News

Shift Changes for N.Y. Dispatchers Aim to Reduce Pressure

10/04/2016

Oct. 04--Common sense and a commitment to safety held sway last week as Erie County and the union representing its 911 call-takers reached an agreement that will make workers' shifts less grueling. It was an important change in a high-pressure work environment in which lives can be lost.

The problem, workers said, was caused by short staffing produced by turnover, vacations and vacancies. Together, they produced shifts that could be intolerably long in any profession -- in some cases, up to 16 hours long for as many as eight consecutive days. Who could be operating at anything remotely close to peak performance after just two or three such days?

It was especially risky, though, given the nature of these workers' responsibilities: taking calls from people in crisis. Callers may be panicked, incoherent and even uncooperative. It is crucial for those on the receiving end of these calls to be able to elicit details that will allow them to send the appropriate help as quickly as possible. That's hard to do when you're on your fourth, fifth or sixth 16-hour shift.

The issue arose in August when 20 of 26 call-takers and dispatchers in Central Police Services signed a letter demanding the right to vote on a 12-hour shift schedule. It's a work schedule similar to the one that county ambulance and sheriff's dispatchers moved to several months ago. None of them is scheduled to work more than two or three days in a row.

The 911 workers appear to have made their case. A tentative agreement between the county administration and the union would allow emergency call-takers and dispatchers to try out a new schedule of 12-hour shifts. The goals are to ensure that staff members work no more than three days in a row, that they are guaranteed every other weekend off and that forced overtime is sharply reduced or eliminated.

The union is expected to vote on the change this week, and it is expected to pass, despite likely opposition from some veteran employees who are grandfathered under an older system that limits their work week to five days of eight hours each. If approved, the new schedules won't go into effect until January to accommodate vacation schedules through the end of 2016.

It's a significant and welcome improvement, even if it still requires long days. That a similar schedule seems to work for employees in similar positions offers some reassurance that staffers can still perform well at the end of a third 12-hour day.

This counts at least as a good start on fixing a work environment that poses risks to the health and safety of people in crisis. If overtime remains a problem, though, the county will have to consider adding additional workers. And it will be worth monitoring stress levels under the new schedule to ensure that it is meeting the need for which it was created.