SEIU Seeking to Unionize EMS Ambulance Contractor

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang A SUB-PAR VENDOR: Matthew Levy, the national director of the SEIU-affiliated International Association of EMTs and Paramedics, said that medical responders at TransCare, which is part of the Emergency Medical Service system, earned significantly less than their counterparts at other private vendors and paid $150 per week for family health insurance.

A division of the Service Employees International Union is attempting to unionize the 500 paramedics and emergency medical technicians at one of the biggest private ambulance vendors in the Emergency Medical Service system.

TransCare is the third-largest ambulance company in the nation and serves nine hospitals in the city, including Bronx Lebanon, Mt. Sinai and Beth Israel. While it is a private company, it operates under the supervision of EMS officers and is contracted by the city.

Union: They're Underpaid

Matthew Levy, the national director of the SEIU-affiliated International Association of EMTs and Paramedics, said that TransCare responders earn on average $5 less per hour than their counterparts at other vendors—many of whom are represented by SEIU— and must pay $150 per week for family health insurance.

Matt Flood, a TransCare responder based in Manhattan earning $17 per hour, said that in addition to the burdensome cost of health-care coverage, workers get only six days off a year for vacation and sick days, and are forbidden from taking off two days in a row.

'Can't Afford to Get Sick'

"We're in the health-care field and we can't even afford to get sick," Mr. Flood said.

Mr. Levy added that the TransCare responders do not have job security.

"Policies are made and changed at management's whim," he said. "Employees are also fired not for cause. The benefits for injury in the line of duty received by the Fire Department and these SEIU units far out-trump those in TransCare, where they're given just the minimal benefits of workmen's comp."

The union has filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint with the Brooklyn office of the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that Trans- Care managers have illegally intimidated and threatened workers who vocally supported unionization.

In the 1990s, TransCare drew the outrage of EMS unions when it received access to the city's 911 radio frequency after making major campaign contributions to then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In 2004, its founder, Steven Zakheim, settled a lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed several female workers, including demanding sexual intercourse in exchange for raises and Yankees tickets.

Firm: 'Competitive Wages'

The company argued that the vacation time argument represented an unfair comparison because its employees work three 12-hour days in a week.

"Notwithstanding the current economic conditions and the difficult job market, TransCare continues to offer our employees an opportunity to perform a very rewarding job at competitive wages, with the chance for professional advancement," it said in a statement. "We are aware of the organizing efforts currently under way and recognize the right of free speech of all parties involved. We have and will continue to conduct ourselves professionally and in complete compliance with all the legal obligations incumbent on an employer. We are also taking this opportunity to present our employees with our side of the story, as is our right."

Thinks Workers Will See Light

It continued, "We believe that once our employees are presented with all of the facts necessary to make an informed decision, they will choose to not inject a third party into a relationship that we continually strive to improve as a people first company."

"Any person who is involved in any type of work, especially like this, should be unionized to protect their rights," said Tom Eppinger, who as the out-going president of Local 3621 of District Council 37 represents EMS officers.

But Mr. Eppinger, whose members supervise TransCare responders, reiterated his view that EMS work should not be outsourced.

"The only people that should be doing this job should be employed by FDNY EMS," he said. "Not to begrudge these people, but these people should work for us."