COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – If Tuesday’s Branch County Board of Commissioners meeting is any indication, the gloves are off as the county and the union representing Branch County 911 dispatchers head into a Thursday negotiating session on a new contract. If no agreement is reached, then the negotiations will go to mediation.
Branch County 911 dispatchers, who are represented by the Police Officers Association of Michigan, have been working without a contract since the end of 2015. Branch County 911 dispatcher Rachel Olson told commissioners Tuesday the current two tier pay rate system does not promote long term employment.
She says that has meant some long hours for dispatchers if someone calls in sick or takes much needed vacation time.
Dispatcher Kristen Crabtree raised several concerns about the lack of a contract when she spoke to Commissioners on March 24th. After going into an executive session, the commissioners tried to address those concerns in a prepared statement which was read by Terri Norris. The statement indicated a change in unions by 911 employees slowed the ongoing negotiating process.
The statement also said the union has requested mediation but the county was not notified in advance. If it’s needed, a mediation session will take place next month. Norris said the county will continue to address the dispatchers demand to get rid of the two tier pay system at the bargaining table, not in the news media. She pointed out a proposal from the county on the pay system was discussed by 911 employees in public but the county have not received a response.
The statement concluded by saying commissioners have a duty to Branch County citizens to provide services and they want to reassure everybody 911 will respond to emergency calls but they also have a duty to the bargaining process.
Dispatchers took out a Shopper’s Guide ad recently which explained their side of the dispute. They expressed their unhappiness several months ago with the previous Board of Commissioners and County Administrator Bud Norman because they felt they were being “strong armed” into signing a contract that they said would increase by three times their insurance premiums.
