FREMONT COUNTY, Wyo. — Thirty unionized EMTs and paramedics serving Fremont County say they plan to walk off the job Sept. 28 as the county’s contract with Tennessee-based Priority Ambulance nears expiration.
The EMS providers, represented by United Steelworkers Local 9012, told Oil City News they expected the county to extend the Priority Ambulance contract after voters approved a three-quarter-cent sales tax that includes funding for ambulance and EMS services.
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Union President Dominick Sapien said the extension was expected to give the Fremont County Association of Governments time to eventually take over ambulance service, to create more stable EMS coverage and provide state-level pay and benefits.
County voters approved the sales tax Aug. 18, but commissioners voted on Sept. 22 to negotiate with Cody Regional Health instead of extending the Priority Ambulance contract.
Priority, which operates locally as Frontier Ambulance, has a contract that expires in October. The proposed Cody Regional agreement would begin Oct. 1 and last about a year while the county considers a long-term EMS plan.
Under Cody Regional, the EMTs and paramedics would no longer be able to bargain collectively through their union.
In response, 21 union members voted to strike beginning Sept. 28.
