EMS renegades mull strike on New Year's Eve

BY TONY SCLAFANI
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU

Fed up with stalled contract talks, a renegade group of EMS workers is calling for an unauthorized strike on New Year's Eve, the Daily News has learned.

The potentially life-threatening job action has infuriated the leadership of the Uniformed EMTs and Paramedics Union - and union President Patrick Bahnken has warned his 2,600 members not to betray New Yorkers' trust.

"When trains and buses do not run, people are inconvenienced. When ambulances don't run, people die!" Bahnken wrote in the scathing letter obtained by The News.

The rebel group distributed flyers demanding an illegal strike or sickout on New Year's Eve after contract talks between the union and city ended Monday without an agreement.