Prison guards lock up bundle in OT pay

San Diego Union-Tribune ^ | 2/28/06 | Steve Schmidt

[bkwells]

Hmmm... let's see where to begin:

To many lawmakers and others, the ballooning figures offer fresh evidence that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's drive to overhaul the $8 billion prison system has stalled. State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, said the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation remains one of the “most failed” agencies in California.

More proof that throwing money at a problem doesn't fix it!

Corrections officials attribute the guards' rising payroll costs primarily to conflicting trends: The inmate population is swelling, and many prisons remain hobbled by guard shortages.

I wonder how many of them are illegals?

Prison officials vowed early last year to clamp down on overtime after repeated warnings from state budget analysts about runaway payroll costs.

So much for vowing to clamp down on this!

One of the thorniest problems is providing adequate inmate medical care.

Why the hell should a convicted felon get free medical care? It's bad enough they get free room and board and 3 squares a day! I think that felons get waaaayyyy too much handed to them at our expense!

Voluntary overtime, for example, is assigned by seniority.
“When a correctional officer is tired and not very happy because they have to work overtime, the whole idea of rehabilitation goes out the window,” he said.

Huh?? The article says it's VOLUNTARY OVERTIME.... Hypocrite!! Plus a couple of paragraphs down it says ...SDSU's Sutton, who regularly tours California's prisons, said the guards take their work seriously. But at the same time, he said, “many of them are even a bit giddy about what they earn.” They don't sound "tired and not very happy to me...

[2banana]

The contract also allows prisons to draw on a pool of reserve guards when a regular correctional officer calls in sick. These fill-in employees, however, can decline an assignment by saying they're sick and receive a full day's pay.

When that happens, a prison can end up paying a handful of people sick leave to cover a single absence.

Unions + Government = Corruption and Ripoffs

[ncountylee]

The contract also allows prisons to draw on a pool of reserve guards when a regular correctional officer calls in sick. These fill-in employees, however, can decline an assignment by saying they're sick and receive a full day's pay.

Nothing but a union thug negotiated scam.

[mtbopfuyn]

$100K, dayum! If only we got that in Texas where you're expected to work overtime and be thankful you have a job. We haven't had a raise for ........ who knows.... sometime before I got grey hairs.

[jw777]

I'd rather pay THEM that much than pay Congresspersons and Senators for the crappy job they do.

At least Prison Guards are in opposition to the criminals.

[italianquaker]

Thank goodness for these brave men no money is worth working in a prison all day and the important word was WORK not handout

[jw777]

Amen. Who could put up with animals like that for little pay. Life is at risk every second in those dumps.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

“And, incredibly, the governor wants to build new jail cells,” said Rose Braz, director of Critical Resistance, a penal-reform group based in Oakland. “We're going in the wrong direction.”

I'm sure Rose will let the criminals leave prison and move in with her and her friends.

[Grim]

Not mentioned in the article is the fact that pensions will be based on total remuneration in the last year of employment. If anything is going to bankrupt California, it's this.

[drhogan]

both of these articles are wonderful!

and i thought new york was bad!

[drhogan]

a truly great post!

[FOG724]

ping

[calcowgirl]

More proof that throwing money at a problem doesn't fix it!

The expenditures for the Youth and Adult Corrections Department have increased 49.95% in just 3 years, according to the LAO Database. We now know where much of the money goes.

Youth and Adult Corrections Department	

Fiscal Year	($000)
2003-04	      5,389,031
2004-05	      6,968,185
2005-06	      7,658,252
2006-07	      8,080,957

[calcowgirl]

Thanks for the ping. Amazing.

[antaresequity]

I heard on the cable stations last night that New Orleans cops are expected to cost 1.3 million in overtime pay for Mardis Gras...but that was down from prior years...

The country is in great shape...move along...

[SierraWasp]

To think I left the Dept. of Corrections in 1968 because it was a "dead-end job," and attempted to become a CHP officer instead, but foolishly reverted back to the private sector instead. I could have been on EASY STREET!!!

Back then I couldn't get promoted to Sergeant because of affirmative action just starting BIGTIME!!!

[FOG724]

Blacks alone hold some 25% of the corrections jobs.

[Czar]

Must be another one of Arnold's "reforms". You know, the one where he was going to cut wasteful state spending.

He's turning out to be just as bad as Gray Davis, if not worse.

[FOG724]

He's turning out to be just as bad as Gray Davis, if not worse.

You have not been drinking your kool-aid have you?