By Dave Canton
The Republican
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — American Medical Response employees in Western Massachusetts have agreed to a renegotiated contract that the company said will bump their pay as much as 11.86%.
The primary ambulance service covering Springfield announced the agreement in a press release Friday evening.
Employees of the service are members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 6, headquartered in Braintree. A representative of the union could not immediately be reached for comment.
AMR regional director Patrick Pickering said the mid-contract wage renegotiation calls for an average 11.53% increase in pay for emergency medical technicians, while paramedics with more training will see an average 11.86% increase.
The increases are in addition to earlier 2.5% and 2.75% increases, the company said.
Earlier, employees said wages for an EMT working on AMR ambulances averaged less than $14 an hour. According to Paramedic Training Spot, before the contract agreement came into effect, the average EMT in the Springfield market received $15.54 an hour for a 40-hour workweek. Paramedics are reported to receive an average of $19.70 per hour before the increase.
Pickering said the pay increases will take effect immediately.
The original contract between AMR and the OPEIU was scheduled to run through June of 2020. With the newly agreed-upon wage increases, employees agreed to extend that contract to Dec. 31, 2020, AMR said.
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