Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette Members of the Michigan Corrections Organization, the union of Michigan’s corrections officers, display signs as part of a picket near the Baraga Correctional Facility.

BARAGA — On Tuesday afternoon, several corrections officers, their friends and families, concerned citizens, politicians and union representatives held a picket at the side of Highway 41 and Superior Avenue in the vicinity of Baraga Correctional Facility.

The picket was organized as one of three pickets across Upper Peninsula prisons by the Michigan Corrections Organization union to raise awareness of the low staffing levels in the Michigan Department of Corrections facility and the dangers it creates for corrections officers with an emphasis on mandated double shifts. A picket was held Monday at Chippewa and Kinross Correctional Facilities, and another picket is planned for outside of Marquette Branch Prison today.

About five dozen supporters participated at the Baraga site throughout the day, though the numbers were never consistent due to the fact that many officers who participated had to report for their shift at the prison. Officers who had just finished their shift took the working officers’ places and joined the picket in the later afternoon to raise signs that informed the public of officers’ lack of work-life balance, being exposed to constant dangers and other grievances they have for their working conditions.

One of the officers who had to leave the picket early to go to work was the chapter president of the Baraga facility of the MCO Doug Gilbertson. Gilbertson said that it was difficult for officers to be at the pickets due to the officers facing extreme exhaustion.

“I’ve been with the state for more than 24 years and I’ve watched it decline and decline,” Gilbertson said. “I mean this is a good job and it’s good pay for this end of the state, but under these conditions? Man, nobody wants to work like this knowing that you’re never going home.”

Gilbertson then explained that when he was first hired on the job there was a waiting list to be interviewed at the prison and that the job was difficult to obtain. He said that the benefits and pay were once unbeatable in this part of the state. This is why he hopes the picket will raise public awareness.

“I hope people come out of this with knowledge of what’s going on here and how we’re suffering,” he said. “And I’m hoping that we get politicians to finally stand behind us. That’s something that’s been difficult for corrections officers for as long as I’ve been around. Nobody really cares about corrections because once somebody goes to prison they want to just forget about it. They don’t think about the men and women that have to work in there who are moms and dads and brothers and sisters and grandparents that deal [with those imprisoned]. We still have to be in there. We still have to man the walls.”

Gilbertson then went on to explain something that many citizens and lawmakers have discussed that needs to happen in order for the careers in corrections to become appealing again. He said that the pay needs to rise, a pension needs to return and that retirement health care needs to be considered to bring eyes back to the field for those seeking work. Gilbertson expressed he wished more officers could be there, but many were afraid to even show up to the picket because of possible retaliation from the department.

Many of the officers expressed frustration with being unable to tell people what they experience inside the prison without fear of losing their jobs. Many common consensuses among officers are that the director of the MDOC, Heidi Washington, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are responsible for letting the crisis reach this point and that they should resign, that the MDOC administration does not care about them and cares more about prisoners, and that departmental decisions inside the facilities create more dangers, such as releasing prisoners from segregation back into general population of prison for serious violations like fighting or possession of a weapon. Officers also mentioned that being mandated for 16-hour shifts on a daily or near daily basis away from home leads to divorces, unhealthy diets, excessive drinking and the inability to be with friends and family.

“What more can this state take from us?” an officer asked. “We are spending more time in prison than with our family.”

The other group of notable attendees at the picket were the state politicians who represent the Upper Peninsula. They conversed with everyone in attendance and held signs in solidarity with the officers and their families while learning more about the happenings in the prison. Those who attended were Sen. John Damoose-R and Representatives Jenn Hill-D, Greg Markkanen-R and Dave Prestin-R. The Republican candidate running for the 109th District of Michigan Karl Bohnak was also in attendance to offer support and learn more about the staffing crisis.

Hill had recently toured the facility and the experience has given her a deeper understanding of what officers face within its walls. She said that the experience was sobering and it further strengthened her dedication to do something about the staffing crisis. She said current demands of overtime are not sustainable and that needs to change along with health benefits being emphasized, considering how many officers there are coming out with health problems due to the stress of the job.

“They want retiree health benefits,” Hill said. “I think Michigan brought us the middle class with Henry Ford and it’s time to bring that back.”

Markkanen had toured the facility before and is also familiar with the dangers officers face in the prison.

“I have a lot of sympathy for what they’re going through and working 3, 4 or 5 doubles in a row,” he said. “Not getting family time and not getting proper sleep jeopardizes their safety at work. It’s a very dangerous situation and we just can’t have that anymore.”

Markkanen emphasized that Whitmer and Washington need to step up and directly address the issue. He said that the working conditions, pension, health care and salaries need to be addressed quickly but understands that it is not a problem that can be solved overnight. He urges the public to be informed and to contact more representatives to voice their displeasure with the working conditions. Markkanen hopes that the situation can be further discussed after a bipartisan Senate group discusses the staffing issues with the governor and director.

Prestin understood the situation the officers were in due to his experience being a firefighter. He had experience with working somewhat similar hours in a dangerous profession and is concerned for the officers’ sanity after facing dangers during an entire shift.

“We’ve got to give these guys more money in their pockets,” he said. “We got to make this job attractive, and we got to make this place the best place to work for and not the worst.”