Bangs Ambulance workers finally have their first union contract after more than three years of negotiations.

The union membership cast a decisive vote to ratify the agreement despite some members not believing the contract is everything that workers had hoped for. With a deal in place, workers and management are in the early stages of trying to smooth over a relationship strained by years of difficult negotiations.

Emergency medical service workers have been working toward a contract since late 2022, when employees voted by a slim margin to form Bangs Ambulance Workers United. Bangs Ambulance, a for-profit ambulance company that serves as the primary emergency medical service provider in Ithaca, is owned and operated by the Bangs family.

The union formed after workers united around what they described as long hours, inadequate pay and staff turnover. But striking a deal with management took longer than union organizers initially expected. One analysis found it takes on average about 500 days for a union to negotiate its first contract.

An agreement was reached in late May and ratified by union members at the start of July, but without much fanfare.

According to union representatives, 85% of the 33 eligible union members participated in the vote, with approximately 75% voting in favor.

Union officials have said they hoped a union would help stabilize emergency medical response by improving working conditions for first responders.

Despite the vote’s outcome and the gains in the contract, union President Matt Sullivan said “a lot” of compromises had to be made.

“I don’t think this contract is exactly what we wanted,” he said.

Tensions between the union and the company appeared to reach a peak on May 1, when the union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board accusing Bangs management of bargaining in bad faith. Bangs disputed the allegations, calling them “unfounded.”

Those allegations have since been withdrawn as part of the agreement that was reached later that month.

Sullivan described the situation since then as “tumultuous,” saying additional negotiations occurred to get the union and management to settle on a tentative agreement.

Contract highlights

One of the major contract gains, Sullivan said, is a pay boost that he described as “pretty significant.” Most of the wage increases, however, had already been implemented during the bargaining process and were incorporated into the contract rather than taking effect with ratification.

Meghan Bangs, the ambulance company’s human resources manager, said in a statement that employees received two wage adjustments during negotiations: a 7% flat increase and a new pay scale that resulted in increases of up to approximately 30% for some employees.

The agreement also lowers the threshold for employees to qualify for health insurance. Workers are now eligible at 40 hours per week, compared with 48 hours previously.

Sullivan also pointed to new incentive pay aimed at addressing staffing shortages. Under the provision, he said, employees working shifts that fall below minimum staffing levels receive double pay.

“[We’re] just trying to get these shifts covered, because they were not being covered very well before,” Sullivan said. “And that’s definitely improved coverage for the community.”

Other gains are more technical in nature, including changes to operational conditions and standard operating procedures.

The union did not provide a copy of the contract to The Ithaca Voice upon request.

In a statement, Meghan Bangs characterized the results of the vote as a “resounding statement” of support for the agreement and said the contract resulted from “good-faith negotiations.”

“We recognize that any collective bargaining agreement represents compromise, and while there may always be opportunities for future discussions, we are pleased that this contract has been ratified and are focused on moving forward,” the statement read.

Those compromises remain points of frustration for some employees, Sullivan acknowledged.

One change the union sought involved specialty care transport for patients, which can require additional training and expertise. Sullivan said the union sought additional compensation for employees performing those transports but did not ultimately secure it.

“At one point we had it in [the contract], but they took that out,” Sullivan said. “Maybe it wasn’t the hill to die on, or maybe I was just getting sick after three years and six months of doing this.”

Another point of tension Sullivan pointed to was how the terms of the contract calculated vacation time accrual. Some employees may now accrue less vacation time under the agreement than they did previously.

“I’ve said this over and over again, these were one of the major sticking points for people that were upset about it,” Sullivan said. “But the membership decided that after this much time, voting down the contract was probably not a good idea.”

Bangs said that, given the significance of wage increase, other components of total compensation were adjusted as part of the negotiations.

“Throughout negotiations, we were led to understand that increasing hourly pay was a primary priority for the union membership,” the statement read.

Meghan Bangs also claimed that most negotiating sessions had only one Bangs Ambulance Workers United employee in attendance. She also said there were a “number of occasions” when that person arrived late or did not attend, which th...

The Ithaca Voice

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