CCPOAIronwood.com - Internet Bulletin Board for Members of ISP Chapter CCPOA

Lots going on in the news this week - here’s the full update from around the state:

Folsom Prison Official Details Alleged Staff Sex Harassment
Folsom State Prison is being rocked by allegations of sexual harrassment involving staff and resolving the case may end up costing taxpayers millions of dollars, a top official said…
FULL STORY at KCRA.com

Impasse in Prison Labor Talks
The state Public Employee Relations Board has determined that an “initial” impasse exists in the Schwarzenegger administration’s negotiations with the prison officers union and has decided to subject further talks between the parties to mediation…
FULL STORY at SacBee.com

Death Penalty in Play for Inmate
A judge again refused to dismiss a potential death-penalty charge Thursday against a prison inmate accused of fatally stabbing a guard. Lawyers for Jon Christopher Blaylock argued the count of assault by a life prisoner is unconstitutional because it elevates the otherwise routine crime of assault to a capital offense…
FULL STORY at SBSun.com

Dezember Returns to Fix Prison Health Care System
Robin Dezember has been named director of the Division of Correctional Health Care Services under the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Mr. Dezember has nearly 15 years of experience in the California
corrections system and over 22 years of experience in state government…
FULL STORY at CentralValleyBusinessTimes.com

Ione joins coalition of cities to be heard on prison issues
City leaders in Ione want to make sure they are not run over by California’s Goliath prison system that is about to get even bigger in order to relieve crisis-level overcrowding statewide…
FULL STORY at RecordNet.com

Locked Up and Ailing: MTAs, LVNs, Prison Health Care, & Sillen
Three nurses in long overcoats strode across the concrete yard at Solano State Prison one gray morning this spring, stopping to speak with prisoners along the way… Jane Robinson listened and nodded. Giving health providers - especially nurses - a leading role in the state’s troubled and overcrowded prison system is exactly why she’s here…
FULL STORY at InsideBayArea.com

CIM officers get Medal of Valor
Tuesday more than 400 of them saw their work honored, with 18 officers receiving the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s highest award - the Medal of Valor. Two separate ceremonies were held Tuesday so the numerous employees being honored could continue their work at the prison…
FULL STORY at DailyBulletin.com

California prisons to allow gay family visits
Gay and lesbian inmates in California prisons will have equal access to conjugal visits from their registered domestic partners, the state agency said last week after prodding from the American Civil Liberties Union. The change followed an application last year from convicted burglar Vernon Foeller, 40, of Sacramento, whose partner contacted the ACLU after being denied a family visit to the state’s Vacaville facility…
FULL STORY at Advocate.com

County jail crowding creates scare
When a state prison in Kern County refused last week to accept 10 of the 30 inmates set to be transferred from Todd Road Jail in Santa Paula, jail administrators feared the worst. Ventura County jails already were overcrowded, and administrators were concerned that the state Department of Corrections was beginning to funnel its overflow into county jails, said Kathryn Kemp, chief deputy of detention services for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department…
FULL STORY at VenturaCountyStar.com

State probation funds may be trade-off
Improving services that aim to rehabilitate offenders and reduce recidivism is an important tenant of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to make space in California’s overcrowded prisons. But his latest budget proposal is a mixed bag for a Ventura County department tasked with doing just that…
FULL STORY at VenturaCountyStar.com

A special thank-you to all of the board members and chapter members who have been sending in articles. We can’t possibly check every local/state paper and website so we really appreciate you forwarding the article title, link and short description to us via ccpoaironwood@mindspring.com

Just a quick note - ISP began distributing checks following First Watch this AM (Tuesday). C/O’s with direct deposit began reporting funds in their account as of Monday. Make sure to stop in today and pick up your check!

Over the weekend we received word from CCPOA that with regard to pay-arb checks, they are “in the mail” and on their way to the institutions. No word on what date they will be distributed. According to the arbitrator however, they have until Wednesday, May 23rd to begin distribution.

Here is the actual mini-memo:

The proverbial “Checks Are In The Mail”. We just got word that the State
Controller has cut the checks and is mailing them to the institutions. I
cannot state with any certainty on what date anyone will receive their
check or direct deposit. I only have the information from the Controller
that the checks are cut and being mailed out.

Perry Speth - CCPOA State Secretary

A special thank-you to all of our members who have been sending in articles that they’ve found via the web or in local newspapers. While some articles are frustrating to read - particularly those that are obviously slanted against law enforcement and our union - it is very important to stay on top of these publications so we know what is being said about us to the general public. It’s not so much a matter of “us against them” as it is a matter of trying to get the truth out there - to spread correct information and send in letters to editors to correct erroneous information that has been published in an attempt to alter public view of correctional officers.

Keep sending in those articles and we’ll keep posting them at least weekly. Teamwork!

Conference studies parolees re-entering communities
REDLANDS - State parole officials asked law enforcement agencies to work with them to help parolees rejoin the community at a Monday conference at the University of Redlands.
FULL STORY at PE.com

Fed Recevier wants to fix correctional officer shortage
He notes that the CDCR doesn’t seem able to fix its problems and that AB 900, the prison construction bill, will only make conditions in the prisons worse. He notes the severe shortage of C/Os and has suggested that he be given the authority to “provide direct oversight over hte CDCR’s correctional officer recruitment and hiring program.” (page 43).
READ THE REPORT - .pdf/Adobe format

Prison Crowding Slowing Health Reforms
Severe prison crowding is complicating efforts to improve California’s abysmal inmate health care system, a court-appointed receiver warned Tuesday in a report that also said any remedies will be costly.
FULL STORY at CBS 13

Send articles, news items and other posting ideas to ccpoaironwood@mindspring.com

We caught this program featured on the Discovery Channel on Saturday. The program “Hazard Pay” is kind of like the popular “Dirty Jobs” program, except that it features highly dangerous jobs all around the country. This episode featured the host - who says early on in the beginning of the tape that his father was a correctional officer - “working” as an officer, complete with uniform, vest, etc. at Calipatria State Prison, south of Ironwood. They let him “walk the line” and interact with inmates to give the public a little idea of what goes on behind prison walls.

Overall it was very well done - candid interviews with staff, a cell search, etc. - excellent to share with friends and family or others who might not understand what correctional officers go through on a daily basis. It shows 2 video clips on the Hazard Pay website, but when we viewed them we found them to be identical. Perhaps this is something they are working on now so you may want to click the Part 2 after viewing Part 1 on the Discovery website.

Click the image above for the video clip. There may be a brief commercial loading before the video shows as this is hosted on Discovery Channel, but you will see a good portion of the program right here on the site. Hazard Pay is on Wednesdays at 8pm PT and also repeats early Thursday AMs at midnight and again on weekends with a various viewing schedule. When we see the episode with Calipatria will be repeating in full, we will post the time/channel information here on the website.

WEST SACRAMENTO — The Department of Personnel Administration’s call for mediation to resolve contract negotiations with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association “is just another example of this Administration’s pattern of lies and bad faith dealing when it comes to corrections,” said CCPOA president Mike Jimenez.

“Clearly, DPA is doing the Governor’s dirty work here,” said Jimenez, asking “how can we trust this Administration at the bargaining table when it has continually lied to the Legislature, to us and to the people of this state?”

Jimenez noted that Senator Gloria Romero recently accused the Administration of “flat out lying” by hiding plans to build a new death chamber at San Quentin. Earlier, the Administration came under fire when corrections officials forged personnel documents, and when management failed to provide a stab-proof vest that could have saved Officer Manuel Gonzalez, who was stabbed to death by an inmate while his vest was sitting in a prison warehouse.

“This isn’t any different than what we’ve experienced in negotiations,” said Jimenez. “They secretly recorded one of our sessions, but walked out when we asked to videotape the negotiations to make a public record. We’ve invited legislators and reporters to the negotiations, but the Administration refused.”

“Now they want to put the safety and welfare of our members in the hands of a board in which every member is appointed by the Governor and serve at his pleasure,” said Jimenez. “He says ‘trust me,’ but why should we?”

“The Department of Personnel Administration’s claim that we ‘never offered a single counterproposal’ is flatly untrue,” said Jimenez. “In fact, we sent our last counterproposal to DPA on April 13, at which time we invited them to present their proposal to our board and offered to submit it to our members for a vote. We never heard back.”

“From the start, we have repeatedly asked the Administration to put its proposal in writing — to put down on paper the specific contract language they’re proposing,” said Jimenez. “But they refuse.

“They’ve promised us pay raises and other incentives, but they’re never willing to make good on their promises by giving us the precise contract language,” said Jimenez. “It’s very difficult to judge the merits and fairness of a proposal when you can’t see specifically what it says — and it’s especially hard when you’re dealing with people who have lied repeatedly and without shame.”

Jimenez said: “We mean what we say — give us your exact proposal in writing so we have something to talk about. To move forward, it’s that simple.”

To read DPA’s press release, click here: http://www.dpa.ca.gov/general/20070510-mediation-filed.shtm

The numbers are finally in. To see the chart that shows the pay out
amounts, click the hyperlink below. The State has 9 more working days to
send out the checks and you should receive the checks in the same manner
as you receive your paycheck.

Perry Speth
- CCPOA State Secretary

http://www.ccpoa.org/uploaded/labor_upload/PayArbChart3.pdf

CCPOAIronwood.com received word that the “pay arb” list was turned over to the State Controllers office by CCPOA. This was after more than a month of diligent effort by CCPOA to catch and correct errors affecting over 100 members’ accounts. CCPOA has identified all of the errors that they can at this point given the information made available to them, and they have now concluded the process.

During the entire “reconciliation” period the moneys accrued interest, which will be fully and equally distributed to all members that earned a portion of the award. As per the arbitrator’s decision, as we as information received from the State Controller, the award will begin to be distributed within the next 10 workdays.

CCPOA does not have any further information or involvement regarding disbursements. The State Controllers office is determining the monthly amount based upon the number of qualified members each month. This information should be available by Thursday morning and CCPOA will provide that information to the membership when they receive it.

Chuck Alexander
CCPOA