As the union representing more than 30,000 Bureau of Prisons employees nationwide, AFGE is proud to honor and recognize correctional officers for their contributions to our country during National Correctional Officers Week, which this year falls on May 7-13.
Correctional officers put their lives on the line every day they come to work to ensure safety and security of our local communities. We must pause to remember those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their co-workers and country.
“This week, Correctional Officer and Employee Week, is reserved to recognize and celebrate the nearly 500,000 correctional employees across the United States. These are extraordinary human beings that run towards danger when most people go the other way. They hold the last line of defense between good and evil in our society,” said Shane Fausey, national president of AFGE Council of Prison Locals representing Bureau of Prison employees across the country.
“Most importantly, we take pause to remember those men and women that have died in the line of duty protecting the American way of life. We are forever grateful and indebted to them and their families,” he added.
This year we continue to celebrate and uplift the voices of correctional officers. We thank them for their commitment and dedication to the job and their service to America.
Bryan Anderson, United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Inez, Kentucky
Bryan is president of AFGE Local 612. He was a correctional officer for nine years. For the last two years, he has been a material handler supervisor, supervising inmate workers in the prison's commissary, laundry, and warehouses.
Why did you decide to join public service?
I decided to join public service as I transitioned out of the Army. I have always been drawn towards work that others view as potentially dangerous and challenging. The benefits and stability of government work, relative to the private sector, were also appealing.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is the people I work with. We may have times when we don't see eye to eye, but I know I can count on them when it really matters. It has been humbling to watch the way they come together to help each other. We have had staff members lose their homes to fire and floods. We have had staff members experience the loss of a loved one. Time after time they come together to help their co-workers shoulder some of that burden.
What is the most pressing issue correctional officers are facing and what can your agency or Congress do about it?
The most pressing issue we are facing is staffing levels. We have had to do more with less for a long time now. It makes an already stressful job even more so. The agency and Congress can help by making our pay scale more competitive with other federal law enforcement agencies and streamlining our hiring process. Our wages have been outpaced by the private sector in a very tight labor market. It is hard to attract qualified candidates when jobs that are less dangerous have wages that are comparable to ours. It is also challenging to land those candidates when your hiring procedure is measured in months, instead of days.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
What I wish people knew about my job is that it isn't like what you see in the movies or on TV. You have to be an effective communicator to succeed in this career. You aren't going to "tough guy" your way through it. Between the staff and the inmates, there are a lot of different personalities you encounter in a workday. You have to be able to talk to people, but more importantly, you have to be able to listen. It can be dangerous. You have to be alert and aware of what is going on around you from the time you walk in until the time you walk out. We generally don't say much to our families and loved ones about what goes on here. It's a different world and it's difficult to explain to people. One of my co-workers recently described it best. It's like living two different lives – your work life and your home life. The challenge is trying to leave the stress and the mentality behind when you go home at night.
William Stokes, Federal Correctional Institution Tucson, Arizona
William is vice president of Local 3955 and western region legislative coordinator. He’s been a Correctional Professional since 2006.
Why did you decide to join public service?
I decided to join public service to try and make a difference in people’s lives. I grew up in a unique scenario with one side of my family in prisons and the other side working in the prison system so my perception has always been different than most correctional officers.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is knowing that I have made a difference in a few lives. My unionism has helped countless staff at my local and has made me a more well-rounded individual outside of work where I use my story to guide underserved youth in Tucson.
What is the most pressing issue correctional officers are facing and what can your agency or Congress do about it?
The most pressing issue in the Federal Bureau of Prisons is staffing. Correctional officers have a measly life expectancy of just 58 years and are forced to retire at 57, which is abysmal. Staffing prisons adequately would help in so many ways, right now you have a 2,080-hour work year and most correctional professionals in the Bureau of Prisons are working over 3,000 hours a year, most of which is mandated. PTSD is 34% higher in corrections than other law enforcement and the military – and that doesn’t even begin to touch the suicide rate and other trying things that could be eased by staffing adequately.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
I want people to know that the movies portray correctional officers horribly and inaccurately. We have bad apples like any other profession, but the majority of us are doing the right thing and maintaining a dangerous environment courageously and professionally.
Ruffin George III, Federal Detention Center, Houston
Ruffin is vice president of Local 1030 in Houston, Texas. He has been a correctional worker for approximately 13 years. He works in the facilities department as a maintenance worker supervisor.
Why did you decide to join public service?
I decided to join public service first and foremost because I knew it would allow me to provide a wonderful life for my family and me. Secondly, I knew it had a great retirement plan that doesn't require me to work until I’m too old to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Thirdly, the Bureau of Prisons Corrections is the nation's largest federal law enforcement agency and has a stellar reputation of being number one regarding correctional excellence. I knew I had to be committed to the mission and continue to hold up the torch that all the correctional professionals before me left burning.
Fourthly, I knew that I could make a difference in the lives of coworkers I will encounter while pursuing this career as a correctional worker by displaying leadership and integrity. I'm also committed to transforming the lives of incarcerated individuals by consistently enforcing BOP rules and regulations and teaching those incarcerated individuals various craftsman trades while paying their debt back to society by serving out their sentences inside our Bureau of Prisons facilities.
Undoubtedly, being consistent with BOP rules and regulations and teaching incarcerated individuals craftsman's trades will one day help them become productive individuals living in the same community where each of us lives.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is waking up knowing that I'm part of an agency with approximately 121 facilities with about 159,000 inmates serving sentences and still finding a way to put public safety as number one. I'm beginning to see that the First Step Act benefits incarcerated individuals and becoming a priority in the BOP. The First Step Act is essential to all my correctional brothers and sisters because it cuts out a lot of idle time for inmates and gives them more options to become productive citizens and return to their respective communities.
What is the most pressing issue correctional officers are facing and what can your agency or Congress do about it?
The most pressing issue is not new to most but staffing levels have been at the forefront for quite some time now. When discussing staffing levels, it's not only just in correctional services. We need more staff in many vital areas that require programming, including Unit teams, Facilities departments, Education, and Recreation. Each department listed plays a crucial role in the First Step Act and reducing recidivism. We can significantly impact recidivism more if we get the staffing complement up.
We are the nation's largest federal law enforcement agency and the lowest paid federal law enforcement agency. The current pay band is far behind other federal law enforcement agencies, such as U.S. Marshals, Immigration and Customs (ICE), and Border Patrol. Because of market anomalies, the pay scale used by the BOP is cataclysmically uncompetitive with private sector jobs, state and local law enforcement positions, and other federal agencies. Without a competitive pay structure across the board, the Bureau of Prisons will continue to be unable to attract new employees and successfully retain those currently employed.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
I wish people knew everything. We, correctional professionals, must handle daily. 1) Working in an environment that always requires vigilance. 2) The thought of laying your life on the line daily by not knowing if you will go home or even return home the same way you entered work. 3) Performing unreasonable amounts of work that would typically require multiple staff to perform. 4) The agency's unrealistic expectations to do more work with less. 5) There is little to no room for error when coworkers' lives are in your hands when working in certain positions. 6) Facing frivolous investigations throughout our careers that sometimes last for years. 7) Must be fair, firm, and consistent daily with all inmates because there is always a possibility of one looking to ensure we are compatible with treatment.
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