ny10570

Sorry, I wasn't completely accurate. Only us lowly city employees are still required to pay income tax in NYC for daring to commute.

FDNY EMS is in AFSCME and we absolutely have a voice on the national level. Small fish in a big pond wether its full of other EMS fish or a lot of different fish is still the small fish. I was at the AFSCME national in July and saw first hand the pull that our little local had managed. We are in an excellent position on that front and its only because of the political astuteness of our leadership. Its not about who you are, but its about what you can do. As Bill so clearly pointed out with Izzy's quote, it the memberships actions that get us clout. When we turn up in relatively large numbers at a rally or campaign stop people notice. When our candidates win or go from dogs to contender, they notice. When we're out in front of union issues, they see it. But none of these things happen without the members stepping up. Boston EMS is another job that has done quite well for themselves yet they're a small part of the Boston PBA. FDNY is the biggest and they have more of a hate/hate relationship with the IAFF.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/12/21/coburn-to-block-911-responders-bill/ Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn will not allow a proposal that would cover health-care costs for Ground Zero workers to go through the Senate before Christmas, a Coburn aide told Washington Wire this morning. Several Republican senators have expressed concerns over the spending package that would provide $6.2 billion to those who fell ill from cleaning up the wreckage after Sept. 11, 2001. The bill’s sponsors, New York Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, say they have the votes to get it passed, but opponents can put up procedural hurdles. The outlay would be covered by a 2% fee on imports and services from companies that are not members of the Agreement on Government Procurement, a treaty of the World Trade Organization. Congress would also continue a fee on travelers to the U.S. and a charge on outsourcing companies that have most of their employees on visas to work in America. Mr. Coburn wants the package to be funded through spending cuts, the aide said. He and others in his party have questioned whether the money would overlap with workers’ compensation and other aid provided to Sept. 11 first responders. Mr. Coburn told Politico he wants the measure to work its way through committee rather than being fast-tracked, which would make it tough for senators to finish their work in the next few days.

Goose is correct, Transcare 911 handily beat back unionization. Not to pick on you Goose, but your attitude is exactly why unionization won't work in EMS. Empress for all its flaws is regularly held up as an example of a quality EMS gig. FDNY EMS as backwards as it is run still has a total compensation package exceeding everyone else in the area. These aren't by accident. I can only speak on what I know, so I'll focus on FDNY. For years pay languished and benefits slowly improved as we were just a small portion of DC37. A few of our members stepped up in leadership positions in the local and began fighting. We gained bargaining rights independent of DC37, we've lobbied for and attained pension benefits from the state legislature, and our pay increases are finally matching the other emergency services. This is absolutely because of the hard work and dedication of our union. The single biggest hinderance in contract negotiations is our only real fallback is binding arbitration. Here our biggest hinderance is the industry's prevailing wage. The second largest EMS provider in NYC is Transcare and their total compensation is significantly lower than ours. So how do we argue that we need more money to recruit quality employees when someone else is doing the same job for less?

crimecop, they had a majority, but not a filibuster proof majority. Without a super majority the Republicans can lock it up in Filibuster until the bill dies or they get what they want. Just to get the bill voted on without being buried in earmarks or attached to some completely unrelated legislation took a ridiculous amount of work.

Perfectly good reason to add FD to highway assignments. But on local roads? Do you add FD to any job where the bus will be parked in the street?

Back to the original scenario why wouldn't a car into the woods be treated like a pin? How about a roll over or car into a structure? Unless the FD does EMS runs and there's no obvious pin or fluid spill why take the risk running them? Depts are starting to address commercial alarms with reduced response, why would this be any different?

Training and equipment. There's a reason military pilots are so coveted n the private sector, few other places offer nearly as much flight time. Military aviation has been using NVG since its inception while many commercial operations still don't use it. Military aircraft tend to be more robust as well. They're not exactly concerned with operational expenses the way commercial providers have to be.

I thought the PP bomb killed a bomb tech investigating the suspicious package. Either way, should every piece of trash or carelessly discarded bag be treated like a bomb? What about the two big black garbage bags full of something dumped in the street in front of the Con Ed steam plant on the Lower East side last night? Turns out there's a big bump there that bounces bag out of commercial sanitation trucks pretty regularly. What about the kid that was placing pipe bombs in mail boxes across the US so he could make a smiley face on a map? Should we abandon mail boxes? We need to be alert and aware, but we have to temper our caution with common sense.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-december-16-2010/worst-responders Aljazeera has dedicated more time to this story than all the major networks combined prime time programming!!!! Why the hell is Comedy Flipping Central the voice of reason?!?!

Easy, smoking suspicious vehicle IFO and "important" building/location is a BIG DEAL. "Package" inside a car in a suburban town at a random gas station should start with an interview of the registered owner. Talk about see something say something it all depends on the location and the item. Strange box in Parkchester, literally got a kick from the first arriving ESU cop. At the FedEx processing center the suspicious package got x-rayed. In the West Village, the u-haul box 6 feet from the garbage was kicked by the beat cop. The carry on luggage next to the law school library got a quick canvas of the library. Owner was found before ESU arrived. Bombs are not placed randomly...yet. They're there for a reason. If there's a reasonable explanation for what you're looking at, its probably where it actually came from.

Daily Show Clip Yeah, the show is seriously left leaning, but he makes a good point. I've said it before and I'll say it again, how any cop, firefighter, or EMT can continue to vote republican is beyond me.

What in a road test, at least in NY, gives any indication that the driver can safely operate on a highway?

Intubate the patient and maintain an end tidal CO2 between 30 and 35 mmHg. The issue with unmonitored hyperventilation is we tend to ventilate too aggressively and wind up depriving the brain of blood.

It was infrequent, but there were never places that regularly flooded. I can remember two, one on Brentwood because of an ice dam behind the house and another because of a broken hydrant I think in the flats.

Seeing as how this has been in the works for two years and PD is involved with ensuring these deaths are natural before initiating removal I'm guessing that has been worked it out. I'm sure its no different than those lovely jobs where you get your terminate time only to have the hear pick up a rhythm and have to initiate transport to the ER.

No policy announced yet. Just the press release announcing the public hearing. I imagine more details will be released then

And there are depts that don't do that for months at a time. I'm not disputing the value of foam or other additives. I am disputing the need for an expensive and complicated foam system.

Since when did PFD stop doing pump outs? The pump from old 91 was moved to the utility a while back. Did the old pump just give out?

The initial proposed plan is to bill each vehicle and let the vehicle owners sort out responsibility. This isn't original to NYC, so good luck moving away from it. What I love about this, is there's no mention of residents or commuters being exempt. I mention commuters because NYC is unique in that everyone who commutes into the city to work pays a non-resident tax. Allegedly this tax is to pay for all the city services and infrastructure we may potentially use. The abuse of the working class continues! PS There are Police Departments that are charging for services too.

Sorry for all the reposts. Site was acting weird..

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FYI Voluntary does not equal volunteer. Voluntary refers to hospitals operating ambulances staffed by paid EMTs and Medics in the 911 system. Full article