Santa Clara United EMS Workers Win First Job Action a Week After Certification

by Justin Lee  |  March 02, 2012

A week after unionizing with AFSCME, EMS workers in Santa Clara County, Calif., used the power of collective action and successfully halted a round of unfair layoffs by their employer last week.

Rural/Metro Corporation told employees they faced termination due to “over-hiring.”  The company attempted to take advantage of a National Labor Relations Board transition period, announcing the firings without first consulting workers.

“They should have given courtesy to the workers whose families would suffer as a result of the terminations, but our show of solidarity as a union made it possible to turn things around quickly,” said paramedic Ellyn O’Halloran.

Fifty of the EMS workers showed up at work the morning after the firing announcement for a silent vigil in solidarity with their affected coworkers. After the vigil, a bargaining session between United EMS Workers/AFSCME labor representatives and Rural/Metro yielded a tentative agreement reinstating 14 probationary employees and giving recall rights and hiring preference to 10 full-time employees.

“This is what United EMS Workers is all about. We weren’t going to sit back. We had to stand together as a union,” said paramedic Samantha Tennison.

Jonathan Barrett, an EMS worker targeted by the layoffs said he hasn’t seen EMS workers there fight as one as they did this week. “It is truly heartfelt seeing everybody have each other’s backs,” he said. “United EMS Workers hit the ground running. This kind of unity is what we’ve needed in Northern California.”

EMS workers across Northern California are joining together as United EMS Workers/AFSCME for a strong union based on accountability and democracy. Next week, 140 workers at Medic Ambulance in Solano County will hold an election where they will have the opportunity to do the same.