JACKSON, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan’s prison system continues to face staffing shortages and tough working conditions, despite a July 2024 plea from officers to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer begging her to activate the National Guard and fill the gaps.
While Gov. Whitmer continues to ignore the request from the Michigan Corrections Organization (MCO), the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) is moving forward with recruitment events in hopes of hiring more prison employees.
Recruitment events aren’t the only item on agenda. During the past several weeks, corrections workers walked the informational picket lines across the state to raise awareness and demand the state to intervene and fix staffing issues. Last week, officers picketed in Jackson; in August, workers plead their case in the Upper Peninsula.
Officers said they were fighting for higher wages, more benefits, and a better work-life balance.
In the meantime, the MCO is highlighting what life is currently like as a corrections officer in the state with a series of “crisis reports.” The most recent one is from last month.
“From August 1 through August 31, 2024, there were 822 corrections officer overtime shifts,” the MCO crisis report reads. “472 of those overtime shifts were mandatory overtime, and most of the rest worked voluntarily overtime to avoid mandatory overtime.”
The report goes on to say, “There were 148 violations of the MDOC’s 32-hour rule, which is a policy designed to protect officers from excessive overtime.”
New corrections officer recruits will attend one of two regional Corrections Officer Training Academies in October.
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