Accord Urged on Ambulance Pact

Paramedics and emergency medical technicians for Pruner Ambulance are prepared to walk off the job if negotiations for a new contract are not completed soon, a union official said Thursday.

Bob Rupert, the national representative for the International Assn. of EMTs and Paramedics, said negotiators have met nearly half a dozen times over the past three months without reaching an agreement.

The approximately 80 workers want higher salaries, better benefits and more relaxed disciplinary procedures, he said. He declined to elaborate on any disciplinary action he felt was too harsh.

This is the first time the union has tried to negotiate a contract for the Pruner medical workers.

“These guys are first on-scene,” Rupert said. “They are an extension of an emergency hospital. They’re the lifesavers.

“By the time they get to the hospital, they are susceptible to catching AIDS or hepatitis, they can be shot at, beat up. And these guys make less than the guys who pick up your trash.”

Rupert said a four-year veteran Pruner paramedic in his union makes $7 an hour. “If you look at the prices you get charged being hauled in an ambulance, that’s pretty sad,” he said.

Steve Murphy, president of the ambulance company that serves most of Ventura County, said he was not prepared to discuss negotiations publicly.

“We are very early into this negotiation process,” he said. “We had a mutual agreement to negotiate privately, and we intend to abide by that agreement. We are actively negotiating in good faith.”

The Pruner firm was sold earlier this year to CareLine Inc., a publicly held ambulance provider that has negotiated several deals with the IAEP over the years, Rupert said.

Rupert said his members could stage informational pickets, work slowdowns or an outright strike in coming months if a pay increase is not agreed upon.