To My Brothers and Sisters Who Work for the U.S. Bureau of PrisonsNovember 2, 2009By Bill Gillette (Bill Gillette wrote this in response to recent outbreak of violence at the United States Penitentiary – Lewisburg in Pennsylvania during which five BOP officers were hurt) We may have to navigate some obstacles and work through various schedules but I have a great deal of trust and admiration for each of you and I'm confident something positive will come of this. What ever happens, I'd like the message to be as straight forward and void of the drama that sometimes gets attached to these issues. It's not my position to attack the Bureau administration or any of its leadership. Frankly theirs plenty of blame to go around at many levels. Staffing and funding is the only issue I care to address right now, to often I see a laundry list of issues being brought forward and many have their pet projects or agenda's to discuss, but none of those issues are as urgent a priority as staffing. High tech fences are a nice security addition to any facility, but won't save a officer if he or she is being assaulted by a inmate. The best camera systems are useless if you don't have the staff to monitor then. When you continue to use non custody staff, who are not familiar with the inmates or post requirements, you have greater chance of a inmate taking advantage of the situation. Yes we are all correctional officers first, but a correctional officer by position is a much better equipped and efficient performer than those filling a void. The receptionist working at the local garage is capable of scheduling appointments, billing and other administrative functions, but would you be comfortable if that same receptionist was changing your brakes the day you brought your vehicle in for repair due to the brake specialist calling in sick. Just because you work under the same roof don't mean you can perform the same function. It's all about staffing, staffing, staffing. I think generally we are some what safe in our jobs, with that being said, I make this comparison, 20 years ago we drove around with seat belts in our vehicles, then they added anti-locking brakes, and air bags, all this in a effort to make the vehicle safer. In this case, the Federal Bureau of Prisons essentially has had some of those safety devices removed, their are increase inmates in the facilities, but not staffing, they use non custody staff to fill a custody position, they house rival gangs together and force them to get along and it has not worked, so instead of following our contract and lower the inherent risks in the institutions they have increased those risks. We must do something about this situation now. |
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To My Brothers and Sisters Who Work for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons
November 2, 2009 Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on House Health Care Legislation October 29, 2009 The Case For Big Government October 22, 2009 All Official Blogs  Public Blogs
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