Public Employee Press

Responding to union pressure
City agrees to hire 150 Police 911 operators to address understaffing

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

Responding to pressure from the union, the city and New York Police Dept. agreed July 26 to hire 150 new emergency 911 operators.

The hiring came after the Police Communications Technicians suffered months of mandatory excessive overtime as the department was preparing to launch its new emergency dispatch system, which broke down several times after going online in May.

The hiring breakthrough came when DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and union leaders and representatives met with Deputy Mayor Casswell F. Holloway III, Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley and top police brass.

"We made a strong case about how the staffing shortage is harming the health and morale of our members and putting public safety at risk," said Eddie Rodriguez, president of DC 37 and of Local 1549, which represents the PCTs. "We are happy the city and the NYPD finally started to hear our message."

By August, the department aimed to hire 75 from civil service lists for training, with another 75 new hires to be trained once the first group is on the job.

"This is an important move, and we will continue our campaign for proper staffing," said Local 1549 Executive Vice President Alma Roper. "The excessive overtime has driven our members to the breaking point and made a tragedy seem inevitable."

As members coped with double shifts, stress, insufficient sleep and time away from their loved ones, DC 37 and Local 1549 campaigned to raise public awareness and press the city to hire additional workers. The campaign included outreach to City Council members, appearances at budget hearings, leafleting, and working with the media to focus attention on the issue.

On Aug. 2, Roberts visited the call center at MetroTech in Brooklyn to inform operators about the hiring and hear their concerns. She was accompanied by Rodriguez, Roper, Associate Director Henry Garrido, Division Director Renee Gainer, Assistant Director Kenneth Mulligan, Sr. Assistant Director Moira Dolan of the Research and Negotiations Dept., Sr. Assistant General Counsel Steven Sykes, John Armstrong, chair of the local's 911 chapter at NYPD, and Deputy Chief Charles Dowd.

"The decision to hire recognizes that the understaffing and excessive overtime was unsustainable," Garrido said. "We will work with management on the civil service hiring process and we will remain vigilant about the situation to protect public safety and the health of our members."