What's an EMS pilot worth?
The following is from a letter written by a former RMH pilot:
This letter was written from my viewpoint, stating my reasons for
seeking representation with the Office and Professional Employee
International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC (OPEIU), and why I believe the
collective Bargaining process will benefit all EMS pilots.
As I am sure you already know and understand, the pilots working
emergency medical service contracts around the United States have
their benefits and pay kept artificially low. The system, as it
stands now, a company such as Rocky Mountain, OmniFlight, Keystone,
Metro, Corporate Jets, Air Methods, etc. come to a hospital to bid
on and negotiate a contract to provide pilots, mechanics and in
many cases the aircraft to operate an air ambulance service for
the hospital. The services that each of these companies provides
is basically the same. The cost of administrative fees, aircraft,
maintenance, parts, fuels, and oils remains about the same for each
of these companies. The one item that can be varied in the bid is
the wages paid to the pilots and mechanics. Naturally the benefits
and wages would have to be pared down in order to beat the bid and
earn the contract with the hospitals.
The companies vying for these contracts cannot totally be held
at fault because the hospitals play an important role in these matters.
The hospitals, of course, want these services for nothing and egg
on the competition between these vendor companies.
With this system setup, the pilots will never receive the recognition
through benefits and pay that is deserved for the sometimes difficult
and dangerous jobs they do. In many cases the most important individual
on the aircraft, the pilot, the one that will make the flight a
safe one, that must make the right decisions, and is responsible
for the safety of his/her passengers is the lowest paid on the aircraft.
These individuals, highly trained and skilled professionals, have
many years experience flying aircraft in different and varying situations
and are rarely recognized for their accomplishments and when recognized
not by an increase in benefits or pay. When they move from one job
to another, everything starts from the beginning again.
If you talk with any pilot that does this rewarding and sometimes
very difficult and demanding job, you will not find him/her talking
the amounts of money the airline pilots make. We aren’t in
agreement that those wages are justifiable, not even for them, but
half of what they make at a minimum is, for the jobs we do, and
the risks we take. We understand that these companies need to make
a profit to stay in business but not on the backs of the pilots
and mechanics. Helicopter pilots march to a different drummer and
it is difficult to get us to move in the same direction, but I believe
we, the pilots at Rocky, have come to the resolve that in order
for us to get what is fair compensation for our efforts, we must
band together, organize ourselves, and become a union. After all,
“United we bargain, divided we beg”.
|
