The all-male Duluth prison camp, located on a former U.S. Air Force base, has “aging and dilapidated infrastructure,” including several condemned buildings contaminated with asbestos and lead paint, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Stauber questions why federal prison officials did not alert him sooner regarding conditions at the prison camp, especially since the closure may have been in the works for two years.
“This decision to reorganize would necessitate negotiation with the union,” Stauber wrote, “and it is troubling to me that they were as blindsided by this decision as elected leaders representing the prisons.”
Emery Nelson, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said the bureau does not comment on congressional correspondence with the media.
At the time of the announcement in early December, AFGE national President Everett Kelley said some 400 federal employees across the country would be affected. “The reality is that most Bureau of Prisons facilities are in isolated locations far from each other, so many if not most employees affected will face disruptive relocations to remain employed,” Kelley said in a news release.
The loss of skilled workers “will exacerbate the existing staffing crisis within the Bureau of Prisons, making our prisons less safe for staff, inmates, and the surrounding communities,” he said.
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