In September, members from the WSCFF 6th District elected AJ Johnson as their new district representative. He succeeds Tim Hoover, who was elected IAFF 7th District Vice President in August. You may know AJ from his work with the WSCFF Legislative Team. He has a strong record of advocating for firefighters and their families, and his work with the legislature has made a lasting impact for all our members. We look forward to seeing his work continue on behalf of the members of the 6th District.
AJ began his firefighting career with the Stanwood Fire Department in 2007, was elected president of Local 4086 Stanwood in 2008, and helped merge the local into Local 4118 North County Professional Firefighters in 2012. In 2014, AJ was hired by South County Fire, where he served in leadership positions in Local 1828 South County Union Firefighters. A graduate of the IAFF Political Training Academy, AJ was hired as the first WSCFF Legislative Session Lobbyist and became a WSCFF Legislative Liaison in 2018. That same year, he was appointed to the Law Enforcement Officers and Fire Fighters (LEOFF) Plan 2 Retirement Board. He is currently a captain at South County Fire.
What first drew you to the fire service? Why did you become a firefighter?
When I was in kindergarten, I did a tour with my class at Marysville Fire Station 61 with legendary 3219 member Jeff Thornton. I told my parents that day that I wanted to be a firefighter and never changed my mind. I did the Sno-Isle Skills Center fire service program in high school and knew I’d made the right choice.
How did you first become involved in your union, and what led you to become more involved with the WSCFF?
In 2008 I was fresh off probation, and my union president told me he wasn’t going to run again. I grew up in a union household and knew the importance of organized labor. My local had only seven members and I told them I was interested in stepping up to lead the group. I was elected in 2009 and immediately was contacted by Dean Shelton who told me I needed to attend the WSCFF Legislative Conference.
I showed up in an ill-fitting suit and walked through the halls of Olympia wondering what I had gotten myself into. Luckily there were many more seasoned members from the 10th district who were more than willing to show me the ropes. I was thoroughly impressed with how well-respected the WSCFF was in Olympia. Later that year, all seven of my local members were given pink slips as the Great Recession continued. I reached out to the WSCFF and IAFF for help and was given a crash course on bargaining and political action. We all lobbied the city council to put a levy on the ballot, and we knocked on every door in the city to talk to voters. The levy passed overwhelmingly and I was in awe of what we could do with our collective action.
What motivated you to run for 6th District Representative?
I have been in both Dean Shelton’s and Tim Hoover’s districts since joining the WSCFF and have been impressed with each of their leadership skills and tireless work ethics. After being the Legislative Liaison for nine sessions, I was looking for a different challenge that was closer to home so when Tim announced that he was running for IAFF 7th District Vice President, I knew what I wanted to do. I am looking forward to serving the locals directly in my district and building those relationships for years to come.
How did your experience as WSCFF Legislative Liaison shape your understanding of the issues and needs facing WSCFF members?
When I was first brought on as the intern. I had my own opinions about politics and what we should be doing. I quickly realized that my own opinions would be taking a backseat to what the members of the WSCFF want. I had to learn everything I could about Labor and Industries and our own LEOFF pension system, and how those systems were or were not working for our members. I knew the issues that were important to members in the Puget Sound region because I had worked in the area for 10 years. I knew I needed to build relationships with locals in Central, Eastern and Southwest Washington so I could know what issues were important to them. Judson McCaulley, Ryan Reese, Randy Marler, and Jeff Wainwright were instrumental in helping me understand what was going on outside of the Puget Sound area.
Is there an accomplishment/experience from your time as WSCFF Legislative Liaison that you’re particularly proud of?
Passing the LEOFF Plan 2 benefit improvement was a huge accomplishment that we should all be extremely proud of, but my proudest moment was when we passed the self-insured good faith and fair dealing law in 2023. This was an extremely difficult bill to pass because of the complicated nature of workers’ compensation claims and well-paid opposition to the bill. We had members from all over the state testify several times about how their work-related injuries were fought every step of the way and many of them were unable to come back to work because of it. This was a powerful message to the legislature that firefighters are not being taken care of when they are injured or diagnosed with a presumptive disease. We carried the torch for this law to eventually cover all workers in Washington state.
What are you most excited about as you step into the role of District 6 Representative?
Getting to know the issues that are affecting members locally and working to improve their lives. Building political power within the district to give us a bigger say at the bargaining table.
What does effective union leadership look like to you?
Listening to what the members want and communicating with them what you are doing. Sometimes we are unable to tell members the entirety of what is going on at the negotiating table or at labor management but clearly communicating what you can as quickly as possible helps keep the peace within our locals.
For members who are looking for ways to become more connected or involved with their union, what advice would you give them?
Start by attending your local union meetings. I know not everyone lives in the area they serve, but we should all make it a priority to be at our meetings.
Ask your principal officers how you can help. You aren’t going to be given the most glamorous task (there are not many), but if you do that task well then you will be given more responsibility.
It’s important to get involved because the people in leadership now are not going to be there forever and you will be a much more effective leader if you learn from them while they are still working rather than trying to get ahold of them after they retire.
What have you learned throughout your union involvement that you wish you had known when you first got involved?
The road to success is long and winding. Bud Sizemore told me that it’s okay to take “half a loaf” because next year you can get the second half and the year after you’ll get the third. That is frequently the case with WSCFF work. Making incremental improvements is sometimes difficult, but when you look back and realize you got a loaf-and-a-half it feels pretty good.
As you begin this new position what message would you like to share with the members of District 6?
I am here to work for you. Please reach out if you need assistance with anything and if I don’t know the answer, I probably know someone who does.