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 THUMBS UP for Lt. Eric Donnelly, who received the Medal of Valor from Massachusetts Gov. Paul Celucci (R) at the state’s first ever Corrections Officer of the Year ceremony, held on Dec. 12. A member of Local 3643’s (Council 93) executive board, Donnelly was recognized for his bravery in rescuing an uncooperative inmate from a fire she set in her cell in an attempt to kill herself. “What I did was just part of the job,” says Donnelly, who has worked for Suffolk County at the Nashua Street Jail for eight years.
THUMBS UP for the organizers of the First Annual Texas Women in Corrections Conference, which was held on Feb. 3 in Houston and Feb. 5 in Dallas and attracted some 100 participants. Sponsored by Texas Correctional Employees/AFSCME Council 7, this conference offered female corrections officers workshops on sexual harassment, stress in the workplace and at home, and games inmates play. Participants called the conference “well-planned” and “excellent” — and are already looking forward to next year’s.
 THUMBS DOWN for Michigan’s Department of Corrections. Members of the Michigan State Employees Association (MSEA)/AFSCME Local 5 traveled to the state capital on Jan. 29 to protest the sexual harassment, discrimination and corruption they say run rampant in the department. MSEA members are working in coalition with other corrections employees in a group called the Coalition for Corrections Reform, which organized the January protest and is working to pass legislation that would protect whistle-blowers.
THUMBS UP for New York’s Gov. George Pataki (R), who is insisting that the state legislature approve and fund a new 1,500 bed maximum security prison. With state prisons at 130 percent of capacity, the legislature authorized construction of the prison in its April budget, but appropriated no money. Pataki vetoed language in the budget that would have prevented that money from being appropriated. Council 82 is supporting the governor in his strong push for prison funding.
THUMBS UP for MaryAnn Murray and Kay Richards, members of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)/ AFSCME Local 1000. The two corrections employees were honored, along with CSEA member Connie Martin, for raising a combined sum of more than $1,500 for a Special Olympics fundraiser last fall. The second annual “Make a Different Day Run/Walk” to benefit the Special Olympics was a one-day event sponsored by CSEA Ogdensburg Correctional Facility Local 185, AFSCME Local 781 (Council 82) and another union local. The event raised a total of $3,300.
THUMBS DOWN for Philadelphia Prisons Commissioner Thomas Costello. When two inmates escaped in February while being transported, Costello made scapegoats of the two COs escorting them, insisting that they had deviated from standard security procedures by both sitting up front. Tyrone Courtney, president of AFSCME Local 159 (Council 33), which represents the officers, points out that a year ago, there would have been two COs in front and another in the back with the inmates. That third CO was eliminated during budget cuts. The inmates were recovered two days later.
THUMBS UP for COs Heather Lough, Stephen Madrid and Cermie Clayton, who were honored by AFSCME Local 1888 (New Mexico Council 18) this April for their “bravery and excellence in service.” When Madrid was attacked and held hostage with a shank at his throat, Lough created a diversion and Madrid broke free. The two officers were battling the inmate for the homemade knife when Clayton arrived, took the inmate down and recovered the shank. All three were wounded in the struggle. Lough and Madrid received their local’s Purple Hearts, and Clayton the local’s Medal of Valor.
THUMBS UP for AFSCME Council 93 in Maine, which worked closely with the state to win $121 million in capital investment in the state’s corrections system. Working together, the union and the DOC helped pass legislation that will, according to the DOC commissioner’s thank-you letter to the union, begin the process of “constructing new facilities, closing old ones, redesigning programs, securing new services and creating a substantially improved corrections system.” The council also bargained and won funding for a career ladder for COs.
THUMBS DOWN for Warden Daniel Bertrand, who initially refused to lock down Wisconsin’s Green Bay Correctional Institution after 12 COs were injured in a disturbance on Feb. 11. AFSCME Local 32 (Council 24) took its demand for a lockdown to the Department of Corrections and to the governor — and the facility was locked down on Feb. 12. The disturbance began when inmates attacked officers who had earlier shaken down their cells. An investigation identified inmates involved in the disturbance, who were then put in segregation or transferred; those who led the uprising are awaiting prosecution. All of the injured officers are now back at work.
THUMBS UP for members and representatives of Pennsylvania Council 13, who successfully lobbied for passage of a law this spring making it a felony for inmates at county and state correctional facilities throughout Pennsylvania to throw bodily fluids on correctional staff.
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