Mandatory overtime (again) and the long haul.
We hear that 2nd Watch dispatchers have been held over for at least three straight days now, and the new period doesn't start until Thursday. Surprisingly, mandatory overtime for 3rd Watch personnel has been held to a minimum, at least for now. Who knows what the new period will bring?
We do. It'll bring more regular mandatory overtime for all watches except for 1st Watch, including 4th and 5th Watches. There hasn't been any more medical use than usual, and there's plenty of inclement weather that people won't get "sick" to enjoy. It's still winter, even. We're just that short on people to staff the floor.
It's going to be a long summer/year, people.
Labels: overtime, understaffing
posted by CPDDispatch @ 12:05 AM
9 Comments:
I just hope that management at the watch level realizes that they need to exhaust ALL avenues of VOLUNTEER overtimers before they start mandating those unwilling souls. Meaning specifically that they need to utilize those OT sign up sheets FULLY and pack those cosoles with volunteers, eliminating the need to mandate. You would think that is a common sense practice, but how often lately has MD on 1st watch not only denied people time due in the dead of winter, and simultaneously refused to hire back many people who were willing to work OT? Then when you have a few people hit the medical, guess what happens...? They will force people to stay when they did not ask all their volunteers in the first place! While I realize that from a management point of view, paying overtime to employees while granting time off may not be the most cost effective way to run a "business" BUT in order to run an efficient business you need to keep the employees happy too! Why not grant some time due if you have people WILLING to work? Especially now when it is 20 degrees outside?? It will seriously be a travesty if they start mandating people to work overtime, when they did not attempt to utilize all thier volunteers first. And I hope that our union will step up and file grievances if this practice begins.
HAHAHAHHAH ....UR FUNNY ....DO U REALLY THINK OUR UNION IS GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ?!?!??!?!?HAVE THEY EVER GIVEN A DAMN ABOUT ANY OF THE WRONG DOING THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN DONE TO US ?!?!?!?
It's still cheaper to pay us ot and hire a few extras in order to give time due to a few each night, than it is to hire a full staff.
Then only sign up to work double ot
on your 2nd day off and make them pay through the nose and run their
ot budget sky high. All volunteers
get paid 2x and then each watch can ask for extension of tour volunteers and they are not shy about mandatory ot to keep their staffing numbers "correct". For people on their first day off who want to work, call in and ask if they need bodies to do ot. If there is enough ot for people to work rdo on their furlough then you know they are not turning away anyone if the have to fill a spot. If they ask you if you want to come in early before your tour ask if they have called in all available volunteers who have signed up. You protect their 2x and they will protect yours.
My partner volunteers to work OT all the time, and when they ask her to work, she declines. She gots a million reasons why she changed her mind. She does this ALL the time. How many others are "volunteering" only to turn around and say no thanks, I thought I could but can't.. Are they trying to make them selfes look good to Mgmt. Do they really care? Maybe if all the volunteers actually worked when asked, then maybe they wouldn't manadate those of us who don't volunteer or can't, work. The day my parter so NO Thanks after volunteering, and I'm forced to stay because of her, is the day I ask for a new partner.
Hire more people!
Don't cry now, 3rd watch has been dumped on since mandatory overtime came to be, but no other watches seemed to complain because they werent affected, welcome to the world 3rd watch has been in for a long time, now I guess mandatory OT is a terrible think cause mos other wathces are now affected. Poor 1st watch cant get your time due anymore, too f***king bad
First of all, I think your partner needs to ask for someone new..Because u aint about nothing. YOu no damn well that at 14:30 hrs you need the money. But when 22:00 rolls around, and the crack heads, pimps, hoes, baby daddys are whooping yo ass..you don't want to stay anywhere but at home. So get over it!!!!!
I work for an agency here in Seattle and we are having the same issues. Burnout, which causes people to call in sick, which causes mandatory overtime, which causes burnout... and the cycle goes on and on. I wish there was a nationalized standard for the amount of overtime you can be forced to work (similar to the airline industry) because a tired dispatcher is a dangerous one.
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