could strike, so strike it was on Monday, October 1, 2001.
This was the first time that I’d been on strike; at least that anyone other than me had been aware of.
I would walk the picket line often after my shift. When cars drove by some people waved or honked in approval. Many others waved with their middle finger and shouted obscenities. This made me feel like I was back inside working.
I kind of liked this picket line stuff. It was the first time in years that women had driven by and waved at me, even thou it was with just one finger.
A car full of young guys drove by and flipped me off. I yelled, “Coward.” They yelled, “Fuck you.” I yelled, “Try it. You’ll never go back to women.”
Someone drove by and issued me a salutation with his hand. I asked the person next to me, “Was that one finger or two?”
This one guy brought a couple of his teenage daughters with him to walk the picket line. They were standing there waving at people as they drove by. Everyone was honking and waving back. When their dad and I waved to people driving by, we would generally get only about one fifth of the hand in return.
It’s strange how things change with time. I remember when these kids would have been hotties to me. Now, their grandma is the one that would be the hottie to me. To some of the guys locked up in this place, kids are still hotties.
The case workers were in a different union. Those that refused to honor our strike received a lot of verbal abuse as they crossed our picket line. Correction officers know everything there is to know about the use of salty language. But we got called words at times that I had never even heard before.
After a time, the contract offer was still the same. The secretaries were regretting going on strike. They wanted to get a paycheck again. The union, feeling pressure from them, now said it was a great offer and that we should vote to accept it. It was exactly the same lousy offer that people voted to go on strike against. Nothing changed except that what the union once told us was unacceptable; they were now saying was great. If you aren’t prepared to stick by your guns, don’t start shooting them off in the first place.
The secretaries accepted the offer and went back to work. We stopped going out on the picket line. It was over.
To us at Stillwater, this was unacceptable. Sure the secretaries thought it was great. They wound up with a contract that far exceeded what they had to do and any risk they might have to take.
KICK THEM BLOOD SUCKERS OUT
A group at Stillwater got together and tried to get the union kicked out. We wanted to get in the association with the state highway patrol. We figured that we could get a more equitable contract that way. What we did on our job lined up a lot better with highway patrol officers that it did with secretaries. We didn’t need lots of the benefits that had been acquired over time. We needed a decent wage.
We heard that the highway patrol academy was eight weeks and that gave them qualifications that warranted them getting higher wages than us. However, I was not able to verify the accuracy of this statement.
The union was in a tizzy. They did not want to lose the gravy money that they did nothing to warrant receiving. Had they earned it with fair negotiations with the state, we probably would’ve let things slide. But the fact was, as long as we were in a union with a group of people that did a totally different type of job than we did, we would continue to not have a contract that met our needs and what we rightly deserved.
The union called up activists from other parts of the country to come to our homes. These guys like this job. They get to travel, drink and try to intimidate people that don’t see things their way. They like a job that is more like partying than working.
The three big guys that came to my house uninvited and unannounced started off cocky and arrogant. They knew they had the element of surprise, teaming up on me and being prepared with their spiel. They weren’t prepared for someone that wasn’t able to be intimidated and had informed himself on the details. They would bring up a point and I would tear it apart with facts. They couldn’t come up with any point that I couldn’t shut down instantly. The only way they could convince anyone to keep the union was by twisting facts and telling lies. Any informed person could see right through their technique. I actually had a good time shutting them down. Once they saw how our conversation was going, they couldn’t leave fast enough. They needed to go to another bar or find someone to let them in that wasn’t informed of the facts.
When the vote came up on December 17, 2002, we lost. Only a couple of people at Stillwater voted to keep the union. The problem was, the other seven institutions voted to keep the union. They didn’t have the balls to take a risk on something that could be much better. They had a comfort zone that they were in and were afraid of the unknown.
I voted to dump the union even though I probably wouldn’t have been able to retire at 55 if we switched to something else. I didn’t care; it was the right thing to do. Sometime you have to take a stand. The officers at Stillwater were intelligent enough and had the balls to try to do what could’ve made being a corrections officer in Minnesota a good job. Too bad those in the other prisons did not.
CRAP UNION WANTS MORE MONEY
In October of 2004, we heard that senate staffers received a $1,750 bonus. At the same time, the governor stated that we had to "tighten our belts." Why us and not others? With my austere way of living, I got by. However, many people working here have families to support. Working in an environment like this and getting a kick in the teeth like this doesn't make for a satisfied prison staff.
On December 22, 2004, us officers received an email notifying us that this horrible union wanted more money.
"The per cap increase is $2.10 a month; if the local decides to pass this onto the members the member will see $.97 cents per pay check increase."
Sure this is not a lot of money per person, but considering that in 2001, we received a 0% increase in pay, 0% cost of living increase, and an increase in our out of pocket health insurance premiums, they did not deserve anything. It was the principle of what they were doing.
Also, consider the number of people paying this $25.20 per year. Multiply that out and they are raking in a lot of extra cash.
LIARS
LET ME COUNT THE LIES
How many lies can one inmate tell? I believe it was Buzz Light-Year who said it best. It was something like, “To infinity and beyond.”
An inmate was seen coming out of his cell when he was not supposed to come out.
An officer asked why he was coming out when it was not his flag time.
“My door was popped and I think I have a pass to health services.”
“Go to the bubble and see if you have a pass, but if you don’t have one, come right back and switch in.”
About half an hour later, the officer checked his cell and found that he was not in it. She thought he must have had a pass. To make sure she asked the sergeant in the bubble if the inmate had come down and asked for a pass. The sarge told her that the inmate never came to him and that he did not have any pass. Eventually, she saw the inmate on the
