EMS Unions Not Idle Until Arbitration; Talk Contract With City
By ARI PAUL
While the Emergency Medical Service unions prepare for a contract arbitration set to begin next January, they continue to have discussions with the city about possible wage and scheduling terms.

PATRICK J. BAHNKEN: Gap 'not insurmountable.'

"If we can come to an agreement, by all means we have always maintained that we prefer a negotiated settlement," said Patrick J. Bahnken, the president of District Council 37 Local 2507, which represents Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians. "Any dialogue where none existed before is never a bad thing. I just refuse to speculate and say that we'll achieve a resolution."

More Pay, Fewer Days

Locals 2507 and 3621, which represents EMS officers, bargain together and in May filed for arbitration when Labor Relations Commissioner James F. Hanley did not respond to their demands for higher wages and an alternative work schedule that would allow EMS responders to work longer hours per day but fewer days in a month.

On its Web site, Local 3621 said that it agreed that contract would span retroactively from July 2006 through August 2010. The city offered total raises of 15.5 percent, according to the union's report, while the union had sought 16 percent over four years. It also stated that the city was willing to discuss an alternative work schedule, but has yet to present details of that plan.

Both unions have complained that the current wage schedule in EMS has caused high attrition, inspiring members to seek promotion to Firefighter or take jobs in other agencies or in the private sector.

"The distance between us is not insurmountable," Mr. Bahnken said. "The EMS system is in a state of crisis. All parties agree that something has to be done, or the consequences of ignoring this status of the EMS system are extremely dire and I would say even deadly."