Why Does Fire Fighters’ ‘Fill the Boot’ Charity Fill the Union’s Coffers? Thousands of “panhandlers” in oversized suspenders camp outside of town squares and churches and major intersections every Labor Day. Instead of fast food cups, they plead with passersby to donate what they can into large rubber galoshes, exhorting them to “Fill the boot!” Perhaps that is why they are so well-received by busy motorists. It also helps that these men are standing in front of fire engines. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has turned this spectacle into a wildly successful charity benefit, generating about $20 million each year for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. But a series of multi-million dollar payments from the charity to the scandal-plagued labor union have led some fire fighters and union officials to question the arrangement.