Our experience in the public safety field has demonstrated that the collective bargaining process is a tried and true method of improving communication among line corrections officers and upper management. The result is safer and more effective corrections systems. This is not to infer that labor and management always agree on every issue at the outset of the process but, without exception, corrections officer unions and their management counterparts have made the accommodations and compromises necessary to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement. The process of working-out problems sets the stage for solving other problems that are an everyday occurrence in the workplace. Public safety officers deserve the same right to discuss workplace issues with their employer that the federal government grants to most other workers.
Corrections officers work in dangerous conditions with the most violent members of our society.
They risk their lives to ensure that the public is held safe from these criminals. They sacrifice their safety for the sake of the public. In systems where there is no collective bargaining, communication is stifled, and the dangers faced by uniformed personnel are exacerbated. We ask that these public servants be put on par with other workers. With these important rights, labor and management will work as a team to carry out the public safety mission in a quality work environment.