Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Livingston County EMS is working through some grievances amid contract negotiations. Some employees are upset with recent shift changes by Director David Feldpausch, which they claim no longer allows them to pick a home base closer to where they live.

"Last week, Mr. Feldpausch decided to take that away from us, which is not the past practice that we're used to," said one employee who chose to remain anonymous.

"There is no financial benefit to the county that we're aware of. There is no increase in coverage that we're aware of. This is, from our interpretation, pure retaliation on his part."

The employee says a handful of EMS workers have left due to what is described as a "toxic" situation.

"One of our paramedics lives over in Wayne County. She prefers to work our base down in Hamburg. But she doesn't want to drive all the way out to our base in Fowlerville."

“It’s always been a great asset to us to be able to choose the station we work out of, so we can be closer to home. It’s easier for our work and home life. It makes a huge difference when you’re driving 20 minutes to work versus an hour.”

The quality of care and response times so far have not been been impacted, according to the employee.

Director Feldpausch issued a statement to WHMI News:

"Livingston County EMS is working through a contract interpretation dispute. We have met with union leadership on multiple occasions over the summer in attempts to resolve the matter. We will continue to communicate with union leadership while proceeding with our normal operations of serving the citizens of Livingston County. We are about to begin negotiations, and I am confident that the interpretation will be clarified through the collective bargaining process."