Days before they plan to strike demanding better pay, some Seattle emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are arriving at work to find out-of-state replacement workers conducting ride-alongs to learn their way around the city’s emergency-response system.
The workers, flown in from California, Texas and other states, are meant to temporarily replace local unionized EMTs who plan to strike Friday at noon. About 200 EMTs and paramedics could be deployed in the Seattle area by Thursday, if employer American Medical Response (AMR) has its way.
AMR, a private company, contracts with the City of Seattle to provide some ambulance service in the city. The company’s Seattle employees, who belong to Teamsters Local 763, have been negotiating a new