About 240 million times a year, the very first public safety professional to respond to an emergency is the 911 dispatcher who answers the urgent phone call.
What they do next is often a matter of life and death, and the public rarely sees their faces or has a chance to thank them for their pivotal role in emergency response.
During this National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, AFSCME is sending heartfelt thanks to the 911 dispatchers, emergency phone operators and other emergency telecommunications workers around the country who answer our distress calls every day.
“AFSCME members are an integral part of our nation’s emergency response system, starting with the highly trained 911 dispatchers who are the first to answer our most urgent calls for help. Every day, these unsung heroes guide people through life-or-death situations while ensuring that first responders can do their jobs safely and effectively,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “Yet, despite the critical role they play, 911 dispatchers are under-resourced and often denied the recognition they deserve as public safety professionals. During the National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, we honor their around-the-clock, life-saving service, and continue fighting for the resources they need to protect our communities. We will always stand alongside these workers to ensure their voices are heard and their vital contributions are recognized.”
The high-pressure job of 911 dispatch demands intensive training, quick thinking, sharp communication skills and an ability to calmly reassure the caller that help is on the way.
“We have time constraints with real public safety implications in our hands every day. If you see lights and sirens going somewhere, somebody called, we got that information and are updating them as they’re going to you. This is real-time emergency services,” said Steve Verry, a 911 dispatcher and member of AFSCME Local 3044-1 (AFSCME New Jersey/Council 63).
During National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which is from April 12-18, AFSCME members also re-commit to making sure 911 dispatchers are counted as public safety professionals instead of clerical workers under the federal government’s job classification system.
AFSCME members are pushing for the Enhancing First Response Act (S. 725) and the 911 SAVES Act (H.R. 637). Both these bills have bipartisan support and would reclassify dispatchers as part of the protective service. The 911 SAVES Act is sponsored by California Rep. Norma Torres, a former AFSCME member who worked as a dispatcher.
The change could expand mental health support and specialized training so dispatchers can keep up with rapidly changing communications technology. It would also give their profession the recognition it deserves.
“It’s the dignity, it’s the respect, it’s everything that we’ve earned,” said Tangi Errickson, a dispatcher and member of Local 3596, Council 63.