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Cradle robbing in Penetang?
U.S. problems could be headed here

With droves of experienced correctional officers saying “no thanks” to an offer to work for a private prison company, a serious problem emerging in the United States could find its way into Penetanguishene.

A New York Times report last weekend chronicled the severe shortage of correctional officers across the country, prompting many states to lower the minimum age for staff to 18 from 21. Called “cradle robbing” by critics, this is a substantial change in the state prison system, which is equivalent to the Canadian federal corrections system.

George Camp, co-president of the Criminal Justice Institute, an independent group that studies prisons, says that every state is being affected. “In some jurisdictions it’s a matter of wages,” Camp said. “In others it’s simply a lack of potential workers.”

Staff turnover rates in U.S. prisons have risen steadily in recent years, with several states losing more people a year than they are able to hire. An average of 16 percent of officers left in 1999, up from 9.6 percent in 1991, according to the Corrections Yearbook, published by the Criminal Justice Institute. In some states the number is much higher: Arkansas lost 42 percent.

Turnover is especially high among new staff. In Oklahoma, which is considering lowering its minimum age to 18 from 21, 57 percent of last year’s recruits have already quit, officials say. And in Alabama, which is short 412 corrections officers, even after lowering its minimum age to 20 from 21, John Hamm, a corrections department spokesman, estimated that last year 180 officers were hired, but 240 quit.

In Ontario, the minimum age for provincial correctional officers is 18 years old. However, younger officers were entering a workplace that had a large contingent of experienced officers. With less than 50 officers willing to risk working for a private company, at least 75 per cent of the staff at Penetanguishene will be young, inexperienced and, if the U.S. example holds true, likely to quit within the first year. This could spell disaster for the remaining staff and the town itself.

In the U.S., some states are even mothballing new prisons due to staffing shortages. Why the turnover? It’s mainly due to a myriad of problems that are already quite familiar to Ontario correctional officers. Overcrowding. Unfilled staff vacancies. Inmates who are heavy drug users and/or mentally ill, with no programs for rehabilitation. Forced overtime. Shifts running short of staff. Lack of proper searches. Any of this ringing a bell?

Some prisons are offering signing bonuses to recruits or giving bonuses or savings bonds to staff members who manage to recruit guards. Some are advertising on television, taking to the Internet or using direct-mail blitzes. And many are swooping down on factory or mine closings and peppering military bases with help-wanted posters. Still others offer free room and board, or free transportation, to officers who live far away.

American corrections departments and officers’ unions are constantly pushing for pay raises for a job whose starting salary averages $23,000 a year nationally. In Oklahoma, where nearly one-fifth of the positions are empty and overtime pay is skyrocketing, the starting salary is $16,742 a year, below poverty level for a family of four.

Aside from the cost in dollars, there is the cost to overburdened officers, exhausted from long hours and the stress of having to deal with a revolving door of inexperienced staff. Officers say they become less attentive and more forgetful in these situations, and more afraid that inmates will take advantage of the fact that they are stretched too thin.

“Put together the shortage of officers, the size of the system, the attrition rate and new officers coming on line almost all of the time, and you have a dynamite keg,” said Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). “You have a real threat in terms of the security of state prisons.”

Ontario has a proud tradition of a safe, secure and professional correctional system. But with the problems of the American system replicating themselves with stunning rapidity here, and the planned privatization of Penetanguishene, the nightmare of U.S. corrections could become an Ontario reality.

Button campaign picking up speed

It started as a simple slogan that expressed the morale in corrections perfectly.

Wayne Stovell, treasurer at Local 341 (Millbrook C.C.), came up with the idea of “Enough is Enough.” Now, members at five Region 3 institutions are proudly wearing buttons on duty with Wayne’s slogan this week. As the popularity of this first step in the “Whatever It Takes” campaign picks up speed, OPSEU is expecting an order of 10,000 of these buttons to arrive next week for distribution province-wide.

“I’m personally fed up with the lack of respect being shown to us by our employers,” said Stovell. “I’ve had enough, and so has every other dedicated correctional officer that I know.”

Barrie Jail, Lindsay Jail, Millbrook C.C., Peterborough Jail and Brookside Youth Centre are the institutions already taking action. As soon as the additional buttons arrive, they will be sent to every corrections work site.

It’s a very important first step.

Conference calls happen next week

Conference calls are being set up for Wednesday, May 2 to ensure that all locals are up to speed on the direction the corrections campaign is taking. Local presidents or highest-ranking officials will be notified next week of the times and numbers.

Corrections bargaining team elected

On Saturday, April 21 delegates to regional meetings across the province elected the team that will negotiate the next corrections bargaining unit OPS collective agreement.

Elected are:

Region 1: Mark Kotenan, Local 128
Region 2: Barry Scanlon, Local 230
Region 3: Larry Cripps, Local 309
Region 4: Jim Bothwell, Local 467
Region 5: Dave Graves, Local 521
Region 6: Rick Dagenais, Local 642
Region 7: Len Mason, Local 737

This Saturday, April 28, the team will meet in Toronto to elect one of the members to the Central bargaining team. That member’s first alternate will then take their place.

We wish these members as well as our Central team the best of luck as they make preparations to battle the Harris government’s agenda.

Solid links to be established

On Friday, April 27, the OPSEU Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee (MERC), the Corrections Provincial Health and Safety Committee and the newly elected Corrections bargaining team jointly met to discuss issues and positions for the upcoming round of bargaining. The meeting took place at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at the Toronto Airport.

This is the first time that these three groups have officially met as a unit to discuss bargaining strategy. This liaison will form a solid foundation for the upcoming negotiations. Well done!

Escort policy non-negotiable

Sporadic reports have been coming in that the provincial inmate escort policy is being breached at certain facilities. It is also being reported that institutional managers are approaching local union officials in an attempt to strike a “side deal” on deviations to the agreement.

Locals are reminded that the policy on escorts is that two trained officers at the Correctional Officer 2 (C.O.2) level and a driver must accompany ANY inmate escorted into the community. There are no provisions for any deviation from this policy.

If your local institution is not adhering to this policy, we ask that you notify Daryl Pitfield, chair of the OPSEU Provincial Health and Safety Committee, at once. Please also report to Daryl if you or anyone in the local has been approached by management to sign a local agreement that deviates from the policy.

Daryl can be reached via the Sault Ste. Marie OPSEU office at (705) 949-5706 or fax at (705) 949-0326.

A milestone reached!

It was like an invisible wall, but the 200 barrier has been breached.

The number of current and former municipalities that have officially opposed privately run correctional services has now reached 200, with the addition of the Municipality of Brethour (north of New Liskeard).

Congratulations to our Resolution Warrior, Len Mason of Local 737 (Thunder Bay Jail). Without Len’s massive effort on this task, we would still be below the 100 mark. Thank you, Len, for all of your time and effort. Next stop: 300!

For campaign information, call Don Ford (ext. 442) or Pam Doig (ext. 687) at 1-800-268-7376 or (416) 443-8888.

e-mail: dford@opseu.org or pdoig@opseu.org

.Ontario Public Service Employees Union
100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8
www.opseu.org  opseu@opseu.org
Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.

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Ontario Public Service Employees Union, 100 Lesmill Rd. Toronto, ON M3B 3P8  (416) 443-8888  www.opseu.org