Firefighter contract (15.2)

A mother whose son has seizures and whose brother is a city firefighter urged the council to support a 42-hour work week so rested, experienced paramedics answer 911 calls.

A city paramedic since the ambulance system's founding said required 56-hour weeks aren't reflected in retirement and asked the council to help address the inequity after five years of waiting.

A paramedic and union EMS co-chair detailed how 832 annual required overtime hours — about $23,000 — don't count toward retirement or even qualified her for a city loan, and asked for the 42-hour week.

Argued council members receive more pay for part-time hours than the EMTs and paramedics who keep the city safe, and urged the council to raise first responder benefits before their own.

A firefighter and union secretary said the city treats ambulance positions as stepping stones, losing experience with every departure, and asked the council to support a 42-hour work week.

A 20-year fire captain said he wants the best-rested, best-trained crews on ambulances for his family's sake and urged the council to support the 42-hour week.

A fire captain described witnessing exhausted EMTs forced into multi-day stretches and said the 832 non-pensionable hours make the job unsustainable — 'they're asking for fair treatment.'

A fire captain recalled council members' exhaustion after ride-alongs and said the ambulance crews 'deserve more' — urging the council to fulfill its promise on the 42-hour week.

A single-role paramedic described cancer and mental-health risks, noting first responders' 38% higher suicide risk, and asked why transport revenue isn't reinvested in the program.

A 23-year fire captain praised the in-house ambulance system and asked the council to continue that vision by making ATS a career, not a stepping stone.

A lifelong Chula Vista EMT said the current schedule means rendering care on little sleep and that the new schedule would make crews safer and the department stronger.

A paramedic and new father who commutes from Riverside described working a 24-hour shift and driving hours to attend the meeting, saying the non-pensionable hours cost his kids their future.

A fire captain and father whose children have been transported by city ambulances asked the council to invest in the best personnel to respond to families.

The state firefighters' president and Local 2180 president called the 56-hour model 'unfair and unjust,' citing $1.35 million in expiring debt service and $1.8 million in dispatch costs charged to the transport fund.

A San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council organizer and former EMT called ambulance crews the 'unsung heroes' and urged support as a workers' rights issue.

A Chula Vista firefighter whose family was served by ATS during a medical scare asked the council to give crews 'more time with their families' by approving the 42-hour week.