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My name is Michelle Prentice, and I'm a field paramedic and field training officer in Maricopa County, Arizona. Our biggest fear is running out of personal protective equipment like masks and gowns.
The breadth of the crisis that the 4,500 members of AFSCME Local 2507 (District Council 37), which represents the EMTs, paramedics and fire inspectors of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), are facing is unparalleled.
Davidson works for American Medical Response (AMR), a private company that provides medical transportation services in communities across the country. Even as she and her co-workers are expected to battle a pandemic without precedent, they have to fight for even a minimum amount of respect from their employer.
"From New England to California, paramedics and EMTs are coming together to demand access to up-to-date equipment, adequate training, and better industry standards in order to provide safe and efficient care to the public,"

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Emergency medical service (EMS) professionals working in 13 counties across California voted to ratify a new three-year agreement with the ambulance company, American Medical Response. The deal will improve safety by limiting the number of consecutive work shifts, providing pay increases and protecting health care for the nation’s largest collective bargaining unit of private EMS personnel.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – More than 1,000 California EMS professionals across 13 counties would see a pay increase and continued health care coverage if a new tentative labor agreement is approved by members of AFSCME Local 4911.  The agreement was reached after a two-year stretch where workers rejected attempts by American Medical Response to divide the workforce and cut health care.

"Solidarity opens your eyes and it opens the company's eyes," said Jamie Field, a 23-year EMT from Stanislaus County. "It's about a fair process, protection and safety. It's about coming together."

NEW YORK – A doctor who successfully recovered from the Ebola virus last month can thank a team of dedicated public health care workers who volunteered to care for him.

Also crucial to battling deadly diseases like the one that afflicted Dr. Craig Spencer: a coalition of unions – including DC 37 – advocating for patients and the health care workers of Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated.

RIVERSIDE, Calif– When American Medical Response (AMR) entered negotiations in early November saying it wanted to fill shifts with the “least expensive resource available,” EMS professionals in Riverside County were more than a little put off to be reduced to commodities.  They responded Nov. 18 by showing up in force with a petition, signed by nearly every worker, demanding respect and a fair contract.

The company’s comments were shocking to members like EMT Himelda Rivera, who earns roughly $12 an hour and works 60 hours a week to make ends meet.

As a U.S. Senate Committee hearing on Ebola began Thursday, AFSCME urged Congress to support President Obama’s emergency request for funding to support the fight against the spread of Ebola in the United States and abroad. 

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Dear Fraternal Sisters and Brothers of the United EMS Workers:

The Uniformed EMTs and Paramedics of Local 2507 represent EMS professionals working alongside the firefighters of the FDNY. Our local has a 50 year history as part of the 100 year history of organized labor in the City of New York. We hope you had a chance to meet some of our member volunteers on the ground in Northern California who know the benefits of being part of a strong national union – AFSCME.

September 27, 2012 (San Francisco, CA) -- EMS professionals employed by American Medical Response (AMR) in more than a dozen counties across the state voted decisively yesterday to join United EMS Workers-AFSCME Local 4911.