CA: Prison guards prosper in hard times

SJ Mercury News ^ | 2/16/03 | Editorial

[NormsRevenge]

CALIFORNIA'S inmates aren't the only ones the state's prison guards have in lock-down. Taxpayers are being held, too.

Last year, in the midst of their first budget crisis, Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature ratified a contract with the guards' union that mocks current efforts to balance the budget.

[NormsRevenge]

Ping

[Polybius]

Maybe the care and feeding of criminals can be "outsourced" to some Russian company in Siberia. ;-)

[warfrat]

37% over five years! I am a New York State Correction Officer. We are very poor compared to these guys. We in NYS have taken five 0%'s in the last ten years. and the Gov is setting up for a new round of zero's for the next three years. I'm Transferring to California. Whats the Difference betwwen Attica and San Qentin? answer: 35000 $ A year.

[bayareablues]

Little over 5% per year. Not bad. Wonder why he's screwing the teachers and not the prison guards? Be interesting to see the difference in the campaign contributions by union.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Recall Gray Davis and cut their salaries!

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[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

"Little over 5% per year. Not bad. Wonder why he's screwing the teachers and not the prison guards? Be interesting to see the difference in the campaign contributions by union."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Can't believe that the Teacher's Union didn't support GrayOut...But maybe ol'kick-back GrayOut is thinking, " Ya know, me and my homies could wind up in jail some day, I better be nice to the guards".

Just a thought....

[tubebender]

We have a fun afternoon on Nascar and then you post this...

[NormsRevenge]

This IS my normal mode of operation. ;-)

It makes ya wonder where government's priorities are; educating children and rewarding taxpayers by providing a non-sensical curriculum and solid morals, or, letting the guards get 'em at the other end and to hell with the schools, altho boatloads of money are being thrown at schools boards and districts state-wide.

Altho, we only hear of the bad, a lot of kids are getting educated. Unfortunately, a lot of those skills aren't of much use in the real world.

How'm I doin'? Ya flip the channel yet? LOL

[Mark17]

Whats the Difference betwwen Attica and San Qentin? answer: 35000 $ A year.

Also, San Quentin is more than likely a much safer place to work.

[tubebender]

How'm I doin'? Ya flip the channel yet? LOL

Not sure...I'm still waiting for them to restart the race.

[NormsRevenge]

LMAO.. Im winding down my nerves watching the SpeeeD channel report on the semi-Race. :-)

[EVO X]

It's not just the pay scale that's turning out to be a problem, as generous as that was: a 37 percent increase over five years. In a less obvious but far-reaching give-away, the state agreed to loosen the rules on sick leave. The result has been a double whammy: soaring sick leave rates and escalating expenses, as the Los Angeles Times recently reported.

I happen to be a state worker that gets 12 days a year sick leave. Up until a few years ago, we were able to accrue sick leave days for partial payout when leaving the system or retiring. Now there isn't any reason to be frugal with taking sick leave. I am guessing that something similar took place in California..

[warfrat]

I think it is We in New York State are not allowed to have armed posts inside the blocks, But in California they do have armed posts inside the blocks. Officer assualts in California are nearly nonexistant in New York, staff assults are common place.

[dinodino]

Why should you be able to accrue sick days? They're not supposed to be used as vacation time.

[ladyinred]

What ever is wrong with Davis?
Everyone knows it is the prisoner who is supposed to prosper, not the guard! :-)

[jackbill]

Don't you just have to love those idiots in California?

[elmer fudd]

Using an average of 13.5 sick days a year is outrageous. At my company the average is 4. Someone who calls in 12 or more times a year will be very unpopular with those of us who have to do his work for him. And 13.5 is just the average, so for everyone who has a perfect attendance record there is some jerk who is out for 27 days.

[EVO X]

Why should you be able to accrue sick days? They're not supposed to be used as vacation time.

Accruing sick days is part of the the compensation package. That is just the way it is. If labor law was enforced in this country, nothing would get done....

[SSN558]

"Using an average of 13.5 sick days a year is outrageous."

This is not a defense of CA correctional officers but....ya they are the guys that always drive a new SUV when everybody else is out of work. They also have a stressful job getting urine and feces thrown at them. It is not much better on the outside. One of my neighobrs, a correctional officer in Sacramento, had his house vandalized by gangbangers. Another one I knew was stabbed on the job and on disability for PTSD, first he fell into a bottle and ended up a crank addict.

I have been in Folsom prison, not as a prisoner, and it is a scary place. If had to go to work there everyday, I think I might call in sick once in a while. You get a sixth sense about these things, and it is not a good idea to ignore the little voice in the back of your head that says over and over, "don't do it stupid."

The prisons are hate factories, and you thought office politics were bad.