After prior offer of 14 cents, Austin EMS providers get raises of 4% to 12.5%

By Leila Merrill

AUSTIN, Texas — City Council members unanimously approved Thursday a one-year contract with the Austin EMS Association after reaching a tentative agreement on Aug. 19, the Austin Monitor reported.

“We kind of just ended up settling on this stopgap contract just for a year,” said Austin-Travis County EMS Association President Selena Xie. “It really just kind of stops the bleeding. It slows our staffing crisis, but that’s all we could really agree to right now, and we knew we needed some action quickly.”

Xie said that 60 employees have left ATCEMS so far in 2022, compared with the previous record-high last year of 57.

KXAN reported that the contract includes:

• A pay increase of 12.5% to $22 per hour for entry-level EMTs
• A pay increase of 11.2% to $30 per hour for beginning paramedics
• A pay increase of at least 4% for all current employees, depending on position and tenure

The union blasted the city this spring for offering EMS providers a 14-cent pay raise.