When a convict escaped from the Southern Desert Correctional Facility in September, state officials suspected that staffing shortages may have played a role.
Finding and maintaining prison officers has been a huge difficulty, according to organizations that represent officers in the state.
Nevada’s AFSCME union, which represents state workers in fields such as jails, mental health services, and maintenance, said Monday that Governor Steve Sisolak has proposed a measure that would authorize funding for a 3% salary raise negotiated by AFSCME.
“As the union for Nevada state employees, AFSCME is proud to have delivered a strong first contract, and the only union to deliver two 3% wage increases for state workers,” President of AFSCME Local 4041 Harry Schiffman said.
Schiffman says, the major challenge in retaining and recruiting for state posts is money. He claims that occupations, such as those in the prisons department, are becoming training grounds for workers who subsequently advance to higher-paying positions.
“They end up getting whatever their certifications are and then they end up leaving to Metro or any other surrounding state. They’ll go work in their corrections offices,” Schiffman said.
As of last month, the jail where the convict fled had 182 sworn custodial workers. According to a source familiar with the Nevada Department of Corrections, the inmate-to-officer ratio is 37-to-one.
It’s unclear whether any staffing concerns have been resolved since the escape in September. Records demonstrate that there are fewer obligatory staff members at High Desert State Prison as of October than there will be in 2021. During the day, 23 fewer cops are needed, and 20 less during the swing shift.
According to union officials, it leads to much too much overtime and a lack of control.
Schiffman believes that Governor Sisolak’s passage of the collective bargaining law in 2019 increases the chance of continuous salary hikes in the future, which will help to retain state personnel such as correctional officers.
The union believes that when the legislative session opens in February, this salary rise will be one of the first noticed by state politicians.
Credits: KoloTv
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