Hey, Mike Bouser!  Remember the message about Re: Unions?
You said to Tom Patierno on 27 Sep 96  22:48:44...
MB> Hey,
MB>         Thanks for the reply. You have some info I hadn't been exposed 
to. 
MB> still have to wonder, though, if a union would help change the laws 
governi
MB> the safety of the EMT. It doesn't seem fair to say a FF or LEO's life is 
mo
MB> important than an EMT. As far as forcible entry, that also seems like 
someo
MB> isn't thinking with their brains. I guess you could call it a 
anal-cerebral
MB> inversion. From what I've seen of unions, the biggest boon would be the 
pay
MB> thing. How much is someone's life worth?  Someone needs to be working 
with 
MB> public to make these facts more widely known. Maybe campaign even. Find a
MB> politician who's bored, I guess. 
    Yes, the Unions -can- change the way the Laws are written.  Union dues 
ay
for political action (PAC's) and write contract language that mandates such 
things as minimum staffing, training, and work rules.  For instance, the IAFF 
has written in it's contract language that an engine company will have 5 men 
on board, even though many responding engine companies have less that that 
number.  They have separate investigatory arms independant of the police 
department that investigate fires, have standards for uniforms and gear used 
in the performance of their duties (NOMEX is standard issue for protective 
equipment for IAFF union members, volunteer and/or non-IAFF services don't 
have to have this equipment.).  
    Police Unions have pressured legislators and regulators to allow for more 
vague and arbitrary "dynamic entry" justification, have pressured for 
protective custody rules that allow handcuffing any and -all- individuals 
hat
could, in the officers opinion, impede the invesitgation or pose a possible 
safety problem for the officer.  In Connecticut, it is standard proceedure to 
handcuff -all- individuals stopped for traffic violations (!) after 7pm in 
towns such as Wallingford, CT, Enfield, CT, and others, because of the
"possibility of danger existing for the individual and the officer".
    Pennsylvania police were not reprimanded in any way for arresting 2 EMT's
that,based on their medical opinion, chose to transport a woman, at her 
request, that was sexually assualted to the hospital, rather than returning 
her to the crime scene to identify a possible suspect.  The ambulance was 10
minutes en route to the hospital, BTW.  The EMT's really have no recourse but
to report the incident to their employer, who will more than likely "bury"
the incident, rather than press for regulatory or legislative action to
forbid this type of occurance again.  The regular workers need to have 
omeone
that advocates for them and them alone, as do the police and fire Unions.  
MB>         As far as the pay thing goes though, around here you almost can't 
g
MB> hired by the county if you aren't at least EMT-IV. And then they want you 
t
MB> promise to go to Paramedic School. That's not particularly bad except 
that 
MB> end up rushing through your education with little time to gain needed
MB> experience in the field. I would rather have a veteran Intermediate work 
on
MB> than a newby Paramedic with only a year or two of experience.
    I agree.  If there was a Union, it would more than likely allow for a 
tiered setup of prehospital medicine, in which a dues- paying member can 
expect to have a certain amount of time "under his/her belt" before being 
promoted to paramedic.  EMT's (BLS- type) could do things such as provide BLS 
care for the paramedic, since you can' do BLS without ALS.  Or, if a person 
works as an EMT-I, they can work as one for a year before being pressured 
nto
becoming a paramedic.  If the turnover wasn't so bad, if the work rules 
weren't so vague and arbitrary, if the pay was half- way decent, then more
would stay longer.  Unions can push for things like this, as they have for 
the fire, police, and many health care agencies where Unions are.
Regards,
Tom Patierno
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