Austin Travis County EMS hiring Paramedics and paying them as Basics

[Fish]

Say what you want, but the fact that we have hundreds of applicants a year testing for our department (for ony about 30 spots) says something. Secondly, I'm not recruiting... I have my medic job for which I get paid extremely well, I'm just setting the record straight. Sounds like a lot of bitterness out there from guys who either can't get hired due to their "entitlement" attitude as a new medic, or just don't have what it takes.

If bitter is in reference to me, then you would be wrong. I have a great Medic job, with great pay and benefits and it is with an excellent EMS system. I was just stating that when you come on here and talk about ATCEMS as a member of the team like you did, you give it a bad image. Recruiter or not. I believe you are one of the only Austin Medics who write on here, so for all of these people YOU ARE Austin EMS.

I have many friends who work for Austin, and most likely I know you. My friends like working for Austin, but they have a lot of complaints, and I don't have one friend who works for Austin that likes the EMT/Paramedic idea. Austin is a good system. But so is Williamson County, MCHD, and Fort Bend County. All about the same pay and benefits. And they all have difficult hiring processes.

 

[rescue1]

Say what you want, but the fact that we have hundreds of applicants a year testing for our department (for ony about 30 spots) says something. Secondly, I'm not recruiting... I have my medic job for which I get paid extremely well, I'm just setting the record straight. Sounds like a lot of bitterness out there from guys who either can't get hired due to their "entitlement" attitude as a new medic, or just don't have what it takes.

Hundreds of medics apply for every job. Hell, a hundred EMTs applied for my job, and its some dinky little station in the burbs without any of the pizzazz that ACTEMS has. It doesn't mean the job is great, it means unemployment is high and people need money.

I'm interested in why there is so much turnover, though. I always thought ACTEMS was supposed to be a squared away EMS agency with a lot of career potential.

EDIT: Wow, totally missed PoeticInjustice's reply. 30 calls a shift? That's crazy. That's moving towards Philly or Baltimore crazy.

 

[46Young]

Say what you want, but the fact that we have hundreds of applicants a year testing for our department (for ony about 30 spots) says something. Secondly, I'm not recruiting... I have my medic job for which I get paid extremely well, I'm just setting the record straight. Sounds like a lot of bitterness out there from guys who either can't get hired due to their "entitlement" attitude as a new medic, or just don't have what it takes.

Most decent sized municipal employers will have hundreds of applicants. People want the benefits and pension. Remember, the pay in EMS is low because there is too much supply. Your department is certainly not unique in it's number of applicants.

The bitterness is not from the inability to get hired by ATC-EMS. The bitterness is directed at EMS in general, with all it's undesireable features, some of which were highlighted in this discussion.

I used to work for Charleston County EMS in SC. Due to my ignorance, I thought I was getting hired into a 48 hour workweek with a $38k/yr salary, to be raised to $45k/yr after 6 months. I didn't know that 56 hour shifts existed; I thought that 24's meant two 24 hour shifts a week or less.

The 56 hour workweek screws you guys because your hourly rate is much lower than it should be to achieve a $50k/yr figure, which is $15/hr with a 56 hour work schedule. By the same token, your OT is also at a much lower rate. Now, if you were paying EMT's or new medics $50k/yr on a 40 hour workweek, it's $22.32/hr. OT on that would be $33.48. That happens to be almost exactly what I earned as an EMT in NYC in 2005. As it stands, the OT on $15/hr is only $22.50. Do you see how you get screwed? To make $50k, you have to do 56 hours, which means all of your additional OT is at what should be your straight time rate. This is quite clever. The system makes out by getting "five and two free," and their "OT" is really what should be the straight time rate, so they're really not paying OT to cover vacant shifts.

Think about it, $22.50/hr x 12 hours (OT shift) is $270. $33.48 x 12 hours is $401.76. That's a $131.76 difference every time you do 12 hours of OT! What's more, you could have worked those extra 16 hours for additional OT, not as part of your regular schedule. So, you're really losing $535.68/week, since those hours should have been additional OT based on a $22.32 base rate. All of the above is how employers that have regular schedules of 48 hours, 56 hours, or more are exploiting you.

Tell me again how $15/hr is generous for a new medic. It's certainly much better than Charleston, but it's still $15/hr. Bus drivers, secretaries, and maitenance workers can make that much or more.

 

[46Young]

Mostly call volume. Medics running 20-30 runs consistently on a 24hr shift. One of the medics I know that works there has been there for about 8 years; out of of his hiring class of 20, he and one other guy are the only ones left. Everyone I know that works there agrees that there's a reason they're hiring nearly 40 people a year, and it's not from replacing retirees. My partner (former ATC medic) also has a lot of complaints about management and supervisors there. I'm sure marshmallow will disagree, though... :unsure:

That should be illegal! It certainly is in NYC with the 16 hour rule. Some places have a formula where if a 24 hour unit consistently goes over a certain percentage of net utilization (CCEMS was 60% IIRC), the unit gets split into two 12 hour shifts.

We have to stop eating our young in this business.

 

[Veneficus]

Say what you want, but the fact that we have hundreds of applicants a year testing for our department (for ony about 30 spots) says something.

Could I just ask what it says?

I think this could be interpreted 2 ways. That either it is an extremely great service or that there is a reason people are leaving.

I would point out that I have seen many services, both first and third hand whos pride and propaganda did not live up to what the agency was really about.

Pride and propaganda are often used as a way to deflect attention from pressing internal problems.

Not suggesting that is the case, but it is something to think about.

I have to admit though, when you are looking for ways to save money and you are hiring 30 people a year in an agency that is not experiencing significant expansion, it paints a bad picture.

It is easy to say not everyone can handle it, but it is always uncertain ground when your position is "not everyone is as good as me."

Just because somebody will not accept the abuse you will does not make them incapable or "less tough."

I have walked in those shoes and in my hindsight encourage people not to put up with BS like I did thinking you will get something later or had more to be proud of than I did.

Secondly, I'm not recruiting... I have my medic job for which I get paid extremely well, I'm just setting the record straight. Sounds like a lot of bitterness out there from guys who either can't get hired due to their "entitlement" attitude as a new medic, or just don't have what it takes.

I don't see it that way at all. I see a lot of experienced people who I have come to know and respect on this forum who not only stand up for themselves but also for EMS as a whole.

I believe it pains them to see providers taken advantage of or degraded.

Whether I work in a hospital, a clinic, an academic department, as a teacher, or merit badge course instructor, I am paid for my highest credentials. Not because I am special, but because that is how reputable employers treat professionals.

Hiring a medic to work in an EMT spot, for EMT pay is not honorable, reputable, or demonstrates the value of paramedics.

It is a disservice to helping EMS become a profession. It is taking advantage of the labor force.

Do not be fooled by all the titles and special unit badges in the world.

"A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon."

It doesn't mean their leaders value their sacrifices any.

 

[xrsm002]

I would not accept making $19 an hour if I were still a medic.

Anything under $20 I would not even consider. $25 would get consideration if it came with a 32-36 hour work week and full benefits.

Because you can get that or more as an ER tech or teaching AHA classes full time, not breaking your back on the street.

I know medics who only teach AHA classes 9-4 (if by some miracle it doesn't start at 9:20 because of late students) monday through friday no holidays or weekends that net 4-6K a month doing it.

Sit through an ACLS class and see how little work teaching one is.

You might strain your typing finger pressing "play" on the DVD, but it is definately not hard work, and you spend more time doing what you want outside of work.

This particular company is just now paying this due to the oil boom in west texas where people in the oil field doing hard physical labor are making 20-30/hr I was making 11.00/hr when I was there. I don't know of anywhere in Texas paying 20/hr most tech jobs I've seen are 15-18/hr.

 

[Tigger]

I would not accept making $19 an hour if I were still a medic.

Anything under $20 I would not even consider. $25 would get consideration if it came with a 32-36 hour work week and full benefits.

Do you consider cost of living at all for this? Many in EMS are willing to move around and deal with lower wages than they are used because they are livable in that area. Try and move again and you might be screwed. 20/hr is livable pretty much anywhere.

At this point in my life, I make less than 10 dollars an hour here in Colorado, meaning that will pretty much be impossible for me to move back to Massachusetts with any sort of savings. Therefore, I do not intend to move back.

 

[Veneficus]

For an EMT-B salary, under 10 is about the average from what I understand.

But for people who are willing to move or get into "nontraditional" roles, like ER tech, etc. You can get much better pay with a medic cert.

I would also like to refer to 46young's post about the cost of living illusion.

 

[WTEngel]

People deserve to get paid what they are worth.

Until EMS gets its act together and lobbies as well as nursing has, the perception will be that EMS professionals are worth $10-15 an hour in both terms of academic achievement and professionalism.

I am with Vene on this one. I have scoffed at any offer less that $20.00/hr in the past 2-3 years.

Ultimately, when any segment of a professional population begins to take jobs from employers who are offering less than what is typically considered average for the market, it drives the wages for the entire profession in that region down. It is happening with nurses currently. Hospitals are starting "nurse intern" or "nurse resident" programs where they pay nurses a laughable wage for 6 months to a year under the guise of grooming them for a specific department or allowing them to "try out" as they rotate through the different units.

When employers begin selling employees on "built in" overtime, and "plenty of opportunity for extra work" it is code for "our base compensation sucks, but you can make ends meet by working more than you see your family."

The problem is there are so many new grads willing to work for whatever wage is offered simply to get that first 911 job.

This fits perfectly with the narrative of the best and brightest in EMS leaving for greener pastures. Yet another example of why EMS can not retain many high quality candidates for the duration of their career, as they all end up going into nursing, fire, PA, medicine, etc. It is rare to see a highly qualified individual remain solely in EMS for their entire career without getting burnt out. If they do, they are a glutton for punishment...

 

[marshmallow22]

First off, everyone knows you do not get into EMS, Fire, or Police to become rich. However, an EMS career for the city of Austin not only can provide you a comfortable lifestyle, but ample opportunity for advancement. As far as "built in overtime", I would rather work the two 24's a week, or two 12's and a 24 a week to total 48 hrs, thus AUTOMATICALLY giving you 8 hrs a week in OT or 16 hrs a pay period, all for working just 2 or 3 days a week. This leaves you 4 to five other days during the week to enjoy life, go to school, or pick up extra shifts to buy a few toys. It's a well known fact that the big salaries we read about of ANY public safety provider was made in OT and not their base pay. And as far as when a department tells you there is ample OT doesn't necessarily mean that they are dysfunctional. Many of your larger departments (IE FDNY, LA City, LA County, DC Fire/EMS, Frisco just to name a few) including Austin will have the OT available due to vacation and sick time being utilized. And when you have a department with 400-1000 employees there are bound to be quite a few holes everyday, not to mention any vacancies that may already exist. I apologize if I came off aggressive or offensice, but I do not feel it's productive or helpful to bash, speculate, complain, or or spread misinformation about a department for which someone has no real 1st hand knowledge about. A healthier way to open the forum regarding the hiring practices and/or pay regarding a specific department would be to simply ask for clarification, or just ask the questions pertaining to those topics. Too often I read statements of "my friend works there and he told me this" or "I hear they're doing this." Statements such as these lead to false information getting out and misinterpretations of the facts.

 

[WTEngel]

The fact that most public safety professionals are selfless enough to go into this career without money in mind is what's makes it so easy for cities and companies to take advantage of the profession as a whole.

The EMS profession needs to stop making excuses for practices like this and begin to take action, both internally, and externally, if we expect to make the leap from vocational workers to true respected professionals.

This business of "years of tradition unimpeded by progress" only serves to push these goals farther behind.

I'm not directing this at anyone in particular, just saying in general.

 

[ExpatMedic0]

Say what you want, but the fact that we have hundreds of applicants a year testing for our department (for ony about 30 spots) says something. Secondly, I'm not recruiting... I have my medic job for which I get paid extremely well, I'm just setting the record straight. Sounds like a lot of bitterness out there from guys who either can't get hired due to their "entitlement" attitude as a new medic, or just don't have what it takes.

Why would a new medic have this attitude? This system is forcing paramedics who want to work for ATC to first be hired as EMT-B's, this will only bring you new medics. Why would a good, well paid, Paramedic with 10 years of experience, possibly a family and financial obligations, come to this system to work as an EMT-B for far less salary. Especially for unknown period of time? Can you please tell me that? This is now what we call "a good ol boy system"

I am the person who started this thread and you can see next to my name that I have been posting on this EMS forum for over 7 years. In actuality I have been in EMS for close to 10 years, a Paramedic for a good portion of that, and now completing my undergraduate degree in Paramedicine.

I have never applied to ATC and I started with this thread to discuss the speculation surrounding the recent events. I even stated on the first post I was not sure if I have the story correct and invited people from ATC or anywhere in Texas to shine light on the matter for the rest of us.


So to reiterate, I will summarize things below and your welcome to make any corrections.
Its all over the news for the public and all of us to read. ATC is in a huge budget crises, coincidentally during this same time ATC makes the decision to start staffing an EMT with a Paramedic on every ambulance instead of the old system which was double Paramedic. Now they are hiring Paramedics and working them as EMT-Basics for an unknown period of time which is not a probation until they are promoted within ATC laterally to the Paramedic level, which in fact they are already licensed or certified as a provider? As a result nothing has changed, there still doing double Paramedic ambulances but due to the budget crisis now paying much less for the second Paramedic. There way of doing this is by not promoting him/her to paramedic or paramedic pay wage until a slot becomes available

PS: No offense to you buddy but I would never consider bragging about working for 15 bucks an hour when your forced to work overtime to make a good wage.You could pull that kind of cash at McDonalds as an assistant manager who is also working overtime.

 

[xrsm002]

According to their website you can be certified at any level except ECA:

Austin-Travis County EMS

Position:
Contact:
Email:
Phone:
Address:
City:
State:
Website:
Closingdays)

EMT-Basic
EMS Recruiting
emsrecruiting@austintexas.gov
512.974.1098 Fax: 512.974.1099
P.O. Box 1088
Austin
Texas
http://www.atcems.org
15

EMS Medic I - Field

About the Job:

The City of Austin/Travis County EMS is currently recruiting for EMS Medic I - Field positions. This position provides pre-hospital and/or out-of-hospital emergency medical care and rescue in emergent conditions & environments for the City of Austin,Texas Emergency Medical Services Department.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Provides patient advocacy and interagency teamwork. Assesses patients and perform skills and procedures as defined by the Medical Director. Assists in all active patient rescue activities. Completes appropriate patient care documentation and other reports. Ensures that the vehicle and all items of equipment are stocked, clean, and ready for use. Operates an emergency vehicle including responding to emergency scenes and transporting patients to medical facilities. Attends meetings, seminars, and training sessions. Maintains a strong safety focus and follows safety standards and practices.

Minimum Requirements:

Must be able to write and read English.

Must be 18 years of age or older.

Must have a High School Diploma or GED.

Must complete application for employment and all steps in the hiring process

Licenses or Certifications:

At the time of the application deadline, which is July 16, 2012, you must have one of the following certifications:

•A current Texas Department of State Health Services Certification as an Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate, Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic, or Licensed Paramedic, or be eligible for Texas Department of State Health Services out of state reciprocity at one of the four listed certification/license levels.

Additional license:

•Texas Class "C" Driver's License or equivalent license


Physical Requirements:

Ability to don and effectively wear required Department issued personal protective equipment; including but not limited to respirators, protective eyewear, goggles, facemasks, boots, helmet, bunker coat and pants, ballistic vest, protective jackets and gloves. This includes complying with the Department facial hair requirements.
Unimpaired mobility: Must be able to quickly respond to ambulance, must be able to access patients in difficult terrain, must be able to climb stairs, must be able to work in close and dangerous environments such as damaged vehicles, must be able with partner to carry equipment and patients weighing up to 180 pounds.

Physical Abilities: Must be able to perform strenuous physical requirements such as CPR, lifting and moving of equipment and patients in a variety of environmental conditions. Must be able to swim at the basic survival level.

Motor Skills: Must be able to perform required medical skills and techniques, such as bandaging, splinting, basic airway management techniques, defibrillation.

Vision: Must have correctable vision acceptable for day and night operation of emergency vehicles, must have color acuity adequate for determination of skin and blood color, must be able to read medication dosages on drug labels and syringes.

Hearing: Must be able to hear and understand information provided by patients, family or bystanders; must be able to hear breath sounds and accurately determine auscultated blood pressures; must be able to differentiate separate conversations in active, distracting environments; must be able to hear and understand radio traffic when responding with lights and sirens.

Speech: Must be able to speak and enunciate clearly and at a level audible to others in loud conditions, must be able to speak clearly in stressful situations, must be able to verbally communicate with patients, families and other emergency personnel.

Application Instructions:

For information on application procedures please visit: http://www.austincityjobs.organd use Requisition Number 069762. For detailed information regarding the EMS Medic I – Field Hiring Process please visit the Austin-Travis County EMS website at http://www.atcems.org/>

 

[ExpatMedic0]

Yes but its already been stated that any new paramedic must start as this. I believe it not possible to start as "EMS Medic 2" until you have been promoted from EMS Medic I.

Also as previously discussed who would you hire as the hiring manager in a budget crises? An EMT with a few weeks of training, or a Paramedic? Keep in mind you pay them exactly the same..... Its also worth noting TX also has a level called "licensed Paramedic" which only Paramedics with college degree's hold. The most bang for your buck is deff the paramedic, especially the licensed one.

 

[46Young]

Why would a new medic have this attitude? This system is forcing paramedics who want to work for ATC to first be hired as EMT-B's, this will only bring you new medics. Why would a good, well paid, Paramedic with 10 years of experience, possibly a family and financial obligations, come to this system to work as an EMT-B for far less salary. Especially for unknown period of time? Can you please tell me that? This is now what we call "a good ol boy system"

I am the person who started this thread and you can see next to my name that I have been posting on this EMS forum for over 7 years. In actuality I have been in EMS for close to 10 years, a Paramedic for a good portion of that, and now completing my undergraduate degree in Paramedicine.

I have never applied to ATC and I started with this thread to discuss the speculation surrounding the recent events. I even stated on the first post I was not sure if I have the story correct and invited people from ATC or anywhere in Texas to shine light on the matter for the rest of us.


So to reiterate, I will summarize things below and your welcome to make any corrections.
Its all over the news for the public and all of us to read. ATC is in a huge budget crises, coincidentally during this same time ATC makes the decision to start staffing an EMT with a Paramedic on every ambulance instead of the old system which was double Paramedic. Now they are hiring Paramedics and working them as EMT-Basics for an unknown period of time which is not a probation until they are promoted within ATC laterally to the Paramedic level, which in fact they are already licensed or certified as a provider? As a result nothing has changed, there still doing double Paramedic ambulances but due to the budget crisis now paying much less for the second Paramedic. There way of doing this is by not promoting him/her to paramedic or paramedic pay wage until a slot becomes available

PS: No offense to you buddy but I would never consider bragging about working for 15 bucks an hour when your forced to work overtime to make a good wage.You could pull that kind of cash at McDonalds as an assistant manager who is also working overtime.

+1 on all the above.

It sounds like we have about the same amount of time on the job. I've got 10+ in, 7+ as a medic myself. 5 years NYC 911, just shy of six months Third Service municipal, and the rest fire based.

Also, take notice of the copy of the ATC-EMS job posting below - I see no mention of any requirement, hiring preference, or additional pay for a degree, the "Licensed Paramedic" I believe. This is what I mean when I say that it's not just fire based systems that benefit from less educated EMS providers. I would qualify for this job with nothing more than a GED, an EMT-B card, or a 4-6 month EMT-I or medic mill cert.

 

[46Young]

Yes but its already been stated that any new paramedic must start as this. I believe it not possible to start as "EMS Medic 2" until you have been promoted from EMS Medic I.

Also as previously discussed who would you hire as the hiring manager in a budget crises? An EMT with a few weeks of training, or a Paramedic? Keep in mind you pay them exactly the same..... Its also worth noting TX also has a level called "licensed Paramedic" which only Paramedics with college degree's hold. The most bang for your buck is deff the paramedic, especially the licensed one.

Perhaps an ATC-EMS employee could confirm or deny this, that an EMS Medic II position would be a seperate job posting. I know my former hospital employer did it this way, as does Charleston County EMS. They usually have a paramedic job posting, and very occasionally a medic crew chief opening.

 

[ExpatMedic0]

Perhaps an ATC-EMS employee could confirm or deny this, that an EMS Medic II position would be a seperate job posting. I know my former hospital employer did it this way, as does Charleston County EMS. They usually have a paramedic job posting, and very occasionally a medic crew chief opening.

I agree, and I can not prove with out doubt everything I said is true. Its merly speculation. I hope through discussion someone will shed further light on this matter. I would love to hear from an ATC medic regarding this.

 

[46Young]

First off, everyone knows you do not get into EMS, Fire, or Police to become rich. However, an EMS career for the city of Austin not only can provide you a comfortable lifestyle, but ample opportunity for advancement. As far as "built in overtime", I would rather work the two 24's a week, or two 12's and a 24 a week to total 48 hrs, thus AUTOMATICALLY giving you 8 hrs a week in OT or 16 hrs a pay period, all for working just 2 or 3 days a week. This leaves you 4 to five other days during the week to enjoy life, go to school, or pick up extra shifts to buy a few toys. It's a well known fact that the big salaries we read about of ANY public safety provider was made in OT and not their base pay. And as far as when a department tells you there is ample OT doesn't necessarily mean that they are dysfunctional. Many of your larger departments (IE FDNY, LA City, LA County, DC Fire/EMS, Frisco just to name a few) including Austin will have the OT available due to vacation and sick time being utilized. And when you have a department with 400-1000 employees there are bound to be quite a few holes everyday, not to mention any vacancies that may already exist. I apologize if I came off aggressive or offensice, but I do not feel it's productive or helpful to bash, speculate, complain, or or spread misinformation about a department for which someone has no real 1st hand knowledge about. A healthier way to open the forum regarding the hiring practices and/or pay regarding a specific department would be to simply ask for clarification, or just ask the questions pertaining to those topics. Too often I read statements of "my friend works there and he told me this" or "I hear they're doing this." Statements such as these lead to false information getting out and misinterpretations of the facts.

So, in effect you're saying that you need 16 hours of OT a pay period in order for your pay to be comfortable. Based on a 48 hour/week average schedule, the newly hired medic on a basic's wage makes $40,560/yr. That's actually not too bad when compared to most other EMS systems in this country, but you still have to work eight extra hours to make that wage. If your EMS system had a 40 hour workweek, and posted $40,560/yr as starting pay, your base rate would be $19.50/hr. The OT that you're mandated to work as part of your regular schedule would actually be extra money, which would be $19.50 x 8 or $156. Over 52 weeks/yr, that's an extra $8112. So, by having built in OT to make a "comfortable wage," you're losing an extra $8112/yr and 416 hours a year, or 10.4 "free" workweeks.

In other words, your pay scheme isn't as good as you think it is.

If you had a 42 hour workweek like Alexandria Fire and EMS single role medics, or D.C. Fire (24/48/24/96, and 24/72 respectivelly), you would have a stronger case. They work 24's just like we do, but their schedule is almost a 40 hour workweek, not 48 or 56 scam like most EMS agencies.

I also work a 56 hour workweek, but there's a two differences:

-My hourly rate is based on the quoted yearly salary. I'm fire based, so 53 out of 56 hours are straight time per FLSA laws. So, there's 1.5 hours of built in OT per week, on average.Sounds like a scam, but realize that the hourly rate is higher than it would be if the quoted yearly salary was given as 16 hours straight time and 16 hours of OT. This also means that my OT rate will be much higher than if we were 40/16 employees.

-Due to FLSA laws, in a 28 day cycle OT is paid on all hours past 212. If we do OT earlier in the pay cycle, we get paid 1.5x right on the spot, and also another half hour's pay on each OT hour worked in the back end. If I do 24 hours OT early on, I basically get that time and a half and then another 12 hours of FLSA pay, which equals another 12 hours of straight pay. Double dipping's cool.

FD salaries are so high because there is a lot of OT worked, but when you're starting off at $50k, $60k, or $80k plus, it's much easier to break six figures than when you're starting in the 30's as is typical in EMS.

 

[Veneficus]

So, in effect you're saying that you need 16 hours of OT a pay period in order for your pay to be comfortable. Based on a 48 hour/week average schedule, the newly hired medic on a basic's wage makes $40,560/yr. That's actually not too bad when compared to most other EMS systems in this country, but you still have to work eight extra hours to make that wage. If your EMS system had a 40 hour workweek, and posted $40,560/yr as starting pay, your base rate would be $19.50/hr. The OT that you're mandated to work as part of your regular schedule would actually be extra money, which would be $19.50 x 8 or $156. Over 52 weeks/yr, that's an extra $8112. So, by having built in OT to make a "comfortable wage," you're losing an extra $8112/yr and 416 hours a year, or 10.4 "free" workweeks.

In other words, your pay scheme isn't as good as you think it is.

If you had a 42 hour workweek like Alexandria Fire and EMS single role medics, or D.C. Fire (24/48/24/96, and 24/72 respectivelly), you would have a stronger case. They work 24's just like we do, but their schedule is almost a 40 hour workweek, not 48 or 56 scam like most EMS agencies.

I also work a 56 hour workweek, but there's a two differences:

-My hourly rate is based on the quoted yearly salary. I'm fire based, so 53 out of 56 hours are straight time per FLSA laws. So, there's 1.5 hours of built in OT per week, on average.Sounds like a scam, but realize that the hourly rate is higher than it would be if the quoted yearly salary was given as 16 hours straight time and 16 hours of OT. This also means that my OT rate will be much higher than if we were 40/16 employees.

-Due to FLSA laws, in a 28 day cycle OT is paid on all hours past 212. If we do OT earlier in the pay cycle, we get paid 1.5x right on the spot, and also another half hour's pay on each OT hour worked in the back end. If I do 24 hours OT early on, I basically get that time and a half and then another 12 hours of FLSA pay, which equals another 12 hours of straight pay. Double dipping's cool.

FD salaries are so high because there is a lot of OT worked, but when you're starting off at $50k, $60k, or $80k plus, it's much easier to break six figures than when you're starting in the 30's as is typical in EMS.

I have to ask, are you a union steward? You are awefully fast and good at figuring this stuff out.

 

[46Young]

I agree, and I can not prove with out doubt everything I said is true. Its merly speculation. I hope through discussion someone will shed further light on this matter. I would love to hear from an ATC medic regarding this.

If the information and inferences in this thread are accurate, then that's sad. There aren't too many EMS agencies around that are desireable. If I had known about ATC-EMS back in 2006, I probably would have applied and worked there instead of going to Charleston before the FD, and who knows, I might have still been there today. It sounds like things are going in the wrong direction at ATC from what I'm reading and seeing here. Disappointing.