Sporting signs that read, "I don't work to die," about 200 union corrections officers rallied Tuesday to protest $68 million in funding cuts at Minnesota's state prisons.
Corrections officers protest funding cuts at prisons
October 13, 2010 at 12:43AM
Sgt. John Hillyard, in a fiery speech in front of Stillwater prison, said the inmate population has grown substantially during eight years of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration while the state hasn't added correctional officers.
"The problem is compounded because the inmates are getting increasingly more and more violent," Hillyard told the crowd.
The Department of Corrections has said that the equivalent of 230 officers were added to Minnesota prisons since 2002.
The officers are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 5, the union that represents about 1,900 corrections officers at the eight adult state prisons.
Tuesday's gathering also served as a campaign rally for DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton, who has the AFSCME endorsement.
Sgt. Paul Schanno, who's worked at Stillwater prison for 34 years, said after the rally that he knows of a half-dozen serious inmate assaults on staff in the past year. "It has got to the point where it is precarious," he said.
KEVIN GILES
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