TraumaMedic7
Forum Ride Along
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Hello,
I'm currently a medic for a small county agency in WV. We currently run about 5-6k calls from 3 stations one of those being out of our local hospital where we work as ER Techs and make $2/hr more than on one of the other 2 stations.
Currently, myself and some other employees have ran into some rising problems that haven't been corrected and are getting worse.
1st a foremost we are required to wrk 24hr shifts with 48hr off unless we pickup a extra shift. However, we do not get paid from midnight to 8am unless we go out. And when we do not get 5 consecutive hours of sleep we get paid the full 24hr.
2nd is recently in the past week our EMS board passed a new rule that you cannot work no more than 1 extra shift in a week unless approved by the director due to not having downtime. Well in my point of view and views of almost every other employee thinks we don't have downtime anyway we are not allowed to go home but required to stay there and not get paid. So how is that fair with the above 16hr rule that is in place for the 8hr. of supposed downtime that we are supposed to have and we may still go out but it varies it ems who knows when you will get called.
3rd a new senoirty list has been created for the EMT slots and Medic slots and it carries to the higher senority each week that if they are 2 shifts open this week and the first 2 on the list take the shifts every sunday the list starts again at the top making the first few people always able to pickup the overtime and nobody else gets to work extra unless the higher people don't take the shifts. I have no problem with the senority list but in my opinion it needs to rotate throughout the pay period.
4th is we have only gotten a .10 cent raise for years of service. Now this is the screwed up part. There are people that have been medics for 10yrs and some for less than a year and in between but have worked for the company for over 10yrs. Say one of the people has been there for 10yrs and just got their medic card the year that they gave the raise, they didn't get a raise because they used their highest certification level so if medic pay was $11/hr prior to the raise they where still at $11/hr. Also, me and another employee that went to medic class had the same problem worked there for 6yrs but only been a medic for 2 yrs. we only got .20 cents. But the emts who have worked here for awhile that never went to medic class they got their .10 cent raise per hour most of them make $8.50/hr+ but if they goto class and pass they get a automatic raise to $11 no problem. And the only other time that we got a raise was to bring every EMT and Medic upto a even amount, some made out like a bandit and some didn't. But there where some people that didn't get a raise at all. But the one medic that is the director has been there like 10yrs got a $1 raise and gets paid additional $16k yr. for being the director and gets another pay for being on the board.
Also, our state has had a new EMS Insurance and Retirement program implemented statewide for 20 and out program, based on employee and employeer contributions. But our board refuses to go with it, even though it would be the majority of our percentage paid into the retirement each month with company matching 3% of what we put in which is their current match. Current match for what? Oh we have no retirement we have a 3% match IRA which makes no money that we can't get intouch with the broker to adjust the investment so for instance I have been there 6yrs. and have $5k in the account which blows and they will not offer anything else.
Our board president is also the CEO of our local hospital where we work as ER techs to keep them from hiring 2 more nurses for the ER so the give us $80k to work from 9am - Midnight each shift and take all interfacilities from er to er. Which I think this is a total conflict of interest and so is our president of the county comission sits on our board as well. The hospital used our employees as more customers for our insurance to lower the rates, and when the lowered the overall rates they increased our deductibles and lowered our overall coverage and now offered us AFLAC without any further support.
So basically here's what has happened. Our former director was ran out of his positionby the board because he was fighting for himself, as well as, all the other employess for raises, and 24hr. shifts, better insurance, and retirement. The new director which does both work a truck and run the operations got his raise and his stiphend for being director and gets pissed off each time someone mentions this to him about wanting pay raises, better insurance, retirement.
I know you might think, ok. What is our operating budget? Well, it has been stuck at $685k for the past 5 years and hasn't moved. No adjustment for cost of living, increase cost of supplies, equipment, cost of insurance, fuel, and so on.
They basically do nothing to help out the employees that do pickup overtime, bust their *** day-in day-out comes to work sick, because we can't afford not to call off. And only take a weeks vacation once a year and give no other problems to anyone in the squad.
No mind you I give no grief to anyone I work with. I come to work do my job try to have fun, and go home. All duties are done at the station, paperwork, and everything is restocked and rundown given to oncoming crews.
The only reason I'm writing this is to ask for any suggestions in what I shoud do or how to approach the director or board about our situation. Because, I'm in a perdiciment about taking a job completely outside of ems period where I have a degree in computer engineering for a local phone company that pays way better, has retirement, benefits, and the whole nine yards.
I really don't want to leave my current job, because the time and effort that I have put into being in what I feel inside and get from the community is a good medic and they are glad to see me on the truck.
But I just don't know what to do, if any of this is even legit complaints wether any of the above practices by the company are even fair work practices with state(WV) and federal standards/regulations or time to give it all up and just be a vol. FF and work a normal job.
I hope you guys can help, I'm stuck in a crossroads and don't know what to do.
THANKS
I'm currently a medic for a small county agency in WV. We currently run about 5-6k calls from 3 stations one of those being out of our local hospital where we work as ER Techs and make $2/hr more than on one of the other 2 stations.
Currently, myself and some other employees have ran into some rising problems that haven't been corrected and are getting worse.
1st a foremost we are required to wrk 24hr shifts with 48hr off unless we pickup a extra shift. However, we do not get paid from midnight to 8am unless we go out. And when we do not get 5 consecutive hours of sleep we get paid the full 24hr.
2nd is recently in the past week our EMS board passed a new rule that you cannot work no more than 1 extra shift in a week unless approved by the director due to not having downtime. Well in my point of view and views of almost every other employee thinks we don't have downtime anyway we are not allowed to go home but required to stay there and not get paid. So how is that fair with the above 16hr rule that is in place for the 8hr. of supposed downtime that we are supposed to have and we may still go out but it varies it ems who knows when you will get called.
3rd a new senoirty list has been created for the EMT slots and Medic slots and it carries to the higher senority each week that if they are 2 shifts open this week and the first 2 on the list take the shifts every sunday the list starts again at the top making the first few people always able to pickup the overtime and nobody else gets to work extra unless the higher people don't take the shifts. I have no problem with the senority list but in my opinion it needs to rotate throughout the pay period.
4th is we have only gotten a .10 cent raise for years of service. Now this is the screwed up part. There are people that have been medics for 10yrs and some for less than a year and in between but have worked for the company for over 10yrs. Say one of the people has been there for 10yrs and just got their medic card the year that they gave the raise, they didn't get a raise because they used their highest certification level so if medic pay was $11/hr prior to the raise they where still at $11/hr. Also, me and another employee that went to medic class had the same problem worked there for 6yrs but only been a medic for 2 yrs. we only got .20 cents. But the emts who have worked here for awhile that never went to medic class they got their .10 cent raise per hour most of them make $8.50/hr+ but if they goto class and pass they get a automatic raise to $11 no problem. And the only other time that we got a raise was to bring every EMT and Medic upto a even amount, some made out like a bandit and some didn't. But there where some people that didn't get a raise at all. But the one medic that is the director has been there like 10yrs got a $1 raise and gets paid additional $16k yr. for being the director and gets another pay for being on the board.
Also, our state has had a new EMS Insurance and Retirement program implemented statewide for 20 and out program, based on employee and employeer contributions. But our board refuses to go with it, even though it would be the majority of our percentage paid into the retirement each month with company matching 3% of what we put in which is their current match. Current match for what? Oh we have no retirement we have a 3% match IRA which makes no money that we can't get intouch with the broker to adjust the investment so for instance I have been there 6yrs. and have $5k in the account which blows and they will not offer anything else.
Our board president is also the CEO of our local hospital where we work as ER techs to keep them from hiring 2 more nurses for the ER so the give us $80k to work from 9am - Midnight each shift and take all interfacilities from er to er. Which I think this is a total conflict of interest and so is our president of the county comission sits on our board as well. The hospital used our employees as more customers for our insurance to lower the rates, and when the lowered the overall rates they increased our deductibles and lowered our overall coverage and now offered us AFLAC without any further support.
So basically here's what has happened. Our former director was ran out of his positionby the board because he was fighting for himself, as well as, all the other employess for raises, and 24hr. shifts, better insurance, and retirement. The new director which does both work a truck and run the operations got his raise and his stiphend for being director and gets pissed off each time someone mentions this to him about wanting pay raises, better insurance, retirement.
I know you might think, ok. What is our operating budget? Well, it has been stuck at $685k for the past 5 years and hasn't moved. No adjustment for cost of living, increase cost of supplies, equipment, cost of insurance, fuel, and so on.
They basically do nothing to help out the employees that do pickup overtime, bust their *** day-in day-out comes to work sick, because we can't afford not to call off. And only take a weeks vacation once a year and give no other problems to anyone in the squad.
No mind you I give no grief to anyone I work with. I come to work do my job try to have fun, and go home. All duties are done at the station, paperwork, and everything is restocked and rundown given to oncoming crews.
The only reason I'm writing this is to ask for any suggestions in what I shoud do or how to approach the director or board about our situation. Because, I'm in a perdiciment about taking a job completely outside of ems period where I have a degree in computer engineering for a local phone company that pays way better, has retirement, benefits, and the whole nine yards.
I really don't want to leave my current job, because the time and effort that I have put into being in what I feel inside and get from the community is a good medic and they are glad to see me on the truck.
But I just don't know what to do, if any of this is even legit complaints wether any of the above practices by the company are even fair work practices with state(WV) and federal standards/regulations or time to give it all up and just be a vol. FF and work a normal job.
I hope you guys can help, I'm stuck in a crossroads and don't know what to do.
THANKS
