Valliant News

Detroit — A 4 percent raise is in store for the city’s emergency medical technicians and paramedics, the largest increase in its 45-year history, officials said Wednesday.

Mayor Mike Duggan unveiled the three-year collective bargaining agreement amendment alongside Fire Commissioner Eric Jones and fire union officials outside St. John Hospital on Moross.

The agreement, which includes the across-the-board raises, was ratified Monday by EMS members and approved Tuesday by Detroit’s city council.

Under the new contract, the city will provide the 4 percent raise for all 213 EMS Division field staff. The agreement also includes an attendance incentive program that kicks in Jan. 1, 2018, officials announced.

With the addition of the EMTs, all Detroit public safety unions have now received 4 percent pay raises in the last two years.

“When we came out of bankruptcy, we recognized that our police, fire and EMS were paid substantially below the surrounding suburban communities,” Duggan said. “We didn’t think that was right. We made a commitment to raise them up as the city’s economics improved.”

The cost of the new contract — approximately $800,000 per year — is being paid for through cost savings in the department, officials said.

The Detroit Fire Department previously operated a separate medical first responder service. But with the recent training of firefighters as medical first responders, the other units were eliminated, saving the city about $2.5 million. Some of the savings are being used to fund the EMS pay raises, officials said.