Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) employed by a city contractor help and transport sick and injured people across Seattle but earn as little as $15 per hour as they respond in ambulances to incidents that can range from car crashes and psychiatric crises to strokes.
They deserve more, the City Council declared Monday with a resolution that calls on Mayor Jenny Durkan’s administration to seek better wages and benefits for the EMTs.
The resolution is a nonbinding request rather than an actual law. But the EMTs hope the action will give them leverage.
Unlike firefighters and medics, who are employed directly by Seattle, the EMTs work for American Medical Response (AMR). The Durkan administration is currently negotiating a new contract with AMR and, at the same time, the EMTs are bargaining with the company. Teamsters Local 763 represents 430 EMTs with the company in Seattle, according to the resolution sponsored by Councilmember Kshama Sawant.