AFGE’s Council of Prison Locals has a new chief in charge – although she’s hardly new to the nearly 30,000 correctional officers and staff represented by the union.
Brandy Moore White had served as national secretary-treasurer of AFGE Council 33 for the past six years when Council President Shane Fausey announced earlier this year that he would be retiring from the federal government after 30 years working in corrections.
White said she hadn’t considered running for council president previously but understood the value of having some continuity from the previous board moving forward.
“I felt like someone on our board who was knowledgeable about all the things we’ve done and been able to accomplish over the last several years would be the best person to transition into the position,” White said. “Even though I was very comfortable in the NST position, what I felt was best for the membership was someone who had the experience and could move that forward and even advance it.”
During the council’s convention in Dallas on Aug. 7, White was elected president with over 69% of the vote.
Fausey said White is the “best leader” to carry on the council’s work.
“The past four years as council president have been challenging; however, having Brandy on the national board has been a blessing,” Fausey said. “I often referred to her as my ‘right hand,’ relying on her expertise, advice, and counsel daily, while leading a large professional organization like the Council of Prison Locals. She was directly involved in all of this council’s many successes and will continue to do so as the national president.
“I hope people do not underestimate the impact of President Moore being the first female president of this organization, as she is definitively the best leader to advance this council into the future,” he said.
‘Chaos coordinator’
White was born and raised in Arkansas. Growing up in such a rural area, White figured her best shot at a federal job would be working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. But then she heard that the nearby low-security federal prison, FCC Forest City, was expanding to add a medium-security facility and needed to staff up. At that time, the pay and benefits in such a small community was definitely a drawing point for many.
White began working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2004, where she has held various law enforcement positions in several departments.
White joined AFGE Local 922 as soon as she was hired at the prison. She was barely past her one-year probationary period when the local leadership asked her to get involved. She assisted with many things, from negotiations to arbitrations and assisting staff through the disciplinary process. She served as secretary-treasurer of the local from 2008 to 2017, when she was elected to the national secretary-treasurer position for the council.
While serving on the council, White chaired or was a part of many committees including policy negations, Labor Management Relations meetings, credentialing committees, collective bargaining agreement negotiations and national settlement agreements.
White credits the small but wonderful support system around her for allowing her to the ability to balance work and home life.
“Chaos coordinator” is a more accurate title for the work she does daily, White jokes.
Low staffing, pay to remain focus
White says the past few years have been challenging times for the men and women who work in our nation’s federal prisons. Severe understaffing since 2016, coupled with three-plus years of the COVID-19 pandemic, has greatly hindered the ability of correctional officers and staff to properly perform their jobs.
White said the amount of negativity and stress that correctional staff deal with daily is not well understood by the public.
“The correctional professionals who work in the federal system are often misunderstood, under-appreciated, and misrepresented by negative media and Hollywood cinema. We face a lot of stress and challenges that most people couldn’t face on a day-to-day basis,” White said. “Even comparing us to local law enforcement – every encounter they have is not a negative encounter. Typically, the encounters we have in the prison are with individuals who are angry at the world and are housed in a place they’re not happy about. All of our clientele are convicted of some kind of crime.”
Even still, staff do their best with the limited resources they have to provide inmates with education, positive life skills, and other tools to help them transition to life after prison, she said.
Going forward, White said the council will continue to focus on our number one challenge, which is increasing staffing and raising salaries for correctional officers and support staff.
“If we could fix our staffing and our pay issues, I believe the majority of our problems disappear,” she said.
AFGE Council 33 Elects New Officers
Members of AFGE’s Council of Prison Locals elected a new slate of officers on Aug. 7 to serve for the next two years. They are:
President: Brandy Moore White
National Secretary/Treasurer: Steve Markle
Vice President for Women and Fair Practices: William Boseman
Regional VP North Central: Bill Axford
Regional VP Northeast: Frank Bailey
Regional VP South Central: Josh Lepird
Regional VP Southeast: Louis Davis
Regional VP Mid Atlantic: Rick Heldreth
Regional VP West: John Kostelnik
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