EMS Workers Protest County for Living Wage and Better Work Conditions

BRADENTON – On Thursday morning, around three dozen Manatee County EMTs and paramedics lined Manatee Avenue in front of the County Administration Building, where they picketed the BOCC and county administrator over failed efforts to negotiate an equitable contract between their union and the county.

 

The union–the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics Local 747–formed three years ago after employees tried in vain to petition the board at budget hearings to address numerous pay and work issues, including the lowest hourly rate and retention ratio in the area, along with forced overtime they say creates dangerous work conditions that reduces the quality of service to taxpayers.

 

William Shick, a Manatee County charge paramedic, is president of the local chapter. Schick says they've exhausted all efforts to bring the county back to the table and were essentially given one offer that even the county's own consulting firm recommended against, and told take it or leave it. Shick said that the workers had avoided taking their case to the public because they didn't want to alarm them over the state of a crucial service but could no longer count on reaching a conclusion with the county and felt it was essential to take their fight public.

 

The union and the county have been in negotiations since July of 2013, in which time the department has suffered an annual turnover rate over 30 percent, meaning that practically the entire department turns over every three years. EMTs are starting at only $9.56 an hour and paramedics between $10.65 and $12.16. To make matters worse, employees regularly are forced to do double shifts, while working other jobs on their "off days" to make ends meet.

 

Not surprisingly, the department has been unable to attract enough workers, leading to cases where employees working forced doubles in the busiest stations are performing up to 40 calls in less than two days. The union says that Manatee County pays EMS workers 22 percent less than other departments in the surrounding area. Pay compression has also created a situation in which employees who've been with the department for several years often end up training a new employee while essentially making the same pay as the rookie. Shick said the offer from the county did nothing to address compression.

 

Workers say that they are only asking for a living wage and conditions that will allow them to safely perform a critical responsibility with life or death consequences. Because of what the county is currently spending on overtime, it is even possible that an acceptable contract could even save taxpayer money.

 

Tom Batchelor, a firefighter/paramedic with the Town of Longboat Key's Fire-Rescue department was out to support his fellow emergency services workers. Batchelor, an independent, will take on first-term Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh for the east county district 5 seat in next November's election. He said the BOCC needs to step up to the plate and do what's right.

 

"Right now, the county has created a situation that I think every taxpayer would find unacceptable if they understood it, said Batchelor, while holding a sign. "It's not just a matter of workers being paid fairly. This impacts safety." Batchelor said that techs forced to work long hours without adequate sleep and long response times to rural fringes of the county, especially during multiple call scenarios, could mean the difference between life or death.

"The county commission needs to have a conversation with citizens and decide what level of service at what cost is acceptable," said Batchelor. He listed off a number of possible scenarios the county could engage in from putting EMS under the Sheriff's department to subbing it out. "I'm not necessarily advocating any of those," he noted. "They need to act to fix the problem in front of them, but if they don't want to be in the emergency services business, then they should get the hell out."

 

Manatee County EMS Workers Continue to Get the Shaft