Lawmakers and labor union demand immediate action to address unacceptable staffing shortages in Michigan’s prisons

State Sen. Ed McBroom joined state Reps. Dave Prestin and Greg Markkanen on Tuesday in calling for urgent attention and action from Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington amid a growing number of crises at Michigan prisons. Recent unrest at the Baraga prison led to significant damage to the facilities and assaults of officers are on the rise at all five U.P. MDOC prisons.

“Director Washington has failed to fix or even address the damning staffing shortages within our prisons,” said McBroom, R-Waucedah Township. “I have been warning the state for more than 10 years about the dangers of administration policies that are making our prisons more dangerous for both prisoners and state employees. My committee investigations have highlighted numerous failed policies and lack of success at increasing the ranks of officers – which is by far the biggest threat to safety. Director Washington must either resolve this crisis or find a leader who can.”

McBroom’s Oversight Committee highlighted the MDOC’s lack of transparency on employee assaults and abuse of overtime rules during a series of meetings in 2021 and 2022. Presently, many of the officers are working more than 80 hours per week, sometimes more than 32 hours in two days.

“The committee found the department has a penchant for altering definitions of recidivism, assaults and disturbances; the security level of inmates; and even court ordered demands for drug distribution,” McBroom said. “It is always a new spin from them to avoid accountability and make it appear things are just fine.”

Last month, a union representing corrections officers called on the governor to mobilize the National Guard to address staffing shortages in Michigan prisons. Michigan Corrections Organization President Byron Osborn described dangerous working conditions, including unsafe prisoner-to-officer ratios, demoralizing numbers of forced 16-hour overtime shifts in a single week, and lax MDOC prisoner discipline policies that lead to inmates being “coddled at the expense of officer safety.”

A special edition of the Michigan Correction Organization’s newsletter detailed that from July 1^st through July 17^th there were thirteen significant instances of violence between inmates and corrections officers at the Baraga Correctional Facility. During that same period, there were nine instances where staffing shortages forced the prison to lock down housing units or cancel prisoner yard periods, significantly escalating tensions between staff and inmates.

“Corrections officers cannot continue at this pace,” said Markkanen, R-Hancock. “MDOC is supposed to give corrections officers at least 32 hours between mandatory overtime shifts. Staffing shortages have caused countless violations of this policy, with many officers being required to work 16 hour shifts three to five days in a row. Five years ago, an internal survey revealed 140 corrections officers were actively planning to commit suicide. These officers go toe-to-toe with dangerous criminals every day. Yet, our corrections officers remain wildly understaffed, underpaid, and unappreciated by the administration.”

McBroom sponsored Senate Bills 156 and 157, which would allow corrections officers to join a retirement plan similar to one offered to Michigan State Police troopers, in which 50% of the plan is a pension and 50% is a 401(k)-type defined contribution. The plan is supported by both Markkanen and Prestin. The U.P. Republicans also said they would support pay increases and additional benefits for corrections officers.

During his time as a Menominee County commissioner, Prestin helped to solve a staffing shortage facing the Menominee County Jail. The county took funds that had been used for overtime and redirected it to a substantial increase for the county corrections deputies. The U.P. legislators believe that a similar policy could work for the state.

“Raising wages is key to solving the staffing shortage,” said Prestin, R-Cedar River. “In Menominee County, we saw that the higher wages helped bring in more corrections officers and retain the officers we had. It’s cheaper too, since retention helps reduce the extraordinary amount of training costs and reducing the amount of mandatory overtime saves money and provides officers with better work-life balance. In today’s economy, prospective employees are attracted by wages, more so than any part of a benefits package. This plan worked for Menominee County, and it can work on a larger scale. As head of MDOC, Director Washington has been unable to solve the disaster within her department. If she can’t find the answers, then the governor needs to find someone who can.”

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