Corrections officers in the Upper Peninsula are calling on the state to address a "staffing crisis" — they say is creating unsafe working conditions in prisons.
Officers will be hosting three informational pickets at correctional facilities in Marquette, Baraga and Chippewa counties next week.
Byron Osborn is the president of the Michigan Corrections Organization, the union that represents state corrections officers. He said 183 new recruits this summer isn't enough to fill roughly 1,000 vacancies across the state.
"There are now too many lines of work that aren't as dangerous as ours, that have equitable pay and benefits, to what the corrections officers have," Osborn said.
According to reports from the union, the staff vacacy rate ranges from 23-33% at the Marquette Brnach Prison, Chippewa, Kinross and Baraga correctional facilities.
Osborn said the staffing problems are leading to overtime rule violations and stirring up conflicts in the prisons.
"Working 16 hours day, multiple times per week can be extremely taxing, not just on your physical and mental health but your relationships with family," he said. "People are struggling to even do routine things."
The Michigan Department of Corrections said it supports a recently introduced bill that eliminates college credit requirements for new officer recruits. An existing wavier already allows recruits to start working without the credits for a 24-month period.
Osborn said this bill doesn't address the legitimate barriers for staff recruitment and retention like competitive wages, healthcare and retirement benefits.
However, Osborn said the union supports proposed legislation that would allow corrections officers to enroll in the Michigan State Police hybrid pension plan.
U.P. representatives Dave Prestin, Greg Markkanen, Ed McBroom, Neil Friske and John Damoose may be joining picketing officers next week. The union plans to host more informational pickets at other correctional facilities across the state later this year.
