For Immediate Release
Thursday, August 01, 2002
AFSCME Corrections United Protests Decision Made By The American Correctional Association
Washington, DC —In a letter to the American Correctional Association (ACA), the nation's largest corrections union took issue with the association's refusal to publish an AFSCME advertisement in the ACA 2002 convention guide, calling the decision, "an appeasement to the private prison industry and a blatant attempt to stifle the voices of public sector corrections employees."
AFSCME Corrections United, the corrections arm of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, represents 60,000 corrections officers and 20,000 corrections employees — highly skilled and well-trained men and women who work in maximum-security facilities, state prisons and county jails. ACU has purchased booth space at several ACA sponsored conventions, in order to distribute information on workplace safety, professionalism in corrections, the controversial track record of private prisons and the fight against poor working conditions. Additionally, AFSCME has attempted twice to place advertisements in ACA's convention program guides and both ads were rejected because of content.
"ACA's rejection of the AFSCME ad illustrates the private prison industry's pressure and influence over the ACA, its policies and events," AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said. "AFSCME's ad is rejected, but the private prison companies are allowed to place pro-privatization ads. It appears that the ACA conventions have become nothing more than a marketing platform for prison privatization," added McEntee.
AFSCME has always been a staunch opponent of any form of privatization and is widely recognized for its stand against prison privatization. ACU is committed to maintaining the professional standards that keep workers and the public safe, by creating training guidlines to meet the changing needs of COs and corrections employees, who face highly volatile, difficult and dangerous situations on a daily basis.
ACA's decision left AFSCME with no choice but to cancel ACU's participation at the Anaheim 2002 convention.
