No second-class
first responders.
EMSPAC organizes EMTs, paramedics and EMS officers across every sector — municipal, hospital, private and volunteer — around one program: pay parity, real benefits, and EMS standing on its own as a third service.
Join
Membership is free — no dues, no fees. Signing up is what lets us organize EMS to respond to hardships, push advocacy, and build a national organization around our demands.
Report
We track four things: assaults on crews, hardships, deaths of active and retired members of service, and meritorious acts. Reporting builds the record advocacy runs on.
Get help
The Hardship Help Committee is peer support mentors, trained case managers and clinicians. We can take a hardship case, pair you with a mentor, or refer you to treatment.
Everyone gets paid
on the ambulance ride
except the crew.
The count
The EMS
Bill of Rights
Twenty-five articles setting labor standards and structural reform — parity with fire, police, nursing and sanitation, plus financing, staffing, education, mental health and deployment.
Pay EMS fairly
EMT start $35/hr. Paramedic start $55/hr. Full pay and benefits parity with firefighters and law enforcement.
Article 2Full medical coverage
Employer-paid health, dental and vision with equitable family coverage and no copays.
Article 320-and-out pensions
A pension after 20 years of full-time service, fully transferable between agencies.
Article 4Unlimited sick leave
With valid documentation, plus separate banks for critical stress days and unplanned time off.
Article 8Paid meal & bathroom breaks
An uninterrupted 30 minutes every 8 hours, in quarters kept clean and equipped by the employer.
Article 15Real CISM & peer support
A Mental Health Resilience Officer in every agency, mandatory peer-support teams, confidential care for members and families.
Article 16Make EMS a uniformed service
Legal uniformed status so EMS bargains as its own unit, not inside civilian pattern contracts.
Article 17Make EMS an essential service
Funded in municipal and state budgets as a necessity of public safety — not left to the market.
Article 24Third-service EMS
Police uphold the law. Firefighters protect property. EMS preserves life. It should stand on its own.
EMS sectors
The same job, split across four funding channels with different benefits, uniforms, vehicles and standing. Division is what keeps wages down.
Handles roughly two-thirds of the city's daily 911 volume.
Voluntary Hospital~2,500 membersHospital-based crews carrying over a third of citywide 911 calls.
Private Sector~6,000 membersCompanies competing on contracts, often with no security or benefits.
Community Volunteers~3,500 membersVolunteer corps covering the gaps where paid service never arrived.
Divisions
In print
The Third Service
EMSPAC's own paper — written by working EMS, on the conditions and politics of the job.
In the news
Coverage of EMSPAC and the campaigns we've pushed into the public record.
Notable cases
Assaults, hardships and losses we've tracked, taken up, and refused to let go quiet.
If you're struggling,
start here.
This job accumulates. Our committee is peer support mentors, trained case managers and clinicians — people who have worked the same calls. We can take on a hardship case, set you up with peer-to-peer mentorship, or refer you to treatment and support.
Peer mentors are available 24/7. Every case is triaged and managed by trained staff, and help is confidential.
Reach us directly
- WhatsApp — Hardship HelpThe fastest way to reach a peer mentor
- emspac.contact@gmail.comEmail the committee
- Vetted resourcesSupport services and ongoing campaigns we trust
- Call or text 988Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — 24/7, anywhere in the US