As prisons face ‘urgent’ staff shortages, union asks Michigan National Guard for help

A union representing officers at the Michigan Department of Corrections says they are in “urgent” need of government assistance amid ongoing staff shortages.

Michigan Corrections Organization President Byron Osborn asked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a letter on Wednesday, July 3, to deploy the Michigan National Guard to augment prison staffing. Osborn wrote that correctional officers are being forced to work “mandatory 16-hour overtime shifts” to keep prisons staffed.

“Correction officers are STILL forced to conduct prison operations with far fewer than the required number of officers, resulting in unsafe inmate-to-officer ratios. Officers are forced to work alone in isolated areas, endangering not only their own safety but that of prisoners as well,” Osborn wrote.

Related: With over 800 vacancies, Michigan prisons are considering rehiring retired officers to fill the gap

Michigan employs over 5,000 officers and forensic security assistants in its 26 correctional facilities. However, in recent years, the staffing situation has been a problem for the Michigan Department of Corrections, with about 1,000 vacancies unfilled. At the same time, the inmate population increased by nearly 1% last year, while the number of offenders increased by 17%, according to a budget analysis.

To address the staffing shortage, a law was passed two years ago that allowed retired correctional officers to temporarily return to work for the state without losing their pension benefits. The recently passed state budget provided $2.1 billion to the MDOC, but eliminated a provision that would have provided $12 million for signing and retention bonuses.

After years of relying on government solutions, the union has now reached “the point of desperation,” says Osborn.

“On behalf of all correctional officers in the state represented by our organization, I formally request 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 and lasting relief measures,” he wrote to the governor.

The governor’s office left the response to Osborn’s letter to the MDOC.

Related: Correctional officers protest working conditions in Michigan prisons

MDOC acknowledged that staffing issues require officers to work “high amounts of voluntary and mandatory overtime.” The department said it has focused on recruiting and retaining employees by advertising positions widely, holding hundreds of hiring events, improving the work environment and running correctional officer academies year-round.

“These efforts have helped some facilities achieve staffing stability, while other locations continue to struggle with staffing issues,” the department said in a statement.

In an April update to the Legislature, MDOC reported that officer vacancy rates ranged from 4.3% to 36.3%. MDOC says half of its prisons now have vacancy rates below 15%, and eight facilities have vacancy rates at 5% or less. The state has also allowed previously certified officers to work overtime and closed housing units in understaffed prisons.

“The situation facing MDOC employees remains challenging, but the solution is not a temporary measure such as deploying National Guard members who are not trained to operate in this environment,” the department said in a statement.