In the news
Coverage of EMSPAC and the campaigns we have pushed into the public record.
Thousands of 1199SEIU health care workers flood Foley Square amid contract fight
Staten Island paramedic Jack Chapman told the crowd that EMS workers are both health care workers and first responders. “We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for fair treatment.”
NYC healthcare workers to hospital bosses: take the profit out of your pocket
EMSPAC declared the League's latest proposals wholly unacceptable, and said the more than 3,000 EMS workers represented by 1199SEIU were ready to lock arms across every title and strike if necessary.
The coming collapse of EMS is a city budget decision
FDNY EMS respond to roughly 85 percent of all 911 calls, including overdoses, cardiac arrests, shootings and psychiatric emergencies — yet remain the lowest-paid branch of the FDNY.
EMSPAC interview: ambulance response times suffering from staffing shortages
An interview with an EMSPAC representative on how low wages for EMS workers are driving the staffing shortages behind rising response times on Staten Island and across the boroughs.
On EMS Week
EMS cannot continue running on sacrifice alone. Passion does not pay bills. Heroes still need healthcare, retirement, safe staffing and livable wages.
Too much death
After all that training to save lives, we found we could not fully provide for our families or easily pay our rent — working all the time, in the business of human suffering.
Upper West Side to lose 3 dedicated ambulances and staff
Northwell's Lenox Hill Hospital laid off or reassigned 18 staff and shut down three ambulances covering the Upper West Side up to Washington Heights, according to EMSPAC.
Ambulance wait times in Manhattan will rise as Lenox Hill trims jobs
About a dozen paramedics received letters stating their positions would be eliminated in 30 days due to operational needs of the hospital.
Northwell axes 3 ambulances, 18 emergency workers at Lenox Hill
EMSPAC argued the layoffs came in response to increased unionization of ambulance workers, raising public safety concerns alongside issues of contempt for 1199SEIU's expansion.
Op-Ed: This is why ambulances were slower in 2025
An increasing demand for EMS services while the supply of providers diminishes — an entire workforce with one foot out the door.
EMS peer support program included in city budget
A $1 million pilot backed by the Council's Progressive Caucus as part of its Crisis to Care platform was included in the FY2026 budget, expanding REMSCO's 24/7 peer support hotline.
How a group of EMTs made a speedy escape from a boss-friendly union
Citywide Mobile Response workers gathered signatures from more than half of their colleagues in five days, then voted 116 to 14 to leave Local 741 and join 1199SEIU.
EMS Week shines visibility on the city's paramedics
Roughly 70,000 EMS professionals across New York State respond to more than 3.5 million calls a year, yet pay has stagnated behind peers in the NYPD and FDNY.
Op-Ed: New York City's EMS workers need more than nightly applause
When the coughing stops and the fevers cool, will the inequities be addressed? EMS workers need profession-wide protections.
4th Annual EMS Leadership Summit
Walter Adler, Chief Advocacy Officer of EMSPAC, on building a national EMS labor association controlled by active-duty EMS.
Former FDNY EMT creates advocacy group
Coverage of the founding of the first citywide advocacy group for EMS, formed to fight for higher pay and better conditions for paramedics and EMTs.
Letter of support for the NYS 2023 budget promoting prehospital providers
EMSPAC opposed the position that EMS should be limited in location and craft to emergencies that must be transported to hospital.
Why are NYC's EMS workers paid less than other first responders?
Before the virus the 911 system typically got about 4,000 EMS calls a day. On March 26 it received over 7,000 — a volume unseen since 9/11.
The pay gap between firefighters and EMS
Firefighters have unlimited sick pay, while paramedics and EMTs — who regularly come into contact with sick patients — have 12 days of paid sick leave a year.
A paramedic's experience of the pandemic
Reporting from inside the ambulance during the first COVID wave in New York City.
Reviving EMS
The City of New York spends more than $1.1 billion annually on this vital service, but the system suffers serious inefficiencies and needs major reform.
For journalists
EMSPAC members are active-duty EMTs, paramedics and EMS officers across municipal, hospital-based, private and volunteer services. We can speak to pay and staffing conditions, assaults on crews, mental health provision, and the structure of EMS deployment nationally.
Organize where you work.
EMSPAC is all-active-duty and all-volunteer. Joining is what lets us respond to hardships, push advocacy, and build a national organization around our demands.