Volunteers – Your Job?

[Happiness]

Why yes I do but what would that have to do with this. My patient care has nothing to do with my opinion of volenteers.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I never accused your patient care of having an issue did I? I was just curious whether you wrote patient care reports.

[letmesleep]

hahahahahahaha!

OK, again i will repeat the short story. Some of the board members that serve the people of MY District have been there since the District began (they were volunteers at that time). One year during contract NEGOITATIONS one of them stated that " you guys already make good money, hell I remember when I did it for free" . Where do my union reps fit into the making of this statement?

might I also add that I'm clear that most districts, at least in a rural setting, start off as volunteer services then grow into paid services.....union or not, how is it MY union's fault for my current pay rate? we (the employees of this district) negotiate with the Board of Directors as a shop for our pay and bennies. So how is the blame on the IAFF if we don't use them to increase our pay scale for us?

I think your clouded by the union issue instead of what this thread is really about....volunteers v. paid.

[Just Plain Ruff]

and maybe a deep dislike of unions. IAFF for one.

[Happiness]

How is it clouded. From the beginning it was stated that the reason that paid paramedics were paid so badly is because of the volenteers. And I was making my opinion on the fact that volenteers are not the problem with your pay scales. My union is the one that goes to bat for us on wages why would it be any different for you unless your not union. I was basically talking about dustdevils comment.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Happiness I misunderstood your comments, I am sorry. It appears that you don't have issues with unions, just some of them.

[letmesleep]

OK now it is a little more clear to me as well that your union issue is with your union. maybe that should be another issue since it's so alive.

i would have to say that i agree with Dust on this issue, think about it. Why buy the cow if the milk is for free? of course volunteer EMS is going to have a profound effect on paid EMS. the other thing is that unionized EMS is going to effect non-unionized EMS and v/v.

[Happiness]

Ruffems just so you know my opinion on unions I don't like any of them. I carry no discrimination on that fact.

[cosgrojo]

Yeah, only AMR union employees are allowed to do that!

Hey! I resemble that comment! :oops:

[ppeirce]

I have been an Emergency Management Agency volunteer for more than twenty-seven (27) years for one of the most professional and active EMA units in Massachusetts. Serving currently as the Medical Officer with the rank of Lieutenant, I started in 1980 as a junior member. My left sleeve keeps getting heavier with Service Stripes and, like you, I've seen them come and go. Sometimes we get the insufferable whackers, but they eventually get filtered out, leaving the extraordinary professionals to serve our fine town.

I work full time for the largest privately owned ambulance company in Massachusetts as an EMT and get to do a lot of special operations on our Incident Response Group.

Other than that, I have a fledgling Information Technology business that we recently got incorporated, and nursing to the point that we can actually hire some good people.