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| Prison Officer No-Shows Add to Wis. Gov's Labor Worries |
| By Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel |
| Published: 02/07/2003 |
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With their pay raises in doubt, over a third of the state's prison officers called in sick Thursday, adding to Gov. Jim Doyle's worries, but leaving a powerful lawmaker dead set against their contracts in the face of a deficit. A total of 416 correctional officers, or 35% of the first-shift force, failed to report for work Thursday morning, but by midday, nearly all officers assigned to the second shift were on duty, according to Department of Corrections spokesman Bill Clausius. Displeased by the job action, Doyle told officers and lawmakers to do their jobs: officers, to keep the prisons safe and secure, and lawmakers, to accept or reject the contracts. But before the day ended, the Wisconsin State Employees Union and the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers filed lawsuits in an attempt to force action on 15 labor agreements covering more than 31,000 employees. Filed in Dane County, the lawsuits seek a court order to compel the Joint Committee on Employment Relations to hold hearings on the agreements and send them to both houses for a vote. 'My hope is we can do that very soon,' said Assembly Speaker John Gard (R-Peshtigo), among the leaders named in the lawsuits. He said they should be rejected because taxpayers can't afford them. Doyle spoke to reporters about the contract dispute and the prison officers following an address to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. He said Corrections Secretary Matt Frank had anticipated such action by workers. 'It doesn't make me happy,' Doyle said. 'These are very, very difficult times, and I hope everybody recognizes what their duty is here. If you are hired to do a job, you should be doing the job. I think I understand the frustration they have that the Legislature just simply won't vote on this. From my point of view, it would be better to vote on it and vote it up or vote it down.' Gard said the Legislature received the contracts only last month. He said he and others were hesitant, if not opposed, to approving the contracts when the state faces an immediate deficit of $452 million this year and $3.2 billion in the next two years. 'They want their raises, and you can understand that,' Gard said. 'Unfortunately, there's not enough money in the checkbook to write these checks. . . . It's not pleasant. They're good people. But somebody's got to do the right thing and stop spending money we don't have.' Gard said the contracts should be renegotiated and state workers should start paying for health insurance. Although more than 400 officers called in sick Thursday, the state's 16 prisons were able to operate safely. 'We asked some of the third-shift security staff to work first shift to fill essential posts,' Clausius said. Supervisors also staffed key posts. At the Dodge prison in Waupun, inmates were not allowed to leave their cells unless escorted by officers, he said. 'Frankly, we're fine,' Clausius said at midday. 'We have had contingencies for various kinds of things, and that's what happened. So we're covered.' |
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