Court of Appeals Okays Uniformed Status for EMS; Opens Door to Better Pay and Pension; Others to Benefit

By ARI PAUL

Emergency Medical Service workers are entitled to bargain on their own rather than being bound by a contract for primarily civilian employees, the state's highest court ruled last week, upholding laws that granted them uniformed status.

BOB UNGAR: 'Evens the bargaining table.'

"We are elated," said Bob Ungar, a spokesman for the Uniformed EMTs and Paramedics Union, which is Local 2507 of District Council 37. "This has been a long-fought battle to get recognition for EMS workers and dispatchers that they deserve. The court's decision, while based on the law, has the effect of recognizing the type of work done by first-responders including the city's approximately 3,000 [Emergency Medical Technicians] and Paramedics and their supervisors."

Overrode Giuliani Veto

In 2001, the City Council passed two bills granting uniformed status to EMS, allowing the two unions representing workers and officers to bargain separately from DC 37 for their own contracts as first-responders. Local 2507 and DC 37 Local 3621, which represents EMS officers, contended that their members were more akin to police officers and firefighter than the typical civilian-employee members of DC 37 and deserved the right to bargain independently.

JAMES F. HANLEY: Downplays impact.

When the Council passed the bills, then-Mayor Giuliani vetoed them, but the Council overrode him and enacted them into law. The Bloomberg administration continued the battle in state court, climaxed by the June 12 ruling by the Court of Appeals.

City attorneys argued that the uniformed status legislation infringed upon the powers of the executive branch and was pre-empted by the Taylor Law.

The Court of Appeals, in a 6-1 ruling, was ultimately unconvinced by City Hall's reasoning.

'Legislators' Call'

"A local law prescribing a procedural rule for collective bargaining is not an encroachment on the Mayor's role in City government," stated Judge Robert Smith in writing the majority opinion. "The limitation on his freedom to act is merely a consequence of legislative policymaking."

In her dissent, Judge Susan Read sided with City Hall.

MARIANNE PIZZITOLA: 'Pay us like front-liners.'

"In enacting Local Laws 18 and 19, the Council declared that special and unique considerations exist, allowing these employees to make an end run around collective bargaining," she wrote. "The Mayor correctly protests that the Council may not do this because Section 201(12) of the Taylor Law confers upon him the exclusive authority to negotiate with municipal unions on the City's behalf, and local law may not supersede this authority."

"We are disappointed with the Court's ruling that the Taylor Law allowed the City Council to change the collective bargaining process for a particular group of employees," said a statement from Alan Krams, the Senior Counsel of the Law Department's Appeals Division. "While the Court said that this procedural change could be made without a referendum, we are pleased that the decision reiterates the principle that the Council cannot alter 'the Mayor's power in the New York City government structure' without voter approval."

'Won't Give an Inch'

Even though Mr. Ungar represents the EMS workers, he thought the Mayor had a legitimate concern about threats to his power. But Marianne Pizzitola, the president of the Uniformed FDNY EMS Retirees Association, was not so understanding.

PATRICK J. BAHNKEN: Elated by ruling.

"This doesn't cost the city anything," she said. "It governs how we bargain with the city. It's just characteristic of government fighting unions. They don't want to give an inch."

Uniformed workers tend to win slightly bigger wage increases than other city employees and are entitled to better pension provisions. And because there was no injunction, EMS workers have had the right to bargain on their own since 2001.

"It's a huge win for the EMS personnel and dispatchers," Mr. Ungar said. "It's everything you would want in terms of evening up the table on collective bargaining."

Patrick J. Bahnken, president of Local 2507, hailed the ruling and said that he was grateful to attorney Walter Meginnis, who helped argue the case before the courts, as well as to Mr. Ungar and Council Speaker Christine Quinn for their long-standing support.

May Affect Other Groups

"If it weren't for these people, I don't know what the outcome would have been," Mr. Bahnken said. "We've all been in this together for the long haul."

The decision also could affect a wide range of city workers, including Traffic Enforcement Agents, Taxi and Limousine Inspectors and School Safety Agents, as well as their supervisors. Special Officers in the departments of Homeless Services, Finance, Parks and Recreation, Health and Mental Hygiene, Transportation and Juvenile Justice are potentially affected, as are Special Officers in the Human Resources and Children's Services Administrations. All those groups were granted uniformed status by the Council under separate local laws, which the city is also challenging in court.

'They Deserve This'

"During 9/11, my guys were out there," said Mark Rosenthal, president of Local 983 of DC 37, which represents Park Enforcement Police and two levels of Traffic Enforcement Agents. "My guys are sick. Some of them have died. They proved themselves on the battlefield."

Mayor Not Talking

When asked his reaction to the decision, Mayor Bloomberg responded that labor negotiations should not be discussed in public.

"That's between the union and the city," he said. "We have EMS workers who do a great job."

James F. Hanley, the Labor Relations Commissioner, downplayed the significance of the ruling, noting that the current bargaining status for Police Officers and Firefighters does not cause too many problems.

"You have to spend more time bargaining," he said of the decision's impact. "It didn't change much."

Mr. Rosenthal agreed with Lieut. Thomas Eppinger, president of Local 3621, that the ruling was an affirmation that EMS workers and other uniformed workers stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Police Officers and Firefighters. Ms. Pizzitola considered it a big step forward, but said the bigger challenge will be actually bargaining with the city for the next contract for EMS workers.

"We're not civilians," she said. "We are New York City's front lines when it comes to emergencies. And they need to pay us like that."