Letter: Emergency workers’ pay ‘horrible’

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Letter appeared in today's Marblehead (MA) Reporter. Kudos on the letter!

Letter: Emergency workers’ pay ‘horrible’

Thursday, June 2, 2005

In a Reporter article last week I was quoted as saying that the pay at my job was “horrible,” a statement that was taken completely out of context.  

 

    I was referring not to my position at Salem Hospital, but to Emergency Medical Technicians nationwide.  

 

    EMTs work on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s; they work in rain, sleet and snow and consistently put their lives on the line for patients who are often abusive and ungrateful. How do we honor these people whom we have such high expectations of? We don’t. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual salary of an EMT is $27,080, barley above the poverty line. That is “horrible.” These are the people who race to our rescue when we desperately call 911. Shouldn’t we make sure that they’re able to feed their families?  

 

    This is not just about EMTs, it is about everyone who serves their community. The people who have the greatest impact on their neighbors are often compensated the least. Remember this when voting for the override; a great deal of that money is going not to pork-barrel projects, but to the already meager salaries of people who may one day save your life.  

 

    Jake Bevilacqua  

 

    Brookhouse Drive

[Guest NYTruckie]

AMEN

[WAS967 97]

Halleluiah =D>

[Guest]

Well said.

[4truck48 25]

Last week we were talking about how many gazillion dollars we were saving the taxpayers because 75% of us the were volunteer. This week it's we're not paid enough. Why should we be expected to train, risk our lives and suffer long term health problems and the guy who cuts the grass in the town park makes 50K a year. As long as there are people willing to do this job for nothing we will never be paid what we are worth.

[HCFRFF 0]

=D> just what i was thinking