87D124

Ok, let me start off by saying that, this topic is not being started to anger the owners/managers of the private ambulance services. I have given a lot of thought to some posts made in a different topic about employees of the private services working together and helping each other out in different ways.
So, with that being said, an idea that I had to help each other out and to help employees throughout the private ambulance services operating the Hudson Valley Area (Orange, Sullivan, Ulster, Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam & Westchester) is to try to get the employees to unionize themselves. Unions can benefit employees in several ways, from better pay to better working conditions(work hours, better/newer equipment, shift bids, seniority, station conditions, sick days, personal days, vacation days etc.) to better medical/dental/vision benefits, to giving the employees of the industry a unified voice. Even though everyone works for different companies, if everyone belonged to the same union, meetings between all of the employees could be held on neutral grounds & everyone could speak about the issues they have in their respective companies. Some people may be surprised that the problems/issues they have are common among all of the services. A large strong unified organization has a better voice than a bunch of non-unified smaller organizations. Look at the IAFF & IUPA. Even though the individual agencies have their "local" unions or PBAs, the majority of them belong to the larger "parent" unions.
These "parent" unions are very strong & when they speak, their voices are heard.
I know that I am going to have some critics for what I have posted. I know that the owners/managers of some or all of the ambulance services will say "they cannot afford higher wages/better benefits" or "if we have to pay higher wages, we will have to lay employees off" or "this will bankrupt the company & we will have to lay everyone off and shut down"
These things will be said to scare employees from even considering the thought of unionizing. It has been said, that in the past, some services (who are more anti-union than others) have "unofficially" fired/terminated employees for even mentioning the word "union" around the work place. Obviously, the employers cannot just fire employees for discussing/considering unionization, but there are other ways for them to get rid of employees. Those who have been on the receiving end of this know what I am talking about.
Some employees are treated very well by their companies, so they may not think a union will be beneficial. However, how many employees think they are worth more than what they are getting from their companies? We all work very hard at our jobs and deserve to be compensated properly & fairly. How many employees have been treated unfairly and wish they had someone with a loud strong voice to defend them against owners/managers who are not treating them fairly?
If you have answered "yes" to any of the above questions, then you should, at least and for your own benefit take some time to consider unionizing.