Volusia County EMS IAEP Local 77 is an organized union under the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics which is headquarted near Boston Massachusetts. Each local affiliate of the union across the Country is issues a ‘local’ number and we are Local 77.

In 2010 a consultant was brought in to make recommendations to make operations more cost effective and efficient. Quite blindly, many of the consultants recommendations were implemented, and in the end, there were some cost savings and efficiencies gained. With cost savings, and efficiencies their also became many negative impacts to the Paramedics and EMTs of Volusia County EMS, and at the time their was absolutely nothing we could do about it. From one day to the next, based on these recommendations that were made, we lost all of of our outlying stations, we lost the practice of having the same truck every day, and we saw painful shift times that now started as late as 9:45pm at night.

As all these negative impacts were happening, a large group of people got together and decided that changes needed to be made. The group of people decided to petition to the State of Florida Public Employee Relations Commission to form a Union. PERC came in and held a formal vote and our employees voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union. In January of 2012 we became a unionized workplace. The state defined our bargaining unit, which is the group of employees permitted to be in the union as all Lt. Paramedics, FTO Paramedics, EMTs, Lead EMT, and FTO EMTs, in either a full time, part time, or intermittent status. All other positions at Volusia County EMS such as Chief, Deputy Chiefs, are not eligible to be a part of our union.

Volusia County EMS IAEP Local 77 consists of an executive board which includes President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chief Shop Steward. We are a non profit organization as well.

Our union sets out to make our workplace better for all our members. We’re going to be here 84 hours a pay period, so the surroundings, the pay, the equipment, and the benefits, need to be the best they can be. We operate by a collective bargaining agreement, which we call a contract we have with the county. That document spells out our pay, stipends, and other benefits.

Volusia County EMS IAEP Local 77 strives to continue to make the agency a better workplace, and continues to grow and support the members.