Re: Fwd: Re: response to the low wage arcticle

[Guest guest]

I think that most of us share in the frustration of this topic, but few of us

are in agreement as to the proper course of action to correct this problem. I

recently read a great article on this at the Fraternal Order of Paramedics and

EMT's Society website and I have included the link below for those of you

wishing to read it. What say the elders? Has our nation's failing economy

finally touched our humble profession?

http://www.foops.org/index.php?categoryid=1 & p2_articleid=41

Live for today, tomorrow is not here yet and laugh at yourself often before

someone else does.

McGee, EMT-P

>

>> Prepare to be beaten. I have brought up similiar and some feel we

>> are paid to much and others argued that I thought we were worth a

>> whole lot more than we are. Some feel we should only do this for

>> free. Owners argued they would go broke. Some argued we are not

>> educated enough to be paid more.

>> So there we are to divided to ever go forward. Sadly I think in the

>> big picture we are broken. Perhaps in small areas we can make it

>> right.

>>

>> Happily I am with a progressive county paying every hour on duty (no

>> free hours), Paramedics $18, EMT-I $15, EMT-B $13, plus overtime and

>> great benefits. I have even heard rumor we got a 10% raise starting

>> January.

>>

>> Renny

>>

>>

>> >

>> > Just my two cents but I think it is incredibly sad that the UAW

>> > (united autoworkers) are making somewhere in the neighborhood of

>> $30

>> > an hour to watch robots build cars, and now the government is

>> talking

>> > about giving them more money. Where is our bailout? If we are

>> not

>> > able to work people die. I`m not saying people wont do this job

>> for

>> > low wages all of us on this list are proof that people will do

>> this

>> > for low wages most of us don`t do it for the money we do it for

>> the

>> > love of the job. What i`m talking about is not being able to work

>> > because we just don`t make enough to feed our families, pay our

>> bills

>> > and put gas in our tank. I can remember in recent past not having

>> > enough gas to get to work and having to borough money from my

>> roommate

>> > till payday, and I am paid on the high end of the scale for this

>> > industry. It is ridiculous that if you choose this as a career

>> you

>> > need to work 3 or 4 jobs to make it!!! I`m lucky I am not yet

>> married

>> > and have no children and I live " comfortably " but if I had Kids

>> and a

>> > wife I can say for a fact that I`m making about $10,000 a year

>> less

>> > than I would need to support them, and thats based on my

>> girlfriends

>> > salary and mine combined (she makes almost $12 an hour more than I

>> > do). I know from time to time we don`t all agree whether it be on

>> Pt.

>> > care, or clinical process, or even what color to paint our

>> ambulances

>> > ETC. but maybe its time to get together and talk International

>> EMS

>> > Workers Union? Now I love what I do and don`t want to do anything

>> > else but it is getting a little silly that we literally make less

>> than

>> > some Mcs employee`s, when SOME bankers have screwed people

>> out

>> > of money for years can run to the US Gvt. and get $700,000,000, 000

>> to

>> > " fix " there own screw up. now I know i`m pretty much preaching to

>> the

>> > choir for some of you and i`m sure this is going to piss some of

>> you

>> > off but it`s time we step up and do something rather than just

>> piss

>> > and moan. Contact me offlist if you have ideas on solutions lets

>> put

>> > together a plan and follow through I know there is an EMS lobby

>> group

>> > here in Texas (EMSAT I think but I may be confused?) and I know

>> what

>> > they do is tough but they just cant do it all they need help! and

>> I

>> > truly believe we need to fix the problem everywhere not just in

>> > Texas. So what do you think? am I right, Wrong, too young and

>> dont

>> > understood politics well enough, what? Give me some feedback.

>> >

>> >

>> > P.S. I would like to add I have the luxury of working for a GREAT

>> > company and I do make a good living by our industry standard I`m

>> not

>> > complaining about individual companies pay rate I know that most

>> of

>> > our services really do try and pay as much as they can and still

>> > survive, the problem in my opinion is industry wide not a service

>> to

>> > service problem. we can only pay waht we make.

>> >

>> >

>> > Chris

>> >

>>

>>

>>

>