By PATRICK JACKSON
Dover Bureau reporter
09/24/2004
The union representing Delaware's corrections officers threw its support behind Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee on Thursday and prepared to roll out a series of billboards aimed at calling attention to staff shortages.
David Knight, a senior vice president with the state corrections officers' union, said the billboards will start popping up at 48 locations statewide by next week.
The signs carry messages relating to the chronic staff shortages in the state's prison system, such as "Delaware the Home of Staff Free Prisons." There are about 300 job vacancies now in the prison system. After the July abduction and rape of a counselor at the Delaware Correction Center in Smyrna, corrections officers staged a six-week protest over the staff shortage and the practice of requiring some personnel to work double shifts. The protest hurt the state's ability to transport inmates to court appearances.
Knight said the billboards will reinforce that message.
"None of those signs has a political message. They're very matter of fact," he said. "We think this a very good use of our advertising dollars because it gets our message to a lot of people."
While Knight said incumbent Democratic Gov. Ruth Ann Minner has worked with the union on staffing issues, he said the group voted to endorse Lee because they thought he would better address its needs. Lee faces Minner and Independent-Libertarian candidate Frank Infante in November.
"This has been going on for a long time, but not much has been done over the past four years to address it," Knight said. "Things have gotten to the point where they're dangerous. ... We think Bill Lee has the leadership to do something about it."
Lee said Thursday he hopes the move indicates more support among other state employees.
The candidate, who was on hand to receive the group's endorsement and a $1,200 check for his campaign fund, regularly visited prisons this summer during shift changes to meet with rank-and-file corrections workers and got their support in the form of agreements to put up yard signs and donations.
Earlier this month, the administration agreed to recommend changing the pay scale for corrections officers and a 5 percent raise,and to study reducing the number of years corrections officers need to qualify for state pension benefits. Those changes would have to be approved by lawmakers. The state earlier agreed to a plan to pay $500 bonuses to new recruits and their recruiters.
"The governor had a chance to do something about this, and she didn't do it," Lee said, referring to the pay raises. Former Gov. "Pete duPont told me the one thing you have as governor is the bully pulpit. She could have called the General Assembly in with this proposal and said: 'This is an intolerable situation. We must do something about it,' and the ball would have been in their court. ... But she chose to drag things out."
Minner was unavailable Thursday, but her campaign manager Gregory Patterson said the union's move does not come as a surprise. He said the governor is committed to continue working on issues important to the union leadership and she hopes they are still willing to do business with her.
"Now that they've gotten politically active, I hope they feel they can still represent their members at the table with the governor," Patterson said.
"Last September, we had a plan that was signed off on by the leaders of their union and by members of the Cabinet and we have been working to implement that plan," he said. "This isn't just something we've done for the last four months. We're committed to continue working with them over the next four months and, we like to think, for the next four years."
Staff Sgt. Kevin Rolph, a union negotiator, said the endorsement would not affect the group's ability to meet with the governor.
"That's business ... that needs to be done," he said.
Infante said he also wasn't surprised by the endorsement.
"Bill has a good in with the leadership from his time as judge and because he's been working hard with them," he said. "I find this encouraging because it's another indication of the level of discontent among state employees with Ruth Ann."
He also praised the union for putting up the signs.
"It's a message people need to hear," Infante said.
Patterson said the administration had no immediate comment on the billboards.
Contact Patrick Jackson at 678-4274 or pjackson@delawareonline.com.
