AMR and Piners vote to strike in northern California

[MadMod]

In regards to the AMR strike, the reason appears to be over the health insurance. Some services, companies, and cities give a pay raise while the benefits are still substandard for the area. Therefore, the gains of the raise is negated. This is especially true if the HMO, PPO, or plan does not provide good options in services for the area. What good is a policy that requires you to travel to another county for care.

Another thing to consider: why are the surrounding AMR counties paid more than the unhappy one? Because they are not "good providers", not bringing in enough money? Most unions are concerned with fairness. If you are surrounded by higher paid units of your own company (by 20 to 30%), you're going to have dissatisfied workers. Most workers in this situation will equate pay to how the company values them. In this case, it would appear that they are the "black sheep". Are they the only union local? Are they the only one that has a contract and collective bargaining? AMR has a history of not "playing nice" with union locals.

And..

It would be according to local ordinance and state laws whether they can be charged for striking. If there is a "no strike" clause. But most likely, a judge will rule that they would have to go back to work. Anyone who then doesn't comply could be charged. Also, this is a private company. Like many have argued, this component of the medical system is not a part of Public Safety, therefore no civil service laws to apply. All private citizens in private business have a right to organize and strike. It then falls to the company management to keep the trucks rolling by whatever means possible (within the law).

I would hope a judge orders a 30 to 60 day "cooling off period". During this time, nobody does anything.

[paramedicmike]

If these boneheads strike then every last one of them should be fired. And if I could deny them unemployment I would!

[MadMod]

[b]paramedicmike wrote

If these boneheads strike then every last one of them should be fired. And if I could deny them unemployment I would!

Actually, that would be illegal. At least, until a judge orders them back.

[Just Plain Ruff]

But if they do strike it would be a very bad thing for the people who they take care of. It would be a prime time for a competetor to come in and take over with the State's blessing. I've seen in happen in a number of areas.

[paramedicmike]

Working in EMS gives us a greater responsibility towards our work than other professions might have. It's not about us. It's about our patients and the people we serve. If these providers strike then their employers should take every step within their power to have every one of their sorry a$$es fired.

There are other ways to get your message out and raise awareness of your dispute. By striking you only alienate yourselves further.

[EMS49393]

I've never been business-savvy, so pardon my stupidity. I work for a hospital and my average cost for health insurance is over $110 a month for a single person, no children. My co-pays range from $20-$100 dollars depending on seeing a PCP or an ER. Our prescriptions average $10-$50 dollars a month. Hospital employee, hospital insurance. If we go out of the network of our hospitals providers our rates go even higher. I received roughly a 3.4% increase in pay this last year.

They're griping about a 17.5% raise over two years? That's 8.75% a year. They are changing health coverage and co-pays will increase. What are they increasing to? They must be pretty high if they are getting a $500 bonus to cover out of pocket expenses. It almost sounds like they won't have any co-pays at all if that's the case.

I really don't understand why they're complaining. It seems like they're getting more then most providers will ever see. If they pull something stupid like a strike, the company can hire me. I'll be more then happy with that fat pay increase and a health coverage bonus. Perhaps I'm missing something.

[Nate]

I think many here will agree with me. It isn't always about being the highest paid. I make $0.75 more an hour then a paramedic who serves my area. However, I drive 30 miles every third day to work where I work. Why? Because number one the service treats me very well, I have school coverage, the people are awesome to work with, and I like the area I work in (although I'd never want to live there by any means).

However, I could go 10 miles down the road to a city that pays nearly $3.00 more an hour then what I get now. However I have no gurantee that I would have the same non-cash benefits that I have here.

I think those who agreed to walk out need to consider finding another career. You don't turn your back on someone for a few bucks.

[zzyzx]

I agree that a strike would be unethical.

However, before you guys start blaming the employees for being greedy, consider my situation. I work in Riverside County, California, for AMR.

The starting salary for a new medic here is $27K. I only make $31K and I've been with AMR for 4 years. So, if AMR was going to give me a 15% raise over 2 years, I would still be ridiculously underpaid. Consider that the MEDIAN price of a home in Riverside county is well over $400K, and that the MEDIAN price of a home in LA county is over half a million.

I don't believe that paramedics should be paid the $80 or $90K base salaries that fire medics in LA and the Bay Area make, but to be making thirty-something thousand in California is a joke. Sadly, good medics simply can't afford to be medics anymore if they work for AMR. Right now 75% of our medics have less than a year's experience. Everyone leaves as soon as they can get a fire job, or they go to nursing school. And AMR doesn't care. For them it's all about to bottom line.

[MadMod]

xcix brings up an excellent point. What are the crews making now versus what the cost of living rate is? What are the other services getting paid around them? What are other AMR divisions getting paid? This turns into a situation where your service workers can't afford to live where they work. And with gas prices the way they are, commuting is a painful process also. If their grossly underpaid, they are more likely to be pushed into corners.

And before anyone says "then they should just pick up and move". Try it. It's not that easy to do.

Workers have rights. Allowing the company to do what it can to fire the employees is illegal by federal law. If you allow that, what stops the company from deciding they don't want to pay you overtime? The company could then argue you have a responsibility to stay and work another 24. They could call you up on your day off and say we need you to come in and work, it's your responsibility. Responsibility does not feed your children. You have to take a stand somewhere. Unfortunately, years ago many tried to get EMS out of the public safety spectrum and into the private medical/transportation field. Because you're not a part of public safety, then you're not considered vital to the community. Thus, if the employees are dissatisfied and vote to strike (which is their right), then so be it.

I have dealt in these issues for years. If they strike, what you will see is management officials and "office personnel" (training officers, supervisors, etc.) start running on the ambulances. They'll bring in people from other divisions to fill in (remember, AMR is the nation's largest EMS company). And then they'll get tired of it. And nothing pushes management back to the table faster than having to work out in the heat. Except having to work in the heat and not want to.

The sad fact is the situation is being pushed into the strike. That means both sides are at an impasse. Time for the federal mediation board to come in.

[Scaramedic]

Noun 1. dedication - complete and wholehearted fidelity

faithfulness, fidelity - the quality of being faithful

Dedication, a word that is not used much anymore when speaking of EMS.

When I started out in EMS the pay for Paramedics was low, very low. Over the years it has gone up, for the most part greater than inflation. Slowly but surely it is catching up to where it should be. The average Paramedic salary in Washington State is about $22/hr. The average mill job salary in the state is about $20/hr so we're making a little more than people with a high school education. Keep in mind that Washington has the second highest pay rate for Paramedics, behind Washington, DC. Still, overall pay for Medics is increasing across the country.

To me none of that matters though. I decided to be a Medic when pay was much lower than it is now. I became a Paramedic to serve the public, maybe it is naive but I was dedicated to helping others. I still am by the way, it has never been about lights and sirens or being the hero, it's about doing my job well. I do not care what I take home every two weeks, money is nice but it is not how I judge my life. I judge my life by the people who are living normal lives because of what I did in their moment of need. I have never cared for commendations, awards or even thank you letters from patients. The inner peace I find is reward enough for me. Wow, touchy feely crap from scaramedic!! Quick someone take his temperature.

So how does all this tie into this thread about Medics going on strike in Cali? Simple it goes back to the definition I started this thread with. Dedication: complete and wholehearted fidelity, this is what EMS should be about. Dedication to the public we serve is the cornerstone of EMS. We want respect from the public but are willing to turn our backs on them for money. I equate medics complaining about pay to people who move into a house next to the airport and then complain about the noise. The pay was low when you chose this career, if you got into it for money your an idiot. The only way to have a satisfying career in EMS is to love what you are doing.

I agree that we should be paid more but abandoning the public is not the key higher pay. The key to higher pay is better education that results in better patient care.

In the end it comes down to the more dedicated we are the more we are worth.

Peace,

Marty

:joker: