By C1 Staff
TAMPA, Fla. — Corrections officers frustrated with lawmakers called a news conference on Tuesday to argue about raising their pay to that of equal with other law enforcement officers.
According to Tampa Bay Times, the union says this would cost about $30 million and is affordable in a year when the state has projected a $1 billion surplus.
The union says Governor Rick Scott hasn’t done enough to help the officers; the average officer is 42 with a family to support.
“These are people with families. They cannot go on making what they’re making and survive,” Les Cantrell, the agent for the union, said.
Turnover remains rampant as officers find better-paying jobs at county jails. Staff vacancies create huge gaps in security and require others to work 12-hour shifts, sometimes for four and five consecutive days.
“The fatigue factor starts to set in. Are at the same level of alertness? Absolutely not,” Corrections Sgt. Thomas Johnson said.
The union’s chief lobbyist, Ron Silver, called the Legislature’s treatment of correctional officers “intolerable, unjust and it might even be criminal.”