MCO strikes near Marquette Branch prison highlight critical staff shortages

MARQUETTE, Michigan (WLUC) – For the third day this week, people are protesting the difficult working conditions faced by correctional officers in Michigan.

The Michigan Corrections Organization (MCO) held its latest informational demonstration near the Marquette Branch Prison on Wednesday afternoon. The goal is to raise awareness of staff shortages and unsafe working conditions in Michigan's prisons.

Similar protests took place earlier this week near the Chippewa/Kinross facility and the Baraga Correctional Facility. President Byron Osborn says the Marquette facility, like the Baraga facility, is missing more than 30% of its correctional officers.

“As you can imagine, that leads to a lot of overtime, a lot of mandatory overtime, and that takes its toll on people,” Osborn said. “Especially in the years that that's going on, 16-hour days are not uncommon, in many cases they're on consecutive days, and that takes its toll on people and also puts a strain on the operations of the plant itself.”

Osborn is urging Michigan lawmakers to work more quickly on a plan.

In a statement to TV6, the Michigan Department of Corrections said:

Thank you for your continued commitment to the Michigan Department of Corrections. We appreciate the sacrifices you make to ensure our facilities remain operational as we continue to fill open positions. We know that the more you have to work, the less time you can spend in your communities and, more importantly, with your families. It's important that we stay the course to provide you with the support you need to achieve a better work-life balance.

We would like to keep you updated on the Department's key initiatives to improve and track progress on staffing levels and mandatory overtime.

The Corrections Administration is currently studying and gathering data on the feasibility of permanent mobile staff units to be deployed to our hardest hit facilities. These units will provide immediate relief to staff and reduce the amount of overtime required. In addition, we will continue the Volunteer Assistance Program to assist until designated mobile units are established. Last year, volunteers were sent to Alger Correctional Facility so officers could increase their knowledge and familiarity with MDOC while assisting colleagues and the state. The request made last week has already generated more than 50 volunteers interested in providing assistance at Marquette Branch Prison. The volunteer program is open to all officers and anyone who was previously certified and would like to recertify for this program.

The Department is currently working with our legislative partners to remove the college credit requirement for new officer recruits as well as those currently working on a college exemption. This change will have an immediate positive impact on staffing levels as it will allow us to retain current officers in the service while increasing our recruiting pool.

Job openings are influenced by several complex factors outside of our sole control, such as housing availability, affordable child care, and economic opportunity. The department recently contracted with PFM Group Consulting LLC, who will bring a new perspective to our workforce issues. They will work to collect statewide and regional data so we can partner with the right people to remove barriers for prospective applicants and current employees. An official kick-off meeting for this project is scheduled for tomorrow.

Our recruiting team has done a great job attending job fairs across the state, finding new ways to attract applicants and interest potential employees in a career at MDOC. Now they are complementing their efforts with a targeted recruiting plan that reaches former applicants who were unsuccessful for similar but different positions, such as probation officers. By communicating directly on an individual level with applicants in neighboring recruiting pools, we increase our chances of success. We have already directly contacted over 300 former applicants to inform them of opportunities to become a correctional officer.

We understand that each of your facilities faces unique challenges and that no one can help solve those challenges better than the people who work there. We will collect results-oriented feedback from all employees, focused on identifying solutions rather than just defining the problem. This will help us take your ideas and put them into action.

In addition to these initiatives, it is the Department's mission to keep you informed of our progress. We will be providing more detailed information on each of our tactics in the coming weeks so everyone has a good understanding of what we are doing and the positive impact this work is having. To increase transparency, we will also be providing you with quarterly reports detailing job openings across the state, which will be released to coincide with our Officer Recruit School. A webpage with the same information is also in the works that will keep our partners, legislators and stakeholders informed of the Department's ongoing staffing needs.

Thank you for your continued commitment to MDOC. We want to thank MDOC employees who have previously been recertified as officers. We appreciate your continued support through recertification so we can continue to support our colleagues. Together, we can educate prospective recruits on the benefits of working in our field as we work to fully staff facilities across the state.

Rep. Jenn Hill (D-109th State House District) explains how she is helping.

“I have put my name to two bills that would support these workers,” Hill said. “They are designed to ensure that those who do this kind of work for the benefit of our community are paid overtime for it. And one bill would change recruitment so that there are no barriers to entry.”

Senator Ed McBroom (R) for the 38th District says he has also introduced a number of bills to help these workers.

“One of the bills I have introduced deals with the reinstatement of pensions. I have also introduced numerous standard texts to denounce the abuse of the 32-hour rule,” said McBroom. “There should also be better reporting of overtime and limiting the amount of overtime that these officers have to work.”

Osborn says they will continue to strike outside correctional facilities in Lower Michigan.

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