|
Public
Employee Press Arbitrator
busts NYPD on training for 911 Techs
When you call 911, you put your life in the hands
of the workers who answer the emergency telephones and dispatch ambulance crews,
firefighters and police. You hope they are well trained.
But the New York
Police Dept. has failed to cooperate with the union in implementing training for
the Police Communication Technicians and Senior PCTs, said the arbitrator who
recently busted the NYPD for violating the Local 1549 contract and ordered the
agency to meet quickly with the union.
This decision will result
in a win-win situation for the department and for our members at the Metrotech
Call Center, who will receive more consistent and improved training, said
Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez.
SPCT Alma Roper described her stressful
job and inadequate training at the hectic 911 operation. For years the Police
Dept. has made the workers use their breaks for 5-to-20-minute training sessions
where a training officer reads manuals aloud amid constant disruptions as workers
float in and out according to their break times.
Dispatching is one
of the hardest jobs in the city, said Roper, who chaired the locals
PCT/SPCT Chapter and is now a grievance rep. As first responders, PCTs and SPCTs
determine the nature of the emergency and relay the information to the EMS and
the Fire and Police departments. We need constant training, she said.
The number of codes and extensions 911 operators must know has doubled since 9/11.
Local
1549 repeatedly asked management to improve the training, and finally Roper and
four others filed the grievance and Council Rep Sheila Rabb moved it toward arbitration.
Critical
testimony came from DC 37 Education Fund Administrator Barbara Kairson. Simply
reading material does not allow for maximum retention of information or assessment,
she explained. Effective training should include several methodologies,
because people learn in different ways, and it should provide for discussion and
feedback.
The contract is clear that the NYPD must cooperate
with the union to develop and implement adequate training, said DC 37 Attorney
Thomas Cooke, who handled the arbitration. The issue will be addressed in Local
1549s next monthly labor-management meeting at Metrotech. This is
the beginning of a process that we hope will ultimately lead to better training,
said Clerical Division Director Ron Harris. | |