hugopreuss

Westmed took over the 911 contract from AMR a while ago. Westmed however, appears to have given the county a grossly distorted view of their capability to handle the contract. According to the latest rumors (and that's all they are so far), Westmed has asked the county for $200.000 last month to make payroll and an additional $1.5 million for its operating budget in addition to extended response times. In addition, the union representing Westmed employees, the IAFF, has asked the employees to take a 30% pay cut (also rumor).

A paramedic should of course get higher compensation than an EMT. Longevity versus education may play into the compensation argument, but let's get real here...paramedics carry more responsibility and liability and as vocational training goes, attend more classes and go through more training than an EMT does by far. One would not expect for example that a front line firefighter, even with many years in service, would be compensated at the same rate that a fire chief, presumably with a degree, working for the same service, would be compensated at. Most union contracts that I'm aware of for example, whether IAFF, NEMSA or other EMS unions, echo that reality. In addition, one must also consider the actual economic worth of an EMT versus a paramedic in a specific geographic area. In most EMS markets, there are less paramedics than EMT's available, linking the issue to supply and demand and one could safely argue that this is a common theme throughout other professions and vocations (A lawyer will always experience higher compensation rates than a janitor).

Dear career medic, For all the effort you put into this post, it seems sad that equal effort was not made to present the facts. To start off with, nearly every point you made is based on hearsay as you yourself point out so often. So lets take this point-by-point. 1. While it is true that some had wanted to be in a single bargaining unit, the fact is that both BU’s had separate contracts, under different locals with the Teamsters and therefore were two legally defined separate bargaining units recognized by the federal government. 2. Aaron Pelican never was or is the vice-president of NEMSA. And again, while it is true that a TA was fashioned that the employees liked, it is up to the employee’s elected bargaining committee to tell the NEMSA attorney and reps how far they want to go and how far the employees are willing to push. 3. “The employees found out that NEMSA would be charging union dues”. Every union charges union dues and the amount is a set percentage of wages. I’m surprised and shocked to see that the employees were “shocked and surprised” that they would have to pay union dues. For you to throw wild numbers around like $26, $30 “or more” when no wage scale had been agreed upon is irresponsible. 4. Torren Colcord, president of NEMSA, holds a elected position at NEMSA and as such, has to be a member of a NEMSA bargaining unit. In his case, that would be AMR, since he has worked there as a medic for the past 15 years. Aaron Pelican used to work for AMR. It is not up to NEMSA to run AMR’s or Medics business. 5. NEMSA has never settled anything ”quickly, behind employees backs”. If that were even remotely true then why did NEMSA take Piners nearly to a strike (which was averted nine hours before it occurred because Piners gave in) and is about to take Medic in Solano to a strike. NEMSA cannot sign off on any contract unless the employees ratify the proposed contract. 6. The employees legally elected NEMSA. If the employees wish to rather be at the mercy of the employer, then NEMSA will “bow out gracefully”, after a legal election. Writing a few names on a sheet of paper, or stuffing homemade ballot boxes, both of which occurred, does not constitute a “legal election”. NEMSA has disclaimed interest, since the work force never really did take anything serious and instead believed their managers words over their elected shop stewards. 7. I bet your colleagues in Solano are surprised that you are trashing them, especially when they are light years ahead of Sacramento in understanding how things work. You bet ya that their willing to strike. Good for them. They’re not afraid of Rudy and Helen, as Sacramento appears to be. And if you think that a 16% offer is serious and not a slap in the face as the employees at Medic Solano feel, then you deserve working for burger flippin' wages in Sacramento. 8. See now, there you go again. Several local Napa TV stations and newspapers reported that a strike at Piners was averted at “the last hour”. No strike happened at Piners. Were they all lying? To assist in your research, “Google- NAPA ambulance strike” and read it yourself. If you couldn’t get a fact that important and simple to check up on as I did right, then what else are you not getting right? 9. Here’s another fact you got wrong. I started in ‘91 in the Sac market. There were four ambulance companies (Superior, Cordova, Metro, Foothill and in ’93, Baystar). Medic did not start ops in Sac until after the “97 Medtrans/AMR merger. 10. “Tim has disassociated himself”? Everyone knows that Tim got fired from NEMSA. And why do you make it sound like you defend him, when earlier you complained that he “did not show up for meetings, did not return phone calls, etc. Sounds to me NEMSA had good reason to fire him. 11. “AMR employees are looking to get out from under NEMSA as well”. Nearly 800 AMR employees voted to ratify the new contract. Just over 300 did not. I hardly call that “slipping or struggling”. In fact, AMR crews in Sacramento tell me that their NEMSA rep does station/crew visits as early as 0500hrs and as late as 2200hrs and even answers the phone when on the crapper on a Sunday afternoon. I’ve never met union reps that put that many hours in. 12. What’s the thing with your Piners facts? Since Piners never went on strike, how could AMR run their calls? Good lord! Did Helen tell you that? And, MEDIC never was in the running to run Piners calls in the event of a strike. In fact, the whole Manfredi clan is known to just make stuff up. 13. Sadly, nothing you have mentioned here is definitive, complete, remotely accurate or true. The real question is, whom do you really work for??? You do sound like Jimmy, heir to the Medic empire. P.S. Here's just one of the newspapares articles lifted off Google Ambulance strike averted in Napa County, California By Dan Judge Vallejo Times Herald (California) NAPA, Calif. — A last-ditch negotiating session successfully averted a strike by Piner's Napa Ambulance Service employees only hours before the Friday morning deadline. Piner's and the National Emergency Medical Services Association union representing its 65 workers reached an agreement on a new contract late Thursday night. By Friday morning it was business as usual at the ambulance service, which covers all of Napa County including American Canyon. "Actually, we all have smiley faces this morning," said Piner's General Manager Stewart Slipiec. "That's different than what it's been for the last week." Under the new agreement, Piner's paramedics, technicians and dispatchers will receive an 8 percent raise over the next two-and-a-half years. The ambulance company also withdrew its proposal to search employees' vehicles if drug abuse is suspected. Additionally, the contract addresses disputes over employee rotation. Supervisors will now rotate among the company's seven stations every three months and the rest of the employees will stay at one station for nine months and relocate to another station the final three months. One major sticking point was union security and allowing NEMSA representatives unrestricted access to employees to counter anti-union efforts by management, said NEMSA president Torren Colcord. "The main issue was making sure the employees got to keep their union," he said. "The employer was really holding to his guns and the (union) membership broke him by their unity and unwavering stance. This is really the emergency medical services workers' victory." Jeremy Piner, operations manager for the ambulance service, declined to discuss specifics of the contract, but he seemed pleased with the outcome of negotiations as well. "I think we came up with a pretty good deal for both sides," he said. Some residents of American Canyon's mobile home parks, where Piner's Ambulances can be a literal lifeline for seniors, voiced relief that the strike failed to materialize. "I'm sure a lot of people from my park will be happy to hear that," said Larry Asp, an Olympia MobiLodge of Napa resident. "They said we weren't in any danger but I'm glad it's all taken care of and everything is settled." Las Casitas mobile home park resident Betty Gardner admitted the prospect of a strike was "a little frightening" and she was glad the dispute was over. "I'm happy it's settled and I hope they were able to get what they wanted," she said of the employees. Napa County officials had been bracing for a possible strike that would have seen Piner's operating with a reduced workforce and a contingency plan of seeking ambulance services from outside the county.

For the most part, if you've got the right union representing you it can be a great benefit having a union. I work as an ER tech in Norcal after having sat in bus for 15 years (I know, some here have accused me of being a union rep. I am a SEIU shopsteward and let me tell you they suck and are corrupt beyond believe, so yeah! I don't like them!). As for NEMSA pulling out of an election two days before the vote. The NEMSA union steward from Sacramento AMR told me that there was a company (First response[or responder]) and yes, NEMSA was trying to unionize them. But it seems that the employees "worshipped" (not my words, just quoting) the owner of the company and that the employees let the one employee who stood up to management hang out to dry by not supporting her. You can't have a union that's effective if the employees are happy with burgerflippin' wages and bow before the owner like a kool aid drinker and hang a fellow employee out to dry. Even good'ol SEIU doesn't organize outfits like that.

It's important to point out that the surrounding companies,i.e. AMR have had a union contract for the past 15 years, so of course their pay is going to be higher. As to Mr. Colcord wanting to strike. The strike vote taken by the employees at Piners was 33 votes for a strike and 20 against a strike. In addition, some Piners employees also mentioned the 43 signatures, so ten more folks that signed a petition to not cross the picket line, collected a few days before the strike would occur. The bargaining committe, made up of Piners employees, accepted the offer because it gave them the majority of what they wanted after forcing Piners management back to the bargaining table under the threat of a strike. The bargaing committee had to authorize every step taken along the way, not Mr. Colcord. As to the nature of the strike. As has been stated before, according to members of the Piners bargaining committee, the possible strike was a ULP strike, not an economic strike. All the relevant ULP's were dropped as part of the TA, because management agreed to drop all related disciplines against those employees who had received them during the initial organizing campaign. While it is true that the majority of employees were ready to strike and had received support from the public, IAFF / POA officials, AMR, Medic and P1 employees, they were also relieved that it became not neccesary to strike since Piners management unexpectantly caved a few hours before the strike was to occur. The bargaining committee did not have to sign off on the TA if they had thought it not good for the rest of their peers ar Piners. One of the members informed me that their NEMSA representatives were 100% ready to strike and phone calls were made by NEMSA officers at the last minute and late at night to call off about a hundred EMT's and Medics from AMR units in Norcal and Oregon that were getting ready to post on the picket line on Friday morning. The employees at Piners stood strong, took on their employer and won without having to strike. It's as simple as that. Management had hired security guards to intimidate the employees, issued discipline after discipline to threaten, kicked NEMSA staff and volunteers numerous times off company property, attempted to coerce employees in "mandatory education meetings", had hired a union busting company to assist them in getting rid of the union, etc, etc. and yet the employees prevailed. And that was the first time in twenty years in Norcal that that had happened. The last strike was by now defunct Metro ambulance in Sacramento nearly twenty years ago and lasted ten minutes before management caved back then. As one member of the bargaining team told me:"It will take NEMSA many years of our union dues just to recoup the money they spent on us so far. But they like us, believed that Piners management would have to listen to the employees demands and be reasonable at the bargaining table". Before LUVEMS starts talking about black helicopters again, it might be wise to talk to the actual members of the bargaining team to get the real story.

The employees of Piners Ambulance have prevailed. The company gave in 10 hours before the strike was about to occur and the employees returned to their regular scheduled shifts on Friday morning with a TA, that includes significant payraises (around 14%) and more, in their back pockets. The ratification vote is to occur sometime over the next two weeks and is expected to pass with a majority vote. This is their first contract.

Private EMS providers do not have the option of binding arbitration as Firefighters and Police officers have, because in the eyes of federal regulation, we are not considered healthcare workers, nor essential to the community. Under the national labor relations act, we are considered transportation workers, i.e. in the same category as bus or limo drivers and therefore, binding arbitration does not apply to private EMS, in the case of Piners and AMR in northern California. So the only legal recourse that the employees of both companies have, is to strike. Why is it that some on this board insist that "burger flippin'" wages are acceptable for EMS professionals is beyond me. The three main private EMS providers in my area, with the exception of AMR, provide compensation for medics that is less, equal to, or barely above what a pimple faced teenager makes at "in 'n out burger", a California burger chain. According to the minimum wage advocates on this board, why then should not cops and hoseschleppers be paid near minimum wages as well, since they too argue that they are essential to the community and are part of a "higher calling"? Here in California, a firefighter and or cop have about six months worth of education before they can "hit the street". A paramedic, nearly two years before he or she can do the same. We all love paramedicine and taking care of patients, but it is a viable paycheck that feeds and clothes our families. If that concept is uncomftable to some on this board, then why don't they quit their RN, medic and EMT jobs and volunteer those positions on the weekends or whenever spare time permits, while working another non-EMS job in order to make a living.

The EMT's and paramedics of AMR's northern California bargaining unit of 2600 employees have voted to strike unless AMR negotiators return to the table with a more acceptable offer for the newly proposed 2 year contract. According to the Sacramento business journal and the Sacramento Bee, the proposed average wage increase ranges from 10.5% to 19%. The main reason for the strike vote appears to be health insurance. Some of the AMR employees complained that the deductibles for ER visits and medication co-pays under the proposed Blue shield PPO plan are unacceptable. The employee bargaining committee met on Friday to discuss additional proposals and solutions to the standoff between AMR executives and the employees whom are represented by the National EMS Association (NEMSA). William Sanger, CEO of AMR's parent company EMSC, was paid a $22 million bonus last year on top of his approx. $900.000 per year salary and tens of millions in stock options. At the same time, the 60 paramedics and EMT's of Piners ambulance service, in the California Napa wine country, have been frustrated with Piner managements refusal to bargain their first contract in good faith. These frustrations culminated this past Friday at 8pm when the employees voted to strike, in order to force Gary Piner, owner of Piners ambulance back to the bargaining table. Employees at the ambulance company, represented by the National EMS Association (NEMSA), are aware that if Mr. Piner does not return to the bargaining table and begin immediately to bargain in good faith, the county of Napa may step in to resolve the issue in a manner not favorable to Mr. Piner business. The county has already declared an emergency this weekend, which in turn gives them the right to alter or cancel Mr. Piners 911 contract in the area. The nearest and Largest EMS provider possibly able to take over 911 service in the area at a moments notice is AMR. In the past, AMR has in emergency takeover cases hired the complete local workforce as to not interrupt service and operations. A takeover by AMR, would translate into instant $5 to $7 dollar per hour pay-raises for the employees.

I have to wonder, does that mean less physicians and Rn's would also bee a good thing then? Less lawyers, now that would certainly better!

Sorry guys, not going to happen. he had a good laugh, then I had a good laugh. I'll leave it at that.

Looks like your IQ is about 8 or you need to go to bed and take a long nap bro! LOL

Dear Dust, Actually, No. We all wore NEMSA t-shirts and carried huge NEMSA banners and this July fourth, we'll participate for the fourth time. However, it must be pointed out that during the first parade, spectators did think we were with the fire dept. After hollering that we were their local EMT's and paramedics, we got cheers from the crowds who in turn got "EMS" candy from us. During the last parade, we didn't have to tell them who we were. The crowds (police estimated between 20.000 to 30.000) cheered this time with " yea paramedics!". Ok, so they left the EMT's out but we're working on it. Pictures of the parade are available to view at www.nemsausa.org in the gallery section. Hugo

No offense was meant when I let some steam off the other day and I have apologized for that (new post today, NEMSA wins in Oregon). After more than a decade in this business as a provider and educator, I can with certainty say that one, not much has changed (regarding the much hailed managed care concept). Two, our old union was nowhere to be seen. Three, NEMSA is being responsive to the membership (we never had that before). Four, In our community alone, NEMSA has begun to provide visibility (parades, sponsorship of youth programs,etc) and has begun an aggressive organizing campaign to where three out of four EMS providers in our local market are now unionized, whereas IAEP or SEIU never even made an attempt for over fifteen years. Calling on Olympus to pull the ad is part of that package. Grievances are now getting filed on time, arbitration's are being resolved, shop stewards have been doubled. Reps answer the phones, meetings are being held. Frankly, that's not a bad start. Hey, some people don't like unions and that's fine. I for one don't like most unions either. If one are happy being an "at will employee" then I'm happy for them. With AMR, at least in this market, it's not a good idea, being an "at will". Maybe it is somewhere else. I'm not here to argue with you. I respect what you do for a living and I respect your opinions. Nothing will happen overnight. To us, NEMSA has brought results. I've participated in parades with my wife, who's a NEMSA member and was glad to see that the public had a chance to see EMT's and paramedics separate from fire. I've watched youngsters play soccer wearing NEMSA jerseys and being featured on the local news. When a single mom EMT was laid up in a hospital and had run out of PTO, could not pay rent on time and had no food in the fridge for her kids, a NEMSA rep came to her bedside, did a needs assessment and within three days, enough money was raised to pay her rent and stock the fridge. NEMSA had not yet even been voted in at that point. SEIU was aware of the employees circumstance as well, but never lifted a finger. So far, NEMSA has been on track with what they have promised during their campaign. I don't think you can ask more than that. We all hope that NEMSA will continue to do so. If not, we can vote them out and get screwed by SEIU again. Until then, we'll give NEMSA a fair shot. Like I told Dust, I believe he's right on target when he says that professionalism is a personal choice. What we wanted from NEMSA was service and a voice. Pulling an ad that reflected bad on all of us is part of that. Sincerely, Hugo

Just got word from a NEMSA steward that Olympus, after having been contacted by NEMSA officials yesterday, have agreed to pull the EMS portion of their new model camera ad campaign. Hugo

This got my blood boiling and it should yours too! Olympus (the camera people) has a new TV commercial out. It begins with two clearly identified EMT's (not associated with fire) responding to a downed motorcyclist. The patient is in a supine position on the ground and the EMT's are beginning to examine him, when the EMT on the right side of the screen suddenly finds a new model Olympus camera on the patient. The EMT looks at his partner, then both of them glance around to make sure that no one is looking and then proceeds to steal the camera from the patient by taking the camera and putting it in his uniform jacket. This is followed by a few more glances around to supposedly ensure that the theft has gone unnoticed and the commercial ends there. This commercial aired on Comcast on April 24Th. It has high production value, so quite a bit of money was spent on making it. Olympus would never have dared to this commercial featuring firefighters, nurses or cops. Here's what you can do to. Call Olympus at 1(631) 844-5000, ask to be transferred to the PR dept. and voice your outrage at this commercial. feel also free to contact the media, local and national. (FOX's Bill O'Reilly loves stuff like that). When I called Olympus, they refused to furnish me with Mr. Gumz (president/CEO) email or phone number. Sincerely, Hugo