I have been a volunteer for nearly 28 years on a rural department. I have also worked as a career medic for the last 19 years. As a volunteer, I have served as a Board Member for our non-profit EMS Corp.. When it was established in 1973 it was one of the premier systems in the U.S.. Unfortunately, like many such organizations, it became stagnant. Over the years, the leadership failed to keep up with the times and were happy with the "status quo".
Fortunately for the unit that I am a member of, we did not follow that thinking. We were the first unit in our county to have a paramedic, a defibrillator. ALS capabilities, etc. While at times we were at great odds with our leadership, we persevered and were given permission by them and aggressive protocols by our Medical Director, and were able to lead the way for our system. We have always been forward thinking and progressive.
As a result of this, we are the only unit in our system to have adequate staffing. We never seem to be hurting for volunteers and have new people coming onboard on a frequent basis. We are paid by the 'run hour' which means that we only get paid while we are on a run.
As a full time paramedic, for a hospital based service, I do not believe that volunteer units have anything to do with low pay for full timers. I make very good money at my job. However, it is not on par with municipal public safety employees. This is not a local issue, it is a national one. EMS as a whole is the ugly step-child in public safety. Until we, as a whole, join together and demand equality, this will not change.
That is why I joined the National Association of EMT's. This is one of the largest national organizations for EMS people. They work on the state and national levels to further our cause. Until we speak as one, nothing will change. We need to stop the in-fighting and the paid vs. volunteer crap and work together. You paid people who like to bash volunteers should get to know them better. There are many volunteer departments who are as professional as any paid department. You might even learn something from them. There are many such departments who do not have the luxury of calling someone else to help them when things go bad. The same can be said for the volunteer departments learning from the paid people. Do not be so quick to judge others based on what kind of system they function in.
If you really want to improve EMS as a whole, join NAEMT or a state EMS organization and become proactive.