reaper

If you do plan on going to FL, you need to get your FFII cert. FFI is mainly only for vollys. If you have a place there to upgrade to FFII, I would get it there. There are some Fire schools in FL that will allow an upgrade, but the better ones will make you complete the whole course over again.

Well, To this post I say "bring them ON" I have many already in the family and know the workings of the auto industry. To the rest, I think Vent has summed it up very nicely. I will take a National voice over a local voice. You fix it at the National level and the pay increases will follow. I pay association dues once a year and a very small amount to boot. You pay union dues in a large amount!

Yes, I was hoping that maybe some smart citizens would ask this very question!! :shock: Maybe they would start to ask where all their tax money is going. They might wake up an see how much of it is being wasted on these endeavors!!!

Or simply ask them why they need ALS engines, if they are never used for ALS??

Lets see, The UAW fought for autoworkers to make $40.00 an hr, for a job that is worth $15-18 an hr. Where are a majority of those workers now? Out of work! Massive layoffs! Do you think the union or the workers left behind care about them now? They paid dues and still lost their jobs. I have seen major companies brought to their knees by greedy unions, that do not know when enough is enough. I agree that there should be decent pay and good working conditions, but some unions push it to far and the lowly little guy gets screwed in the end. They are out of a job and the union leader is sitting pretty, without a care in the world! I agree we need a national voice for EMS (as in an association). But, we do not need a union. We need our professional people to take charge of their own career and stand together for change. This does not take paying someone else to do it for you.

I think he is trying to say that the IAFF will side with the FD in a takeover attempt. If the FD wanted your service, the IAFF will not stand up to them on your behalf. That would be shooting themselves in the foot. The majority of their members across the country are FF's. They are not going to alienate those members, just to help 24 of you. If you want a union, then why not get your fellow employees together and form your own? One that has EMS as their number one goal and no conflicts to prevent it from doing it's job fully!

I am not putting you down for belonging to a union. I stated that it is good if they helped you, at your service. I stated that everything you stated can and has been done without unions. The need for unions died in the early 80's. People are a little more educated in the ways of the work force today. They know how to deal with it themselves. People can bitch all they want about low pay or bad equipment. The difference with this job is you have a choice. If you don't like what is being done to you, then leave. There is a shortage in this country and the need for good medics is every where. You choose to work where you do, no one is forcing you to work any where. For you, it sounds like you have a great place to work. It may be because of the union, but do you still need them? Are you and your fellow employees not capable of joining together and standing up for what you want? Why do you continue to pay dues? What is the union doing for you now? As "someone" stated, this is like paying for cable and never changing the channel.

I am glad the the union helped you guys out. That said, they still are not needed! The last two systems I have worked for have all the benefits and equipment you mentioned and more. Neither service was union. The last service I was with was only 4 years old and the benefits and equipment were top of the line. Why were these systems like this? Because the county government stood behind them. If they didn't, then I would have went else where for work. So yes, unions can help you, but all this can be done without them. You just have to know how to play the game.

That may be true in OZ, but not here. A lot of places have laws against public saftey being able to strike. I have seen several medics fired and blacklisted for trying a "sickout". They ended up having to move out of state. Ems is a small community and word spreads fast between services. They could not find a job anywhere close to them!

Nifty, Why did you need a union to fight for overtime? There is a state labor dept. for that. As I said, it is your choice to be union or not. Everything you mentioned has been done without a union being needed. I see going from a 12hr to 24hr truck a step back wards. Lee county is a busy system and I do not believe that any busy system should run 24 hr trucks. There is to much of a fatigue factor involved. This has been proved over and over. That is why a lot of busy services now run 12 hr shifts. If you are happy with your union, more power to you. I will not pay dues to someone, to provide the same thing I can do myself. Especially the IAFF.

But, what have they done for you? It is your personal choice to belong to a union or work where one is in existence. I choose to work for agencies that are not unionized. They don't need them, because the agency already does a great job of providing benefits and pay. A union will not help in any way. Most gov agencies that are unionized are tied in with the FD. I choose not to work for any EMS agency that is with a FD. This is a Strong belief I have and will not work for something I don't believe in.

That is one reason why unions don't work for EMS. There is no threat. Private's can walk out. If you work for a county government EMS service, you have no threat. Most have laws against striking, since you are a public safety service. If you have no threat, you have no leverage!

If your state associations are worth a dam, they are there to fight for EMS at the state level and to lobby for the changes needed at the state level. I have never seen a union that was worth a dam. As you put it, the only ones that are helped by them are the ones that should not be. I have no problems with the pay at the private companies. Oh wait, I choose not to work for them! I have never seen a good private company. I work for county run EMS only. I pick and choose who I work for and I watch out for my own backside. I do not need to pay someone part of my hard earned money to watch out for me. If you choose to work for the privates, then that is your choice. Just keep in mind that they do not care about you. They care about making money, bottom line!

Take it------------------ pair of 20 year old boots

They suck! :shock:

Tell that to the Flat foots that call for an ambulance for every drunk they get. They will call for one L&S, just because they don't want to wait on scene with them. Then I have to yell at a cop for wasting services! :twisted:

What kind of stetascope you got!! I need a new one! :wink: :wink:

I see a big decline in pt care in Collier County coming ahead. This is why FL is on a decline. The counties that have stood tall and kept a separate third service EMS agency, are now being forced out by the fire-monkeys that think they can do it all. If anyone here has relatives in Collier County, I would advise them to move now!! If not, tell them to not get hurt! :shock:

YOU BIG WUSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! j/k. Have some fun. Everyone needs to step away for a while!

An where was the injury that required a c-collar and LSB?

Sirduke, What county are you in?

As vent stated, figure out what you want. There are some very good county run EMS only services. Lee County, Lake/Sumter, Leon county. A lot of your smaller counties in N FL are EMS only services. You need to figure where you want to live. Personally, I wouldn't go south of Ocala! ( No offense Vent) If you have your state lic, in IL. then you need to show proof of the training you had. If it meets FL standards, then you can take the state exam and get you lic. Like Vent said, almost all of the state is ALS. Even the counties that have one ambulance are ALS services. There is no BLS only, there. If you need any help, just ask.

Why are you wanting to go to a private service? I will hold my comments on Sunstar. Gov. service has better benefits, especially in FL. Where in FL are you wanting to live? Tell us and a few here can lead you in the right direction.

I had brought this up in the last practical I was at. The proper technique is insert till you feel resistant. Just tell that to the examiner and you should be fine.

NJ is where a lot of states were, 50 years ago. Some how all the other states have changed things. There are only two reasons why NJ is still like it is. 1. No one is joining together to make the changes. 2. No one wants the change for the better, because they like it the way it is. If ever EMS person in the state lobbied the state, there would be change. As far as your statement about EMS being non existent if there was no vol's, You are kidding right??? If you all stopped showing up tomorrow, what do think would happen? I can tell you. The state would have an emergency meeting and change the laws. Almost every county would rush to put a paid service together. They would not allow EMS to go away. The state would hold all the liability! Since you would never get all the whackers to walk away, at least start gathering forces and head to the state capitol. You march on the capitol with lots of news coverage, I guarantee you there will be change. Pretty dam quick!