Our Union
NAGE EMS At A Glance
With a specific focus on private industry EMS, and in response to the request of members, NAGE EMS is at the forefront of the ever-changing EMS environment. NAGE EMS provides a voice for EMS professionals on the job, at the bargaining table, and in the halls of government both locally and nationally.
Our motto at NAGE EMS is simple—we put “Members First.” Members want a locally controlled EMS only union that also has national strength and clout.
With the NAGE EMS, locals have complete autonomy but also benefit from the strong representation provided by NAGE, with national resources, unlimited access to professional EMS experienced labor representatives, top-notch attorneys, professional contract negotiators, and support staff.
“Corporate and privately owned EMS has grown over the past few years, and that increases the downward pressure on compensation for those hard working employees.
Our mission at NAGE EMS is to help those employees through superior union representation, strong contracts, and safe working conditions for NAGE EMS members and the people they serve.”
- IAEP National President David J. Holway
NAGE EMS History
NAGE EMS was formed in 2012 when NAGE leaders saw conditions in the emergency medical services industry having a negative impact on the people who work in it.
NAGE EMS was created to address the unique, complicated conditions that EMS professionals must navigate. The privatization push that began 20 years ago in EMS has led to private companies supplying a significant part of the public safety network with 911 emergency and non-emergency services to communities.
NAGE EMS was formed to address issues specific to the hard working and dedicated employees that the general public relies upon, who happen to work for these private employers.
NAGE EMS Mission Statement
We are NAGE EMS, a division of the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), an organization of members united by the belief in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide and dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating amore just and humane society.
We are public workers (federal, state, county, and municipal), police officers, correctional officers, health care workers (nurses, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians), office workers, professional workers, and allied workers. We seek stronger union to build power for ourselves and to protect the people we serve.
Women and men of every race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, physical ability and sexual orientation, we are the standard-bearers in the struggle for social and economic justice begun nearly half a century ago by shipyard workers who dared to dream beyond their daily hardships and to organize for economic security, dignity and respect.
How NAGE EMS Works
Like all unions, NAGE EMS is made up of and run by its members. You elect your own committee for contract negotiations and vote to approve your contract. After you negotiate your contract, you elect your own stewards to help make sure your employer honors your contract.
The officers of our Local are also elected by the membership. Members discuss the issues that are important to our union at regular membership meetings.
"The union" is not made up of outsiders. You and your co-workers are the union. Union staff assist members in negotiating contracts, filing grievances, training stewards, and helping make workplaces better.