Federal corrections officers in a local union are concerned about a raise in pay for staff working in nearby federal prison facilities.
Members of the American Federation of Government Employees Council of Prisons Locals Federal Correctional Complex Allenwood, White Deer, said that is drawing away guards and creating a number of vacancies, which results in mandatory overtime, such as pulling 16-hour shifts, and fewer corrections staff.
These pay changes are due to a recent formula the Bureau of Prisons decided to use for localities.
For example, USP Canaan at Waymart was put into the New York locality, giving an additional 20.42 % to all staff.
Meanwhile, FCI Schuylkill near Minersville was moved into the Philadelphia locality, which gave it an additional 11.73% to all staff salaries, according to Corey Landis, FCC Allenwood treasurer.
Corrections officers’ salaries at Allenwood start at $23.39 per hour, while at nearby USP Canaan the pay starts at $27.41, and $25.74 at the FCI Schuylkill.
Lately, corrections officers at FCC Allenwood are deciding to transfer to nearby facilities, mostly because of higher pay, presenting the guards who remain with not only heavier workloads, but possible danger, the union said.
Any staff member who is willing to do a lateral transfer to one of these other institutions can, effectively, give him or herself a raise doing the same job.
The complex employs about 1,000 staff in varying disciplines that include corrections officers, nurses, those in food service, teachers, treatment specialists and more specific disciplines.
In the most recent count of correctional officer vacancies, USP Allenwood had 75, FCI Allenwood had 24, and LSCI Allenwood had 19, according to Landis.
“We also have seven state correctional institutions within a one-and-a-half hour drive of Allenwood, and 10 state police barracks,” Landis said.
“We’ve lost multiple people to the state police,” he said. “Our applicant pool is almost zero right now.”
Security is becoming an issue. On any given day guards can face the sharp-end of an inmates’ makeshift shank, be poisoned by a paper dipped or laced in a toxic stew of illegal drugs or may be tasked at a moment’s notice to perform CPR on an inmate in an overdose, the union members said.
Behind bars are members of the notorious MS-13 gang as well as many inmates with various needs and requirements.
“When there is a vacancy, we have to pull a teacher … a recreation specialist or a nurse,” said Keith O’Neal II, president of the AFGE Local 307.
“Within the walls of the institutions, we are fighting things such as weapons — homemade knives made out of plastic and metal, and narcotics,” said Matt Hazen, union steward. Because of the vacancies that exist, guards are being mandated to work overtime, he added.
“Security is a broad statement,” Hazen said. “This is happening with five corrections officers on daywatch, four in the evening and the third shift is down to two on staff,” he said. “You put a nurse in a situation and they won’t know what to do if the inmate becomes violent.”
So far, USP Allenwood alone lost three custody staff to transfers to USP Canaan and FCI Schuylkill after receiving their new locality pay. There are some staff members and FCC Allenwood and USP Lewisburg with the same or a little more of a commute to these other institutions with considerably higher pay to which these staff members are considering the move.
Brian Groover, president, AFGE Local 404 and Andrew Hill, Fair Practice Coordinator and all of the union representatives told the Sun-Gazette they do not begrudge the institutions for getting the locality adjustments but the union said their complaints are falling on deaf ears and the only way to get the possible changes is through legislation that would give equal income to the staff becoming law.
The “Pay Our Corrections Officers Fairly Act” would set in motion conditions of financial parity among their peers working in the federal prison system, O’Neal said.
“It would take the worksite, the prison, into the closest locality within 200 miles,” he said.
The Allenwood facility just north of White Deer was built in 1952, a prison established as a facility to detain subversives and dissidents during the rise of communism.
Today, the inmate population requires correctional officers to manage multiple tasks daily, with some inmates needing training in basic skills, and those who want to harm themselves. As they advocate for equal pay, the union membership said they are in no way trying to attack the prison administrative staff.
“Our administrative staff are homesteaders themselves,” said Feliciano Dosman, president AFGE Local 306.
“They care about the staff and they try to do the right thing,” he said, adding how the other day they had a captain take overtime just to stop someone from getting mandated. “There was no one else to mandate, so they could go home to their kids,” he said.
“I had a warden release someone home early to go home to an emergency,” he said. “They are not given the tools to help the institution as much as they need to.”
“Our issues are much higher,” Dosman said, adding he was hopeful, what he and others in the union are asking for does not fall on deaf ears and gets passed into law.
“The fact is the BOP is leaving this area as a dead spot,” he said. “We do just as much as anyone else . . . the AFG is making wins across the board for the federal agencies that pay union dues to them but the BOP is still sitting stagnant,” he said.
Federal legislation known as “Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act,” or H.R. 3199 and S.B. 3771, could become law.
Union members say they are going to meet on Monday with U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, about the legislation.
By comparison, despite Allenwood being a “flagship” facility, with the complex along Route 15 south of White Deer having a high security penitentiary, a medium security correctional institution and a low security correctional institution, a maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado, gave its corrections officers a 25 % retention bonus on top of their salary.
The union membership is planning to hold a meeting on Monday with U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, who has responded by scheduling the discussion.
U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Howard, is having his legal team review the legislation.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8th, were among those in Congress to introduce the act in February to ensure fair pay for BOP employees, particularly in rural areas.
“BOP employees are understaffed, underpaid and overworked,” Casey stated. “Without enough staff, prisons are relying on cooks and teachers to guard inmates, which presents a dangerous health and security risk,” he said.
The bill, overall, addresses staffing shortages at these correctional institutions by allowing for competitive pay that better reflects the cost of living, commute times, alternative careers and the hard work and dedication of BOP employees.
“Prison officers face a unique kind of danger, and it is imperative we provide them with every tool and authorization necessary to protect their lives and wellbeing,” Cartwright said.
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