Change to 12-Hour Shift to Cover Vacancies

Dispatchers at the Allegany County (Md.) 911 Joint Communications Center might switch to 12-hour shifts soon to cover what the local union calls a “dangerous” shortage of personnel. Some dispatchers are now working 16-hour shifts for five days in a row, or double the ordinary work week. “We don’t need a tired dispatcher in the middle of a police chase or fire,” said Jim Bestpitch of the Western Maryland Central Labor Council. Bestpitch said he proposed the shift change to county officials, who are now studying it. Read more about the overtime situation and the resulting over-budget situation here.