Public Employee Press

Local 1549 grievance hits 911 training for cops

A vigorous union campaign convinced the New York Police Dept. to agree to hire 150 911 operators this summer, recognizing that understaffing had burned out workers and endangered public safety.

Representing Police Communications Technicians and Supervising PCTs, Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549 applauded the hiring and was somewhat encouraged that in labor-management meetings NYPD administrators seemed open to Local 1549's contention that more hiring down the road is necessary.

When union leaders learned recently that the NYPD was quietly training dozens of Police Officers to do the jobs of the Local 1549 civilian Operators, they were outraged.

"This is a slap in the face," said Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez. "It mirrors the department's practice of assigning Police Officers to do desk work, which we have battled for years in the courts and at City Hall. Assigning highly-paid Police Officers to do the jobs of civilian workers is bad public policy."

On Sept. 16, Grievance Rep Rhonda Spaulding of the DC 37 Clerical-Administrative Division filed a grievance against the training and requested a hearing at the Office of Labor Relations. The grievance charges that assigning Police Officers to perform 911 duties violates the union's clerical contract.

The reverse out-of-title grievance the local filed is used to stop employers from assigning more highly-paid employees to the jobs of union members. The more common out-of-title grievances are used to get members proper compensation for doing work above their pay grade.

"The union's position is that this training of Officers is inefficient and unnecessary," said Kenneth Mulligan, assistant director of the division. "What they need to do is make sure the civilian staffing is adequate and provide ongoing training for our members. Able-bodied Police Officers should patrol the streets, not do our members' jobs."

"We called for 400 more Operators and they agreed to hire 150, which we accepted as a good start," said Local 1549 Executive Vice President Alma Roper. "But by training these Police Officers, the department is acknowledging that it needs more. We are going to continue the fight to make sure the department has the proper staffing level of Operators."