AMR strike planned for Friday now on hold

A strike by American Medical Response planned for Friday was put on hold Thursday afternoon, officials with Teamsters Local 763 told KIRO 7’s Essex Porter.

Earlier in December, the local Teamster’s union approved the walkout by more than 400 EMTs and paramedics in the Seattle area, barring the approval of a new contract.

#BREAKING Seattle @AMR_Social ambulance strike planned for Friday now ON HOLD says @Teamsters Local 763. Says AMR representative now flying to Seattle for first face-to-face talks tonight.

— Essex J. Porter (@EssexKIRO7) December 20, 2018

An EMT who asked to remain anonymous told KIRO Radio that the rejected offer from AMR would have paid new employees $17 an hour. The Teamster’s final counter-offer asked for $17.50 an hour for those EMTs, and then $18.50 for employees who hit the six-month mark.

“As the nation’s largest provider of private EMS services in the country, AMR is prepared to ensure that there is little or no impact on King County EMS as a result of the Strike,” the company said in a news release before the strike was put on hold.

According to AMR, Seattle EMTs are asking for a level of pay equal to that of their San Francisco counterparts, described by the company as “one of the nation’s largest 911 systems.”

The notable difference between San Francisco and Seattle’s EMT’s: The latter does not provide on-site medical care and largely is used to transport non-life-threatening patients to local hospitals. Seattle’s fire department is responsible for life-threatening emergency treatment and transport.

AMR also noted that its EMTs are not paramedics and “are not trained to provide advanced life support.”

Additional reporting from KIRO 7 News Staff.

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