Calgary EMS - Work to Rule

[vs-eh?]

If life for you is hopeless and what I pointed out to you about the cost, its like this, whether your working 2 or 3 jobs just to make enough to afford the high cost of living in a city such as this, great at least you survived to get past the point of doom.

Yes Calgary is a great place to live, that's only if you can afford to live here. I say by the grace of God I did. My family lives here, I am stating to you that unless you have a degree under your belt, such as a medic or whatever, you'll survive, but hearing the work to rule campaign of what the medics have said that they are not going above and beyond unless.

Well that's still decidedly on their part.

Now, if that's not a great argument, I don't know what is...

Wow...

[Just Plain Ruff]

unfortunately, it is the public who suffers and who is suffering but since I don't live in calgary I can sit back and watch this all fold out.

I'm not sure who I'm more sorry for, the public or the medics who are working their butts off.

Sure it's about money, can't argue with that but if you look at some of my earlier posts I said that I hope that this gets settled to everyones satisfaction. More money for the medics and happier people all around.

group hug.

I'm just glad I'm not in the middle of the situation

[Janmarie3]

If life for you is hopeless and what I pointed out to you about the cost, its like this, whether your working 2 or 3 jobs just to make enough to afford the high cost of living in a city such as this, great at least you survived to get past the point of doom.

Yes Calgary is a great place to live, that's only if you can afford to live here. I say by the grace of God I did. My family lives here, I am stating to you that unless you have a degree under your belt, such as a medic or whatever, you'll survive, but hearing the work to rule campaign of what the medics have said that they are not going above and beyond unless.

Well that's still decidedly on their part.

The "you" in your statement isn't "me" is it? If it is, then in all actuality life isn't easy anywhere a person lives no matter what they may do for a living. But what makes it different or maybe even a little easier is the attitude that a person has about his life. If you go around blaming everyone from God to politics to wages etc... as being that all decisive cause of how life is for you...then well honestly, it will never change.

The way I look at it is that these medics in Calgary are taking matters into their own hands to make a difference for themselves and others who will come into the profession behind them. They are over worked and maybe by taking responsibility and going through with this, and getting what they are striking for, wages go up and becomes more attractive to others to get into EMS, There won't be a shortage of hands and over worked medics.

I think it is about time that EMS is considered a vitally important asset to every community and should be treated as such. And sometimes a city has to be hanging by the balls before they finally "get it."

In the agency I worked for, we ran 2 counties. We were stationed in Kootenai county but only 2 miles from Benewah county, we covered that part of the county as well. Kootenai county is where all our funds came from and they were paying out for Benewah county. Benewah county gave out nothing to help us with the costs of taking care of their citizens. Kootenai county decided to pull back funds for Benewah county and in the end, it cost us "out of pocket" and to much to run it so we had to pull out as well. We didn't want to but it came down to that if Benewah county couldn't pitch in funds for the better of their citizens, we couldn't cover it ourselves. It didn't take long for Benewah county to comply and start granting us funds to keep running their county.

It is a sad thing for the citizens at first, but when the Mayor of the city and commissioner of Benewah county had their "balls to the wall," He changed his attitude about our importance real quick.

I think that if the mayor wants to be re elected he is going to have to satisfy the needs of the citizens of Calgary. I don't think he is going to want a public uprising because of it and from my experience working inside city hall, the phones will be ringing off the hook with angry Calgarians wanting to know why Grandma didn't get a ride to the hospital.

[WendyT]

FACTS ABOUT CALGARY

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Sat Jun 23, 2007 1:55 pm

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Population: 1,000,000 as of July 2006

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Location: In the foothills of Alberta's Rocky Mountains, at the junction of the Bow and Elbow Rivers

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Comparative size: Third largest city in Canada

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Area: 722 square kilometres

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Elevation: 1,128 metres above sea level

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Last municipal election: Oct 18th, 2004

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Next municipal election: Oct 17th 2007

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# of building permits: 16,723

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Value of building permits: $2.64 billion

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# of recycling depots: 47

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# of major parks: 29

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Total # of Regional Parks: 40

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Total area of parks/open spaces: 7,500 hectares

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# of library locations: 17

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# K-12 schools: 445

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Major local daily newspapers: 2

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Local radio stations: 17

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Local television stations: 6

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www.calgary.ca

Update to Citizens

The City of Calgary is currently in negotiations with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3421 which represents approximately 425 paramedics, emergency medical technicians, medical training co-ordinators, equipment technicians, safety officers and public education officers at The City of Calgary Emergency Medical Services.

The City values these employees and the service they provide to Calgarians.

The union is seeking wage increases of approximately 30 per cent over three years (July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2009) as well as increases to shift differentials. This goes far and beyond the ability of Calgary taxpayers to pay. The City's offer of 12 per cent is identical to 12 per cent accepted by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583. It is higher than the wage increases accepted by six other unions, including the Calgary Police Association and The City's inside and outside workers.

Calgary paramedics are the second highest paid in Western Canada behind only BC. The BC ambulance service is operated by the provincial government and has a different organizational structure than Calgary. The average T4 among CUPE 3421 members in 2006 was about $75,000. The average T4 in 2006 for a crew chief (the individual who is in charge of the ambulance during each shift), was about $78,000.

The City is ready to return to the bargaining table at any time and is disappointed the union has threatened to withdraw services. The City's primary concern is maintaining patient care; our focus is reaching a collective agreement.

The City of Calgary is prepared to put alternate plans in place to continue EMS operations should the union decide to withdraw or reduce service and hopes citizens will not see any impact.

[northernmedic]

I would imagine that in Calgary the average T4 includes a significant amount of overtime to reach that $75000 figure. It sounds as though the service is quite short which seems to be a situation more and more Canadian EMS services are beginning to face. All this OT I'm sure is leading to burnout, which compounds the situation further.

[EMSEDU]

Wow, I'm appalled at the message from the city above. It is extremely misleading. Yes, most definately that figure $75000 includes vast amounts of overtime, one only has to look at the hourly rates to see that without overtime that figure is impossible. Secondly, the city is completely overlooking the fact that CEMS now hires more and more EMTs, and I can assure you that their salary is nowhere NEAR the above figure.

Here's some food for thought for you:

The city staff who do scheduling for Calgary EMS make more than the people they are scheduling.

[iMac]

*mental note* make sure to not die and require an ambulance that week

[Canadian Caesar]

*mental note* Make sure to vote for a mayor and council that are willing to pay the real "essential services" enough that they don't ever have a majority vote to strike.

Then the ambulance will be there if I need it.