Whereas; Correctional Officers are 1st Responders who swear an oath to protect our communities while providing care, custody and control of the incarcerated population in our correctional facilities, and
Whereas; our correctional facilities contain one of the highest risk populations for infectious diseases in the nation, with over 1.5 million incarcerated in confined spaces; and
Whereas; the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been detected in Correctional Officers, the incarcerated and staff in various facilities across the nation; and
Whereas; Correctional Officers face a higher risk of exposure due to their professional responsibilities and required interactions; and
Whereas; stopping the spread of COVID-19 in our correctional facilities is of critical importance to fulfilling our oath of duty to safely maintain care, custody and control as such the restrictions we propose are not designed to be used in a punitive manner; and
Whereas; Correctional Officers and staff will be commuting to and from correctional facilities and possibly exposing their family members and other civilians to possible contagions contracted in the correctional environment; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that as the leaders and voices of hundreds of thousands of Correctional Officers and staff across the country we urge the Governors, Federal Government, and Department Directors to do the following:
- immediately cease the ingress and egress of all non-essential personnel into correctional facilities including transitioning all visitations to tele-visits; and
- until further notice cease all outside inmate work details, court trips, non-emergency medical appointments, inter-agency transfers of those incarcerated, including interstate compacts, private-public transfers and the transporting of ICE detainees, unless they have been pre-screened for infectious disease, quarantined for fourteen days and show no signs of infection; and
- suspend all programs that involve the admittance of non-security or non-medical personnel into the facility; or any activity requiring the transportation of inmates outside of the institution, unless designated as an emergency and specifically authorized by the Commissioner, Secretary or Director of Corrections; and
- limit all in-house programs (NA, AA, Chapel, Library access, etc.) to 8 participants at any time. Social distancing of a minimum of 6 feet will be maintained and enforced; and
- increase frequency of facility cleaning details, all to be done in accordance with Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, order additional cleaning supplies and PPE’s; and
- identify those incarcerated who have a high risk for infection as designated by the CDC, and wherever possible move those so identified into separate housing areas, to include consideration of re-opening areas or facilities that have been recently shuttered or can be re- purposed in a safe, secure and habitable manner; and
- require all staff entering a correctional facility to have their temperature taken by a trained individual and deny access to any staff member whose result is at or higher than the CDC’s indicator limits; and
- should a staff member be denied entrance by failing the temperature test, is quarantined or contracts COVID-19, their resulting leave shall be considered the result of a hazardous duty injury and will be fully compensated at their regular rate of pay, without being attached to any existing accrued leave time, including sick leave, vacation time, personal leave or comp time; and
- should a jurisdiction provide hazardous duty pay to 1st Responders as a result of COVID19, all essential correctional personnel working in said jurisdiction shall be compensated as such; and
- temporarily suspend all policies requiring that a specific number of cell, individual and/or property searches be conducted and allow all searches to be conducted at the discretion of the Officers on duty or by written order of a superior officer; and
- to provide the best possible protection for staff, and those under our care, custody and control; all security and medical personnel shall be equipped with N95 face masks or the equivalent, hand sanitizer or sanitized wipes and protective gloves. Gloves and masks shall always be worn inside the facility; and
- immediately issue informational flyers to all staff, and those in our custody, on how to best avoid contracting COVID-19 and how best to insulate staff, inmates and family members from spreading the infection and the necessary steps to take if infection is suspected or detected; and
- assign an information Officer to provide daily updates to staff, seek staff input and promote open, consistent communication throughout the agency and to provide updates to those in our custody, so long as it does not jeopardize safety or security; and
- provide a mechanism for staff to be a part of the ongoing strategy to address the current pandemic and a partner in planning for potential future epidemics and other high-risk scenarios; and
- all essential corrections personnel and first responders who die as a result of contracting COVID19 shall be considered as having died in the line of duty and their survivors shall be entitled to all benefits afforded officers by their jurisdiction including all benefits afforded by the federal Public Safety Officers Benefits program.
Signed in Unity on this 3rd day of April 2020.
| Mary Kay Henry President Service Employees International Union (SEIU) | Rory Gamble President United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) |
| Byron Osborn President Michigan Corrections Organization | Cecil Roberts President United Mine Workers Association (UMWA) |
| Michael Powers President New York State Correctional Officer and Police Benevolent Association | Pat Colligan President New Jersey State Police Benevolent Association |
| Larry Blackwell President Pennsylvania State Correctional Officers Association | Tammie Owens President Prince George’s Correctional Officers Association |
| Richard Ferruccio President Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers | Randy McLellan President Alaska Correctional Officers Association |
| Jimmy Davis President State Employees Association of North Carolina | Chris Banton President Anne Arundel County Detention Officers and Personnel |
| Wayne Spence President New York State Public Employees Federation | Dan Weber President Association of Oregon Corrections Employees |
| Chris Murphy President National Corrections Employees Union | Ed Sullivan President New Jersey Superior Officers Association |
| Will Toolen President New Jersey Law Enforcement Supervisors Association | Peter MacKinnon President SEIU Local 509 |
| Bobby Lee Cleveland Executive Director Oklahoma Corrections Professionals | Rich Gulla President SEIU Local 1984 |
| Nancy E Cross Vice President SEIU Local 1, Missouri Division | Stephen Anderson President CSEA SEIU Local 2001 |
| Bill Nagy Local State Delegate New Jersey State PBA Monmouth County | Jonathan Corey President AFSCME Local 419 |
| Kevin Coleman President Essex County Correctional Officers Association | Gregory Trueheart President AFSCME Local 159 Philadelphia, PA |
| Scott Ward 1st VP Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Corrections | Brandon Shots President Jefferson County UMWA Local 2007 |
| Dan Shea President Middlesex County Correctional Officers | Brian Klak Sergeant at Arms Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association |
| Tim Cutt Representative Missouri Correctional Officers Association | Robert Dummy President Cambria County UMWA Local 616 |
| William Young President Riverside Sheriffs Association | Chris Bernette President Fayette County UMWA Local 9113 |
| David Sims President Westmoreland County UMWA Local 522 | Rodney Constable President Elk County UMWA Local 8119 |
| Micki Fink President Clarion County UMWA Local 016 | Mark Keffer President Somerset County UMWA Local 2004 |
| Eric Miller President Indiana County UMWA Local 4802 | |