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| Prison leaders want same raises as officers |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 06/28/2004 |
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An organization of California prison supervisors is threatening a three-day sickout if members do not receive the same hefty raises that prison officers are scheduled to get next month. State officials say such a labor action would be illegal and could result in disciplinary action. The California Correctional Supervisors Organization, which claims to represent 2,500 supervising officers, began polling its 32 chapter presidents recently to see if the membership would embrace a sickout. The group's president, Richard Tatum, said last Friday that the initial responses were favorable. "So far, we have had support for doing this," he said. The threatened sickout is the latest contentious maneuver surrounding a controversial 2-year-old contract between the state and a rival union representing prison officers. Members of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., which represents 31,000 officers, are due to receive 11% pay raises when the new fiscal year starts July 1. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called on the union to accept $300 million in concessions to help reduce the state budget gap. And some lawmakers have threatened not to approve a budget containing the pay increase. The officers union also claims to represent many supervisors, but not in wage negotiations. Officers who hold the rank of sergeant and above do not have collective bargaining rights under state labor law. If there were a sickout, said corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton, the department would be prepared to keep prisons secure and functioning. California operates the nation's largest state prison system, with 160,000 inmates in 32 facilities. |
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