Recognize 9-1-1 Professionals for the work they do
- by: Nicholas Z
- recipient: Bureau Of Labor Statistics
Recently the Bureau Of Labor Statistics refused to move 9-1-1 Call-Takers / Dispatchers / Telecommunicators from "Major Group 43-0000 (Office and Administrative Support Occupations)" to "Major Group 33-0000 (Protective Service Occupations)" in their Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for 2018.
https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/soc_responses.htm
The work these people do every day has caused numerous Organizations and parts of the Federal Government (Including the FBI) to dispute this. However, the Bureau Of Labor Statistics refuses to change their mind.
Sign this petition to demand the Bureau Of Labor Statistics re-evaluate their decision.
Some things to keep in mind about 9-1-1 Professionals:
- 9-1-1 Personnel are the FIRST First Responder, the take reports of emergencies when they are at their freshest, when the least amount of information is known, and then work hard to turn this into an incident that Responders can go to and mitigate. Doing all this while calming Callers, and keeping control of their own emotions no matter how much it hurts or what damage it causes them in the long term.
- Although these people do not work in a physically dangerous environment, stress and PTSD are a constant fact of life.
- 9-1-1 Centers throughout the country are chronically understaffed and the people working there are overworked, unsung, and under appreciated. Under constant stress, they must get things perfect, all the time, or else endanger lives and property or at least be complained on.
- Along with this, 9-1-1 Centers must have people on duty, all the time, days, nights, weekends, holidays, Christmas morning and Thanksgiving evening. These people are often forced to be On Call without compensation.
- Keep in mind some sounds that a 9-1-1 Call-Taker and Dispatcher (Telecommunicator) never forgets:
Sound of a scream from a mother whose baby stopped breathing.
Sound of that baby crying when he starts breathing again.
Sound of a parent who found their child has overdosed.
Sound of a child whose parent "Won't wake up".
Sound of a Firefigter's Mayday call.
Sound of the words "Shots Fired! Officer Down".
Sound of someone reading a suicide note, knowing you are the last voice they will hear, then hearing a gunshot, all before someone could get on scene with them.
Sound of silence on a phone or radio ... just waiting.
One other thing to think about when considering if these professionals are clerical workers or First Responders: What if you called 9-1-1 and no one answered, how would you get help? How would you contact the Fire Department, an Ambulance, or Law Enforcement? How would these people co-ordinate their efforts to successfully resolve an emergency?
Some Articles I Found Supporting that professionals who work at a 9-1-1 Center are in fact, First Responders:
http://ukiahpolice.com/news/hot-topics/thanks-dispatchers/
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/296650-911-dispatchers-are-not-clerical-workers
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/police-fire-and-ambulance-dispatchers.htm
http://www.nfro.org/who.html
https://www.policeone.com/police-products/communications/articles/222378006-Should-dispatchers-be-officially-classified-as-first-responders/
http://www.officer.com/article/12126826/are-9-1-1-dispatchers-first-responders
Sign PetitionSign Petitionhttps://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/soc_responses.htm
The work these people do every day has caused numerous Organizations and parts of the Federal Government (Including the FBI) to dispute this. However, the Bureau Of Labor Statistics refuses to change their mind.
Sign this petition to demand the Bureau Of Labor Statistics re-evaluate their decision.
Some things to keep in mind about 9-1-1 Professionals:
- 9-1-1 Personnel are the FIRST First Responder, the take reports of emergencies when they are at their freshest, when the least amount of information is known, and then work hard to turn this into an incident that Responders can go to and mitigate. Doing all this while calming Callers, and keeping control of their own emotions no matter how much it hurts or what damage it causes them in the long term.
- Although these people do not work in a physically dangerous environment, stress and PTSD are a constant fact of life.
- 9-1-1 Centers throughout the country are chronically understaffed and the people working there are overworked, unsung, and under appreciated. Under constant stress, they must get things perfect, all the time, or else endanger lives and property or at least be complained on.
- Along with this, 9-1-1 Centers must have people on duty, all the time, days, nights, weekends, holidays, Christmas morning and Thanksgiving evening. These people are often forced to be On Call without compensation.
- Keep in mind some sounds that a 9-1-1 Call-Taker and Dispatcher (Telecommunicator) never forgets:
Sound of a scream from a mother whose baby stopped breathing.
Sound of that baby crying when he starts breathing again.
Sound of a parent who found their child has overdosed.
Sound of a child whose parent "Won't wake up".
Sound of a Firefigter's Mayday call.
Sound of the words "Shots Fired! Officer Down".
Sound of someone reading a suicide note, knowing you are the last voice they will hear, then hearing a gunshot, all before someone could get on scene with them.
Sound of silence on a phone or radio ... just waiting.
One other thing to think about when considering if these professionals are clerical workers or First Responders: What if you called 9-1-1 and no one answered, how would you get help? How would you contact the Fire Department, an Ambulance, or Law Enforcement? How would these people co-ordinate their efforts to successfully resolve an emergency?
Some Articles I Found Supporting that professionals who work at a 9-1-1 Center are in fact, First Responders:
http://ukiahpolice.com/news/hot-topics/thanks-dispatchers/
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/296650-911-dispatchers-are-not-clerical-workers
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/police-fire-and-ambulance-dispatchers.htm
http://www.nfro.org/who.html
https://www.policeone.com/police-products/communications/articles/222378006-Should-dispatchers-be-officially-classified-as-first-responders/
http://www.officer.com/article/12126826/are-9-1-1-dispatchers-first-responders
See more petitions:
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.