Fully Involved

Written by Ellie Belew, Fully Involved tells the stories of the professional fire fighters of Washington State and their role in the union movement. Weaving together personal accounts, legislative and regional histories, and jammed with illustrations, this book brings to life the successes and failures of a group that has become one of the most powerful political entities in the state.

The Washington State Council of Fire Fighters (WSCFF) was created in 1939, on the heels of passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the splintering of the CIO from the AFL, and the beginning of World War II in Europe. In the following sixty-four years the WSCFF and its member locals forged ahead on the WSCFF’s two-pronged mission: education and legislation. They earned improvements in working conditions, pensions and health benefits, and collective bargaining rights. WSCFF members also became working heroes in communities that had considered them unskilled slackers decades before. 

Fully Involved includes topical histories of:

• Collective bargaining
• Pension reform
• Working conditions and job requirements
• Changing duties within the fire service (EMS and HAZMAT)
• The WSCFF’s locals and their fire departments
• Individual biographies of key individuals

Available in paperback only.