EMTs seek ‘equal pay for equal work’ from City Hall
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUNCILMAN I. DANEEK MILLER’S OFFICE
City Councilman I. Daneek Miller demands
fair salaries for FDNY EMS personnel who
are mainly minority and female as opposed to
firefighters.
that becomes wider by
tens of thousands of
dollars after five years
of service.
“Our city’s greatness
is owed to the work
and performance of
its dedicated civil servants,
but the municipal
legacy system that
has suppressed generations
of Black and
Brown New Yorkers aspiring
to serve our city
endures in 2019, and
that is a tragedy,” said
Miller, who represents
a portion of southeast
Queens. “Our first responders
of color at
EMS love their jobs,
but don’t get a fair salary
that keeps food on
their families tables,
and reluctantly leave
for gainful employment
as firefighters or sanitation
workers. The
Council’s Committee
on Civil Service and
Labor has led the way
on the principle of pay
equity on behalf of our
city, and will continue
to push this administration
to be consistent
with its progressive values
these brave women
and men equal pay for
equal work.”
The de Blasio administration
has denied
the inequity allegation,
and claimed
the underpayment is
simply due to their
work being “different”
from that of firefighters.
FDNY EMS personnel
responded to
80 percent of the 1.8
million calls received
by the NYPD last year,
provide emergency
medical care in the
midst of life-threatening
situations, and are
assaulted by patients.
Officials said that
more than 1,000 members
actually left EMS
to become firefighters
over a 12-month period
and 80 percent of new
EMS hires leave within
four years, taking
with them their extensive
medical expertise
and training.
“Equal pay for equal
work is a basic human
right,” James said. “Our
EMS and EMT workers
dedicate their lives to
supporting us, and it’s
past time that we give
them the support they
deserve. I’m proud to
stand with them in
solidarity in their fight
for fairness.”
During the rally,
Miller announced that
he is introducing new
legislation that would
require the FDNY to
report on EMS resignations,
and particularly
count the members
that leave the division
to become FDNY firefighters
or gain employment
with another
municipal agency.
Miller is also sponsoring
a resolution calling
on the city to provide
salary parity for FDNY
EMS personnel as
first responders.
BY BILL PARRY
Seeking equal pay
for EMS fi rst responders,
City
Councilman I. Daneek
Miller and Attorney General
Letitia James joined
advocates and three local
unions representing
FDNY EMS workers to
rally on Sept. 25 on the
steps of City Hall.
Unlike firefighters
and fire officers, some
4,000 FDNY EMS Bureau
members are predominantly
comprised
of people of color and
consist of the highest
percentage of women
in any uniformed services
and first responders
and they receive
$8,000 less in starting
salary than other
first responders: a gap
Read more at Manhattan’s local news
source, thevillager.com
14 October 3, 2019 TVG Schneps Media
/thevillager.com