AMR and Piners vote to strike in northern California

[wowiee]

with a TA, that includes significant payraises (around 14%) .

i'm not sure where you got your info, but it's wrong...

We got a 5% across the board raise, the 12 hour units get an additional 3% in September...

Over the complete course of the contract we will get 3% in 2007 and 3% in 2008. So okay, some employees will see 14% in 2008, but not many. PM's are currently making $13.00 per hour here. Not really what we are worth... Surrounding areas are making $15-21 per hour.

But please remember that the cost of living in CA goes up around 4-5% per year, so how far will 3% a year take us?

[LUVEMS]

So it's not about money but that's all that is talked about. I wonder why. Let me point out again that Piner Employees pay NOTHING for medical coverage and their copay is $10 and perscriptions are $5-$10. I know that NEMSA just negotiated a contract that raised what CoCo county employees pay, but got them a raise. I'm sure if Piner employees paid for their insurance or had less coverage then they would get paid more:). Just like I said before Piner employees run with 5 24hr stations and an average of 4 calls per day. I bet you could have more of a raise if they shut down a couple of those stations and you ran you ass off like AMR employees do. Most of these people have never had another job and don't know how good they have it. I used to work at Piners. Let me describe a day at one of the county stations. You go to work and sit on your ass until you get a call (seriously). You can watch TV or run errands or pretty much do what ever you want. Those stations run about 2 calls per day. THAT'S ON A 24HR SHIFT!!!!!!!!!!! Think about it.

NEMSA SUCKS!!!! TorrenC the president is a slime ball!!! He wanted the workers at Piner's to strike. It was Torren that wasn't wanting to meet with Piner's that last week. He took things into his own hands and not in the best interest of the employees. He lied, and I'm sure he is still lying! He stated (in the paper and on the news) that this strike was NOT about the contract. He said it was about the NLRB charges against Piner's, but funny that they pulled their strike vote as soon as a contract was signed,DIRTY!!!! Oh and all the charges were dropped after a contract was signed. I would have helped Piner's out if they had a strike and I know of quite a few people who were going in to help out. I'm not against the union at all, but I think NEMSA is ran by rats.

[hugopreuss]

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.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I'm still taking bets on how many of the organizers will be around to see their pay raise. I'd bet a few won't make till end of september.

Just because you won the battle doesn't mean you win the war.

And yes it is about the money, it's always about the money. When in doubt follow the money trail.

[wowiee]

but funny that they pulled their strike vote as soon as a contract was signed,DIRTY!!!!

Okay - first off, not sure who you are but since you used to work there & no longer do, you should agree that the disipline policy (which is what the union was brought in for in the first place) was never fair. Your punishment would vary depending on who you are friends with and what supervisor you hang out with after work.

Secondly, the strike was called off when the contract was signed because our contract has a No Strike/No Lockout clause, as do most other contracts. Not dirty; LEGAL.

Yes, Piner's may be slower than some other counties, but since AMR upped staffing in West Co Co county, they are running less calls daily than we do in Napa. I am also employeed by AMR, where I work part time, so my information is not one sided.

You may not like Torren, or NEMSA, but the majority of the employees at Piners do, which is why we choose them to represent us. We stand by our choices, and are proud. I'm sorry Piner's left such a bitter taste in your mouth; maybe if you were to come work there now that we have a fair contract your experiences would be better.

[LUVEMS]

FOR WOWIEE... Piners did NOT leave a bad taste in my mouth. that's why I am defending them. I know how great it is to work there(and are still friends with union and non union supporters) and as for Torren...I've heard more than once now that he took things into his own hands the last week FROM BOTH SIDES!!! And also that he has lied a bit. So maybe YOU should talk more to your committee..

FOR HUGOPRUESS....I have talked to the bargaining team and that's where I got some of my information. The last week that everyone was barganing was in San Francisco and the whole team wasn't there. It was Torren who would not negotiate! Piner employees had to go down to San Fran the last night to tell him to accept the proposal that Piner's posted on their board. Piner;s could not get them to meet so they posted what they wanted to get employees to put pressure on Torren to accept. MAYBE YOU SHOULD ASK AROUND! Also Piner's hired security guards to protect the ambulances and the employees because of the strike. They recieved threats from both sides. Some threats were about people either messing with ambulances or the people who cross the picket line. ALso some threats were about messing people who do picket because they felt it was wrong. None of those guards threatened or intimidated anyone. Get your facts straight. ALso they did hold meetings which the employer is entitled to do, but they were not manditory, and I bet you could never prove it because it's not true:)

Also most of the employees did not want to strike. I know that for a fact. The strike vote was NOT about the ULP's. It was to get Piners to sign a contract. I also know that is a fact. It obviously worked. Dirty in my mind but it worked. So before HUGOPRUESS goes spouting off again maybe he should look at ALL the info and not just what NEMSA is telling.

[wowiee]

LUVEMS,

Not sure where your info is coming from, but some of it is really incorrect. First off, I am on the committe. The meeting that was held in San Francisco was open to everyone, and there were members of the bargining team there, as well as a federal mediator. The final meeting held on Thursday evening had the two available members of the bargining team there, who were very vocal in the final draft of the contract. Our team knew exactly what we would accept, and exactly what we would have turned down. Torren was just our voice, and to be exact, NEMSA's lawyer was the one who did all the talking that night. If we told Torren we wanted Oreo cookies instead of a paycheck, he has to do what we want. It is our contract - Not his.

you may be right in saying that most of the employees did not want to strike, but if/when it happened, the majority of our work-force was ready to walk. We had a petition with 43 out of 55 employees signing it saying they would not cross that picket line. We had our support. We still do.

This arguement can go on forever w/ he said/she said. I'm done.

Thanks to all for your support &/or very vocal opinions! I am happy we didn't have to strike, and even more thrilled that we have a contract at Piners.

[LUVEMS]

FOR WOWIEE,

You're right, we could go on forever, but your info is not correct either. Alot of those people who signed that petition were threatened into doing so. That is a FACT I can promise you that. Some where told that they would be treated very badly by other employees if they crossed the picket line. Some NEMSA reps told people that they would take their picture and fax it to every EMS agency in CA and they would never work in EMS again. That's what I would consider DIRTY! Some employees where also telling them that they would never get hired at the local FD if they crossed. That was complete crap! This is the truth and you know it. These employees were beat down for having a different opinion. I can tell you that alot of those people who signed that petition gave their word that they would cross because they feel like they were pressured into it. I know that you would have been surprised if it had come to a strike. You say that Piners was being decietful then I guess we can say that both sides sunk to a lower level in this whole thing. Piners also has their support and they still do. Piner's was totally prepared to run in the event of a strike with alot of local support. You also would have been surprised to see the people that would have came to Piners to help them through the strike.

I know Torren C. better than you probably ever will and I know what he is all about. I know that he too can be deceitful.

I am also glad this is over but I do think that people should know the whole truth. You have to know that there are two sides to every story. Your side was not perfect and I'm not saying that Piners was, but lets be honest here. It's over and I am also done here. Hopefully you guys can mend some of the friendships and good work relationships that I'm sure that were ruined. Thank you!!!

[Dustdevil]

Ooooooooooooooh! CATFIGHT!!

Are either of you hott?

[JPINFV]

Ooooooooooooooh! CATFIGHT!!

Are either of you hott?