Page 6 - Work Force January 2024

'I love my job:' Alban reflects on roles as dispatcher, union activist
Editor’s Note: For 24 years, Priscilla Alban, a 911 dispatcher at Clinton County, has been the voice of comfort and calm for many North Country callers in need. During a discussion with The Work Force’s Therese Assalian, Alban reflects on her career and gives readers a glimpse into
the vital work dispatchers do in the communities they serve. Alban also discusses her role as union steward and activist.
Therese Assalian (TA): Being a dispatcher can be quite stressful, yet you are so positive about the work you have done. Why is that?
Priscilla Alban (PA): Yes, I am
truly fortunate to be able to say
I love my job. There are so many positive aspects to the job we do knowing that we are there to help people who may be at the worst
time of their lives. Being able to
offer reassurances that help is coming, as well as compassion and sometimes sympathy, is an important
component to the job.
There can be very stressful times
where the adrenaline goes into overdrive, but you learn to work through those times, do the job and hopefully get a minute of calm to catch your breath and center yourself before the next call.
We also are certified to give pre- arrival instructions to our callers, which often gives them a feeling
of security and that they are doing everything they can to help the patient before the “professionals” arrive.
Another aspect of the job that appeals to me is that every day is different. When your shift ends, you leave with a clean slate. Tomorrow is always a new day!
TA: Where geographically do calls come in from and what kind of services do you dispatch?
PA: In our center, we handle all 911 calls in the county. Because of our geographic location, we also receive
911 calls from neighboring areas such as Vermont, Quebec and sister counties. We process and dispatch all EMS and fire calls and transfer law enforcement calls to the proper agencies.
We have 24 fire departments in our county; 22 are volunteer and two are paid departments. We can also dispatch five Canadian and one Vermont fire department that are part of our mutual aid system.
We have eight paid EMS departments and 11 volunteer EMS departments. We work alongside New York State Police, Clinton County Sheriff, Plattsburgh City Police and Plattsburgh State University Police.
TA: Any calls stand out as being particularly satisfying?
PA: I have handled every type of call that can be imagined, many very difficult calls, but some positive ones, also. I’ve helped with the delivery of three babies before EMS arrived and I’ve had many cardiac
Alban (Photo provided by Emy Pombrio.) saves which helps gets you through
the tough ones.
It will be bittersweet leaving a
job I love, but I head to retirement knowing I have helped many and done it to the best of my ability and that brings me much pride and satisfaction.
TA: Tell us about your involvement with CSEA and your local?
PA: During my time with the county, I have also had the honor of serving my co-workers and department as shop steward for our CSEA Clinton County Employees Local for more than 15 years. That and having been able to see us through a reallocation and change to our shift schedule gives me great satisfaction.
Getting to yes in Mount Vernon after lengthy fight
MOUNT VERNON — Members of our union’s City of Mount Vernon Unit recently overwhelmingly approved a new contract deal following a years- long fight for fairness and equity that was mired along the way by political hurdles.
According to Unit President Taryn Vanderberg, it was the unit’s efforts to strengthen their labor- management relationship with
the current city administration
that helped them finally reach an agreement. The unit’s previous contract expired at the end of 2017.
“Our current mayor and comptroller see how hard we work,” said Vanderberg. “Everybody was just working together to get this contract done.”
The city’s current mayor, Shawyn Patterson-Howard, has been working to stabilize the city’s finances and
labor relations since taking office
in 2020. Complicating matters was the tenure of former elected city comptroller Deborah Reynolds, who refused to provide necessary financial details that would allow city leaders to negotiate with CSEA with a clear picture of city finances. Reynolds’s actions as comptroller came under criticism from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli following an audit by DiNapoli’s office.
It was under Patterson-Howard and current comptroller Darren Morton’s watch that a tentative agreement was finally reached after roughly six years without a contract.
“Quite a few members have
come and said thank you to our negotiating committee because they know what we were going through,” said Vanderberg.
The new agreement runs from the beginning of 2018 through the end of 2023 and includes the payment
of the wage increases that the previous comptroller had withheld during the previous contract term. In the new contract, members
are receiving wage increases for each year, increases in longevity, and provisions for clothing and equipment allowances.
To Vanderberg, one of the
most meaningful parts of the contract stems from before the previous contract’s expiration. Some city bargaining units, but
not all, received additional wage increases under a previous mayor that ran from 2014 to 2017, raises that were not allocated for CSEA members. Appealing to the current administration, Vanderberg and the union negotiating team got the
city to agree to include retroactive pay covering the costs of those increases had they been paid out to CSEA members at that time, a move to improve equity amongst bargaining units.
“This administration honors our city’s history of pattern bargaining,” said Vanderberg.
In addition to securing a solid contract, Vanderberg, who has served on and off in her role for years, used negotiations to help newer CSEA activists sharpen their skills and keep the unit strong into the future.
“Our negotiating committee included newer members and we did our best to get feedback from everyone,” said Vanderberg.
— Jessica Ladlee
6 The Work Force
January 2024