Public Employee Press

Heroes in the crisis
311 operators came through for the public

By JANE LaTOUR

"The board was all lit up in red" at the 311 Call Center, said Local 1549 Vice Chapter Chair Asia Hill. The red lights meant that over 50 calls were coming in at once on Oct. 29 as Hurricane Sandy hit the city. "You were overwhelmed even before you logged on."

Although the superstorm drove many from their own homes, the union call takers showed grace under pressure as they handled the soaring number of calls from a storm-battered public.

"Our call takers were indeed heroes, staffing the Call Center continuously before, during and after the storm," said Nicholas Sbordone, spokesperson for the 311 operation.

Hill and Chapter Chair Carryl Hall told PEP how Local 1549 members responded in the crisis.

"We were prepared way before the storm to expect a high volume," Hill explained. "Many members worked multiple shifts in a row, with some even staying over at the Call Center" after their homes were devastated by Sandy's winds and flooding. They came in on buses provided by the agency.

"Callers wanted to know if they were living in a flood zone and had to evacuate," Hall said. "People in distress needed information on shelter, food and evacuation sites."

"For a while, we lost power and couldn't transfer calls. They were using a backup generator, so we always had lights, but some of our call takers had no toilets for a while," Hill said.

"From Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, the 311 operators answered about 1.4 million calls - or 200,000 per day, far above 2012's average daily call volume of about 53,000," said Sbordone. He called the workers' achievement "outstanding, despite the MTA transit shutdown, power outages and - for a time - a lack of heat and water."

Hall and Hill acted as liaisons for the Local 1549 members. "We made sure to give them information from the union about federal and other services. The most important thing was to maintain contact," Hill said.

"Despite severe reductions in staffing of our full-time members, the overuse of part-time, untrained students and a private contractor without real quality control, our Local 1549 members performed admirably in the crisis," said Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez.