Michigan correctional officers’ union asks Whitmer for National Guard help

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (WOOD) — The president of the Michigan Corrections Organization has sent a letter to Governor Whitmer asking the National Guard for “immediate” support to the prisons.

Accordingly the letterAn article by union president Bryon Osborn said the state’s correctional officers are forced to work mandatory 16-hour overtime shifts, manage understaffed prisons, work in remote areas and deal with a “gang-ridden prison population.”

“Under your watch, the state’s correctional officers continue to suffer like no other state employee in Michigan’s history. … They are not allowed to live normal, healthy lives with their families. None of your other state employees are subjected to these conditions,” Osborn wrote.

He described the prisons as dangerous facilities that must operate with “far fewer than the required number of officers, resulting in an unsafe prisoner-to-officer ratio.” Officers often have to work alone, the letter said, which endangers the safety of both officers and prisoners.

“The only people happy with current prison conditions are the prisoners. They are pampered at the expense of officer safety,” Osborn wrote.

He called on Whitmer to visit state prisons and speak with correctional officials.

“We have spent years seeking effective relief solutions from the Legislature and MDOC and are now at the brink of desperation,” Osborn wrote. “I am formally requesting that you activate the Michigan National Guard to provide immediate incarceration support to prisons that desperately need it while we work directly with you to find realistic, permanent relief measures.”

In August, News 8 reported The Michigan Department of Corrections was 900 officers short in the state’s prisons.