jumpbagjohnny

“Mayor de Blasio, asked during a press conference about the wide gap in salaries between Emergency Medical Service workers and other first-responders that accounts for a high turnover rate at EMS, replied, ‘We are trying to make sure people are treated fairly and paid fairly, but I do think the work is different.’ So EMS doesn’t compare to The Work that PD and FD does?.. my job isn’t as dangerous or strenuous as other first responders? So your telling me I don’t run up with PD when shots have been fired? I don’t fight off attackers because of the environment we’re forced to work in. I don’t stand right next to the “fast team” waiting for a “mayday” to come over the radio on a structure fire? I don’t put on a bullet prof vest on a scene of an active shooter or a barricaded EDP with a weapon? I don’t get mistaken for a police officer wearing a blue uniform in a bad neighborhood; possibly get attacked for it? I don’t drive by a building on fire, which people are trapped on the fire floor and rescue those civilians, then containing the fire from spreading to other floors or potentially another building because FD aren’t on scene yet ? Well I can tell you right now Mr. Mayor, I have done all those things in EMS. On every FD call, EMS is there. On high priority PD jobs, we are there. Listen to FD & PD radio frequencies, count how many times they say “request EMS” “what’s the ETA for the bus” “RUSH THE BUS TO THIS LOCATION !!” The roles may be different, but the work is the same. It’s time we get recognized for our contribution to the work we do along side our brothers and sisters in FD & PD. In our profession, we get injured, assaulted and die. On 9/11 the 8 EMTs/Paramedics didn’t think “the work is different” they also ran into those buildings to save civilians. How can it be justified that the crew that picks up your garbage makes 40k more than the crew who goes through all of this every single day. So, are we “treated fairly and paid fairly”?”

-Rich Ard