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Hazelton prison workers picketing at I-68 interchange

HAZELTON, W.Va. — Several dozen staff members are holding an informational picket to raise awareness over federal prison staffing levels.

Richard Heldreth, President of AFGE Local 420, said his members are hoping to see a return to previous staffing levels.

“The understaffing at our facility has led to an increase in violence, drugs, drug abuse, fights, assaults,” he told WAJR in a phone interview Friday.

Local 420 represents all unionized staff at the Hazelton Federal Correctional Complex, which has been the site of three inmate deaths since April. One of those deaths made headlines nationally — when infamous gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was killed by a fellow inmate. He was 89.

“The less staff you have, the less staff you have searching for weapons, drugs, responding to incidents,” Heldreth said. “You have inmate assault victims that might not be found as quickly because you don’t have prison staff walking around.”

Staff positions at Hazelton has been reduced from 880 to 796. Of those 796, close to ten percent of the positions are unfilled — leading to mandatory overtime and augmentation.

“We really want those positions restored that were taken,” Heldreth said.

Augmentation is the practice of supplementing guard duty with support staff — like administrative assistants and cooks.

“They’re using both,” Heldreth said.

Heldreth did caution that the support staff are trained to assist in augmentation, but said experienced guards are still a way to make prisons safer.

“We all receive the same training when we’re first hired, but the staff that don’t work in regular security positions don’t have the familiarity with the inmates and the equipment, and the daily routines that they should have,” he said. “Those are very important things to stay abreast of when you’re working around especially the high security inmates.”

It was just two days ago that five staffers at a federal prison in McCreary County, Kentucky were injured by inmates.

“The agency put out a statement like they always do that ‘at no time was the community in danger,'” Heldreth said. “Well, we are the community. All the staff that work up here have families that live in the area, friends, people they go to church with, kids go to school here. Whenever something happens in the prison, it does affect the community, and they kind of gloss over that.”

“And that’s irritating to me,” Heldreth added.





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