Archive for August, 2006
Be Above the Bullshit
November is election time once again and already the campaigning has begun. Well, they call it campaigning but what it really ends up being is a lot of mud slinging. With major issues facing the state of California this year – and with the Governor’s race taking center stage, you will unfortunately be seeing many more op-ed pieces appearing in newspapers and more slanderous comments being made about correctional officers in the media.
The average citizen has no understanding or respect for the plight of the peace officer. The kind of person that it takes to be able to work in law enforcement – the character, integrity and dedication required – not everyone can understand it. Even other law enforcement agencies are frequently in awe of correctional officers – especially county sheriff’s deputies, all of whom have served a length of time working the county jails and respect C/Os for being able to endure a career working behind the wall.
All individuals that dedicate their lives to protecting others – police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, paramedics, etc. – should equally earn the respect of the average citizen. However, that respect is far from equal. There is an old police officer’s saying that says the reason people like firefighters better than the police is because “firefighters do things FOR people and police officers to things TO people.” Just about everyone out there knows someone who has had some kind of a run-in with the law.
So the sympathy of the press – or even of your neighbors within your community who watch the news and read the papers – is not something you can necessarily count on, especially in trying times such as these. Everyone who watches the news knows that California prisons are experiencing dangerous levels of over-crowding - but not everyone is aware of the dangers that the current situation poses to correctional officers as well as to the inmates incarcerated therein. Everyone who reads the papers knows that there is an effort underway to bring about prison reform, and that this platform is being used by both candidates in the Governor’s race. But not everyone is aware that much of the problem is related to the administrative red tape and regulations passed down by CDCR and is not a problem created by officers and staff.
The next couple of months will be difficult at best. It will be hard to hear the press make allegations against your union and against correctional officers as a whole. It will be tough to read opinion pieces printed in the newspapers, written by people who have absolutely no idea what life is like behind the wall – as an officer, staff member or even as an inmate. Elections are not just tough on those that run for office or for their families that support them – but everyone the campaign issues touch.
Much Ado in Sacramento…
Have you been following the news lately? Well unfortunately it hasn’t made the headlines “big time” down in So Cal so for all of you who are unaware of the happenings up at the main CCPOA office in Sacramento - there has been a lot going on… a new union-purchased ad attacking the Governor’s new prison reform policies, a break-down on contract negotiations with a deadline of today that will most likely be missed - and a new committee forms to review the problems associated with the gross overcrowding of California’s prison system…
HEADLINE - Prison Guards Union Launches TV Attack On Schwarzenegger Reforms
August 8, 2006 - The state prison guards union unleashed a television attack against Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday, harshly criticizing the governor’s prison-reform plans. The union’s action was notable because top Schwarzenegger administration officials have been trying to work with the union leadership on prison issues since the start of the year. The cooperation was widely seen as an attempt to keep the union and its campaign warchest on the sidelines as the governor seeks re-election. What appeared to be a warming relationship between the governor’s office and the 30,000-member union is believed to have prompted two corrections secretaries to resign in quick succession earlier this year. It also led to a fierce rebuke from a special master overseeing reforms within the troubled prison system.
LINK - http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=state&id=4442955
HEADLINE - Prison guard talks break down–no contract likely until 2007
It has been more than a month since the labor contract between California and the state’s prison guards expired and the union now says it is digging in and preparing to go without a contract until at least 2007. Discussions have stalled as negotiators face a deadline–which could be as soon as today–to hammer out a deal and have it ratified by the Legislature before the end of the year.
The negotiating teams have not met for more than a week after a late July session when tempers flared and both sides walked away displeased. The state and union have yet even to agree on ground rules for the discussions, which began inauspiciously two months ago when the union demanded to videotape the proceedings. In response, the state negotiators walked out.
“We are at a complete and total standstill. The last official meeting was at least a week ago and it did not go well,” said Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA). “The CCPOA doesn’t have any confidence that a deal can be struck this year.”
Between a statutory 10-day window for the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to write a fiscal analysis and a Senate rule requiring seven days to review any contract, a deal would have to be delivered to the LAO as soon as Friday, August 11.
LINK - http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=909
HEADLINE - Panel rebuffs governor’s prison crowding plan
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to ease prison overcrowding came in for a one-two punch Monday from a newly fashioned coalition that gave the proposal a collective thumbs down and from a legislative leader who promised to give the administration’s correctional policies a tough going-over.
The coalition includes groups such as the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and an inmate rights group headed by a former aide to since-termed-out Democratic state Sen. John Vasconcellos of San Jose, a longtime union nemesis.
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, announced that he is setting up a new committee to hear all of the prison bills in the special session on prison overcrowding called for by the Schwarzenegger administration that technically began Monday.
LINK - http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/15223586.htm