The Austin City Council on Thursday approved a four-year contract with the Austin Emergency Medical Services Association.
“We recognize that the high vacancy rate in our EMS Department is not sustainable for our community or our employees,” said Interim City Manager Jesús Garza. “This contract utilizes broad strategies to address both hiring and retention.”
The contract includes wholescale pay adjustments in the first year, an across-the-board wage increase of 4-percent in the second year and 3-percent in the final two years of the contract. Current employees will see a minimum increase of 4-percent with the majority seeing 6-percent.
“The caliber of professionals at ATCEMS are unmatched in this industry and this agreement is a great step forward in recognizing their hard work, professionalism, commitment to the community, and unrivaled clinical excellence that the residents of Austin are accustomed to,” said ATCEMS Chief Robert Luckritz. “I am thrilled that the city and our employees association have come to a long-term agreement. I believe the new agreement will help us to not only increase recruitment of new employees but will also allow us to focus on improving retention of our more tenured personnel.”
