Hundreds of unionized emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in Seattle have set a deadline of Dec. 21 to go on strike, calling into question how the city plans to respond to people in medical crisis if they walk off the job.
City officials say they are working on a plan, but won’t say what it is until a strike is called. Mayor Jenny Durkan’s administration “began its contingency planning over three weeks ago” when officials learned of a potential strike, said Durkan spokesman Mark Prentice. Prentice declined to elaborate, saying in an email, “The city is exploring a range of contingency plans that we will share in the event of a strike.”