09/11/2026
Strengthening America’s emergency response system starts with supporting the workers who answer 9-1-1
By David Holway and Thomas McKeever
As we mark the somber 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, our nation stands in solidarity in remembering the victims and honoring the first responders who rushed to help. However, we cannot allow another anniversary to pass without recognizing the crucial role of the dispatchers who answer 911 emergency calls. By some bureaucratic oversight, these unsung heroes are not treated as first responders by the federal government and many states, but as administrative support, a mislabeling that is both dangerous and disrespectful.
Before a police officer, firefighter or EMT can even respond, a public safety telecommunicator must answer the call, assess the situation and dispatch the right people to the scene. Our unions represent hundreds of 911 dispatchers across the country. They include Debbie Hart-Knox, a member of NAGE who was working at the Washington, D.C. 911 Center on September 11, 2001.
“I had the television on when the news began to broadcast about the Twin Towers and what had transpired,” she recalled recently. “I immediately began to get prepared to go into work. There were no questions to ask. There were no phone calls to make. There was only one action to take, and that was to respond.”
Unsung heroes like Ms. Hart-Knox are the first point of contact in virtually every emergency. Every year, they handle approximately 240 million emergency calls nationwide each year. However, our members in these essential roles worry about what will happen to rural, urban and suburban communities if federal lawmakers and agencies continue to deny them crucial support and resources given to other public safety personnel.
As first responders know, time is of the essence, and it’s time for Congress to act to properly support and recognize public safety telecommunicators by advancing the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services (SAVES) Act, H.R. 637. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a former FBI special agent, and Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.), a former 911 dispatcher, have championed the legislation in the House. The Senate previously approved related legislation unanimously, demonstrating broad bipartisan recognition of the vital role public safety telecommunicators play in protecting communities.
Mike Shackford, chapter president of SEIU Local 888, works in emergency communications for the Boston Police Department as both a dispatcher and a dispatch trainer. He is urging the Massachusetts legislature to properly recognize 911 dispatchers as “initial first responders” and provide them with the same internal public safety benefits afforded to police officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel. In his 20 years of service, Shackford has guided callers and coordinated large-scale, multi-agency responses during crises such as the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the ensuing manhunt.
“These experiences taught me something the public already instinctively understands,” Mr. Shackford said. “Dispatchers are not clerical workers answering phones. We are making life-and-death decisions in real time.”
Despite increasing demand for emergency services, emergency communications centers face growing challenges in recruiting and retaining workers. A survey conducted by NENA and Carbyne, found that emergency communications centers across the country are experiencing significant staffing shortages, with many reporting vacancy rates exceeding 20 percent. As a result, workers must have to take on mandatory overtime and extended shifts, increasing burnout and placing additional strain on emergency response systems. When highly trained emergency communications professionals are categorized as administrative support staff, it becomes harder for local governments to recruit, develop, retain and properly compensate these workers.
Reclassifying public safety telecommunicators is more than symbolic; it is a necessary fix. At a time when policymakers are making much-needed investments in public safety, emergency preparedness, cybersecurity and infrastructure resilience, federal workforce policies must reflect operational realities.
Every emergency begins with a call for help. Congress must respond to the call by passing the 911 SAVES Act and properly recognizing public safety telecommunicators as the essential first responders they already are.
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David Holway is the National President of the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE).
Thomas McKeever is the President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 888, representing 8,000 public service workers in Massachusetts.
