In 1996, when New York City’s Emergency Medical Service (EMS) merged with the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY), it caused a lot of turmoil.
Neither organization truly wanted the merger.
EMS personnel had been part of the Health and Hospitals Corporation. They felt more closely aligned with the medical field, which had nothing to do with firefighting. Firefighters believed their role was solely to combat fires, not to engage in medical duties.
Combining medical and firefighting resources did help strengthen the city’s emergency response capabilities, though: EMS personnel gained improved training and updated equipment, while the FDNY was able to coordinate better and expand its services.
“They started off with a lot of tension and animosity,” Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507, the union that represents the 4,500 members of the FDNY EMS, told the AmNews. “And as the years grew, the respect for each other got better. But to this day, because of the city’s lack of acknowledging EMTs and paramedics, there’s still a huge pay gap between the two professions, and it creates a lot of division, a lack of respect for the men and women of EMS.”
Wages for EMS workers remain low
The merger was supposed to garner Local 2507 members better pay and benefits, but the average hourly pay for an EMS trainee in New York remains as low as $17.00 an hour. FDNY EMS employees have had uniform status since 2001, which should mean increased bargaining benefits for Local 2507 members, but the union contends the city continues to negotiate wages based on a bargaining system that grants 16% increases for all city employees regardless of base pay. With starting salaries for EMS employees in the $40,000 range, this keeps their wages low.
Local 2507 has an ongoing federal lawsuit against New York City for discriminatory pay practices in EMS. In its class action lawsuit, Local 2507 claims “the City pays EMS First Responders substantially lower salaries than it does Fire First Responders. Fire First Responders also ‘receive more generous overtime, pension, disability, medical, dental, line of duty death, and educational benefits.’ [T]he differences in compensation result from ‘the pronounced difference in demographics’ between EMS and Fire First Responders: While EMS First Responders are ‘at least 55% non-white and approximately 24% female,’ only ‘14% of Fire First Responders are non-white’ and ‘less than 1%’ are female.”
The Amsterdam News sent requests for comments regarding the pay differentials received by Local 2507 members to New York City’s press office. Following a delay, the press office sent the following statement: “EMS workers have made countless sacrifices to keep New Yorkers safe, and we are deeply grateful for them. The Adams administration, which has a proven track record of reaching fair labor agreements for more than 98 percent of represented employees, remains in negotiations with the EMS union.”
Union members have been trailing away from EMS work because of the low pay, Barzilay insisted. After receiving training for EMS roles, workers will often transition to better-paying positions within other city departments. The union calculates that 30% of its first responders will leave EMS this year. Meanwhile, 911 response times for those who remain with EMS continue to rise.
“We go to every job that the police officer goes to, that the firefighters go to, yet the gap in pay is … we’re not talking about a couple of hundred dollars; we’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars. It’s just very frustrating,” Barzilay said. “Here we are, almost 30 years into the merger, and we’re still second-class citizens in an agency that’s predominantly white, and I have predominantly people of color and women in our union.”
Despite this adversity, FDNY EMS Local 2507 plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding on May 29. Union members will come together for a gala event at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows, Queens, to commemorate the organization’s inception in 1975 and recognize its first responders. The event is one of many efforts to show some appreciation for the emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and fire protection inspectors who continue to work for the city yet receive near-poverty wages.
EMT Ashley Diaz, a seven-year FDNY EMS Battalion 43 veteran who had her leg amputated after a car accident but continues to work as an FDNY EMT, will be one of many workers recognized for her dedication to FDNY EMS. State Senator Robert Jackson, who chairs the Civil Service & Pensions Committee, will be honored for being “a strong advocate for the retention and recruitment of EMS professionals and the introduction of hazard pay for these medical first responders in the instance of infectious disease outbreaks.”
THE ONLY WAY ON THE FACE OF THIS PLANET THAT THIS UNION IS GOING TO GET ANY RESPECT IS TO STRIKE. ITS MEMBERS, FDNY-EMS ARE WITHOUT A CONTRACT FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS AND THE GOVERNOR, MAYOR, AND CITY COUNCIL REFUSE TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH WHILE THEY GIVE GROCERY BAGGERS A RAISE. THIS GOES BEYOND BEING AN INSULT TO THOSE MEMBERS IN EMS WHO PUT IT ALL ON THE LINE EVERY SINGLE DAY. THIS CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE AND DECISIVE ACTION IN THE FORM OF A STRIKE. THIS WILL SHOW THIS CITY ONCE AND FOR ALL HOW NECESSARY WE ARE