Honoring Those Who Work in America’s Prisons and Jails
May 06, 2010
Corrections officer Ton Johnson, a member of King County Local 308 (Washington Council 28), is this year’s recipient of AFSCME’s Corrections Officer of the Year award.National Correctional Officers and Employees Week (May 2 through 8) is the time set aside to honor the courageous, dedicated women and men who help keep our communities safe. But this year, as states look for ways to cut their budgets, it’s worth noting some of the issues these AFSCME members are facing:
- In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn wanted to lay off 2,500 public service positions, including 1,000 corrections workers. It took a lawsuit by AFSCME Council 31 to stop him.
- Corrections officers represented by Mansfield Correctional Institution Chapter 7010 and Southern Ohio Correctional Facility Chapter 7330 of Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA)/AFSCME Local 11 have been picketing around security issues as a result of historic overcrowding and the elimination of 1,000 corrections officer positions statewide.
That’s why we are urging Congress to pass the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009 (H.R. 413/S. 3194). The bill establishes minimum state collective bargaining standards for corrections officers, police, emergency medical technicians and firefighters.
This week, national steering committee members of AFSCME Corrections United (ACU) are in Washington, DC, encouraging lawmakers to support the bill. AFSCME represents 62,000 corrections officers and 23,000 corrections employees nationwide.
Also this week, AFSCME International Pres. Gerald W. McEntee will present ACU’s Corrections Officer of the Year award to Ton Johnson, a member of the Community Corrections Bargaining Unit Political Action Team of Local 308 (AFSCME Council 28). He is being recognized for the many efforts on behalf of his union members, including improving personal safety standards involving defensive tactics training.
Read more about corrections issues in the latest ACU News.
