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Q&A
Council member inquires about 911 operator working conditions
8:27:47
ยท
128 sec
Council Member Yusef Salaam engages in a Q&A session with Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner, President of Local 5911 of DC 37, about the working conditions of 911 operators. The discussion reveals concerning information about excessive overtime and potential delays in emergency response.
- 911 operators are working 16-hour shifts daily, often on just 3-4 hours of sleep
- Calls to 911 are going into a recording system, potentially delaying response times
- There can be a 1-2 minute wait for a live operator, which could be critical in emergencies
Yusef Salaam
8:27:47
Thank you.
8:27:48
I do have a question for this panel.
8:27:50
How many hours of overtime are nine one one operators working?
Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner
8:27:56
Sixteen hours.
Yusef Salaam
8:27:57
Sixteen hours.
Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner
8:27:58
We are scheduled to work eight hours, some are on twelve but we're mandated for sixteen hour tours every day.
Yusef Salaam
8:28:04
You said every day?
Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner
8:28:06
Majority of the members ordered every day.
Yusef Salaam
8:28:08
Sixteen hours daily?
Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner
8:28:10
Every day.
Yusef Salaam
8:28:11
Nine one one calls?
Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner
8:28:13
Almost a 50 calls a day working on three to four hours sleep cause most of our members are working on three to four hours sleep every day for sixteen hours.
Yusef Salaam
8:28:23
And just you made a statement and I wanted to get some clarity.
8:28:31
You said that nine eleven calls are going to voicemail?
Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner
8:28:34
They're going into a recording system.
8:28:35
I have the recording for you when to provide to you as well.
8:28:38
As of today and last week when you call 911 you will get a recording stating telling you to stay on the line followed by a TT tap which is like a sounds like like you're going into a fax machine and it will continue to tell you to hold, hold, hold until a live operator comes on.
8:28:56
It can take up to a minute to two minutes for a live operator to come on.
8:29:01
The statement I made about the issue that happened today with one of the civilians was she had to wait for a minute or two for that call to go through ten minutes for EMS to respond to the person who needed assistance.
Robert F. Holden
8:29:13
Wow.
Yusef Salaam
8:29:15
Any time where the call is not being answered at all?
Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner
8:29:21
No, we eventually have pick up, eventually.
Yusef Salaam
8:29:25
But it could take time, like you're saying in terms of
Unknown
8:29:27
like
Yusef Salaam
8:29:26
It can take time.
Arisleyda Estrella-Skinner
8:29:27
Again, we are not aware what the caller is stating on the other line.
8:29:31
So you can have someone's child who is not breathing, she has to wait until that call gets responded for us to give her EMS on the line as well as if there's a fire in your home, you have to wait on the line until we get on live to transfer you to the fire department.
8:29:45
So no one gets the emergency dispatched until we are live on the phone call.
Robert F. Holden
8:29:51
Gotcha.
Yusef Salaam
8:29:53
Well thank you for your testimony.