American Medical Response, the county's ambulance provider, engaged in unfair labor practices by failing to bargain collectively with the emergency workers union when it reduced the hours of 11 full-time employees in March, according to a National Labor Relations Board complaint filed on April 29. The complaint seeks an order to require AMR to reinstate the 11 workers and undo shift changes.
The legal development comes as International Association of Firefighters Local 4513, which represents AMR workers, wages a campaign against the company, posting yellow signs around the county that accuse AMR of "corporate greed." AMR and the union have battled since the company returned to the county in 2008 and still haven't negotiated a contract.
Union President Chris Otherson says the labor dispute could ultimately lead to more inexperienced paramedics, EMTs and 911 dispatchers in the county. "We have very senior paramedics and dispatchers saying we are not being compensated and being treated fairly and they are looking to leave Monterey County," Otherson says.