National Emergency Medical Services Association
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| Founded | 2004 |
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| Members | 5500[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Affiliation | Independent |
| Key people | Torren Colcord, President Eric Stephens, Vice President Alis Shapiro, Secretary Dave Turner, Treasurer |
| Office location | Modesto, CA |
| Website | www.nemsausa.org |
The National Emergency Medical Services Association (NEMSA) is a registered labor union and California non-profit mutual benefit corporation. The bulk of NEMSA’s membership consists of emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics and critical care nurses (CCT-RN) however NEMSA also represents EMS Dispatchers and Call Takers, Vehicle Service Technicians and support staff, and other EMS related support staff. NEMSA is the largest independent EMS union in the United States that represents EMS professionals. Because of NEMSA’s independence and industry specific focus, NEMSA is considered to be a “craft” union. In some cases however, NEMSA has temporarily allied itself with other unions(I.E.Sunnyvale,CA Public Safety Officers Association, PSOA, 2007/ International Association of Firefighters, IAFF, Boston,MA,2007) to accomplish specific joint-interest objectives.
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[edit] History
The National Emergency Medical Services Association or NEMSA was founded by Torren Colcord, Tim Bonifay, Stacy Rutheford and shop stewards within SEIU Local 250 when dissatisfaction of union representation by SEIU Local 250 led to the creation of an all EMS Union. [2]. After winning an NLRB sanctioned election to become the representative for the 2500 person AMR Northern California Bargaining Unit, NEMSA was immediately challenged by SEIU.[3] A series of subsequent elections led to NEMSA defeating SEIU and becoming the exclusive representative of the Northern California bargaining unit.[4]
NEMSA continues to grow adding bargaining units in Washington, Oregon, California, Indiana, Montana, Massacheusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire.
NEMSA is known in industry circles as having top notch labor contracts as well as aggressive and fair representation of EMS workers nationwide. EMS workers nationwide are drawn to NEMSA as an alternative to "big tent" unions that represent bus drivers, welders, cheesemakers, government clerks, etc... NEMSA provides representation to EMS workers and support staff only and is 100% EMS. NEMSA is also known for it's community involvement and charity work within its local bargaining units.
[edit] Politics
Unlike most ""one size fits all" or “mega-unions", NEMSA political goals are limited to EMS related issues only. NEMSA does not advocate or recommend specific political candidates or parties, preferring instead to improve working conditions for its members. NEMSA does not pay affiliation fees to larger "big tent" unions or participate in politics unrelated to EMS.
[edit] Critics
NEMSA has been criticized by some of “raiding” [5]their members[6].NEMSA points out that EMS professionals represented by non-EMS unions seek EMS specific representation and that NEMSA is just responding to requests for representation from EMT's and paramedics that have previously been represented by non-EMS unions[7].. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB conducts secret ballot elections if members of one union want to switch to a new or other union which is how members of prior unions voted to oust their non-EMS union in favor of NEMSA[8].
Some EMS providers working for AMR in Portland Oregon are critical of NEMSA due to NEMSA being their elected representative during a time of "bitter union infighting". In September 2007 after 18 months of negotiation and two tentative agreements with American Medical Response, NEMSA disclaimed interest in a bargaining unit in Portland Oregon [9] referring to personnel there as "nonsensical," "unrealistic" and "out of touch with reality" . Bitter union infighting within the workforce began in June 2007, after members rejected a tentative contract negotiated on their behalf by NEMSA. After the union negotiated a second tentative agreement, outraged people petitioned to leave NEMSA and join the Teamsters. Some Portland EMS providers are now critical of NEMSA for disclaiming and granting their request to no longer be represented by NEMSA. The Portland-area ambulance workers have changed unions four times since the early 1990s.[10] The National Emergency Medical Services Association represented those personnel for about two years. Torren Colcord, NEMSA president said the second Portland tentative agreement would have given most employees an overall average 26 percent wage increase over three years. Workers who opposed the contract said some would get lesser raises and wages and their wages would remain behind those in other West Coast cities.[11]
