NYPD 911 dispatchers play an essential role in the city’s emergency response system, but they say that routinely being made to work double shifts and being dissuaded from taking sick days is leaving them exhausted and burnt out.
Interviews with union representatives and three current dispatchers as well as internal memos and screenshots of an employee Facebook page show that in recent months, dispatchers have been made to work back-to-back shifts, meaning they’re often kept at work for up to 16 hours a day and 80 hours a week. The dispatchers said inadequate staffing was the reason several people reported that they couldn’t get a 911 operator to pick up the phone when a truck exploded in Long Island City in July.
The allegations come a few years after the city settled a federal class-action lawsuit in which dispatchers accused the NYPD of breaching their contract by routinely requiring employees to work overtime. The plaintiffs also claimed the department was racially discriminating against 911 operators, who are predominantly people of color, and retaliating against dispatchers who took sick days or FMLA leave.
“We’re essential workers only on storms, during 9/11, through crisis,” said union steward Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner, who has worked as a dispatcher for about seven years. “But we’re not essential or valued on any other day when things happen.”
Justine Ortiz from the city’s law department said she had “no information to share” about whether the ongoing claims of poor working conditions could violate the terms of the settlement.
The NYPD did not respond to a list of questions from Gothamist about working conditions. In a statement, an unnamed spokesperson said dispatchers play a “vital role” in keeping New Yorkers safe.
“The NYPD’s Police Communications Technicians work around the clock to answer calls for help and provide a high level of professionalism under the most challenging circumstances,” according to the statement.
Officials…
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