I love being a Paramedic. It's something that I am very proud of. To become an EMT or a Paramedic (Not ambulance drivers) is a task that doesn't come easy. The schooling itself is rough enough and then you must complete a field internship. Once you make it and you proudly wear the Paramedic patch, you run from call to call and are very happy to do the job. We, the non tax based private ambulance companies Medic west and AMR who just happen to be sister companies owned by EMSC, work very hard to provide the public with the care that they need. I am employed by Medic west. It's not a bad place to work but it could be a whole lot better. As a matter of fact, just a few years ago, it was an amazing place to work. But, as all good things must come to an end, EMSC bought out medic west. So here we are. I don't think that the general public understands what kind of company that we work for. We are under paid, over worked. MWA (Medic West Ambulance) isn't union, yet. We are working on that. Please understand that facts before you give your much respected opinion. Understand that we are men and women who risk our lives and are always in harms way. We are unrestrained in the back of moving ambulances, we are working on people who have be in traumas or are having a medical emergency and could possible have HIV, Hep C, TB or many other conditions that could be contracted by one of us. We have families and don't want to take that home to them. The average EMT basic makes 8 bucks an hour, the average EMT-I, 10 bucks and paramedic".15 to 16 bucks an hour. Some make more, but in most cases, not much more. All three levels are trained to save your life. So, please think about our risks, our sacrifices that we make on a daily basis and support your non-tax based emergency workers. Call AMR and ask them to come back to the table and talk.