New York City’s 911 operators are getting a pay raise and more flexible work schedules following years of reporting low morale and rampant absenteeism, the mayor’s office announced Monday.
As part of a new labor agreement, the city will test out three- or four-day work weeks for all 911 operators and supervisors, city officials said. This will allow dispatchers to work fewer, but longer days, not including overtime. Some 911 operators have already been working so-called “compressed” schedules through a smaller pilot program.
Dispatchers will also be eligible for two $5,000 bonuses per year if they regularly show up to work — a perk the mayor’s office said is aimed at boosting recruitment, retention and attendance, according to the mayor’s announcement.
“When New Yorkers are in crisis, our 911 operators are the first of our first responders to support their fellow New Yorkers,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement announcing the labor deal. “And as we work to ensure New York City remains the safest big city in America, it is essential that these workers are paid fairly with good benefits.”
Gothamist reported last year on widespread burnout among 911 operators, who said they were struggling to manage long days on top of their already stressful and emotionally intense work. Several dispatchers and union representatives said the NYPD was routinely forcing operators to work back-to-back shifts, which they said was draining morale and contributing to staffing shortages.
The complaints were not new. In 2019, the city settled a federal class-action lawsuit with dispatchers who said the police department was violating their contract by regularly mandating that they work overtime and retaliating against employees who took sick days or paid leave.
A recent pay study by the dispatchers’ union also found that New York City 911 operators are paid less than dispatchers in other departments. The starting salary is $42,976. The top pay for supervisors before the new agreement was $74,948.
The salary range for dispatchers in Chicago, according to the pay study, was between $57,000 and $87,000. In Boston and Los Angeles, dispatchers start at about $55,000 and can earn up to approximately $100,000.
New York City has agreed to boost supervisors’ annual pay by 14% and increase the amount of salaried hours they work each week, from 35 to 40 hours.
Union steward Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner called the new agreement a “victory.”
“This essential job takes a toll on you — so when we have members working 16-hour days, two, three, even five days in a row, we knew something had to change,” she said in a statement. “That’s why we, as unionized members of DC37 and Local 1549, fought to ensure we could perform our jobs while still having adequate time to rest and recover from the long and taxing hours of responding to our city’s emergencies.”
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