By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Union leaders representing the paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters at Levy County Public Safety came back to the bargaining table Wednesday and requested $1 per hour pay raises in 2023 and 2024 in addition to the $4 per hour raise the county is currently offering.
The county’s negotiating team led by County Coordinator Wilbur Dean, Public Safety Director Mitch Harrell, Human Resources Director Jacqueline Martin, and Labor Attorney Wayne Helsby made note of the requests but didn’t say whether the county commission would support them in the final contract.
Under the union proposal, the $4 per hour raise the county offered would be followed by a $1 per hour raise in September of 2023 and a $1 per hour raise in January of 2024. The county commission will meet in executive session to talk over the union’s request.
The union takes the position that costs are rising for employees and the additional raises will keep the county competitive in the job market in the coming years.
The main reason the county commission offered the $4 across-the-board pay raise was that neighboring counties were stealing Levy County’s paramedics by offering them much higher pay. EMS closed its station in Fanning Springs for lack of employees to operate the ambulance. There were concerns that more ambulances could be parked as paramedics departed.
Labor leaders also requested that vaccinations – not just COVID-19 vaccinations but any vaccinations – be made voluntary in the union contract unless mandated by state and federal governments.
Ryan Tietjen, president of the International Association of Firefighters 4069, which represents Levy County paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters, said there hasn’t been a problem with Levy County EMS employees getting vaccinations, but that’s not why the union is making the request.
“We’re not running into it, but the City of Gainesville initially mandated it for employees and there were people that were getting ready to walk off from their careers. These employees had significant years of experience and were ready to leave, so we want something in the contract that says it’s not mandatory here because that might be attractive to the person that leaves Gainesville. If Levy County doesn’t require vaccinations, they may want to work here. That was the process behind that,” Tietjen said.
The union also wants to keep the current bidding process in place for choosing workstations for paramedics and EMTs. The bidding process recognizes the seniority of paramedics and EMTs when they are assigned to stations around the county. County Public Safety Director Mitch Harrell wants to do away with bidding and make the station assignments as he sees fit. He said the county is losing EMS employees because they get stuck at certain unattractive stations due to the bidding process.
Tietjen said the bid process gives employees the right to request three-station assignments where they would like to work as part of an ambulance crew. Based on seniority, the station assignments are given out. If two paramedics are bidding to work at the same station, the paramedic with the most experience would win the bid and get to work at the station.
Tietjen said he lives between High Springs and Newberry and prefers to work in Williston, a 35-minute drive. If he were to be assigned to Inglis, it would be more than a 1-hour drive. He said there are EMS employees who drive from below Homosassa to work in Levy County. One employee drives from Minneola, FL near Orlando to work in Levy County.
Tietjen was asked about Harrell’s statement that ambulance employees without seniority were getting stuck at certain stations.
“At this time, yes, because we are unable to hire new people because the pay is so low. Once the pay is up, more people will be attracted to come here and those people that are working here will gain seniority. Everyone that’s been here has worked at the busiest station,” Tietjen said.
He said the Williston EMS station is the busiest in the county but Chiefland, which is also busy, may be less attractive because paramedics and EMTs have a longer ride back to their station from hospitals in Gainesville.
Shawn Holcomb, a union leader with 18 years on the job in Levy County, said the station preferences of EMS employees vary from employee to employee.
“The group that works in Williston, they’ve chosen to be there. There’s a good working relationship between all those employees,” Holcomb said. “Why someone would choose to go to Cedar Key, I can’t answer that. I’m going to Cedar Key this year. I want different scenery but I will be back to Williston next year. I can’t answer why an employee would want to go to one station or another other than personal preference.”
Tietjen was asked what Harrell was talking about when he referred to employees getting stuck at stations that were less desirable.
“He was talking about Chiefland. People have complained about Chiefland because they don’t get help from Chiefland fire. If it’s a critical call and they need someone to ride in the ambulance, oftentimes they won’t get help. They won’t get someone to help them with the patient and they have a longer time to drive back to their station from the hospital, so they are in their truck more,” Teitjen said. “Williston is 25 minutes from the hospital. Chiefland is 45 minutes from the hospital, so it’s less desirable for them because by the time they get back to their station they have another call to go back to, so they’re back in the truck, whereas we can get back, get a little bite to eat and then we got to go again.”
Holcomb was asked if some of the ambulance stations weren’t nice to live in for ambulance crews.
“Any problems with that have been addressed and are taken care of by Chief Harrell. “Whereas, they had been neglected over the years prior to that,” Holcomb said.
“He’s trying to make them better,” Tietjen added.
The union leaders said they remain opposed to Harrell’s proposal to eliminate the practice of allowing them to claim sick leave as time worked. Tietjen said that policy was created a few years ago when the county stopped paying for the full health insurance costs of individual employees. The county now pays 85 percent and employees 15 percent. The county allowed them to claim sick leave as time worked as a tradeoff. They want to keep the benefit. The union is also asking that the county return to the policy of paying the full health insurance bill of individual employees.
Union negotiations are a give-and-take situation. The county commission will send its negotiators back to the table with responses to each union contract request.
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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt Union Negations Meeting December 15, 2021; Posted December 15, 2021