Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade: 911 Dispatchers May Strike

PITTSBURGH, PA — Allegheny County officials and the union representing county 911 dispatchers will meet Friday in an attempt to avert a one-day strike on March 12 - the day of Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Irate over the lack of a new contract and mandatory overtime due to the pandemic, dispatchers have authorized a single-day work stoppage on one of the busiest days of the year for city and county public safety workers.

Pittsburgh has one of the nation's largest St. Patrick's Day parades, with more than 200 marching units, bands and floats. The event usually attracts between 200,000 to 350,000 spectators.

Afterwards, revelers typically flood bars in many city and county neighborhoods.

Asked if a contingency plan was in place in the event of a dispatchers strike, county spokesperson Amie Downs told Patch via email, "We have contingency plans for all possibilities."

County officials previously have noted that in the past year, the county has reached agreements with 12 of 14 unions with expired contracts.

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