Corrections workers safety, staffing cause for concern In the wake of the escape of two inmates from Clinton Correctional Facility, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) has taken heat for years of budget cuts, lack of adequate staffing and poor management decisions that many say contributed to the Hollywood-style breakout. Recent media reports have stated that prior to the escape, the prison’s superintendent had requested, and was denied, a lockdown at the facility after a May 31 riot in the prison yard. The request was rejected by DOCCS authorities in the agency’s Albany headquarters because of the overtime cost associated with staffing a lockdown. Part of the agency’s lockdown procedures include an inspection of all catwalks and tunnels in the facility. Such areas are associated with the prison’s physical operation. A week after the riot, the two inmates escaped via a network of catwalks and large pipes that one inmate had spent weeks cutting through. “We want to assure our members across the state that CSEA is doing all it can to make sure their concerns are addressed, that their workplace safety is intact, and that they are not made to be scapegoats in what is proving to be flawed policy in the agency,” CSEA President Danny Donohue said. “This has been a very difficult time for corrections employees everywhere,” said CSEA Auburn Correctional Local President Patricia Casler, who also chairs the union’s DOCCS Statewide Labor Management Committee. CSEA-represented employees at corrections facilities across the state have leadership in place to assist them with workplace issues. They also have a voice to speak for policy changes. Labor-management opportunity The labor-management meetings are an opportunity for both sides to address topics of concern, to implement change, to provide feedback and to identify goals for improving operations. Staffing, overtime, prison culture, safety and security are often topics of discussion. CSEA members working in all aspects of corrections facilities operations are often the best source for the agency to turn to as it tries to rectify policies and procedures that have left many facilities understaffed to the point where such an escape could succeed. CSEA represents more than 3,300 workers across the state in the corrections system. Corrections officers are represented by a different union. Casler said she has faith in Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci and believes that potential reforms will be aimed at trying to make corrections workplaces safer and better. “That is something we all want,” Casler said. Annucci sent a letter on July 29 to all DOCCS employees involved with the search efforts and support, acknowledging their “professionalism and determination” in helping to end the two inmates’ escape. Following the escape, a civilian employee of the jail was arrested and charged with promoting prison contraband for her role in helping the escapees. She recently pled guilty to the charges and is in custody awaiting sentencing in September. A corrections officer from the facility faces similar charges, and a number of supervisory staff and top prison officials have been suspended while the investigation into the escape continues. The FBI has been interviewing prison officials and is conducting an investigation. The prisoners, Richard Matt and David Sweat, eluded State Police, Department of Environmental Conservation, “We want to assure our members across the state that CSEA is doing all it can to make sure their concerns are addressed, that their workplace safety is intact, and that they are not made to be scapegoats in what is proving to be flawed policy in the agency.” Border Patrol and Corrections personnel as they scoured heavily wooded areas near the Canadian border. Matt was eventually killed after refusing to surrender. Sweat was captured and has since been indicted on charges related to the escape. — Therese Assalian Casler September 2015 The Work Force 3
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