Lights and Sirens - March 1999

Paramedics are committed to a quality ambulance system that puts patients first. We want stability in the system as the downloading of ambulance to the municipalities goes through. OPSEU believes the people of Ontario deserve the best pre-hospital care that’s available.

Paramedics are the lifeblood of the system. They are trained and certified to save lives. They are the key to a smooth transition.

Through "reasonable efforts" for the OPS and central bargaining for the crown agent/BPS services, OPSEU is fighting for job protection for paramedics and quality emergency health care for Ontarians.

We have presented our four-point plan to the private operators, municipalities and the provincial government:

OPSEU’s central ambulance bargaining team started bargaining Feb. 17 with management representatives of the 47 crown agent services. OPSEU has told the provincial government’s representative at the table that we need action on the four-point plan.

Regarding the Ministry of Health services, we will fight to ensure the government lives up to its obligations under Appendix 9, also known as "reasonable efforts".

The government is required to negotiate with the municipality to hire our members at not under 85% of their current salary.

It is OPSEU’s position that our members might go with the service regardless of whether the municipality chooses to directly operate the service or contract it out, dependent on the criteria under Appendix 9.

OPSEU will do all it can to ensure the proud record of service that paramedics provide communities continues far into the future.

All across the province, paramedics are lobbying for their future. Upper Tier Municipalities (UTMs) have until September 30th to decide how land ambulance will be run in their region after January 1, 2000. They have three options:

In many places, paramedics are lobbying UTMs to directly run the service. The IBI Group report for Durham, York and Halton supports the public service model. For more information on the IBI report, go to page 3.

My time as a union activist started back in 1986 when the five- member Glencoe-Alvinston Ambulance Service voted to go on strike. I was one of the five members. The main issue was pay equity. Namely, we all did the same job. This was the first time I made a decision to become an activist. We were on strike for five months and along with other strikes in the province, we gained recognition as crown employees.

Along comes 1995 and the election of Mike "The Knife". With this government came the downloading of services to the municipalities. I suppose some of us, myself included, took a while to wake up to the fact that our careers were at risk.

Again I faced a choice. Let someone else try to save my job or get out and do what I could to save it. My choice again was to become an activist.

OPSEU called a meeting Feb. 17 of ambulance unit stewards in the southwest to discuss strategy. Ten municipalities and counties in the southwest had announced they were hiring IBI Group to report on their options for land ambulance.

In preparation for the union meeting and knowing that IBI Group was holding a session with stakeholders the next day, I put together a written submission.

I presented my written submission to my fellow stewards and volunteered to give a verbal presentation to the IBI Group the next day. This involved staying up until 2 am to include in my presentation the four-point plan discussed with the stewards and also served to keep my written submission from being redundant.

This done I now sit here and try to come up with a simple, straight forward way to keep you informed about what is happening in the province and what your own brothers and sisters in the ambulance system are doing to protect our future.

Next on my agenda is a meeting with the press in Glencoe to hopefully keep the public better informed and on side with our goals and objectives.

NOW is the time for YOU to decide what you can do to help save our jobs and the ambulance service as a whole.

OPSEU paramedics are meeting with regional politicians and staff, participating in public meetings and writing letters to the editor. Here is a salute to some of you who are making a difference.

Dan Tyo, Rick Payne, L. 147, Tom Millard, L. 136 - IBI Group’s stakeholders meeting in London.

Steven Wheelans, L. 228, Brenda Wilson-Young, L. 207, Tori Redgate, L. 310, Grant Rumford, L. 207 - Peel lobby.

Jamie Rammage, Mario Posteraro, Ezio Iacobucci, L. 256- Hamilton-Wentworth, Brant County lobby.

We also salute the many paramedics who have come to public meetings to lend their support to those giving deputations. Our apologies to anybody we have missed. Please let us know what paramedics in your area are doing, and we’ll include the information in a future Lights and Sirens.

"The key is making that personal contact with staff and regional councillors. We made that contact more than a year ago, and we’re still doing that."
rian Maloughney, Local 413.

"We focus on the dedication of paramedics to the service. We talk about the daily operational stuff -- response times, vehicle deployment and staff morale. We talk about the issues the operator doesn’t want to talk about."
Gord Armes, Local 207.

Here’s a partial list of where various Upper Tier Municipalities are at in the decision-making process.

Durham Region - Following up on the IBI Group’s recommendations for a "publicly governed and operated" ambulance system, Council voted Feb. 24 to directly run one merged ambulance service. Also recommended: "based on operational need, paramedics currently employed by Durham’s ambulance operators be given first consideration for employment by the Region."

York Region - Following up on the IBI Group’s recommendations, York's council voted unanimously Mar. 11 to directly operate ambulance.

Peel Region- Draft report calls for a Request for Proposals (RFP) to be issued. Council to vote on it Mar. 25.

Halton Region - Staff report recommends negotiating with existing operators. Health committee to vote Mar. 23; full council on Mar. 31.

Ottawa-Carleton - Has received responses to its Request for Expressions of Interest, but has deferred making a decision on its next move until April 1.

Windsor-Essex - Commitee report recommends a publicly operated ambulance service. Council wants more info; will hire ambulance manager.

Counties of Bruce, Elgin, Grey, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex, Oxford, Perth, Municipalities of Chatham-Kent and London, and the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk - Have hired the IBI Group to make recommendations. An interim report is expected in early April.

Kingston and Counties of Frontenac, Hastings, Leeds & Grenville, Lennox-Addington, and Prince Edward - Are studying proposal to hire a transitional manager who will negotiate with the existing providers.

Hamilton-Wentworth - Hired a transition manager in December; region still examining its options.

Niagara - To put out an RFP (tender) Mar. 15 and hire a consultant to do a cost analysis.

Renfrew County- Existing operators to propose Mar. 15 that they jointly operate one service.

Laidlaw’s troubled ambulance division in the U.S., American Medical Response (AMR ) was profiled Jan. 18 in The Hartford Courant, a Connecticut newspaper. "Firm Puts Squeeze on 911 Service" reports on the ambulance conglomerate’s attempts to renegotiate performance requirements in its contracts.

The article quotes from AMR’s 1996 annual report: "The company could also to attempt to change the staffing of its ambulance crews and negotiate for longer response time."

AMR has lost big contracts in Tulsa and Oklahoma City because of its slow response times.

The article quotes the fire chief of Birmingham, Alabama: "AMR must respond to all calls that we give them in 10 minutes or less, 90 per cent of the time...Our reports indicate that that's not occuring."

Many thanks to Local 207’s Brian Dowd for finding this article on the internet.

The IBI Group report for Durham, York and Halton Regions, released in January, recommended:

The report also found a privatized ambulance service would cost each of the three regions 15 per cent more than if was run directly by the regions. In preparing their report, the IBI group did a survey of U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions, assessed the current ambulance delivery systems, and received input from key stakeholders, including paramedics.

A lot of new jargon is popping up in various reports being prepared for the Upper-Tier Municipalities (UTMs). The jargon has everything to do with your future working conditions. Here is a glossary of terms, courtesy of Bob Patrick:

Static system: Ambulances operate from a base and respond to calls when answered.

Dynamic system: Ambulances go from one call to another. Between calls they are on stand-by or they roam.

Best Effort: A combination of the above or what most paramedics do now. The closest vehicle responds. There are no boundaries and the coverage is seamless.

Performance-based: Service is measured by "cost- per- unit- hour" and driven by productivity. This system has three different staffing patterns: split shifts to cover high call volume periods, daily call quotas and roaming cars that stay within a municipal jurisdiction.

Brenda Wilson-Young, Chair	(h) 905-785-1222
Jamie Ramage, Vice-Chair	(h) 905-774-9483
Darryl Taylor, Secretary-Treasurer	(h) 705-967-0460 (fax) 705-268-0197
Dennis McKaig, Region 1	(h) 519-668-7476
Larry Butters, Region 2	(h) 905-834-4005
Carl Eichenberger, Region 3	(h) 705-445-6970
Randall Caverley, Region 4	(h) 613-837-0142
Scott Andrews, Region 5	(h) 905-852-9896
Mark Denning, Region 6	(h) 705-679-8952
Joan Clarke, Region 7	(h) 807-737-2553

Please let us know what is going on in your area. If you require speaking notes, want copies of the IBI report and The Hartford Courant article on Laidlaw, or have questions or comments about Lights and Sirens; please contact Megan Park @ OPSEU head office: 1-800-268-7376 ext. 207 or e-mail: mpark@opseu.org.

Lights and Sirens is produced by the OPSEU Public Affairs Section, 100 Lesmill Rd., Toronto



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