Albuquerque City Council approves FD paramedic staffing changes, backs fire chief amid union lawsuit

By Gillian Barkhurst
Albuquerque Journal

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After a year of tense debate and legal strife, the City Council voted on a staffing policy for Albuquerque Fire Rescue on Monday night.

“This is the winding down of a lot of drama,” said sponsor Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn.

The resolution revisited the controversial decision by AFR leadership to split paramedics between fire trucks and ambulances. Under this policy, paramedics on ambulances were reduced from two to one in order to place a paramedic on each firetruck.

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Under this change, the lone ambulance paramedic is accompanied by an emergency medical technician, while firetrucks are staffed with one paramedic and three emergency medical technicians.

Leadership at the local firefighters’ union staunchly opposed the change, calling it unsafe and burdensome.

“Our policy over the past 40-plus years is now getting diluted, which is putting the safety and lives of citizens at risk,” said union president Miguel Tittmann on Monday.

Fire Chief Emily Jaramillo has repeatedly defended her decision, saying the change was necessary to improve response times and efficiency, especially as the nation faces a shortage of paramedics.

Many other firefighters have sided with Jaramillo, arguing that the move freed up paramedics to get to scenes faster and save lives.

Despite pushback from the local union, this policy is currently being piloted at five fire stations around Albuquerque.

In response to the staffing change, the City Council passed a resolution in March 2024 to reverse this decision and a legal battle between the City Council and Mayor’s Office ensued over an alleged separation of powers overstep.

This latest resolution sought to put an end to the debate, at least where it concerned the council, by restoring authority to the fire chief.

The council unanimously voted to approve the measure Monday night.

“The amended resolution passed tonight supports the operational model that has strengthened AFR’s reliability and performance,” Jaramillo said in a statement Monday night. “… My commitment remains unchanged: delivering timely, high-quality emergency response to every member of our community.”

The Mayor’s Office also accepted the council’s olive branch.

“This decision shows the shared trust we have in Chief Jaramillo and her ability to lead her department to keep us all safe, especially when we call 911,” a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office said in a statement Monday.

Legal fight still on the horizon

Though union president Tittmann was supportive of the resolution, he said that an ongoing legal battle between the union and administration still looms over department morale.

Although disagreements between the council and administration have now been formally settled, the administration has sued the union for violating the Labor Management Relations Ordinance.

The lawsuit alleges that Tittmann went to the City Council when his negotiations with the administration failed.

This constitutes “direct dealing,” an outlawed bargaining tactic, according to the lawsuit.

However, this situation is unique.

Direct dealing typically happens when an employer negotiates directly with a union-represented employee, bypassing union leadership. In this case, the lawsuit alleges union leadership bypassed the administration by appealing to an outside party.

Though the council and administration have reached an agreement, the relationship between the union and AFR leadership is still tense, Tittmann said.

Beneath every conversation, Tittmann said, is the promise, “See you in court.”

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