Firefighters union endorses Ruben Gallego for US Senate

A group representing over 350,000 firefighters and first responders gathered in downtown Mesa Thursday to announce their endorsement of Ruben Gallego for US Senate.

The International Association of Fire Fighter’s (IAFF) endorsement comes with substantial benefits: in addition to encouraging its thousands of Arizona members to vote for Gallego and volunteer with his campaign, the labor union and its political action committee can put money behind its own voter outreach and contribute directly to Gallego’s campaign.

“I’m proud to get this endorsement from the International Association of Fire Fighters,” Gallego said. “Our first responders are essential to maintaining the safety of our communities. I have fought side by side with them, with reserves, with many other people who are first responders in their communities and to their nations.”

Gallego has been a favorite of firefighters since first running for the US House of Representatives in 2014, when the Professional Firefighters of Arizona backed him in a crowded primary. In the decade since, he has championed legislation to invest millions for the training and retention of emergency workers, reauthorized the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, and proposed laws that would cover medical treatment for work-related illness and establish a home loan program for rescue workers.

“They do dangerous jobs. And so when we don’t increase their pay, when we don’t make sure they have good benefits after retirement, we don’t respect them at their jobs, and when we don’t take care of them when they fall ill because of cancer exposures, future firefighters see that and say, ‘I don’t want to get into that line of work,’” Gallego told The Copper Courier. “My job is to make sure that we are treating them with respect, and they get the salary and benefits they deserve.”

Frank Líma, general secretary for IAFF and fire captain for the Los Angeles Fire Department, joined Gallego and a room full of IAFF members at the union hall in Mesa to announce the endorsement. Líma pointed to Gallego’s record as a veteran and history championing legislation to support first responders as part of the decision to throw their weight behind his campaign.

“Ruben Gallego is one of those leaders who has been in this fight with us. He has had the backs of firefighters and supported our work to improve public safety,” said Líma. “I want Ruben to be there to vote for things that affect my family, not only in Arizona but across this great country.”

Two pieces of legislation in particular that Líma and others praised Gallego for was the reauthorization of the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act and the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2023, known as the HONOR Act. The National Firefighter Registry was created in 2018 as a way for researchers to understand better and reduce the workplace hazards that contribute to cancer among emergency workers.

The HONOR Act would have provided additional benefits to emergency workers who develop cancer as a result of work-related exposure, and extend benefits to family members if the exposure resulted in death. It failed to pass, however, although Gallego could reintroduce the bill in the US Senate should he be elected.