By William Sharp
The Columbus Dispatch
I am not a teacher, but I thank all of them for what I know. I am not a firefighter, but I thank all of them for saving lives. I am not a police officer, but I thank all of them for keeping my streets safe.
I have been a corrections officer since I was 22. I started at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville at an hourly wage of $14.26. I knew it was going to be a tough job, but I stuck with it because one day it would pay off. In five years, I would top out at $19.88 an hour. And with that I would be able to raise a family.
I would like to tell everyone a little about my “cushy” state job: I’ve had urine thrown on me, and feces several times. I’ve been punched and kicked and maced more times than I can count. I’ve seen my fellow guards sliced open with a razor blade, and many guards, including me, have been exposed to HIV. We’ve had to take anti-AIDS medications that make you vomit every day until you stop taking them.
On Dec. 5, 2005, I saw my fellow guard’s head crushed in with a baton. She was beaten until she was unconscious because she patted down an inmate who had six cans of chewing tobacco on him. She had to have seven or more surgeries. The first was to pick skull fragments out of her brain.
I’ve seen inmates die from self-inflicted wounds and at the hands of another inmate.
I keep myself busy at home so I don’t think about these horrible things.
And the best for last: I am 31 years old and still haven’t topped out at $19.88 an hour. I have had four years of pay freezes in my career.
I wrote this because I want everyone to know what we go through. There are 30 prisons in Ohio, and that includes five that are being taken from us.
In closing, I would love to thank everyone who opposed Ohio Senate Bill 5 and will help fight to keep the little that we have and not lose anything else.
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