Nassau 911 Dispatchers Fight For Equal Pay

[Guest]

Operator! Get Me Equity!

Nassau 911 Dispatchers Fight For Equal Pay

Christopher Twarowski 12/08/2005 12:01 am

They both answer emergency phone calls. They both dispatch the appropriate responsive aid. They both work the same shifts, in the same building. They both even send ambulances. But one group is entirely male and the other is predominantly female. And one is paid less. Guess which?

After years of wrangling with Nassau County government, the county's Police Communication Operators (PCOs), who are 90 percent women, have taken the county to court in a class action lawsuit seeking pay equal to that of their male counterparts in the fire department and damages between $1.3 million and $4 million.

It's hard to imagine that in 2005 women are still struggling for equality in the workplace, but they are. Nassau County is not much different than anywhere else in the country, according to the National Organization for Women (NOW); women are paid less than men across the board, regardless of the industry.

"It's a huge issue," explains Marsha Pappas, president of NOW's New York State chapter. "We still live in a society where many people want women to stay home.... You see it through employers and how they treat women: They treat women by paying them less money."

Pappas says that nationally, women earn about 70 cents on the male dollar. Here in Nassau, according to the police operators' complaint, for the past six years, individual PCOs have been paid between $1,500 and $10,000 less annually than workers of equal seniority in Firecom, the county's fire dispatch unit.

Civil service jobs work on a complex seniority system, with pay grades, and seniority steps built in to each pay grade. Historically, the (again, mostly female) county police 911 operators were on a pay grade a few levels below the fire dispatchers. As of 2001, the PCOs were three pay grades behind. That's when the administration of former Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta, in one of its last moves, imple-mented an "upgrade." But while the change elevated the PCOs' pay grade from 7 to 9 (although not to 10, the level of the fire dispatchers), it took away their seniority—for some, as much as five years' worth.

Last spring, as elections approached, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, the operators union (Civil Service Employees Association [CSEA] Local 830), and the current Legislature took a stab at fixing the problem.

"Today we are calling for equal pay for equal work—it's the right thing to do," said Suozzi, proposing raises for the county 911 operators on the eve of National Equal Pay Day, April 19.

But that effort, which put the 911 operators into pay grade 10 with the fire dispatchers, did not reinstate the previously lost seniority.

"Our years of service are not being recognized," explains Helen Jean Ebbert, a PCO since 1989 and plaintiff in the suit. "[My daughter is] at the wrong step—she's been there 12 years. She should have been at top pay last year and she's only at step number 8 now."

Nassau Chief Deputy County Executive Anthony Cancellieri recognizes the seniority problem, but stresses the importance of the county executive's pay grade adjustment—which cost the county about $1 million. He notes that it's only "a very small number" of employees who are currently affected.

"The county executive realized and acted very swiftly to correct the inequity that existed between Firecom and 911 as it relates to female operators making less," explains Cancellieri. "That problem does not exist today because of the county executive."

True, for new hires and others without significant seniority. But that "very small number"—primarily those with many years' experience—are not getting paid the same as men at Firecom with the same levels of seniority.

Cancellieri adds that Suozzi has authorized a countywide compensation review as well, currently underway, to identify and prioritize inequities, and attempt to provide solutions consistent with the county's ability to pay for them.

"If we tried to fix all of the problems now, we'd be broke," he explains.

In June, the Long Island Press reported that the police operators believed that the agreement worked out between Jane D'Amico, then president of their union, and Suozzi was little more than a mutual campaign gift, with Suozzi and D'Amico both running for reelection. ["See Jane Run," June 16].

"It was timed for her to win," says Ebbert.

After initially voting the agreement down, the police operators allege they were subject to a fear campaign of intimidation and pressure. Supervisors in management would question individuals who didn't vote yes and try to convince them to do so. A co-worker of Ebbert's—who works out of title and can't join the suit—called individuals into her office and had a list of who voted what, the operators said. One veteran operator was so rattled after a confrontation over the vote with her supervisor that she went to the hospital with chest pains. Another wrote a letter complaining about the harassment to D'Amico and LI Regional CSEA head Nick LaMorte. D'Amico categorically denied these charges to the Press.

The second vote went through. And so it is that even now, some of these operators are still being paid less than men with the same level of experience doing the same job.

D'Amico lost her re-election bid for the union leadership. Now, newly elected president Jerry Laricchiuta finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. While he says he supports the operators 100 percent, and that the union will do everything in its power to help them, he is concerned that the county may name the union as a co-defendant in the suit.

"I support the 911 operators because they're right," says Laricchiuta. "They were never granted true parity. Yes, they were given a vertical. They were given a title upgrade. But it wasn't true parity, because at the end of the day when the calculations were done, they were cheated out of some money."

Laricchiuta tells the Press that he approached the county executive as recently as two months ago and that Suozzi told him the county could not fix the problem at the time.

Both the plaintiff's attorney and the defendant's lawyer, specialists in civil rights in employment with more than 20 years experience each, are optimistic the women will eventually prevail.

"When women and men doing work that is not just comparable, but for the most part the same, don't get paid the same, it's against the law," says co-counsel Herb Eisenberg, of Manhattan-based Eisenberg & Schnell LLP. "When the government engages in that sort of activity it's an inappropriate use of governmental authority."

What's more, the attorneys view Suozzi's statements and action in April as an admission to the pay disparity.

"When they finally elevated these women to the same grade level as the men, they're basically admitting that they did equal work," explains co-counsel Janice Goodman, of the Manhattan-based Law Offices of Janice Goodman.

The operators are sticking to their guns. They raised the money for the suit through donations and fundraising events, such as plant sales. They view the lawsuit as their "voice," with 170 operators eligible to join. But the county PCOs' plight is just one battle in a very uphill campaign for all women to receive their due recognition and equality in the workplace. And unfortunately, there are still many mountains to climb before that can be achieved.

"We've gained about 15 cents over 30 years," says Goodman. "I find that glacial change appalling."

[Guest]

what is the starting pay for the region's county 911 dispatchers?

[Remember585 815]

what is the starting pay for the region's county 911 dispatchers?

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Crap. Does that answer your question?

[mikeinet 37]

What's the starting salary for most paid emergency services positions in the tri-state area.... :-/

[IzzyEng4 427]

What's the starting salary for most paid emergency services positions in the tri-state area.... :-/

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CT it depends where you work. Some towns and regional dispatch centers for full time start any where from $10 to $21 per hour. Like I said it depends where you work. Part tine is lower from 10 to 13 per hour. There is now salary positions that I know of unless your a director.

[mikeinet 37]

IzzyEng4: No doubt there *are* some places that are decent paying... but I'm just saying for the type of training, degree of dangerness (eh), and hours of work/stress... emergency services is one that is highly taken for granted

[spin_the_wheel 460]

Nassau Firecom dispatcher top base pay is about 60,000....and thats without nite diff, holiday pay, overtime, emd pay.....911 pd opps are about the same.....but do 3x the ammount of overtime.