Crain’s New York Business
By Oren Barzilay
FDNY’s world-class emergency medical responders are the front lines and face of the busiest medical first response organization in the Western Hemisphere. Despite their life-saving work, New York City’s emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics are treated as second-class citizens by Mayor Eric Adams.
Year after year, Gotham’s emergency medical pros are responding to a surge in total civilian medical emergencies. The year 2024 shattered recent records as the busiest year in terms of FDNY EMS responses, with 2025 on track to be even busier.
FDNY EMTs and paramedics responded to 1,630,446 medical emergencies in 2024, a 15.4% jump from the number of medical emergencies, even at the peak of the COVID outbreak in 2020. This also accounts for a staggering 86 percent of the total 1.9 million FDNY emergencies in 2024. That has a massive impact on the Big Apple and the countless millions who either live, work or visit our city each day.
Through the staggering workload, a devastating 70 percent job turnover rate within the first five years, and the mayor breaking the commitment he made while Brooklyn Borough President that he would immediately correct the wage discrimination issue, members of FDNY EMS are getting the same or less than the typical teenage babysitter.
Regardless of the statistical facts about our massive workload, this city’s EMTs make a disgracefully low wage of $18.94/hour. That means our uniformed workforce must hold down second and third jobs. Many qualify for food stamps and Section 8 housing, while others live in homeless shelters or their cars.
Our union, which advocates for 4,300 of the FDNY’s EMTs, paramedics and fire inspectors, has been waiting in vain for three years at the negotiating table seeking a fair and respectable contract.
This fight for equity has been further amplified after Mayor Adams vetoed City Council’s well-intentioned bills to mandate a minimum wage increase for grocery delivery workers that would jump their hourly wage to $21.44 per hour, a massive 13 percent higher than FDNY EMS workers’ starting wage.
Delivery workers certainly deserve better conditions. However, this is another reminder of the mayor’s continued failure to provide New York’s “Street Doctors” with a living wage commensurate with the city’s other frontline first responders.
Our city’s great NYPD officers begin their careers making $60,000, rising to $126,000 after five years. Our outstanding firefighters start with an annual salary over $54,000, rising to $109,352 after 5 ½ years, according to NYC Open Data.
Cross the border into Nassau County where medics have a starting salary of $58,480 that can increase to $86,136 in one year and eventually rise to a top salary of $142,730.
FDNY EMTs start under $19 per hour, or less than $39,386, and cap out at $59,534 after five years. These are workers who respond to strokes, cardiac victims, stabbings, active shooter events, fatal fires, drug dens and overdoses, mental health episodes, and are trained for major CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) incidents.
You can compare the training and education of any FDNY paramedic as being nearly equivalent to that of a hospital ICU nurse, who makes about $140,000 per year.
Four years ago, then-candidate for mayor Eric Adams guaranteed he would fix this inequity once and for all. Four years later we recognize those were hollow words from someone just angling to get elected.
FDNY EMS workers are Gotham’s selfless medical heroes who put their health and safety on the line every day treating the sick and seriously injured. Since this one will not act, it is up to New York City’s next mayor to finally address and correct this glaring unfairness.
Oren Barzilay is the president of FDNY EMS Local 2507, representing New York City’s 4,300 uniformed EMTs, paramedics & fire inspectors.