Employees at Alstar EMS seeking wage increases are set to picket Wednesday in Jamestown.

The informational picket is scheduled to take place next to UPMC Chautauqua from 4-6 p.m., SEIU Local 200United said in a statement. Employees for the largest emergency medical services provider in the county are in contract negotiations with the company.

“The employees are seeking modest wage increases to combat chronic under-staffing and resulting slowed response time or non-response to emergency medical situations,” SEIU Local 200United said. “Like they do on the job every day, SEIU EMS workers will be fighting for the individuals they serve — taking a public stand against the mentality of “profits over people.”

“The out-of-town corporate owners of Alstar EMS, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, have refused to meet the employees reasonable wage proposals and have threatened to discontinue some services in Jamestown. Our communities deserve timely, reliable, well-funded emergency services. Lives and health outcomes are more important than money going into out of state pockets.”

Alstar received 20,000 requests for service but could only answer 16,000 of them because of low staffing levels.