Monday, September 14, 2009
Radio Issues--Reports Requested
As we are all aware Management has often informed us to rely on our less than reliable Radio System for Emergency Transmissions. However we all know that these radio's fail nearly as often as they work. Your local Union Executive are requesting you take a couple minutes at the end of your shift to report any and all issues with your radio use throughout the radio. Please take note of poor transmissions, dead/dying batteries and the frequency of such. Submit one report to Management and one to either Paul, Jason or Randy. Yes this takes work, but just a few minutes worth, but this work will assist your Health and Safety Committee affect change for all of us.
It saved his life
'It saved his life'
A protective vest is credited with saving the life of a veteran correctional officer who was among six guards attacked by two convicts at Kingston Penitentiary Wednesday evening. "It saved his life," said Jason Godin, regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers. He spoke to the officer yesterday, two days after the attack. "He said, 'If I hadn't had the vest, the guy would have sunk 12 inches of blade in my kidney,' " Godin said. The officer became involved in a scuffle on a cellblock of the maximum-security federal prison. One inmate became very aggressive, Godin said, and at some point produced a large-bladed knife and jabbed it into the officer's torso. "It felt like a real solid punch and then he realized (the prisoner) tried to stab him," Godin said. He said the officer has some bruising. The knife used in the attack -- or shiv, as it's known in prison -- was recovered. Godin said police took the officer's vest as evidence. The assaults happened around 10:30 p. m., when convicts were being locked in their cells. The incident began when one inmate smashed a fluorescent light tube in his cell and began hurling the pieces of broken glass at two officers. The officers suffered cuts. Four other officers were attacked by the inmate with a homemade weapon, according to Corrections Canada. The prison service did not disclose that the weapon was a knife. Three of them suffered cuts to their hands, wrist and back and one suffered a pulled muscle. Corrections will not provide any additional details. "I know that the officers were wearing stab-proof vests and they're very good pieces of safety equipment that CSC has provided to the officers who are working in the units," Brian Joyce, an assistant warden at Kingston Pen said yesterday. "I can't speak specifically about whether that was a life-saving event or not but it certainly is a mitigating factor." are still being assessed. One officer may have suffered an injured eye from flying glass. Joyce cited privacy laws in refusing to provide any information about the status of the staff. The two inmate attackers have been transferred out of the prison and could end up in a special handling unit, a super- secure facility for convicts who pose a threat behind bars. All of the roughly 400 convicts at KP remain confined to their cells and all visits and programs were cancelled to allow a prison-wide search for weapons and contraband. "We're going to take our time and do what's necessary to make sure every-thing's safe before we open up," Joyce said. He could not predict when the search would be completed and the institution's normal routine would be restored. Godin said the incident could have been defused, with fewer injuries, if correctional officers were permitted to carry OC, a form of pepper spray. He said staff could see the incident spiralling out of control. "If we had [OC spray], we could have prevented further injuries," he said. The union has been battling senior management for some time, arguing that prison guards should be permitted to carry small canisters of the spray so that they can swiftly respond to violent incidents. At the moment, OC spray is available, but staff must go to a locked, central command post and ask permission from a supervisor for its use. Godin said staff often don't have time to fetch a weapon. "Eighty per cent of the use-of-force incidents that happen in our institutions are spontaneous," he said. Two years ago, guards at maximum-security Kent Institution in British Columbia briefly refused to work and filed a health and safety complaint under the Canada Labour Code over the failure of prison bosses to issue OC spray. A tribunal hearing was held in July to examine the complaint. A decision could take six months. "It is frustrating," said Gord Robertson, regional president of the union based in Abbotsford, B. C. "It's difficult when we know that these things actually protect staff, they actually save staff's lives and in the case of OC it can definitely help in protecting inmates' lives because we can break up fights." Robertson said the union faced the same resistance from senior Corrections bosses over demands for handcuffs and vests to be standard issue, at least in maximum-security prisons. Corrections initially resisted union demands for cuffs and vests, arguing they would provoke or intimidate prisoners. In 2004, Corrections Canada agreed to allow correctional officers to carry handcuffs. Vests were issued to staff in maximum-security prisons and to some staff in medium-security facilities about two years ago. Robertson said Corrections is facing a serious budget crunch and money may be a factor in the resistance to give OC spray to all staff. He notes that Corrections spent nearly $25,000 to hire an expert to appear at the tribunal in July to argue against the union. "Twenty-four thousand, nine hundred dollars would buy enough OC spray for an institution for years," he said. Robertson said staff inside prisons face a growing threat of violence. "CSC realizes that these inmates are becoming more and more violent all the time," he said.
A protective vest is credited with saving the life of a veteran correctional officer who was among six guards attacked by two convicts at Kingston Penitentiary Wednesday evening. "It saved his life," said Jason Godin, regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers. He spoke to the officer yesterday, two days after the attack. "He said, 'If I hadn't had the vest, the guy would have sunk 12 inches of blade in my kidney,' " Godin said. The officer became involved in a scuffle on a cellblock of the maximum-security federal prison. One inmate became very aggressive, Godin said, and at some point produced a large-bladed knife and jabbed it into the officer's torso. "It felt like a real solid punch and then he realized (the prisoner) tried to stab him," Godin said. He said the officer has some bruising. The knife used in the attack -- or shiv, as it's known in prison -- was recovered. Godin said police took the officer's vest as evidence. The assaults happened around 10:30 p. m., when convicts were being locked in their cells. The incident began when one inmate smashed a fluorescent light tube in his cell and began hurling the pieces of broken glass at two officers. The officers suffered cuts. Four other officers were attacked by the inmate with a homemade weapon, according to Corrections Canada. The prison service did not disclose that the weapon was a knife. Three of them suffered cuts to their hands, wrist and back and one suffered a pulled muscle. Corrections will not provide any additional details. "I know that the officers were wearing stab-proof vests and they're very good pieces of safety equipment that CSC has provided to the officers who are working in the units," Brian Joyce, an assistant warden at Kingston Pen said yesterday. "I can't speak specifically about whether that was a life-saving event or not but it certainly is a mitigating factor." are still being assessed. One officer may have suffered an injured eye from flying glass. Joyce cited privacy laws in refusing to provide any information about the status of the staff. The two inmate attackers have been transferred out of the prison and could end up in a special handling unit, a super- secure facility for convicts who pose a threat behind bars. All of the roughly 400 convicts at KP remain confined to their cells and all visits and programs were cancelled to allow a prison-wide search for weapons and contraband. "We're going to take our time and do what's necessary to make sure every-thing's safe before we open up," Joyce said. He could not predict when the search would be completed and the institution's normal routine would be restored. Godin said the incident could have been defused, with fewer injuries, if correctional officers were permitted to carry OC, a form of pepper spray. He said staff could see the incident spiralling out of control. "If we had [OC spray], we could have prevented further injuries," he said. The union has been battling senior management for some time, arguing that prison guards should be permitted to carry small canisters of the spray so that they can swiftly respond to violent incidents. At the moment, OC spray is available, but staff must go to a locked, central command post and ask permission from a supervisor for its use. Godin said staff often don't have time to fetch a weapon. "Eighty per cent of the use-of-force incidents that happen in our institutions are spontaneous," he said. Two years ago, guards at maximum-security Kent Institution in British Columbia briefly refused to work and filed a health and safety complaint under the Canada Labour Code over the failure of prison bosses to issue OC spray. A tribunal hearing was held in July to examine the complaint. A decision could take six months. "It is frustrating," said Gord Robertson, regional president of the union based in Abbotsford, B. C. "It's difficult when we know that these things actually protect staff, they actually save staff's lives and in the case of OC it can definitely help in protecting inmates' lives because we can break up fights." Robertson said the union faced the same resistance from senior Corrections bosses over demands for handcuffs and vests to be standard issue, at least in maximum-security prisons. Corrections initially resisted union demands for cuffs and vests, arguing they would provoke or intimidate prisoners. In 2004, Corrections Canada agreed to allow correctional officers to carry handcuffs. Vests were issued to staff in maximum-security prisons and to some staff in medium-security facilities about two years ago. Robertson said Corrections is facing a serious budget crunch and money may be a factor in the resistance to give OC spray to all staff. He notes that Corrections spent nearly $25,000 to hire an expert to appear at the tribunal in July to argue against the union. "Twenty-four thousand, nine hundred dollars would buy enough OC spray for an institution for years," he said. Robertson said staff inside prisons face a growing threat of violence. "CSC realizes that these inmates are becoming more and more violent all the time," he said.
From The MERC Team - September 2/09
Dear Corrections Division
ASMPP - policy grievances are moving forward on managements program, we have yet to get answers to our questions....as well....we have a second stage meeting coming up in near future, September 8th, 2009.
Roll Overs - no information as of yet around "Rolls" is due to the fact that there is no news to report.There are loads of rumours, but as our last Lock Talk indicated....that's all they are.....we are still in negotiations with management on the issue of rollovers...(and many other items) as well management is in the process of going through calculating all the hours of Fixed Term/Unclassified/Contract Employees across the province.The numbers per institution are not agreed upon...we have given management our suggested formula...but they have yet to come back with their suggestions or recommendations.When something is agreed upon...we will send it to your local presidents...& then we will post it on here, it is usually up within a day after notice is sent to local Presidents.The Union has no desire to hold up rollovers...it serves the members in no positive manner...we are continuing to push for a speedy and fair process to gain stability for our members.
Meeting with Deputy Minister and ADM's - There was a meeting called September 1st, 2009 at OPSEU Head Office with representation from the president's office, staff services and the grievance department as well Brothers Gord Longi and Eddy Almeida. Deputy Minister, Mr. Jay Hope, ADM's for Institutions Mr. Steven Small and Community Kevin Cowie also attended, Dr. Ralph Agard, ADM of OED was not in attendance....We had the opportunity to speak frankly with the deputy and ADM's as what we believe are our common goals as well as what we see as barriers to moving forward in a positive manner. Primarily we want to be included in the law enforcement community, treated with the same respect and discussed how to work together to get there....we are hoping the recommendations that come out of the Security and Inmate Management Committee as well as other MERC/POH&SC/SAROCSC committees and sub committees assist in outlining methods to reach these goals over time, as well as deal with outstanding Labour Management issues. We understand that we still have some major hurtles a head of us....but we are hoping that with dialogue we should be able to come to some agreements and then actions that are in the best interest of all.
Committees - We have brought the MCSCS committees up to date on our web site, they and the members attached to said committees can be found under Information, but may be moved under stand alone heading of committees in very near future. As in all other aspects of our web site, this is a work in progress.
Any other information.....as it comes available, we will post ASAP.
Thank you for your continued work in protecting the good citizens of Ontario.
In Sol., MCSCS MERC
ASMPP - policy grievances are moving forward on managements program, we have yet to get answers to our questions....as well....we have a second stage meeting coming up in near future, September 8th, 2009.
Roll Overs - no information as of yet around "Rolls" is due to the fact that there is no news to report.There are loads of rumours, but as our last Lock Talk indicated....that's all they are.....we are still in negotiations with management on the issue of rollovers...(and many other items) as well management is in the process of going through calculating all the hours of Fixed Term/Unclassified/Contract Employees across the province.The numbers per institution are not agreed upon...we have given management our suggested formula...but they have yet to come back with their suggestions or recommendations.When something is agreed upon...we will send it to your local presidents...& then we will post it on here, it is usually up within a day after notice is sent to local Presidents.The Union has no desire to hold up rollovers...it serves the members in no positive manner...we are continuing to push for a speedy and fair process to gain stability for our members.
Meeting with Deputy Minister and ADM's - There was a meeting called September 1st, 2009 at OPSEU Head Office with representation from the president's office, staff services and the grievance department as well Brothers Gord Longi and Eddy Almeida. Deputy Minister, Mr. Jay Hope, ADM's for Institutions Mr. Steven Small and Community Kevin Cowie also attended, Dr. Ralph Agard, ADM of OED was not in attendance....We had the opportunity to speak frankly with the deputy and ADM's as what we believe are our common goals as well as what we see as barriers to moving forward in a positive manner. Primarily we want to be included in the law enforcement community, treated with the same respect and discussed how to work together to get there....we are hoping the recommendations that come out of the Security and Inmate Management Committee as well as other MERC/POH&SC/SAROCSC committees and sub committees assist in outlining methods to reach these goals over time, as well as deal with outstanding Labour Management issues. We understand that we still have some major hurtles a head of us....but we are hoping that with dialogue we should be able to come to some agreements and then actions that are in the best interest of all.
Committees - We have brought the MCSCS committees up to date on our web site, they and the members attached to said committees can be found under Information, but may be moved under stand alone heading of committees in very near future. As in all other aspects of our web site, this is a work in progress.
Any other information.....as it comes available, we will post ASAP.
Thank you for your continued work in protecting the good citizens of Ontario.
In Sol., MCSCS MERC
Thursday, August 13, 2009
MERC letter to Mr. Hope RE: ASMPP
Letter to Mr. Jay Hope from your MERC Team
August 12th, 2009
Greetings Corrections Division
Attached is a letter we have sent due to management refusing to provide us with any information regarding their program.
In Sol., MERC
To view the letter: Click Here
August 12th, 2009
Greetings Corrections Division
Attached is a letter we have sent due to management refusing to provide us with any information regarding their program.
In Sol., MERC
To view the letter: Click Here
Security Provisions and Inmate Population Management Committee Memorandum and Questionnaire
Local Union Executive is encouraging all staff members to complete the following questionnaire when circulated.
From Brother Almeida, MERC
August 12th, 2009
Dear Corrections Division
Please see the attached memo and questionnaire for distribution to all staff and managers in your facilities.
Thank you for your assistance.
In Sol., eddy
Memorandum: Click Here
Questionnaire: Click Here
From Brother Almeida, MERC
August 12th, 2009
Dear Corrections Division
Please see the attached memo and questionnaire for distribution to all staff and managers in your facilities.
Thank you for your assistance.
In Sol., eddy
Memorandum: Click Here
Questionnaire: Click Here
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Friday, August 07, 2009
The London Free Press - August 7/09
Unions have role in cutting high city hall absenteeism
By JOE BELANGER
It's disappointing, but not unexpected that an arbitrator has ruled against a policy at London city hall aimed to reduce high worker absenteeism. Arbitrator Wesley Raynor, a former dean of the University of Western Ontario's law faculty, said the policy could be used to intimidate employees to come to work even when they're legitimately sick. Raynor noted the policy's repeated threat of termination and "the limited explanation of the need for discretion . . . create a definite tone of intimidation." The ruling leaves the city without an attendance policy for the next six months and chief administrative officer Jeff Fielding said management will draft a new policy in consultation with city hall unions. The policy was adopted after it came to light administration wanted to hire an attendance manager to help cope with an unusually high absenteeism rate among city workers. A review by an accounting firm concluded city hall employees missed an average of 19.4 days of work, more than double the national average of 9.7 days for civic workers compiled by Statistics Canada. The policy developed by management flagged employees who missed six days or more in either half of the calendar year. Managers were to work with employees with serious illness while others were also offered help but told to find ways to reduce sick days or face an escalating set of six meetings which could lead to termination. It sounds convoluted, possibly unfair and open for abuse and Raynor ruled it was. Unless the unions representing 2,200 inside and outdoor workers are involved in developing a new policy, it is almost bound to fail. That way the employees have a stake in its success. Clearly, the language and process will also have to be simplified. There's no question absenteeism has improved in recent years. For instance, absentee rates among London firefighters dropped 18.5% compared with 2007, and are significantly lower at Dearness Home for the Aged. No one can blame the administration for trying. They've had success. But all of us expect even more improvement now that the unions will be involved.
Those of you sitting in the ivory towers, you should take a look at the highlighted sentence. See you at the GSB.....
The London Free Press - August 7/09
Unions have role in cutting high city hall absenteeism
By JOE BELANGER
It's disappointing, but not unexpected that an arbitrator has ruled against a policy at London city hall aimed to reduce high worker absenteeism. Arbitrator Wesley Raynor, a former dean of the University of Western Ontario's law faculty, said the policy could be used to intimidate employees to come to work even when they're legitimately sick. Raynor noted the policy's repeated threat of termination and "the limited explanation of the need for discretion . . . create a definite tone of intimidation." The ruling leaves the city without an attendance policy for the next six months and chief administrative officer Jeff Fielding said management will draft a new policy in consultation with city hall unions. The policy was adopted after it came to light administration wanted to hire an attendance manager to help cope with an unusually high absenteeism rate among city workers. A review by an accounting firm concluded city hall employees missed an average of 19.4 days of work, more than double the national average of 9.7 days for civic workers compiled by Statistics Canada. The policy developed by management flagged employees who missed six days or more in either half of the calendar year. Managers were to work with employees with serious illness while others were also offered help but told to find ways to reduce sick days or face an escalating set of six meetings which could lead to termination. It sounds convoluted, possibly unfair and open for abuse and Raynor ruled it was. Unless the unions representing 2,200 inside and outdoor workers are involved in developing a new policy, it is almost bound to fail. That way the employees have a stake in its success. Clearly, the language and process will also have to be simplified. There's no question absenteeism has improved in recent years. For instance, absentee rates among London firefighters dropped 18.5% compared with 2007, and are significantly lower at Dearness Home for the Aged. No one can blame the administration for trying. They've had success. But all of us expect even more improvement now that the unions will be involved.
Those of you sitting in the ivory towers, you should take a look at the highlighted sentence. See you at the GSB.....
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Obese Texas man hides gun between rolls of fat
WASHINGTON (AFP) - An obese prisoner in Harris County, Texas has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm after he was discovered to be hiding a 9mm pistol in between his rolls of fat, local media reported Saturday.
George Vera, who weighs around 500 pounds (225 kilograms) was originally arrested last week for selling counterfeit CDs, according to the Houston Chronicle newspaper.
A police spokesman told the Chronicle that Vera was searched three times over the course of his arrest and booking at the jail but managed to conceal the handgun with his rolls of fat until it was discovered in the shower.
Vera has been charged with possession of an illegal weapon in a correctional facility, which carries a penalty of two to 10 years in prison, but is currently free on bail of 10,000 dollars.
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