Volunteers - paid or not

[Chief1C]

Yes? No? I guess I never think aboat it, eh?

Labour

Mainly for the purpose of general humor.

[Arctickat]

Yankees trying to talk like Canadians is soooo cute!!!!

It's Aboot, not aboat. Aboat s a thing that floats on the water for people to ride in. Sometimes they are really big and are called ships. Another kind of boat can actually sink itself and travel vast distances underwater, we call these submarines.

[JPINFV]

Another kind of boat can actually sink itself and travel vast distances underwater, we call these submarines.

Aren't you guys still trying to work out a screen door for those things?

[Arctickat]

Naw, we have that solved. Our navy outsourced to a shopping centre in Edmonton...it has a larger submarine fleet with newer subs.

[Michael]

Another kind of boat can actually sink itself

[Kaisu]

If you don't have to do it (monitarily and career-wise), then you are volunteering to do it. It's an either or situation.

I don't wanna brag Dust, but I made my F.Y. money years ago and retired. I am not wealthy, but I don't have to work another day in my life if I didn't want to. I work my heart out and would be deeply offended if someone suggested that I am not a professional. I am doing this because I love it. I guess that makes me a volly.

[brentoli]

At the FD I am at... they have two part time EMT's to cover day shift. They make $10/hr. Members were allowed to do this, but then Wage and Labor came in with the opinion that is working and volunteering for the same business and it is a no-no.

I don't know if this is relevant to the conversation at hand or not.

[Dustdevil]

I don't wanna brag Dust, but I made my F.Y. money years ago and retired. I am not wealthy, but I don't have to work another day in my life if I didn't want to. I work my heart out and would be deeply offended if someone suggested that I am not a professional. I am doing this because I love it. I guess that makes me a volly.

Nah... you fall under the "career-wise" clause. It is your chosen career, whether you need the money or not. But we weren't really talking about who was professional or not, just clarifying the definition of "volunteer".

[mstovall]

I knew that if Dust agreed with me, I must have been right. I think this has been a neat discussion. Our area is under a new transition in recent years. They have added one pay crew to the existing pay crew. County government is looking at possibly adding another paid station. Many in the Vols veel betrayed as they see the paid guys cancel the vols on most runs prior to them making it to the scene. I see it as people getting the service they need, at the most timely manner. My department is a mixed department so we only make scene on really bad runs or when paid crew is on another run. This means that we back up the paid guys when they need help or we deliver services when no one else is around. The documentation that the vols provide has displayed the need for paid crews and mixed crews. The services demand more training out of the vols than the paid crews since they use their skills less. To me pay is when you have some type of gain. I have never received a gain from vol work. I haven't even broke even from my vol work. In a way it is a hobby, and in a way it is an avenue for me to perfect my skills I use on the Ambulance service I work for. I get additional training in areas that are rearely touched on in EMS (Hazmat scenes, confined space rescues, extrication, rescue tech classes and certification). Thanks for looking up the definition.

It has also given me insight on areas about pay vs reimbursement.

michael

[Rescue0ne]

Some volly agencies in my area "reimburse" as follows...

BLS - $75+ / shift (12hr)

ALS - $100+/ shift (12hr)

They did this to address manpower issues. Everyone there actually has a fulltime job, they sign up for shifts on days off, etc.

The agency doesn't take out taxes, rather they give them a 10-99 form at the end of the year.

The stipulation is that you must "run" 2 shifts per month non-reimbursed, then any shifts after that during the month are reimbursed. It seems to be working for them, as they do get their shifts covered, and covered well.

I'd just as soon see them go full-time paid, rather than mess with the reimbursement stuff. It has to be a real PITA for whomever has to keep track of it.

But yeah. In my opinion, they're volunteers.