Public Employee Press

Local 2507 FOILs super-secrecy by FDNY

Uniformed EMT’s and Paramedics Local 2507 scored an important victory against privatization recently when an appeals court ruled that under the Freedom of Information Law, the city cannot withhold contract terms between private ambulance firms and hospitals in the city’s 911 emergency system as “trade secrets.”

“This is part of our ongoing fight against the privatization of EMS jobs,” said Local 2507 President Patrick Bahnken. The local represents Fire Dept. Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics. “The public has a right to know if these contracts meet the appropriate standards,” said Bahnken.

Local 2507 has been requesting copies of the agency’s contracts with private ambulance firms and hospitals since 2002, to make sure that the deals being made conform to current laws and regulations. The department argued that disclosing information such as pricing could hurt hospitals in future contract negotiations. The local went to court to gain full disclosure of the records. “We are not about to let up on this issue,” said Bahnken.

Last year Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman heard the case and sided with the FDNY. The union appealed the ruling and the case was brought to a four-judge panel in the Appellate Division.

Although records containing trade secrets are exempt from disclosure under FOIL, the court said using that argument in this case was “speculative and unsupported by any evidentiary documentation.”

The city has announced that it intends to appeal the decision to a higher court.