| Corrections Clarifies Labor Negotiations |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 15, 1999
As the Department of Corrections and the union representing about 750 non-security corrections employees head into mediation today, some clarification is needed about issues that are on the table.
The department and the Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have been in labor negotiations for approximately 10 months. During that collaborative process, the majority of both parties' issues have been resolved, including issues regarding training and shift scheduling. These multiple tentative agreements are still in place as the final issues are ironed out.
Representatives of both parties are meeting today at the behest of an Employment Relations Board mediator. The only remaining issues to be worked out are a) paid leave time and b)wages. The parties have resolved all other issues by tentative agreement. The outstanding issues are detailed on the attached sheet.
Employees of the union have indicated their intent to strike on Monday morning at 12:01. When the strike vote was taken in August, an agreement had not yet been reached regarding additional training for non-security staff who work with or around inmates. The department and the union have subsequently reached a tentative agreement regarding the training issues and they are, in fact, not included in the union's official strike notice.
The Department of Corrections has used the time since the strike vote to prepare contingency plans in the event a strike does, indeed, occur. Those plans include deploying management staff into critical jobs that keep the prisons' infrastructure running. Those include areas such as health services, food services, physical plant, and supply delivery services. Few temporary workers are expected to be hired.
It is important to know that security staff, such as correctional officers, are members of unions that are not permitted to strike. Because managers will be filling in in positions that are critical, prison security will not be compromised. The only anticipated disruption in services is curtailment or limited provision of some programs such as work based education, alcohol and drug treatment, and religious services. Elective health care will be limited.
The Department of Corrections has 13 prisons; eight of them would be affected by the potential strike. Additionally, the department's central administration would be impacted.
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last revision 2-22-2000 peg cook
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