By Dave Solomon
The New Hampshire Union Leader
Manchester, N.H. — The union representing correctional officers at New Hampshire state prisons is warning of a safety crisis in the prison system as the current contract expires and the state struggles to hire new COs.
The state’s contract with the unionized correctional officers expires June 30, with no resolution in sight.
Negotiations between COs and state officials, which stalled earlier this spring, recently resumed with the help of a mediator.
Three unions, representing state troopers, state police supervisors and state prison correction officers, declared an impasse in March after the state’s negotiating team announced that Gov. Chris Sununu would not support any wage increases in the next contracts when current ones expire.
According to union officials, Sununu’s negotiating team said they opposed any pay raises for state workers, in part because the unions have received five increases totaling 10 percent since November 2013.
Instead, state negotiators offered not to change health-care benefits.
Neither the governor’s office nor the commissioner of corrections were immediately available for comment.
The union representing more than 380 officers has launched “Safe Prisons Safe New Hampshire,” a campaign a union official said highlights the dangers arising from the shortage of corrections officers.
“Critically low staffing levels at New Hampshire prisons create unsafe conditions for correctional officers,” said Jeffrey Padellaro, secretary-treasurer and principal officer of Teamsters Local 633. “They also make it more difficult – if not impossible – to deliver critical programs and services to the inmate population.”
The shortage of corrections officers is also delaying the opening of the new women’s prison, which originally was slated to open in November. State officials recently confirmed that hiring problems have pushed the opening off to early next year.
The union statement issued Thursday said the delay could extend much further into next year.
“This prison staffing crisis is worse today than ever before, and we need to take serious steps to address this problem before tragedy strikes,” said Padellaro. “We’re disappointed that Gov. Sununu, who pledged to fully fund the state corrections system, has reneged on that promise. The support of our elected officials is essential when it comes to such a critical public safety issue.”
The Concord Prison for Men currently has 187 uniformed staff. The required level of staffing, according to the National Institute of Corrections cited in a 2012 performance audit, is 371 to operate at a normal activity level and a minimum of 277 to maintain critical operations.
“All the facilities are short-staffed but the Concord Prison illustrates the critical nature of the current staffing level that must be addressed immediately,” Padellaro said.
He said the state’s attempts to address the shortage through recruitment have failed. After two years of numerous work fairs and advertising for new hires, the system actually has suffered a net loss of six corrections officers over the past two years after factoring in retirements and attrition, according to Padellaro.
“The numbers continue to go in the wrong direction,” he said.
Overtime costs are skyrocketing.
Between 2015 and 2016, corrections officers working at the Concord prison collectively worked more than 10,000 hours of overtime each month.
In 2017, workers have been logging more than 12,000 hours of overtime each month.
“Excessive amounts of forced overtime are causing serious strain on the correctional officers; exhaustion, depression, divorce, alcoholism and other issues are common,” Padellaro said.
He cited the historically low unemployment rate in New Hampshire and “poor compensation” for workers as causes of the staffing problems.
State correctional officer salaries start at around $34,000 a year, which is $10,000 less than salaries at local police departments, according to Padellaro, who cited the starting salaries of corrections officers at New Hampshire’s federal prison at $46,000, and Massachusetts state prisons at $56,000 a year.
“The math is simple and the state’s math doesn’t add up, making recruitment very difficult,” he said.
The state has proposed relaxing some of the physical testing requirements for the job to attract more recruits.
“Relaxing physical standards for new corrections officers is not the answer,” said Padellaro. “More competitive compensation is. We hope to work with the state to come to an agreement to create a sustainable solution to address this crisis.”
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©2017 The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.)
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