Tuesday, August 11, 2009
** Calgary 911 dispatchers vote to strike
** UK paramedics use Google to treat patient
** Gary, Indiana settles EMS racial discrimination suit
CANADA NEWS
** Calgary 911 operators could soon be off the job, after 90 per cent of union members voted to take strike action. That is the word from the CBC (August 10) which said the decision comes after three days of voting on the matter. Including EMS operators, the union local also encompasses dispatchers for fire and police. Members have been without a contract since January. Despite the vote, negotiations between the union and the city have been slated for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** A pair of Bristol paramedics is being credited with quick thinking in the treatment of a 14-year-old boy, after they used a Google search via cell phone to ID a potentially poisonous snake. The Times (August 10) said the duo attended the teen after a gang of yobs held him down so a python could strike. Showing the youth pictures of snakes, practitioners then forwarded the image to the EMS control room which in turn contacted the local zoo. Although the python was found not to be poisonous, the patient was transported to hospital. According to police, the boy, who was African or Caribbean in descent, may have been targeted because of his skin colour.
UNITED STATES NEWS
** A racial discrimination case involving Gary, Indiana EMS applicants has apparently been settled, with five white medics being offered both jobs and compensation. The Northwest Indiana Times (Dan Hinkel/August 8) said the group, which appealed to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission in October 2006, claimed black EMTs were hired over them despite the white EMTs being ranked higher on a written test based applicant list. According to the newspaper, the US Department of Justice filed a suit against the city in January, saying it had violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Along with the job offers, Gary agreed to pay $25,000 in compensation to three of the medics. In its defence, a city spokesman maintained the five were not initially offered jobs because they did not fulfill occupancy requirements.
