New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (2nd R) looks up at a massive construction crane which collapsed on a street in downtown Manhattan in New York, in a picture released by the New York City Fire Department on February 5, 2016. REUTERS/FDNY/Handout via Reuters∧The United Firefighters Association’s (UFA) president, Steve Cassidy, will step down after holding the position for 14 years.
New York City Fire Department Commissioner Daniel Nigro announced Saturday that Cassidy will step down as union head, and take the newly-created position of executive director of the Fire Pension Fund.
Cassidy will be in charge of the pension fund’s reorganization process, according to the New York Daily News. The department is hoping to save money by making the fund a separate entity from the FDNY, which would save the department over $2 million in administrative costs.
The $7 billion fund provides benefits for more than 8,000 current firefighters and 17,000 retired firefighters. Cassidy recently scored a major victory for firefighters when the state passed a new disability benefits bill that entitles any FDNY member injured in the line of duty to 75 percent of their final average income.
“This is an incredible opportunity to continue to serve them [firefighters] for the extraordinary work they do,” Cassidy said in a statement.
The UFA announced that current Vice President James Slevin would serve as president until elections of new officers take place in March, 2017. Slevin is a 21-year veteran of the department, and served as a member of Ladder 7 in Manhattan, which serves the Kips Bay and Murray Hill communities in midtown.
Slevin thanked Cassidy for his 14 years as pesident and said he was, “committed to making sure the members of the UFA continue to be represented in the manner they deserve, having their rights protected.”
Cassidy begins his new job November 1.
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