NYC EMS workers will soon make less than food delivery drivers

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baileyjeff said:
We should strike!
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That would be both illegal and most likely immoral. In the short time I've been on EMS here we have made significant gains, which if the pattern continues with the contracts should only increase. I wouldn't be surprised if EMS is paid almost what it should be within the next decade. Also the article is misleading as the delivery worker pay scale included wouldn't take full effect until 2028 by which time we should have had multiple contracts with their included raises. Not to mention we have many benefits which these drivers don't. Also it's comparing their wages to our first step which is only a year long. This is an expensive city, good for them getting a raise to something almost livable. I'm sure our time will come soon.
 
memorymaster said:
Don't you see that a strike would open the door for the City to give all EMS work to the voluntary hospitals? The City would save a bundle on salaries, benefits, vehicles, equipment and the list goes on. Be careful what you wish for.
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I work the voluntary hospital system. Overall we do a good job. FDNY has to stop treating us like crap. If all the voluntary ambulances citywide were suddenly gone for 12 hours there is no way FDNY could handle the workload.
 
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It was not written nor implied that the voluntary hospital units/personnel do not perform their jobs well. If they "were suddenly gone for 12 hours" what would they gain?
 
baileyjeff said:
FDNY maintains they can handle the workload themselves.
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That's a very lofty statement. They're good, but it would be a heavy lift to say the least. No voluntaries would involve an innovative way of doing business that would look nothing like how things are done now. The talent to devise a workable plan exists within the FDNY. Question is will those in EMS leadership be open minded and trusting enough to implement said plan.
 
baileyjeff said:
I work the voluntary hospital system. Overall we do a good job. FDNY has to stop treating us like crap. If all the voluntary ambulances citywide were suddenly gone for 12 hours there is no way FDNY could handle the workload.
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I agree, you guys do a good job. Anyone who says otherwise hasn't been paying attention. Just curious about the "FDNY treating the voluntaries like crap" statement. Could you tell us what you have actually experienced to make you feel that way. Not looking for times, dates or places nor looking to indite anyone just trying to understand.
 
Elmerj said:
I agree, you guys do a good job. Anyone who says otherwise hasn't been paying attention. Just curious about the "FDNY treating the voluntaries like crap" statement. Could you tell us what you have actually experienced to make you feel that way. Not looking for times, dates or places nor looking to indite anyone just trying to understand.
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Not treating us fairly, continuous harassment of the voluntaries and holding us to a higher standard then there own members.
 
As a side note, the other day I had met up with a good friend of mine who is a career firefighter in a very busy city of about 150,00 - 200,000 people.
He's really into the job and suggested he take me on a tour of the city streets.
He has many years on that department and he's a buff too, so of course he had has scanner with him.

In this city, the fire department provides the fulltime ambulance service and each firefighter is required to maintain a basic EMT level service.
It is part of their in service training.
Like most cities, the ambulances are running non stop.

We hear a call come in for an injured civilian, with police on the scene.
The nearest engine company is dispatched and as one of the ambulances free's up from the hospital a minute or two later, they are assigned as well.

We are a short distance so we take it in.
The engine company arrives and patches up the victim of an apparent assault.
At that point the engine officer cancels the ambulance enroute, and the ambulance is then assigned to another job.

The advantage to this was that not only was the ambulance freed up, but so was the engine company instead of waiting for that "bus" to arrive.

On the other hand - could this type of situation result a possible liability case ?

What are your thoughts ?
 
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nfd2004 said:
As a side note, the other day I had met up with a good friend of mine who is a career firefighter in a very busy city of about 150,00 - 200,000 people.
He's really into the job and suggested he take me on a tour of the city streets.
He has many years on that department and he's a buff too, so of course he had has scanner with him.

In this city, the fire department provides the fulltime ambulance service and each firefighter is required to maintain a basic EMT level service.
It is part of their in service training.
Like most cities, the ambulances are running non stop.

We hear a call come in for an injured civilian, with police on the scene.
The nearest engine company is dispatched and as one of the ambulances free's up from the hospital a minute or two later, they are assigned as well.

We are a short distance so we take it in.
The engine company arrives and patches up the victim of an apparent assault.
At that point the engine officer cancels the ambulance enroute, and the ambulance is then assigned to another job.

The advantage to this was that not only was the ambulance freed up, but so was the engine company instead of waiting for that "bus" to arrive.

On the other hand - could this type of situation result a possible liability case ?

What are your thoughts ?
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The thing is that some of the patients are just looking for a ride to the hospital and it seems not many of them RMA
 
baileyjeff said:
Not treating us fairly, continuous harassment of the voluntaries and holding us to a higher standard then there own members.
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Perhaps what you consider harassment is trying to maintain professional standards. Could it be that some of the voluntaries free-lance and think they don't have to play by the rules? Just a question. I have personally worked with voluntary units that were fantastic, there when you needed them and played by the rules with a smile.
 
nfd2004 said:
As a side note, the other day I had met up with a good friend of mine who is a career firefighter in a very busy city of about 150,00 - 200,000 people.
He's really into the job and suggested he take me on a tour of the city streets.
He has many years on that department and he's a buff too, so of course he had has scanner with him.

In this city, the fire department provides the fulltime ambulance service and each firefighter is required to maintain a basic EMT level service.
It is part of their in service training.
Like most cities, the ambulances are running non stop.

We hear a call come in for an injured civilian, with police on the scene.
The nearest engine company is dispatched and as one of the ambulances free's up from the hospital a minute or two later, they are assigned as well.

We are a short distance so we take it in.
The engine company arrives and patches up the victim of an apparent assault.
At that point the engine officer cancels the ambulance enroute, and the ambulance is then assigned to another job.

The advantage to this was that not only was the ambulance freed up, but so was the engine company instead of waiting for that "bus" to arrive.

On the other hand - could this type of situation result a possible liability case ?

What are your thoughts ?
Click to expand...
From what I understand, It all depends on what level their Department and Dept of Health says they can operate at. CFR-D, EMT or Paramedic. In the NYC System CFR-D can not treat and release nor do an RMA. The only thing close to a treat and release or an RMA in the NYC system for the CFR-D is if the patient once identified as such decides to end the encounter by outright refusing or stopping on going assistance and either walking away or asking the members to leave the premises. This of course is dependent on the patient having decisional capacity to end said encounter. If the individual lacks decisional capacity the NYPD would be asked to respond and protect the patient from "themself" and likely assist in transport via Ambulance to the hospital

While a good number of FDNY Firefighters are trained to the EMT or Paramedic level (and some even higher) they can only operate within the scope of a CFD-D. So in NYC firefighters would have to be trained, authorized to operate by NYS Dept of Health and the FDNY and be indemnified for the EMT level care before the situation your describing being able to occur. Unless of course the NYS Dept of Health revises the rules for CFR-D and permits them to treat and release/RMA.

NOTE ***This would also likely be subject to collective bargaining between the unions and the City of New York as their scope of practice would be expanded. I also don't know how the EMS unions would react to this as it encroaches on their existing duties likely leading to more collective bargaining issues.

Hope that helps.
 
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