ATLANTA — Atlanta city employees have been unable to take vacation time because there aren’t enough employees to cover their shifts. The result is lost benefits and lost employees who find better circumstances in other jobs.
When the city has waves of protests like those surrounding the proposed public safety training center – or big scheduled events like the AJC Peachtree Road Race -- the Atlanta Police Department typically bulks up its street presence by disallowing vacations.
Police officers learn to expect it.
"They always have blackout dates (for vacations)," said Vince Champion, regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, which represents Atlanta police.
He says the problem is getting vacations rescheduled – especially in an environment where scheduling normal weekly shifts is already a chronic headache.
"Every day, you deal with staffing issues. Because if you’re short-staffed, it’s hard to give vacations," Champion said.
Atlanta city council members said this week the city needs to find a way to schedule reliable vacations for police, fire, and other workers, or else their staffing shortages will get even worse.
"This issue exists across departments," Councilman Dustin Hillis told councilmembers Monday. "There are many, many weeks of the year where they cannot take vacations. They get their previously approved vacations canceled."
Yet, it’s an issue bigger than the City of Atlanta. Across the economy, there are worker shortages, straining flexibility for vacation scheduling.
"Ever since the pandemic, getting people to come back and work is hard," Champion said.
Council members say they expect to be able to vote on a plan in January to at least begin to fix the city’s vacation problem. Champion says a real solution won’t be easy.