Michigan Senate Budget Recommendation Will Hurt Corrections Staff and Inmates

LANSING, Mich., May 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --SEIU One Voice Campaign issued the following statement on the Michigan Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections proposed budget cuts:

"The Senate proposal to reduce the Michigan Department of Corrections budget by $41.6 million will jeopardize safety for prison staff and inmates and will deprive corrections officers of critical tools, such as adequate staffing and training, that they need to perform the wide range of duties expected of them.

"These proposed cuts literally come at time when we should be looking to reduce mandated overtime, address understaffing, develop training that better prepares staff for the range of responsibilities that are required of modern corrections officers and finally grapple with the stress and trauma impacting officers across the criminal justice system.

"As the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections, Sen. Proos' (R-St. Joseph) statement framing the budget question as a choice between investing in public services (education, roads) or the prison system is disingenuous and, at best, misleading. The 6,500 men and women of the Michigan Corrections Organization (MCO-SEIU) put their lives on the line everyday to protect the public and ensure our prisons are safe. The Michigan Department of Corrections, thanks to the hard work of these officers, has an established track record of helping to reduce the state's inmate population while keeping the community safe.  Sacrificing the safety of prison staff and inmates for political purposes is detrimental to public safety.

"Alleged cost saving measures have proven ineffective and caused numerous issues in Michigan prisons, including inconsistent food quality which laid the groundwork for a violent outburst last summer which cost taxpayers nearly $1 million in damages, emergency response personnel and relocating problematic inmates. The proposal now to cut services for the mentally ill and limit capacity in our women's prison shows that Sen. Proos is missing the long-term impact of these reductions and his spreadsheets and questionable calculations miss the real life and humane aspects of corrections.

"Corrections officers across the country are concerned that draconian budget cuts impact conditions and over-crowding in state prisons and result in prisons housing more inmates than they were originally designed to hold, which compromises safety for both prison staff and inmates. We stand united to advocate for meaningful reforms to our criminal justice system that put corrections employees and inmate safety ahead of partisan politics."

One Voice is a campaign to unite corrections officers together with criminal justice activists, leaders, and organizations to advance a unified approach to our nation's criminal justice reform efforts. Michigan Corrections Organization/SEIU represents more than 6,500 corrections and forensic officers. The 2 million members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are united by the belief in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide and dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society.

SOURCE Service Employees International Union