By Paul Liotta
Staten Island Advance
NEW YORK — The New York Times used a Staten Island emergency medical technician’s story Wednesday to highlight the financial struggles of serving in the FDNY’s emergency medical services.
Taysha Soto earns about $56,000 a year before overtime, taking home about $1,500 every two weeks. She told the broadsheet the paltry pay has her struggling to stay afloat with two toddlers and picking up house cleaning jobs in her off time.
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“It shouldn’t be like that,” Soto told the Times. “You shouldn’t have to be overworking yourself at one job — and then, even doing overtime, you have to go and still do something else to make money.”
Soto is far from alone in the financial hardship that comes with a job in New York City emergency medical services. Base salary for an FDNY EMT tops out around $59,000 after five years, while firefighters with the same years of service receive a base salary around $110,000.
Calls for pay parity between the two jobs have grown in recent years, particularly as emergency medical service professionals take on the bulk of 911 responses.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s appointment of FDNY Commissioner Lilian Bonsignore was a particularly hopeful sign for proponents of pay parity after she served 31 years in the city’s emergency medical services.
At a June City Council budget hearing, Bonsignore identified herself as a supporter of pay parity, but made clear that her role as commissioner did not include advocacy around that issue.
“I’ve been pretty verbal about supporting EMS pay parity, and I do think it’s one of those things that need to happen sooner rather than later,” the commissioner said. “We want to have a robust, sustainable EMS system. So as far as the details go of what that’s going to look like, that I would have to defer to [the Office of Labor Relations ].”
That office, led by Commissioner Renee Campion, has been in years of negotiations with the emergency medical services unions, which have been without contracts since 2022.
Mamdani has made affordability in the five boroughs a cornerstone of his administration, but has yet to take up the mantle of pay parity for emergency medical services workers.
The recently passed $126 billion budget, including $2.6 billion for the FDNY, drew some criticism from the mayor’s detractors for its failure to address pay parity, including from Assemblymember Michael Novakhov, a conservative representing part of South Brooklyn.
Slower 911 response times over the past decade have also fueled calls for pay parity as a way to attract and retain more talent for the city’s emergency medical services.
A challenge in addressing the low pay for the city’s emergency medical services has been government concerns about pattern bargaining, with other unions likely to look for raises of their own after a bump for paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
At a June 10 City Council budget hearing, Michael Greco — president of Local 2507, the union representing FDNY emergency medical technicians, paramedics and fire inspectors — warned elected officials about the dangers of their continued refusal to bring pay parity, according to a report from AMNY.
“The question is no longer whether New York City can afford to invest in EMS; the question is: how much longer can New Yorkers afford for the city not to?” Greco said.
Many EMTs and paramedics work second jobs to make ends meet. Have you ever had to pick up extra work outside of EMS because of pay?
EMS1 readers respond
“Absolutely. I’m a 31-year veteran of EMS. For many years our salaries have been downright insulting considering the education, risks, and responsibilities we have. When I was also a firefighter, being a paramedic also came with a higher salary. I think it’s despicable that the EMS providers in NYC are paid so low. Maybe when the city has ambulances parked due to lack of staffing they’ll figure it out.”
“I’m right there with them. I’m a paramedic in Iowa and quite literally have to work 60 hours a week between two jobs just to keep my family fed and housed. Between the disparity on the Fire/EMS side or even in hospital between medics and RNs, something needs to be done to level the playing field and let EMS providers have a quality of life that enables long, successful and sustainable careers.”
“EMS won’t be compensated for their work. I worked FDNY EMS for 20 years. I was abused by management, patients and the city.”
“I left prehospital work and went into the hospital as an ER tech and now make about $75k a year before overtime. My biggest reason for leaving was that I knew I could make so much more in the actual hospitals.”
“Agreed. EMS has been the stepchild for far too long. Equal pay!”
“The pay is half of what nurses make and more dangerous.”
“There absolutely needs to be salary and benefits alignment in EMS with the other emergency services like fire and police. The work is just as critical, requires as much or more education and ongoing training, is often just as hazardous, and is probably the bulk of 911 calls.”
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