Byron Osborn, right, president of the Michigan Corrections Organization, leads an informational picket along U.S. 41 South in Marquette on Tuesday to address what the MCO believes are staffing shortages in the Michigan Department of Corrections. The organization’s informational pickets are held in various parts of the state, with this event taking place across from the Marquette Branch Prison. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)

MARQUETTE — Members of the Michigan Corrections Organization lined up along U.S. 41 South in Marquette on Tuesday afternoon for an “informational picket.”

The picket was held to address what the MCO believes is mismanagement from the Michigan Department of Corrections administration.

The MCO is the union representing state corrections officers.

At issue are unfilled vacancies.

“We are trying to draw some focus on the fact that for the past five years, the Michigan Department of Corrections has failed to address the ongoing staffing shortages for corrections officers,” said Byron Osborn, president of the MCO, who attended the protest held across the highway from the Marquette Branch Prison.

Osborn said the state has consistently had a rate of 750 officer vacancies, which the MCO believes is unsustainable.

“What’s happening is it’s causing widespread overtime, mandatory overtime,” Osborn said. “Officers are exhausted. Their family lives are being disrupted, and it’s just unsafe for the operation of the facility to have exhausted, burned-out staff inside there.”

He said the MCO has sent a “vote of no confidence” letter regarding MDOC Director Heidi Washington to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office and the Michigan Legislature, which appropriates money for the MDOC to hire new officers.

“We don’t believe she’s been able to address these things adequately,” Osborn said of Washington. “So we’re seeking new leadership. And we’re also seeking a commitment from the Legislature, the department (of corrections) and the governor’s office to overhaul and re-evaluate the MDOC’s recruitment efforts and their retention efforts, because we can’t be in this cycle every year, just maintaining the status quo, hiring 700 and losing 700. We’re not gaining anything.”

MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz said in a phone interview that the department agrees more corrections officers need to be hired, but money is a factor. As of Tuesday, there were 734 vacancies statewide.

“There’s not enough funding to be at zero,” Gautz said of the vacancies.

He pointed out that the “sweet spot” is between 400 and 500 vacancies.

Gautz said the 500 vacancy range was hit in January. A quarterly academy scheduled for March meant the MDOC was set to hire more than 250 officers.

However, that academy was canceled due to COVID-19.

“We lose about 45 officers every month either due to retirements, promotions or if they get fired, so we have to hire about 600 officers every year just to maintain where we’re at,” Gautz said.

In the upcoming year’s state budget, the MDOC plans to hire 950 new officers statewide between now and the fall of 2021.

“This is an issue Director Washington has been focused on,” said Gautz, who pointed out that other states deal with the same issue.

Michigan has an 11.8% vacancy rate, he noted, but Nebraska has more than a 14% vacancy rate and Missouri has more than a 20% rate. Oklahoma’s rate is about 30%.

“We certainly recognize the need,” he said.

However, Gautz stressed that COVID-19 exacerbates the vacancy issue in some facilities.

Statewide, 280 officers have tested positive so far, he said.

“Every time someone tests positive, they have to go home,” Gautz said.

Contact tracing through video recordings also results in staff having to go home for awhile.

Gautz has a suggestion for the union.

“The big thing they can do to help is strongly advocating for compliance with the governor’s executive order,” he said.

All prisoners and staff must wear masks at all times except for eating, sleeping or showering, Gautz said, with these mandates having been in place since April.

He acknowledged COVID-19 numbers have been good in some places, such as the Upper Peninsula, but not as good in other places.

“The U.P. has done really well with COVID-19 and preparing,” Gautz said.

The pandemic has not been an issue at Marquette Branch Prison, with one prisoner testing positive. However, Gautz said the inmate had come into the facility from a county jail with a positive test, only to then test negative.

No Marquette Branch Prison staff have tested positive, he said. At the Alger Correctional Facility, no prisoners or staff have had positive tests, while at the Baraga Correctional Facility, 10 staff and one prisoner have tested positive.

At the Chippewa Correctional Facility, one staff member tested positive, but no prisoners tested positive. At the Kinross Correctional Facility, one prisoner and no staff tested positive.

At the Newberry Correctional Facility, though, 205 prisoners and seven staff tested positive.

Gautz said the MDOC’s policy is to not transfer prisoners north of the Mackinac Bridge so the coronavirus is not introduced into U.P. prisons.

“That’s been a big help as well,” he said.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net