New Policy for Some Indiana Dispatchers
Vivian Sade, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Some dispatchers are not happy with new rules that establish seniority, but members of the Consolidated Communications Partnership board agreed Tuesday to finalize the policy and move on.
The board oversees the joint Fort Wayne-Allen County 9-1-1 call center, which staffs between 70 and 80 dispatchers.
The issue sparked debate on whether to count all work time spent in city or county departments or just the time spent working in the joint 9-1-1 call center, which was merged two years ago.
A new policy created in August was prompted by an employee grievance.
That employee was granted credit for time worked in another county department before she became a dispatcher.
Later, more input from several disgruntled employees prompted another revision of the policy.
Tim Lee, executive director of the 9-1-1 call center, said the dispatchers were represented by four core employees who worked with him to resolve the issue.
Employees in the audience disagreed and spoke out, saying they had no knowledge or notification from their representative co- workers.
When several employees began speaking at once, Therese Brown, Allen County commissioner and board president, called for order, saying regardless of whether everyone agreed with the new policy, it was time to move on.
“We’ve been working on this for such a long time,” Brown said.
The new rules stipulate that employees will get all time they had acquired with the county or city police departments and dispatching at the time of the merger but not with other city or county departments.
Employees who left a county department and went to a city department, including police, before the merger will not be allowed to count the employment time prior to the merger.
Transfers are a different matter. Continual time will be allowed for any employee who transfers within the city or county police departments, dispatch or warrants department.
New hires after Jan. 10, 2011, will receive no credit for any prior time with the city or county.
The board held a special meeting because dispatchers are due to select the shifts they would like to work in the coming year, and selections are granted based on seniority.
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