Clackamas County Board of Commissioners
Ludlow, Smith have harsh words for Teamsters, AMR
Clackamas County Commissioner
Tootie Smith had some harsh words for
the Teamsters Union, and County Chair
John Ludlow took a potshot at Ameri-
can Medical Response (AMR) during
recent meetings of the Board of Com-
missioners. The two elected officials
were on the losing end of a 3-2 vote to
award a new multi-year ambulance
service contract to AMR.
Approximately 140 paramedics,
emergency medical technicians
(EMTs) and dispatchers at AMR are
members of Teamsters Local 223.
They have provided ambulance service
in Clackamas County since 1993.
The Board of Commissioners
opened the contract last year, and AMR
was the only company to submit a bid.
Nonunion rival Metro West Ambu-
lance had a proposal written, but
missed the deadline to submit it.
Metro West also is a rival of the
Teamsters Union. Local 223 tried un-
successfully to organize its employ-
ees in 2012. The company, which pro-
vides ambulance service for Washing-
ton County, hired an expensive anti-
union consultant who ran a classic
“union avoidance” campaign. Several
unfair labor practice charges were
filed and the National Labor Rela-
tions Board (NLRB) determined that
Metro West broke the law when it
threatened, demoted and fired union
supporters. The company was ordered
to reinstate a terminated employee
and reimburse him back pay with in-
terest.
As AMR was the sole bidder, a ma-
jority of the Board of Commissioners
voted in May 2013 to accept AMR’s
bid and issue an intent to award the
contract. The vote was 3-2, with Smith
voting with the majority (Commission-
ers Paul Savas and Martha Schrader).
Ludlow and Commissioner Jim Ber-
nard were opposed. Clackamas County
then posted AMR’s bid on its website.
Shortly thereafter, Smith changed
her vote to award the contract to AMR,
saying she wanted to see more bids.
The reversal outraged employees, the
Teamsters Union, and Clackamas
County residents, who flooded weekly
board meetings to testify against the
Board’s action. The reversal also led to
AMR filing a $20 million tort claim
against the County.
Arguing amongst commissioners
went back and forth for months.
Finally, at a Feb. 4, 2014 Board
meeting, Commissioner Bernard an-
nounced that after talking to his wife,
he had a change of heart and now sup-
ported awarding the contract to AMR.
He made a motion to do so, and Savas
and Schrader concurred.
Ludlow and Smith, both first-term
commissioners supported by the Tea
Party, were furious.
Smith, who is running for Congress
in the 5th District, faulted AMR em-
ployees, unions, and the media for the
contract controversy. “I have tried to
exercise due diligence and maintain our
oversight responsibilities while resist-
ing the environment of political pres-
sure, judgment, accusations, and biased
media scrutiny,” she said.
“I’m really sad to say that over the
weekend, I believe, the pressure was
On the losing side of a 3-2 vote to award a new ambulance contract to AMR,
Clackamas County Chair John Ludlow and Commissioner Tootie Smith had
some harsh words for the company and its workers’ Teamsters union.
exerted so great by the Teamsters
Unions with threats, accusations to
family members and friends, of which I
have received, that one of our board
members has thrown in the towel.
“Although this may be a Pyrrhic vic-
tory for the Teamsters at the moment,
you can just take it at that, because it
will not stand.”
She wasn’t finished.
At a Feb. 6 Commission business
meeting, Smith said that during the
course of the contract award process she
had received anonymous phone calls
threatening to kill her, “wanting to off
me. I take that personal.
“And I know some of the tactics of
the Teamsters Unions have been very
vicious,” she continued. “I know peo-
ple’s tires who have been sliced, twice.
And you’re all sitting there acting inno-
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
cent and the people saying, ‘oh, that
didn’t happen to us.’
“I intend, to my dying days on the
commission, to shine a light on union
tactics. Just because I disagree with you
does not give anybody permission to do
bodily harm or threaten any commis-
sioner — because many commissioners
have been threatened with what you
can’t even believe. I’m going to put a
stop to that on my dying day.”
Savas later responded, saying it
was unfair for Smith to associate the
Teamsters Union and AMR with any
threats she might have received.
“I just think that without any evi-
dence to show an association, some-
what casts an aspersion on that group,
that I think is unfair. Especially when
those folks are out there saving lives. I
just think that — unless there’s evi-
dence that says otherwise — people are
going to make linkages that I don’t
think will be fair.”
Ludlow then took a potshot at all
AMR emergency responders. He told a
story of man who approached him just
last week, and said:
“Mr. Ludlow, if you were in need of
help, I would put aside my personal
feelings about you and I would give you
the same outstanding service that we
give everybody.
“That very day, on this floor, one of
our employees went down,” Ludlow
continued. “I mean down to the ground
writhing in pain, moaning. And Ameri-
can Medical Response was late. We
have the tapes. We know everything
about that, and how long it took them to
get here.”
Ludlow said the Fire District re-
sponded within six minutes, and that he
came to the scene “even after the ambu-
lance arrived and the man was still hurt-
ing badly and needing to be transported
to a hospital.
“So, I hope that good service that
was promised continues,” he said scorn-
fully. “And I pray to God I don’t have a
heart attack.”
At the next Board of Commission-
ers meeting on Feb. 27, AMR employee
and Teamsters Union steward Charles
Savoie used the public comment period
to go over the dispatch log with Ludlow,
before asking that Ludlow apologize to
AMR and the responding paramedic
“which were vehemently denigrated.”
Savoie told commissioners that
AMR was not late too the call to help
the Clackamas County employee. The
9-1-1 call was for medical assistance for
a person with non-traumatic back pain.
“Accordingly, an ambulance was
dispatched Priority 2, no lights and
sirens,” Savoie said.
The closest ambulance was headed
to the scene, Savoie continued, when it
was diverted to another call that had
been triaged as potentially life-threaten-
ing. The next closest ambulance was as-
signed to the call, and it arrived within
12 minutes, which is within the time
frame established by the county.
“Therefore, the ambulance was not
late, contrary to what Commissioner
Ludlow so authoritatively stated,”
Savoie said, before asking for an apol-
ogy.
“All I know, is I know the tapes Lud-
low responded,
Ludlow stammered briefly, and re-
sponded:
“All I know is that — and I know the
tapes and what time you got into the el-
evator, etcetera. I don’t care about non-
life-threatening. I’ve never seen, or I’ve
rarely seen, anybody in that kind of
agony. I don’t care what the fire depart-
ment said to you.
“I’ve said my piece about ambulance
service and I’ll say it again, I pray to
God I don’t have a heart attack. Because
I saw a man writhing in pain, worse
than I’ve ever seen, and I thought the re-
sponse was late. I’ll still stick with that.
So you won’t get an apology from me
today.”
Commissioner Savas said he also
looked into Ludlow’s allegation. Savas
said there was a response and an assess-
ment of the patient right away by the
fire department. “I do know that they
decided to stabilize the employee, and
they took their time about how they ap-
proached it. So there was no need for
immediate transport. The appropriate
actions and activities occurred with no
compromise.”
“I don’t know what compromise
means,” Ludlow retorted. “All I know is
what ‘late’ means, and I’ll still say it,
that they were late.”
(Editor’s Note: In preparation for
the competitive bidding process,
AMR employees and the Teamsters
agreed to open their collective bar-
gaining agreement mid-contract —
at which time they voted to forgo a 2
percent wage increase that was due
in June 2013. Those wage conces-
sions, along with concessions on
profit and efficiencies gained in sub-
contracts, allowed AMR to reduce its
costs by 19 percent. The five-year,
multi-million-dollar contract goes in
effect May 1. After that, the Board can
extend its terms for up to five additional
years.
AMR’s union contract with the
Teamsters expires in June 2014. The
sides are currently in bargaining.)
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