union in the rural system

[medic993]

hi everyone my name is Ron, i am a veteran paramedic that is in need of some advise. i was elected to sit in on our union negotations, anyone have any helpful hints for me. thanks

[Grumpy]

Best advice I have is can the union. I haven't seen one that ultimately helped. They create a bunch of inflexible rules that does little to benefit the worker and nothing for patients at all. If you need a union where you work find some where else to work. I see ads for medic jobs all over the country. If your employer doesn't treat employees with respect and a competitive wage there are others that do.

Without employees they will not stay in business too long. Ask the supervisor how many 24 hrs shifts in a row he can handle on the front line.

[medic_HNX]

I disagree with you "Grumpy"

EMS is the most underpaid and unrecognized allied health field. Firefighters, police officers, nurses, respiratory therapists, and etc all are represented by unions that have organized the profession and gotten not only increased benefits, better pay, and retirement, but also respect for their members.

Some areas, particularly rural ones where there is not always an organized professional system to follow, may find union representation extremely valuable. When some organizations are side by side with volunteer services the pay scale may be completely unsatisfactory for a professional.

I cannot give you much advice, however it is important to consider exactly what the union you are considering offers. At what capacity is the union going to be able to represent it's members? If certain members elsewhere strike are you required to strike as well, even if you are not connected or even do not support their reason for striking? Besides monetary dues, what else is required of membership? Can management be members of the union? If you are not in control of benefits/payroll is the person(s) in charge going to be able to meet demands? Is your administration going to be able to meet and maintain the demands of the union? Do they necessarily have to? Is your building, policy, operations, and bylaws of your organization supportive of having a union representation? Do local laws conflict with union representation? What is the contractual agreement for membership and how long is it? How do you terminate the contact, or can you if you are unhappy with the representation? Are all (or majority) of the members of your organization interested in joining the union? Do all members of the organization have to be part of the union? And most importantly... what is your reason for wanting to be represented by the union?...is it a reasonable expectation?

Of course these are questions for you to ask yourself or the union representative themselves.

I am sure there is much more to ask and I may or may not have hit on some key questions. The point is, be well informed and well involved in something as important as this.

[workaholic]

Hi Ron I understand the IAFF is definitely looking to help EMS unionize for a better work place.

[mstovall]

Being that you said you were sitting in for union negotiations, I think you mean that you are bargaining a contract. If this is the case, I suggest getting your hands on as many good contracts prior to sitting down with the company. You need to have an idea what you would like vs. what you are prepared to accept. You need to also not tie yourself down to set raises, instead tie your cost of living raise in with the consumer price index. That way if inflation rises tremendously, you are not locked into a wage that you can't make a living with. The biggest thing I think in negotiations is solidarity. If you do not have it going into negotiations, good luck in getting half of what you want. If you are prepared to stay together, you can get so much more. Don't forget the company must bargain in good faith, but you must also. Ask for the moon, but be prepared to reach just the treetops.

If this is your first contract, let me know and I will send you a sample contract you can base one off of. Also be prepared to take a while to get the first contract worked out.

Our ambulance service is represented by the Boilermakers. They have a great network in other fields, but they have not giving us the national support to get things done on the local level. They did not do a good job in bargaining. I have filed complaints all the way up to the president of the national and not gotten any response. The local was divided and not willing to stick it out for a good contract. Basically it was a divided we failed. Other places of work we stuck tight and got everything we needed to have a great work environment.

Unions are only successful if you stick together. If your workplace won't do this, don't waste your time with an negotiations and start looking for a different place to work.

Michael

[VentMedic]

I disagree with you "Grumpy"

EMS is the most underpaid and unrecognized allied health field. Firefighters, police officers, nurses, respiratory therapists, and etc all are represented by unions that have organized the profession and gotten not only increased benefits, better pay, and retirement, but also respect for their members.

Don't use the word ALL. The allied health therapies prefer not to be part of a union because they have strong national organizations that help set the standards and do the research for wage requirements based on value as negotiated for services with reimbursement. There are also many nurses who prefer to let the data from their professional organizations do the talking as opposed to being on strike every few months as we have seen this past year in California. The clinical ladder can be more rewarding when promotions are based on effort and education rather than burnt out years with a service.

When I was in the FD, I had to be part of a union and found the negotiated promotional ladder stifling. I am no longer part of a union either as a Paramedic or a Respiratory Therapist. I hope that forward looking professions such as RT would consider letting their education and professional organizations do the talking and keep unions out of the picture. SLT, PT and OT all have a minimum of a Bachelors for entry and it is rare if ever they have been part of a union. Even in closed shops such as California hospitals, a department can choose not to be part of a union. Only a few RT departments are union in California and with the recent education increase for licensing that may change as other opportunities are now being negotiated in the legislature at the national level. Those opportunities are too good to pass up by being locked into a contract that limits growth potential.

Too many people confuse a union as being a spokesperson for their profession. A professional organization that lobbies for licensing, better education, reimbursement for services and can document value accordingly are the true representatives of that profession.

[CBEMT]

Hi Ron I understand the IAFF is definitely looking to help EMS unionize for a better work place.

You're kidding, right?

[Dustdevil]

You're kidding, right?

LOL! Seriously!

IAFF is looking for more paying members so they can contribute more to Hillary Clinton. That's all they are looking for out of EMS.

[CBEMT]

LOL! Seriously!

IAFF is looking for more paying members so they can contribute more to Hillary Clinton. That's all they are looking for out of EMS.

Actually I was thinking that they want to eliminate EMS agencies and give the jobs to firefighters so they can do things like support winning candidates like Christopher Dodd, but ok. :wink:

[coolparamedic]

Skamania County EMS in Washington (no fire affiliation whatsoever) just got union contract through IAFF.