time in the history of the Department that men received wages while off sick.

In 1947 through the efforts of the Local 134 the Fire Department was placed on a six-day work week and on December 1 1951, the 5 day work week was facilitated.

In 1966 tensions between the city leaders and fire fighters reached a breaking point and fire fighters voted to strike. Because the I.A.F.F. did not allow strikes in the constitution and by-laws, a new Union was formed. The new Union was chartered by the state of Georgia and known as the Atlanta Fire Fighters Union Independent, Local 1. Captain jack Martin and Leonard Styron led this new Union. The majority of the men joined this organization and proceeded to make history around the world. A strike was initiated in late June, which lasted three days. It is believed that this was the first strike of a fire department in the history of the United States. The strike made the headlines in the overseas Military Newspaper "The Stars and Stripes."

On September 2, 1966 the Fire Fighters went on another prolonged strike and the City Fathers and the Fire Fighters could not reach an agreement. As a result the city fired all of the striking fire fighters that did not return to work. Over the next few months the City rehired most of the fire fighters however some chose to take their pensions and did not return to work.

During the 1970’s the union faced one its most difficult times. The city was sued by a group of African American fire fighters over the hiring and promotional practices in the fire department. The suit was in the court system for several years. Before the judge ruled in the case the city found itself faced with massive vacancies and the pending discrimination suit. The city moved forward with hiring and hired a recruit class that was 95% African American. The Union filed a counter suit claiming reverse discrimination and asked that the city follow a plan similar to one in use in DeKalb County at that time. Due to the staffing crisis the judge ruled that the new recruits would remain. The courts then ruled that additional hiring and promotions would be done on a fifty - fifty basis. This practiced continued into the 1980’s until the department was racially balanced.

During the 1980’s the local was involved in many labor issues including promotions, salaries and benefits. Local 134 sat on the city’s promotional committee and was instrumental in getting the current promotional system passed for lieutenants and captains. A lawsuit was also filed against the city for payment of overtime to fire fighters. While the Local lost the battle for allowing Captain’s to receive overtime, fire fighters, FAO’s, lieutenants were granted back pay. This lawsuit resulted in back payments over 1.8 million dollars to the fire fighters. To this day Atlanta captains are among a small minority of fire captains in the nation who are not allowed to receive overtime. In 1984 Local 134 joined with the police Union and sued the city and won the right of dues check off.

In 1992 President Jeff Miller and Vice President Curly Davis started the Metro Atlanta Professional Fire Fighters Council. This organization was created to unite other IAFF Locals in the Metro Atlanta area. Today the organization is thriving and includes Atlanta, DeKalb, Marietta, Clayton, Fulton, East Point and Fayette fire fighters.

In the 1994 history was made when Curley Davis became the first African American to be elected as president of Local 134. Mr. Davis had been active for over 20 years and held the vice president’s position from 1982. He also held office in the State of Georgia Professional Fire Fighters Association during those years.

The current Local 134 executive board consists of J. David Rhodes, President – Jim Daws, Vice-President – Michael Rogers, Secretary Treasurer – Stephen Hill and Paul Cuproski, Trustees. Since 1998 Local 134 has seen its membership grow from 50% to 78% of the Sworn Employees of the Atlanta Fire Department. The Local has been actively involved in making improvements in fire fighter safety and benefits. Local 134 was instrumental in the replacement of all breathing apparatus and the payment of a $2000 bonus to all fire fighters in 1999. These issues were addressed after a historic agreement with mayor Bill Campbell and Local 134 to adopt a "Partners in Progress" partnership. Other agreements in the partnership included the replacement of all fire apparatus between 2000-2003.

Currently our organization is working closely with Fire Chief Dennis Rubin to implement the Candidate Physical Ability Test, the Fire Fighter Health and Wellness Program, improvements to the Departments response policies, changes to internal disciplinary procedures that include mediation, and a plan to restore minimum staffing levels of 4 on each apparatus.

Our organization has recently negotiated the reclassification of Fire Captains to a non-exempt status that will resolve a long-standing issue of exemption from overtime. We are currently working to ensure that Atlanta’s Fire Fighters are equally paid with Atlanta Police Officers and receive equal pensions. These issues have yet to be resolved and top the priorities of the organization.