UE dispatchers in Winsted, CT have turned back an attempt to privatize their jobs.
The town’s board of selectmen were told by the private firm, Litchfield County Dispatch (LCD), that privatization would save $100,000. It turned out that those “savings” were suspect, and dependent on getting $200,000 from the state through the governor’s scheme to promote regionalization. The town manager said privatization was inevitable, and told the union not to even bother fighting it.
But the members of Sub-local 33,UE Local 222, ignored that advice and jumped into action. The union’s investigation found that LCD didn’t have the experience or certification to handle police emergency calls, which are the bulk of the calls handled by Winsted dispatchers. LCD only had experience with fire and medical emergency calls.
Union members attended town council meetings each month, along with UE Local 222 President Marie Lausch, Trustee Margaret Pienkowski, and UE staff. Winsted residents came to the meetings and voiced their opposition to the scheme. Union members distributed leaflets pointing out the pitfalls of routing emergency calls through a remote dispatch center. Supporters went on public access TV and gave interviews to the press. As opposition grew, one of the newspapers came out against the plan and said the dispatchers were right.
The police also opposed the move to relocate dispatch to a remote facility, and the police chief testified in support of maintaining the call center next to the police department in Winsted. As the public learned more and more about the folly of the plan, the new town business manager announced his opposition to it, and after several months of being on the front burner, the proposal is dead. Union President Phil Bascetta said, “All that fighting panned out, and it was a great win for the union all around.”