Local 117 members are speaking out in newspapers across the state about the need to fund the DOC contract.

Local 117 Shop Steward Joschue Reyes has published two letters in local newspapers urging lawmakers to fund our DOC contract.  In the first letter, which appears in the Columbian, Reyes writes:

Despite becoming targets of assault, attempted murder, murder, contamination with blood and bodily fluids, and the physical, emotional, and psychological impacts these events create, we Department of Corrections state employees must assume multiple roles while maintaining a professional attitude. We are the security, the listeners, the counselors, the problem solvers, and conflict resolvers.

You can view Josh's complete letter here.

In his second letter, in the Everett Herald, Reyes writes:

We ask the public to please contact your district senator and ask them show us that they value the work that we do and prove that our work is not in vain by funding the Department of Corrections contract as it was negotiated between the union and the state. 

Read more.

It's not just Reyes who is speaking out.  In the Spokesman Review, Dennis Fleury makes the following statement:

This is not simply about a raise, which hasn’t happened in seven years; it is about the economic stimulus, the benefit to the safety of the public, and simple gratitude for an underappreciated group of society.

You can read the complete Fleury letter here.

In the next few days, Scott Henderson, a CO2 at CBCC, will have his letter published in the Peninsula Daily News.  Henderson's letter starts out:

I’ve been an officer with the Department of Corrections at Clallam Bay Corrections Center (CBCC) for roughly 9 years. Working in a maximum security prison comes with many risks. In 2009, I found myself in a physical altercation with an offender who had no issues necessarily with me, but who had issues with the uniform I wear and what it represents.  

This is fantastic work as these letters make a significant impact on legislators who are checking their local papers to gauge the pulse of the community.  

I'm sure there are many more members who have been speaking out in their local newspapers.  If you have had a letter published, please let me or your Business Representative know so that we can help promote it.  If you would like help in editing a letter or submitting it, we can assist with that as well!