By The Star Staff
Authentic Union of Emergency Managers (SAME by its acronym in Spanish) President Liz M. Colón Alicea agreed on Monday with governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón’s remarks in which she said she was not inclined to keep Nino Correa Filomeno on as commissioner of the Bureau of Emergency Management and Disaster Administration (NMEAD).
The union leader stated that NMEAD is in operational and administrative chaos. She said that since 2021, the union has been exposing numerous situations that have adversely affected the bureau’s operations, such as the health and safety of NMEAD employees. Yet nothing has happened, she said, since Correa has described these complaints as attacks against him, ignoring the problems and deficiencies currently existing in the administrative processes at NMEAD.
Colón Alicea listed examples that demonstrate what she called “the crisis and poor administration in the Bureau,” as she denounced the shortage of personnel needed in all NMEAD offices to respond to an emergency and maintain 24/7 operations.
She also complained of the dislocation of the chain of command in the event of an emergency, mismatched instructions to employees, bureaucracy in recruitment processes, and deficiencies in the management of the UKG assistance system.
The union leader noted further that ventilation problems continue in several offices because the air conditioning systems are damaged, forcing employees to be in work areas for months without any natural ventilation in a sealed building. Employees with health conditions suffer from the high temperatures, she said, adding that the same thing happens in the regional offices since those need more basic and essential services due to the lack of equipment and facilities maintenance.
Colón Alicea specified the Ceiba Regional Office, which she said is currently operating with an electrical generator and is facing problems that make this and other NMEAD offices inoperative.
Likewise, the union leader confirmed the absence of maintenance employees because their contracts are not renewed on time. Colón Alicea added that the same thing happens with security guard services in NMEAD facilities, since contracts are not renewed on time.
She stressed the need for more equipment, emergency vehicles, and uniforms for employees. Emergency Performance Grant funds are lost, Colón Alicea said, due to the lack of administration and ignorance of the bureau’s leadership, leaving NMEAD thousands of dollars in debt to suppliers and with no one wanting to provide services to it.
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