The men and women who risk their lives each day working as correctional officers in our county jails are admittedly underpaid. They work under incredible pressure and stress in a job most people would shun. It is not glamorous work. About a dozen off-duty corrections officers from the Rockingham County House of Corrections picketed for three hours Monday morning, across from the county complex in Brentwood.
Mediation is the next likely step.
Without question, the pay for the type of work and the raises involved is too low and in need of adjustment. But both sides need to find a fair middle ground between what the officers now earn and what their union is seeking. State Employees Association Local 58, the union representing the officers, is standing firm to its demand for a 51 percent increase in pay, to kick in immediately on Day One of the new contract. Clearly, that's excessive. Yes, but not 51 percent, with additional raises being sought in each of the two successive years.