NEW YORK — A former FDNY EMT has created the first citywide advocacy group for EMS.
Walter Adler was an FDNY EMT from 2008 to 2011 and resigned after dozens of alleged “disciplinary infractions,” according to DNAInfo.
The group is named Banshee for Irish ghoul that appears and wails to foretell a person’s death.
“It’s a twist on the myth — we go and hopefully save someone’s life before they die,” Adler said.
He says Banshee aims to fight for higher pay and better conditions for paramedics and EMTs.
“We will never have the political or economical clout that firefighters, cops, nurses, or teachers have had unless we come together,” he told DNAinfo.
Around 3,500 EMTs from the FDNY respond to about 60 percent of calls, and the rest is split between “voluntary” ambulances run by unpaid EMTs and paramedics, ambulances run by hospitals and “private” ambulances that perform mainly non-emergency transports.
The three-fold split dictates the union to which EMTs and paramedics can belong.
While Adler aims to unite and help these unions, some union representatives do not want to work with him. They cite his previous grievances with the FDNY, DNAinfo said, including wearing his uniform in public without permission and being absent without leave. The FDNY would not confirm how many complaints there were and why they were issued.
Despite Adler’s past, many still support Banshee.
“Its tone can be brash,” one six-year paramedic said. “But if you can get beyond the language, it makes some good points.”
Banshee’s main goal is for fairer compensation; FDNY EMT salaries max out at less than $46,000 per year with paramedics at less than $60,000, the organization said. Private EMS personnel can make up to $7,000 more, with FDNY firefighters making close to $80,000.
This past summer, Banshee also began an intergroup assistance program, allowing those with special skills to barter services with each other or to assist each other when sick or injured.