Sherman
CATSKILL — Deb Sherman won’t soon forget the day in December 2014 when she was fired from her job as an emergency services dispatcher for Greene County.
“I got called in to a meeting the day before my one-year anniversary,” she said. “I was excited because I thought it meant I was passing my probation and then would be eligible for full-time work and overtime.”
Her supervisor promptly fired her, explaining that she “wasn’t the right fit.”
When Sherman asked for more details, her supervisor said she was being treated fairly and she was “lucky.”
“He said, ‘We could have just sent you a letter stating you were terminated,’” she said. “I didn’t even have words. I was devastated.”
“I thought they would at least give me two weeks and here he is acting like he has extended me some kind of courtesy,” Sherman said.
Sherman has moved on to another job at a school district not far from her Catskill home and wasn’t interested in returning to her old position.
Sherman is happy about getting her pension credits and some back pay, but mostly, she is relieved that the legal wrangling is over and she can move on with her life.
“I’m just glad my union had my back,” she said. “People always ask, ‘what do we need a union for?’” she said. “Well, I have a story for them!”
— Therese Assalian
