LOCAL NEWS
Corrections officers union asks Gov. Whitmer to deploy National Guard due to staffing shortages in Michigan prisons
By Sara Powers
Updated on: July 4, 2024 / 7:33 PM EDT / CBS Detroit
(CBS DETROIT) - A union that represents Michigan corrections officers asked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Wednesday to deploy the National Guard to help understaffed prisons.
Byron Osborn, the president of the Michigan Corrections Organization - SEIU Local 526M, said in a letter to Whitmer that she needs to "take working conditions that have persisted and worsened" throughout her time as governor.
The letter says that corrections officers have to work mandatory 16-hour overtime shifts per week, and have to run prison operations with "far less" than the number of officers required.
Osborn said officers often have to work in isolated areas by themselves, jeopardizing safety. The prisoners have "taken advantage of lax MDOC policies on prisoner discipline, classification, and use of segregation," and are "being coddled at the expense of officer safety," according to the letter.
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-corrections-officers-union-gov-gretchen-whitmer-national-guard-prison-staffing-shortages/
