Working conditions in your COMM center?

I was just curious, how the basics work in your comm center.. we are a small center (the largest number we have on at one time is 5 people and that is on 4-12, our busiest shift.(overnights is 3 people, days 4) We do not get breaks at all, eat here at our consoles.. we are allowed to walk across the hall to use the facilities as needed, but for the most part we are stuck in this windowless room (security reasons for having no windows,.. whatever) for 8 hours, sometimes 12 or even 16 straight.. it gets old sometimes. We work a 6 day on, 2 day off schedule.. sometimes that 6th day is a killer (many of us want to switch to 12 hour shifts, but the 4 senior people do not want it, and they seem to have final say) Do you all get breaks where you can leave the room and be free for a bit??? How long are your shifts? Are you in a large or small center? Can you tell on overnights, I have too much time on my hands haha (I haven't even started on the fact that we have been working for almost a year, 12-31 will be a year, without a contract.. are severely underpaid, surrounding counties make 3-5 dollars an hour more then we do... gotta love it! Brianna

First question is why are you working without a contract? Are you in arbitration or without a union right now? If you are still in arbitration you should still fall under the old contract for most issues, and breaks being one of them. It is a violation of FLSA to not allow for breaks and you folks need to stand up and demand them. Our sister center has this whole "we don't take breaks" thing going on and it's sort of a martyrdome for them because they can hold it high like they are overworked/underpaid, etc. Well, if you let it be dictated to you that you aren't going to get your breaks, you are just rolling over and peeing on yourself while others drive right over you. We run 6-7 dispatchers max on a shift and 1-3 calltakers on max per shift. We all take our breaks....even when it's busier than hell, and we never begrudge someone for getting their break in when it causes us to pick up their stations because we all know we need those breaks. We still eat at our consoles much of the time though as many of us use our breaks to de-stress in various ways. So we end up eating between radio transmissions...bad habits die hard. We do have windows - 2 whole walls of windows. I have heard the "security" reasons before but frankly if someone wants to blow up your building, glass isn't going to stop them. When I visited one dispatch center in the basement of the courthouse recently I felt less secure there knowing how many floors are above than I did in my center which is one level. Having seen what happened with the WTC, I don't think the windows were the problem...the problem was that concrete and steel will buckle under pressure and if you're on the bottom floor you may not fare too well. Anyway, that is just my opinion. If someone wants to hurt you, they will find a way. What if someone piped gas into the ventilation system. No windows to open or break...there ya go. As for shifts, why not look at 4-10's? We went to 4-10's a long time ago and it was a great answer for us. You just have to know how to schedule around the busier times, but it's great because you get 3 days off and if you are working overtime, it's going to be on a day off rather than attached to your shift. We usually never work over 12 hours a day. You should have enough people to be able to cover with a 4-10 shift. I can't see how you can work 6 on 2 off with 8 hour days not not incur overtime. That's just weird to me. Do you have a union or union rep? Maybe it's time to start revisiting some of this stuff... Dina

Dina, we do have a union, just not a very good one. negotiations have been going on forever and no progress.. our shop steward has requested our union to find out what papers we need to file to strike.. no new talks have been scheduled until after the new year.. if they are even scheduled. We have been battling the no break fight, ever since I started and before...it is against OSHA, but somehow the county has gotten away with it for years... I do not see how we are stuck not getting them, In one of our county commissioners words, "monkeys can do that job" Yeah, OK... I want to see him try it for an hour, he would run screaming! All other county employees get breaks, and when the building closes early (as it did today for the holidays), they go home, we are not compensated in anyway for this extra time off (an issue our steward will be adressing once the contract is settled, he doesn't want to make it a contract issue and drag it out longer) Even if we get a bomb threat and the building is evactuatd, we have to stay (there is an alternate PSAP that is out of date, heck most of us have never even been there, it is up on a mountain somewhere in the county, but we are never re-located, which is wrong, being in the basement of the county building, we would never make it out of here if there ever actually was a bomb) the 6 on, 2 off does result in OT, but we are always so short staffed and OT through the roof, it doesn't seem to matter. And the way they calculate it is odd, the only time we work 6 days in one actual week (from Sun to Sat) is when we have our weekend off, somehow the rest of the time it is broken up, something about not working 5 days in a row in a week.. it confuses everyone.. although it does even out in the end. I am looking for another job, and even though we are underpaid, it would be tough for me to make near the same doing something else...most of the surrouning counties start off as part time.. and I can't afford to do that, even for a short while. It is a shame, I like this job way more then I ever thought I would, but the way it is run leaves much to be desired. Our shop steward now is good, but he has said he will not accept another nomination, and the 2 guys who are willing to take over leave alot to be desired..... I suppose it will all work out in the end, or so I hope.

Are you in your own union or in with the cops? The reason I ask is because it appears to me that if you can be in the same union as the police officers, dispatchers tend to get more bennies. Some idiots in my sister center decided us dispatchers were not given enough consideration in the union and got us literally voted out of the union (thanks to them). Thankfully they cannot vote us out, but it was more a show of a vote of no confidence more than anything. They have the more populated area of the state and they tend to **** off their officers whereas we tend to get along better. Oooh - anyway, didn't intend that to be a rant. The thing is, if your union sucks, look to change it. I know a lot of people hate the teamsters but they are no-nonsense when you are getting jerked around. I know of one agency that went teamsters and they ended up sitting pretty because of it. As for striking, we cannot strike. It is illegal for emergency service workers to strike in Oregon, so we are stuck with arbitration. We used to have arbitration where the arbitrator could take from each last best offer to compile a fair contract, but now it is set up where they can only choose one last best offer lock, stock and barrel, so it makes it really hard to get our contracts passed. Still, our union does a pretty good job for us on the whole with a little need for improvement here and there. As for the violation of FLSA/OSHA, your union shouldn't just grieve it, they should just outright sue. Look at Walmart....they just lost a huge suit for not letting their workers take breaks. You just can't do it and get away with it. *Especially* to emergency service workers. Of all people who get breaks, WE need them more than the average Joe. Our profession is notoriously understaffed and overworked. Sometimes you just need to get up and away from your console to go blow off steam or do whatever. I would talk to your union steward about looking into finding another union to represent you. This one definitely sounds ineffective! As for your county commisioner, it sounds like someone in dispatch needs to go to the press and make a stink over that and invite them in to see what it is like. Jerks like that need to be exposed for the morons that they really are! Dina

We don't have enough people to get any significant breaks either. We work 10hrs shifts, with 3 days scheduled off. On Thursday's it is too dang much, because everyone works, and half of us spend the first 2 or 3 hrs of our shift, looking for a place to sit down and work!! If there is no training classes, we are all there in one small, shrinking room! By the time 2nd shift leaves, my nerves are shot, and I'm about ready to get into a tower and pick off a few people!!! My Senior is pretty good. She lets us get up whenever we need a break and we can fix us something to eat or whatever. She works our position while we take our break. On day shift, they work 4 & a Sr, on 2nd shift, it's 4 & and a Sr, and on 3rds, it's 2 and a Sr. We have had a few quit and it's hurt us severely. Now, I'm leaving and they are pushing to get the Trainee's checked off. I'm not sure how fast that will happen. But, there is one person who is a floater, that will be coming to cover my position when I switch over to records. The tension in very high in there right now, and we've not recieved a raise in 3 years!! The reason being the city got into a financial bind when we went over to state retirement. This year we were supposed to get a raise, but guess what......... it never happened. 5 Years ago, we were the highest paid department in the state of Alabama. Now..... we are in the middle of the statistics. (on the lower end) Everyone has bypassed us. So..... I'm going to switch over to a place with less stress, less back stabbing, and my own office and door where I can shut everyone the heck out if I want too!! Sherri