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| Conditions at prison 'horrendous,' says union president |
| By desmoinesregister.com - WILLIAM PETROSKI |
| Published: 10/14/2011 |
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Prison officers plan to rally today outside the maximum-security Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison to protest what they contend is a spike in inmate violence linked to staffing shortages. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union that represents many prison workers, issued a statement Thursday that said it is calling on Iowa Corrections Director John Baldwin to immediately fill security positions budgeted by the Iowa Legislature. The Fort Madison prison has 974 inmates, including 577 prisoners in a maximum-security unit that houses some of the most dangerous convicts in Iowa. Danny Homan, state AFSCME president, said in an interview Thursday that Iowa prison employees are working under “horrendous conditions” that need to be fixed. “They firmly believe that we are either going to have a riot in one of our prisons or someone is going to be killed,” Homan said. He said state officials have filled only one of an additional 40 correctional officer positions authorized by Iowa lawmakers last session. The union statement said that on Oct. 5, a Fort Madison prison recreational staff member was assaulted by an inmate. The worker was alone in the basement hobby/craft area at the penitentiary because of security staff being cut from one officer to none. On Sept. 22, a Fort Madison prison nurse was choked by an inmate as she performed her duties unescorted by security staff because positions were cut from two officers to none, AFSCME leaders said. The statement added that AFSCME union stewards have filed 42 grievances over the past five months to protest a lack of staffing in Iowa’s prison system. Today’s rally is at 1:45 p.m. State corrections officials said Thursday that the Fort Madison prison has 436 employees, including 301 correctional officers and senior correctional officers who monitor security. There are no vacant funded correctional officer positions, said prison spokesman Fred Scaletta. Read More. |
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