Jeff Wainwright, WSCFF 9th District Representative
We are growing in the 9th District. Spokane County District 10 (formerly with Local 2916) and the members of the Airway Heights Fire Department have been organized under a new local. The West Plains Professional Firefighters Local 5440 now represents 23 members across the two employers. IAFF 7th District State Representative and Local 2916 member Christian LiVecchi assisted Local 5440 in successfully negotiating the first IAFF CBA for the Airway Heights group earlier this year.
In 2022, the fire fighters of Spokane County Fire District 4 signed interest cards to join the IAFF and were assigned the Local number 5363. Because of a flawed PERC decision, these fire fighters have been waiting for two years for the right to be represented by a union of their choice. Earlier this year, they were finally able to hold an election through PERC and overwhelmingly chose the IAFF to represent them. In January, Local 5363 sat down with the employer at the bargaining table and, through a collaborative effort, took just 10 days to successfully negotiate new contracts for both their rank-and-file members and a supervisor’s bargaining unit. The 45 members of Local 5363 and Spokane County Fire District 4 waited patiently to complete this process and are very pleased to move forward with a solid foundation.
I am delighted to report that both these new locals participated in the 2025 Jointly Sponsored IAFF-WSCFF Educational Seminar in Kennewick. The 9th District was well represented with 50 members from 10 Locals taking the opportunity to learn how to do our good work. I am very proud of the continued participation by all our locals and the investment they are making by sending their members to gain this valuable knowledge.
Keep up the good work, leaders and members of the 9th!
Locals: 0029, 0453, 0876, 1258, 1919, 2916, 3711, 4333, 4418, 4816, 5085, 5134, 5363, 5440, F-304
Legislative Districts: 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13
Congressional Districts: 4, 5, 8