Lone Star

Ruff, My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Please keep us posted with what you find out. We're here if you need us, so don't be bashful about picking one or some of us for a 'leaning post'. It's what family does!

What I don't understand is how the IAEP can claim that they can represent the AMR workers without a vote. Aunion has to be 'voted in' by a majority of the workers. Otherwise, we would have every place people can work represented by a 'union'. If the IAEP wasn't voted in, they have NO voice in representing ANYONE! It appears that the SEIU is the only bargaining unit that AMR should be listening to. I'm not sure that the SEIU is the right union for them, but then again I haven't looked into the IAEP either. Contrary to popular belief, the unions aren't always a bad thing. They protect the workers from unsafe work conditons, unfair labor practices, wrongful discharges/dismissals, and unfair punitive actions by the employer. They also (if used properly) could result in higher wages and better benefits for the represented employees. While AMR was still allowed to operate in Michigan, they were bargaining with 12 different unions. Not 12 local bargaining teams, but 12 different unions. (This all came about by AMR's policy to swallow the smaller companies). It's been said before, AMR's only interest is becoming the LARGEST EMS provider in the U.S., but to reach that goal, they're sacrificing employee relations, QI/QA, fair labor practices, professionalism and patient care. Just look how many occurances AMR's had recently with people posing as EMT-P's, only to find out that their credentials have been forged! AMR demonstrates that the only thing they're really interested in is putting warm bodies in uniforms.

Knowing MY luck, I'd end up matching the rate of speed of the escalator and be stuck in the middle of the escalator in a perpetual tumble, for everyone's amusement and dancing pleasure!

George W. Bush: Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.

Did you ever notice that when something like that happens, the first thing we do is look around to see who saw us? We don't check for potential injuries, just overly concerned with 'Who saw that?'....

I can just see the Windex crows laughing about this one! Windex Crows

Now that Bush is on his way out of office, the 'Bush Hater's Club' no longer has him to blame for everything! What I find ironic is now that they can't blame ol' 'Dubya' for it, they've found out that maybe OPEC IS to blame for some of the high prices of oil/gas!

Having been a UAW member for a few years (pre EMS days), if I remember correctly, the strike vote is authorized by the union at the National level. Any local that strikes without National approval is considered a 'wildcat strike' and is not sanctioned, nor protected by the union. Federal law prohibits a company from preventing your place of employment from organizing ('unionizing'), and if a company is found to have closed it's doors to 'bust the union', they will face very severe FEDERAL labor charges. I don't think that the union members would lose their jobs if they went on strike. If AMR takes punitive action because of the strike, they are again in violation of federal labor laws. For those old enough to remember the great Air Traffic Controllers Strike of 1981, the resulting loss of jobs was because they violated a presidential order to return to work. I'm not sure if the strike was a 'wildcat strike', or if it was actually sanctioned by PATCO. Another factor in the presidential order was that it was a federal job that interfered with transportation and commerce. The great sit down strike of 1937 gave the people an idea how effective a bargaining tool a strike was, when used in the proper sequence of events. AMR is known for alot of unfair business practices, poor patient care and even poorer employee relations. Their 'm.o.' seems to be to come into an area, drive out all the businesses that were there before AMR showed up ( or buy them out), then drop the levels of service to the point that they get their privileges revoked, thereby leaving their formerly covered area scrambling for EMS services. I've seen AMR get their privileges suspended or revoked in almost every county in the state of Michigan! AMR's SOLE focus is to become the 'biggest EMS provider', while sacrificing all the attributes that make them even a 'mediocre' service provider at best.

If a medic is on scene, and doesn't actively take charge; they will be 'overlooked' regardless of gender, stature or size. Control is not given, earned, or asked for. Control must be actively TAKEN! In the event that there are two people of the same license level, the one that will be 'attending' to the patient should be the one that takes control, with the second to assist if necessary. I've worked with both males and females that have either pulled their own weight, or they have failed ...nothing to do with sexism, gender/age bias or anything like that. If you go into a scene as timid as a mouse, you'll naturally be treated as such, and your 'qualifications'/competency/experience will ALWAYS be questioned, by others on scene and yes, even your patient. This isn't a place for those that are timid/shy!

I just called a place here in GA about taking the EMT-B and EMT-I 'combination course'. I found out that to graduate as an EMT-I only requires 200 hours, including clinical rotations and ride alongs. This is about 40 hours LESS than what I was required to have IN ADDITION to my clinicals and ride alongs. Since this school has NOTHING to do with training those 'dumb hose monkeys', I would imagine that the biggest culprit in holding EMS back is EMS! Rather than sit around and bitch about 'mean ol' Fire' setting the bar so low, maybe EMS needs to pull their head out of their collective asses and DEMAND higher education and tougher licensing standards! Unfortunately, this will NEVER happen because EMS is too busy bemoaning the fact that 'fire has had a generation head start' to pull together, organize as a whole and THEN 'belly up to the bar' and start making demands as a collective unit. Rather than sit and bitch about how well the IAFF is organized, maybe we should exercize the right to organize, dispell the MYTHS about working in a union business and TAKE ACTION!

I like that one!!

Happy Birthday, Andy! Now that you've joined the 'old geezer club', let me personally welcome you to the fold! Hope you have a good day! LS

Ahh yes, the age old 'Fire Department is out to destroy EMS' argument! Did it ever occur to all you conspiracy buffs that EMS is destroying EMS? I mean, with companies like AMR hiring and allowing people to work in the EMS field with blatantly falsified credentials...(and AMR has had it happen at least 3 times in as many months)....it CANNOT be a 'good thing' for the EMS field in general! I for one am getting rather tired of the CONSTANT portrayal of the Fire Service as the 'bad guy' where EMS is considered, when EMS itself seems to be its own worst enemy! I've heard the Fire Service getting blamed for the 'bare minimal educational standards' for EMS, but it seems to me that if EMS demanded higher educational standards as the 'norm', then the Fire Service would have to follow that lead in order to get ANY firefighters licensed as EMS providers. I've seen the constant attacks on firefighters as being 'too dumb' to be able to render quality care, but have seen even 'college educated' EMT's (regardless of license level) who can't even speak in complete sentences, use proper punctuation or even proper grammar and spelling! Granted, this is an EMS website, and I know how 'welcome' anyone from the Fire Service is here; so I'm fully expecting to draw a lot of fire on this, and I know that someone is going to be calling for my head on a platter for daring to stand up and defend the 'enemy'. The whole point of this little ‘tirade’ is this: Wouldn’t it be a better use of effort and time to push for reform in the EMS industry, rather than attack a group that isn’t adequately represented and able to defend itself? As a kid, I was always taught to clean up your own back yard before casting aspersions about someone else's property condition!

Having been a Firefigher for 15 years, I've worn both the chest mounted regulator style SCBA and the mask mounted regulator style. You can breathe through b oth of them without turning the tank on, but the regulators cannot be hooked to the mask. Once you hook the regulator to the mask, you've closed off the only 'breathing port' you have... and yeah, it DOES get 'scary' not being able to breathe!

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing. Edmund Burke

Happy Birthday, Rhonda!! :occasion1: :occasion2: :occasion4: :occasion5: :occasion6: :icescream: :happy1: :occasion7: :occasion8: :occasion9: :wav:

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: Terri, After talking to Jess again, she's cleared things up a bit. The picture you have is Don in his 'work uniform', and the picture below is what she has to face as he rolls out of bed......

Well, it's come to my attention that Don has been trying to claim pictures that Terri posts as pictures of him... I decided to put an end to this decietful practice and post a REAL pic of Don. (Thanks Jess!)

Hey look! It's Octopus Prime!

Jess sent it to Terri, so she would have a target to put on the dart board! :shock:

Happy Birthday (again)! Hope it was a good one!

EMT City members are immortal! (Must be something in the chat client that imparts immortality to its members!)

First off, limiting what I can and cannot watch is a violation of My first amendment rights, by limiting MY choice of viewing materials. I think that in this day and age of being 'politically correct', we are moving from a 'democratic society' where the majority determines a course of action; to a dictatorship, where the minority decides what is 'good' and what is 'bad'. With a name like "iamyourgod", I am personally offended, as I feel you make a mockery of my choice of religion and of my religious beliefs! Since there is a clear distinction between movies like "Debbie Does Dallas", "Deep Throat" and "Naughty Night Shift Nurses" and movies like "Hell Boy", "Lethal Weapon" and "Rambo: First Blood", the outright 'banning' of movies based on their cinematic ratings is nothing more than you pushing your 'values' on me! If you're offended by a movie, video or other cinematic product based solely on the cinematic rating system, then by all means, exercise your freedom of choice; and choose another activity to occupy your 'down time'! I've read all the posts in this thread, and the thread that was referenced as well... I'm feeling that this is nothing more than someone who's looking to be the 'center of attention' and forcing others to conform to his views and morals. Just because you don't approve of my choice of viewing material, games or other hobbies and pass-times, does NOT give you the right to limit, obstruct, or otherwise interfere with my chosen form of entertainment! Would I turn off Rambo, Lethal Weapon or some other sort of movie if the 'general public', 'local elected official' or the 'department chaplain' showed up?...I would have to say I would. Not because it was 'inappropriate' due to the 'R' rating, but because it's considered in 'poor form' to have a television blaring in hke background, while someone is trying to talk to me, tour the facility, or give me posting orders.

Due to the fact that the person firing said weapon was in fact, a convicted felon, (who is barred from firearm ownership and possession by federal law; I would be safe in saying that said gun was not 'legally owned'.

Good song!