Walmart Raises Minimum Wage to $10 - Why Not EMS?

Some of the comments in this thread make my head hurt.

Socialism has no merits unless you are lazy, incompetent, or one of the elite. Those are the only people who benefit from socialism. All it does is make us all equally poor and miserable.

The free market economy works, once you get Government and socialist unions out of it.

Want to make more money? Go to school or change careers. Quit whining about evil rich people and go BECOME ONE!

I'm tired of the " I'm entitled" mentality that is so pervasive these days. Here's a news flash, cupcake. YOU AREN'T ENTITLED TO SQUAT!
 
Moving from Walmart or Burger King to EMS (which is what this thread devolved to) should not be a step down... Believing that is not a sense of entitlement. On the contrary, it is common sense.

Regardless of the economics of running a business, which I have already ceded to.

It's a broken system.
 
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SandpitMedic said:
Moving from Walmart or Burger King to EMS (EMT) should not be a step down... Believing that is not a sense of entitlement. On the contrary, it is common sense.

Regardless of the economics of running a business, which I have already ceded to.

It's a broken system.
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I am going to disagree that it's broken system. Mcdonalds, walmart, Burger King, emt should not be a carrier except that a lot of people make it in to that. It's entry level position which basically is just that, entry level. You work there while getting work experience and then you either move up or find a better job and so on while hopefully have gotten some education during the time you were working there. Yes when minimum wage was first created, it was designed for people to be lived on but times have changed and it's not realistic to have high enough minimum wage to actually support a family on.
 
DEmedic said:
What's that? It's an entry level job and requires minimal education.
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Entry level for EMS, although it does require more training than a real minimum wage job (burger flipper). Also a burger flipper does not have permanent ongoing training that they have to go through every year ( as far as I know) and even if they did I am sure it would be a simple on the job instruction that takes 20 mins compared to 72 hours of national training and 30 hours of state training. But everyone has their opinions, you can keep saying it should be a minimum wage job while I will NEVER agree even if i moved on and became a doctor I would still say it.
 
RefriedEMT said:
Entry level for EMS, although it does require more training than a real minimum wage job (burger flipper). Also a burger flipper does not have permanent ongoing training that they have to go through every year ( as far as I know) and even if they did I am sure it would be a simple on the job instruction that takes 20 mins compared to 72 hours of national training and 30 hours of state training. But everyone has their opinions, you can keep saying it should be a minimum wage job while I will NEVER agree even if i moved on and became a doctor I would still say it.
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How long does it takes to become EMT? Now compare that to becoming to Medic. EMT in ems world is entry level job. You are comparing to different field but you need to compare orange to orange. Entry level job gets paid minimum wage or close to minimum wage.
 
looker said:
How long does it takes to become EMT? Now compare that to becoming to Medic. EMT in ems world is entry level job. You are comparing to different field but you need to compare orange to orange. Entry level job gets paid minimum wage or close to minimum wage.
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I agree with looker here in that at this point the argument is over the definition of "entry level job". In true EMS world (EMR left out), EMT-B is entry level, while looking more broad, there are other "more-entry" level jobs available at less of an education requirement.

As well, I think one of the things lacking in this discussion is benefits and overtime. I wouldn't really know about benefits since I haven't worked at a variety of places and still fall under my parents' health insurance, but I would guess that there is a difference between benefits at a city system and at burger king. As well, EMTs are almost guaranteed overtime if your system is large, while fast food workers may be warned if they clock out at 8 minutes past the hour. As mentioned before, an EMT working a 48 hour work week will make less per hour than an EMT working a 40 hour week, but at the end of the year, the salaries will be similar.
 
looker said:
How long does it takes to become EMT? Now compare that to becoming to Medic. EMT in ems world is entry level job. You are comparing to different field but you need to compare orange to orange. Entry level job gets paid minimum wage or close to minimum wage.
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I am comparing one minimum wage job to being an EMT which you are saying is a minimum wage job, so the comparison is just fine. I agree it is entry level but that does not mean that is should be minimum wage.
 
This thread is pointless though because we will never agree and that is fine.
 
If the pay is so awful how come you don't furthur your education so you can obtain a better paying job?


It's like a CNA complaining they don't make enough money and that nurses make so much more.


Entry level job, entry level skills, entry level pay.
 
Leatherpuke said:
Some of the comments in this thread make my head hurt.

Socialism has no merits unless you are lazy, incompetent, or one of the elite. Those are the only people who benefit from socialism. All it does is make us all equally poor and miserable.
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Such a bass ackwards perspective as mentioned earlier...you got be open minded to change and progression. There are elements of socialism we ALL benefit from for the better, without being lazy, incompetent or elite. But some people you will never convince of this...gimme guns and Jesus...'Murika!

Leatherpuke said:
The free market economy works, once you get Government and socialist unions out of it.
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Study this a little more....all it does is further widen that gap of haves and have nots, which is why government had to intervene and create a middle class not too far ago in our history.

Leatherpuke said:
Want to make more money? Go to school or change careers. Quit whining about evil rich people and go BECOME ONE!
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I DID!! :) I did---well, minus the evil part. Yet despite becoming a 1%'er, I still find time to be charitable and advocate for improving the average man's condition. I pay a shyte ton in taxes and I want that money put to healthcare, education and other beneficial programs...you know that whole moral/ethical thing we touched on earlier. Kind of hard to shake that, either you got empathy or you don't.

Leatherpuke said:
I'm tired of the " I'm entitled" mentality that is so pervasive these days. Here's a news flash, cupcake. YOU AREN'T ENTITLED TO SQUAT!
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No, you are correct. No where are we contractually obligated to anything, however as one of the wealthiest nations on the planet if we even invested 5% of our defense budget into social programs, you know...take care of our own first mentality...there would be no stopping us. Like some posters said, invest in your people, give them little perks and they will be MORE productive and MORE effective...this applies to the citizens as well. A lot of people agreed with that concept, so why not apply the same to our own freaking people in our freaking country??? Why does it suddenly become "all about you" or "I got mine, F them"?

Invest in your people and they will pay you back...same as employees. Will all of them? Nope, not at all, but enough will to where a difference will be made.

If anyone disagrees with that concept applied on a national level, then you have to disagree with supporting that kind of financial motive with the workplace. Cause it IS the same...
 
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RefriedEMT said:
I am comparing one minimum wage job to being an EMT which you are saying is a minimum wage job, so the comparison is just fine. I agree it is entry level but that does not mean that is should be minimum wage.
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Yes you are comparing one entry job to entry job. So lets take a look of what makes entry job minimum wage. It's relatively easy entry(education is not hard), it do not takes long time, there are high supply of emt's. Education it self cost relatively cheap. The job it self is not hard after getting education. Let also not forget that while no education is required to get in to fast food industry, you do have to stand for long time if you are working for example at McDonalds. As emt's most of the time you are sitting and might be even sleeping in your rig while waiting for call. At fast food place, even if there is no customer you have always something to clean etc. Basically entry job is entry ob and market set the wage for this entry job.
 
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looker said:
you do have to stand for long time if you are working for example at McDonalds. As emt's most of the time you are sitting and might be even sleeping in your rig while waiting for call. At fast food place, even if there is no customer you have always something to clean etc. .
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Okay you got me.........cuz EMTs don't walk the streets at any point in time right? they don't clean their stations and rigs? they have maids for that, oh and don't forget they always have plenty of breaks so they can eat lunch and dinner. Okay you got me....your right...
 
RefriedEMT said:
Okay you got me.........cuz EMTs don't walk the streets at any point in time right? they don't clean their stations and rigs? they have maids for that, oh and don't forget they always have plenty of breaks so they can eat lunch and dinner. Okay you got me....your right...
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They also don't encounter dangerous situations work in all weather or come in contact with such things as mrsa, cdiff either.lol
 
@Refried, until I became a medic I didn't understand how little an EMT actually does.

While there is a significant difference between working with a good EMT vs a bad one, neither can compare to working with even a marginal second medic.

While I don't believe that an EMT working in a 911 system is a minimum wage job, I also don't understand the mentality of someone who decides to be a career EMT. This is generally a profession of people who strive to be the best they can be. To me, a career EMT is likely someone who enjoys the attention brought by the position but lacks the testicular fortitude to actually accept responsibility for the outcome of a patient.

No points for standing on the sideline.
 
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gonefishing said:
They also don't encounter dangerous situations work in all weather or come in contact with such things as mrsa, cdiff either.lol
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I believe these are largely represented in the job announcement somewhere below the offered wage.
 
haha....I don't know where the stuff about being a career EMT came from cuz I was only talking about it not being a minimum wage job, I have every intention of moving up to the very least EMT-I or possibly becoming an RN but I can see what your saying even when it really is false since an EMT takes responsibility for every patient they TX, even if most are not going to crash on you.
 
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