The union that represents employees in Iowa prisons says it’s time for the governor to respond to “a disturbing trend.” AFSCME Council 61 president Todd Copley says union members report there have been at least 150 assaults on prison staff since January.
“These are not isolated incidents, but direct results of unsafe, understaffed and underfunded conditions that our officers are forced to work in every single day across the state of Iowa at our correctional facilities,” Copley says.
Copley held a news conference in the statehouse this morning and told reporters the staff in the state prisons fear retaliation if they raise safety concerns. “Today I’m here to speak on behalf of those officers who cannot speak for themselves. This is their reality and we are here to demand immediate action,” he said. “These officers go to work every day knowing that they may not come home unharmed or even worse may not come home at all. They deserve better and we demand that Governor Reynolds do better for them.”
A spokesman for the governor said Reynolds “knows correctional officers work in an inherently hostile environment” and that’s why she’s worked with prison managers to increase staff and improve safety and security at the facilities. The director of the state’s prison system also issued a written statement. Beth Skinner said has an open door policy and is “eager to listen to the concerns of staff.”
The union’s president said it’s time to repeal the 2017 law that forbids correctional officers from raising safety issues during contract negotiations.”When you strip workers of their right to advocate for themselves, you put their lives on the line. This needs to change. Start by classifying corrections as public safety and fully restore collective bargaining,” Copley said. “These employees faithfully report to their jobs every day, knowing there’s a possibility that they won’t make it home.”
Three years ago, two Anamosa prison inmates attacked and killed two prison employees. Last week, the union said an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison attacked two employees. Today, Copley described the attack, saying the inmate ripped the metal leg off a desk in his cell and used it as a weapon. “Luckily, in the short amount of time he was in that cell, he did not have time to sharpen that piece of metal,” Copley said.
According to Copley, one of the guards was hit in the face and has a number of fractured bones, while the other was stabbed 11 times, tearing his uniform and scratching his skin. The Iowa Department of Corrections has said it doesn’t comment on open investigations.