By EMS1 Staff
NEW YORK — EMS unions sued the city of New York as well as the FDNY to obtain documents needed in their fight for better pay.
NY Daily News reported that Emergency Medical Services Locals 2507 and 3621 filed a lawsuit against the department and city to obtain information on pay, rank, race, gender and discipline history for employees of several different agencies, claiming critical information has been withheld.
The lawsuit claims that the union members are being denied the same pay as other city workers, and are disciplined more frequently.
“We are seeking to do a statistical analysis of the data to prove what we already know to be true: EMS is substantially underpaid and undervalued as compared to other uniformed counterparts,” said Yetta Kurland, who filed the lawsuit.
The lawsuit requests information from FDNY employees, the Sanitation Department, the NYPD and the Department of Correction and Department of Building Inspectors.
“EMS receives far less support, promotional opportunity and tens of thousands less in salary than other city counterparts, many in predominantly male departments that are recognized as uniformed. So we think it’s time for some fairness and equality for EMS,” Local 3621 head Vincent Variale said.