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Do you have forced OT at your department?  Do you get "stuck" alot? can you take comp time, or are you paid OT?

We have alot of Mandatory OT here, there are only 5 dispatchers, and two are out right now, it is based on seniority, so usually Im the one with the ot.  We have the option of taking comp time to use at a later date, or we can take the OT.  I take one shift in OT, then one in comp ect.  It works out fairly well.  How are things where you are?

heard of it, but we NEVER get to take advantage of it. Would be nice sometimes to have some extra cash.

I know what you mean, alot of people here end up seeing Dr Summeroff

What is OT?  

When I first started back in 87, there was only one other girl and me hired in together and the 2 of us got stuck ALOT being forced an additional 8... nothing to work 16hrs. 3rd shift/1st shift were the worst... Thru the years and the addition of more dispatchers (whiny punks) didn't like being forced the full 8, so our supervisor started doing half and half... unless someone wanted all 8.  Looked good on the paycheck tho.

I have 3 dispatchers under me for a total of 4...and we just got hit with the hurricane. 3 weeks of straight 12s, and now we are on rotating 12s, we almost had a new hire but the storm put a stop to that.

Because of our schedule we have 8 hours of overtime every two weeks. Our county doesn't believe in overtime so we get Comp time.

Probkem is the county has figured out a way to screw us out of that, too. You see, our pay week starts on Wednesday and ends on Tuesday, so depending on which rotation you work on (we'll use mine for example) the first week youll work Wed, Thurs, Mon, Tues (48 hours) then the second week you work Fri,Sat, Sun (36 hours).

Now keep in mind, that no matter how much we work, we only get $$$$ for 80 hrs on our paycheck, this is important to remember when reading further.

The total hours for the pay period above (48+36) = 84 hours, right? (you dont need to do the math 'cause I already did :) )

OK....According to the schedule I have already worked enough to get paid for my 80 hrs and put the rest in the time bank, Right?

Wrong....u see beacuse I only work 36 hours the second week of the pay period I have to burn 4 hrs of comp time because my weekly total HAS to equal 40 hrs, even though the first week was 8 hrs. Now I get paid EVERY 2 WEEKS, not every week, so in effect I have to burn 4hrs of comp time for ZERO RETURN, I get nothing for it.

Now here is the real kick in the crotch:

When I started, and for more than 8 years, we simply put 4 12's on our 1st week and 3 12's on the 2nd week and the 4 hrs of COMP  for a total of 88hrs on our sheets. You take the 8 hrs of comp from week one, multiply by 1.5 amd we earn 12 hrs of comp every two weeks, subtract out the 4 used for week two, and we were putting away 8 hrs of comp in the account for a rainy day......it made the screwing a bit more palatable and not many people were complaining....not anymore...

Now, they force us to put 4 11 hrs shifts on week 1 (1hr off for a lunch wether you take it or not) and three 12's on week 2. so now you only get 44 hrs, + 36 hrs,= 80.....oh, and u still have to put the 4hrs of comp on the second week so now you only get 4 x 1.5=6-4= 2 hrs to pu away...that is BULLSHIT...the worst part is thats not coming from the dept, thats comong fron the tight wads at the county govt who act like they are paying us out of their personal bank accounts. I tell my people if they dont get to take their lunch put 12 down for that shift, but then they (and I) catch heat from higher up. Threats have been made in the past that if people didn't conform they might invest in time clocks.

Good luck. If i got paid based on a time clock, they would be owing me BIG TIME. I regulary work way more than my time sheet shows (15-20 min before shift to 10-15 min after shift adds up multiplied times 7 days in a period) I regulary work 88-89 hours every two weeks, way more than the 84 we used to put down and the 80 we put down now....