By Joe LoTemplio
Press-Republican
DANNEMORA — Union representatives of civilian employees who work at Clinton Correctional Facility want to make sure their workers’ rights are protected, in light of questioning by police.
“We are not interfering with any investigations; we just want our employees to know what their rights are,” Kathy Garrison, regional president of Civil Service Employees Association Local 1000, told the Press-Republican.
“They go to work every day in a maximum-security environment, and it can be a dangerous place, and we just want them safe.”
‘HAS NOT BEEN CHARGED’
Garrison and several other union officials set up an information tent in the parking lot of Maggy’s Marketplace and Pharmacy across from the prison Tuesday afternoon to answer any questions that employees had about the investigation of the escape of inmates Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, over the weekend.
About 150 CSEA members work in the prison, providing a variety of services, Garrison said.
Joyce Mitchell, who works in the prison tailor shop, has been questioned by police regarding the escape. Garrison emphasized that Mitchell, who is a CSEA member, has not been charged.
“I am concerned that we are all not painted with the same brush,” she said.
“We are good workers who come to work every day and do a great job, and we work well together with corrections employees because we have to in order to make sure everyone is safe.”
STAFFING CONCERNS
Employees were given pamphlets with a list of workers rights on them as they left the prison Tuesday afternoon.
The sheet of yellow paper instructs workers that if they are interviewed, they should ask if it is for a work or criminal matter, ask if they are a potential target of work-related discipline and immediately call their local president.
It also tells employees that if they are being interviewed for a criminal matter they can choose not to answer questions and that they should contact a private attorney.
Garrison said union officials are just as concerned about state cuts that have affected staffing levels in prisons as the correction officers union is.
“There are a lot of items (positions) that have not been filled, and we are really concerned about safety because of that,” she said.
“We have voiced those concerns and asked for many of those items to be filled, and they have been denied.”
Garrison said while they worry about staffing levels, their main agenda is to protect workers rights during the investigation.
“We hope they catch these guys soon, just like everybody else,” she said.