HAZLETON, W.Va. — Federal prison workers are responding to a letter U.S. Senator Joe Manchin recently sent to the leader of the federal Bureau of Prisons.
The letter to BOP Director Colette Peters calls for increased pay regarding pay and improved hiring procedures.
Members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 420 President Justin Tarovisky said that for months he and his members have been calling for change nationwide.
In the letter, Manchin called for a 25% retention incentive for all staff and an end to a process called “augmentation.”
The incentive should go to all prison workers regardless of assignment, according to Tarovisky. He said Peters should declare an end to “augmentation.” Augmentation is the term used for the practice of pressing untrained workers like counselors, plumbers, cooks, or teachers into correctional officer roles due to low staffing levels.
“Twenty-five percent retention for all staff, not just the officers,” Tarovisky said. “We have staff that fill in correctional officer roles, which is called augmentation, and I want to see less of that with the hiring.”
During the September rally, Tarovisky explained the unit was short 80 officers, and for those on staff, overtime was mandatory. At that time, officers could be forced into extra shifts with very little notice or preparation, creating fatigue and safety risks.
“The director needs to approve it. It’s on her desk,” Tarovisky said. “They have done it with other severely understaffed prisons—the Supermax in Colorado, which houses the worst of the worst—and they’ve done it at a few penitentiaries out west.”
Also in September, BOP Director Peters got a letter from U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito calling for answers regarding what she called “dire staffing shortages and allegations of alleged unethical, illegal, and almost criminal treatment” of inmates.
“We can’t find enough people to work in the correctional systems at the state level or the federal level,” Capito said. “So, you have a strained workforce with people doing jobs they were not hired for, low pay, long hours, and difficult situations.”
Tarovisky said recently, 60 people applied for positions during a hiring fair in Morgantown, but none were brought back for additional interviews after the information was reviewed by the Bureau of Prisons office in Grand Prairie, Texas.
“If you pass a background check, if you’re not a current or former felon, and if you pass a drug test, they need to bring you in,” Tarovisky said. “You need to be brought in, especially if you want a job during these tough times in our country—again, common sense hiring.”
Changing hiring standards, like many law enforcement agencies, is a trend across the country as organizations struggle. Tarovisky believes swift changes are required to ensure the safety of the public, workers, and inmates.
“We’re the forgotten man; we’re holding the line, and a lot of people don’t realize that,” Tarovisky said. “There are some bad people locked up at USP Hazelton, and it’s all in our backyards, whether it’s in Morgantown or over in Preston County.”
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