FIRST RESPONDER PAY
Pay parity for the EMTs who save our lives.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers are the backbone of our healthcare and public safety systems. They are the first on the scene in moments of crisis, providing lifesaving care under intense pressure. EMS workers were the first line of support during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to play a critical role in our city's healthcare system, yet remain some of the most underpaid and overlooked members of our public workforce.
Staten Island and South Brooklyn EMS workers are still stuck in a broken system that relies heavily on billing patients. As a result, EMTs can earn as much as $50,000 less per year than firefighters, despite responding to the same emergencies and facing many of the same risks.
Omar knows this injustice firsthand from his time as an EMT during the pandemic, where he and many others worked day in and day out responding to hundreds of calls that brought them to the brink.
Omar will fight to recognize EMS as a fully funded essential service in New York City, with dedicated public funding and full pay parity with fire and police. Because if we trust EMS workers to save our lives, we should value them like it.