Our Union has filed a grievance with the State to protest inadequate and unsafe staffing levels for all Teamsters at the Department of Corrections.

The grievance is based on findings from an independent review of the DOC staffing model conducted by CGL Companies. You can view the grievance here.

CGL Companies produced a report titled Washington Department of Corrections Prison Staffing Model Review that was published in June of 2019.

CGL's audit revealed that the Department is significantly understaffed in several areas. The report concluded, for example, that an additional 250 custody staff are required above levels funded and that there are severe shortages in a number of non-custody areas as well.

You can view CGL's complete report here.

To resolve the grievance we are demanding that the State implement suggestions contained in the report among a number of other remedies. 

We will keep you updated on the status of this grievance as we work our way through the grievance and arbitration process as outlined in our collective bargaining agreement.

If you have questions, please talk to your Union Representative.

The results of the recent vote are in regarding Article 36 – Uniforms, Tool, and Equipment for DOC custody staff who are members of Teamsters 117. The vote involved whether to modify Article 36 to grant custody members the ability to wear polo shirts as a DOC uniform option. 

The vote results are as follows:

• 1280 - Yes (I Accept)
• 73 - No (I Reject)

With this vote, custody members will now be able to wear polo shirts as a uniform option. As with other uniform options, polo shirts will be provided by the Department at no cost to custody staff. Under the agreement, members will retain the option to wear BDU-style shirts.

This concludes a long process of negotiations over the issue with the Department. Thank you to all of the members and staff on our DOC Uniform Committee who helped negotiated the agreement.

If you have questions, please contact your Union Representative or one of the members on the Uniform Committee:

• Elizabeth Beaber, WCCW
• Stephen Bolinger, CRCC
• Lloyd Bookter, CBCC
• Reginald Braswell, CCCC
• Edwin Gonzalez, MCC
• Angela Henneman, SCCC
• Corey Schmidt, WSP
• Gordon Sprague, MCCCW
• Jami Todd, CRCC
• Douglas Vincent, WCC

Join us for our 2019 Holiday Membership Meetings to discuss and sign up for Teamsters Lobby Day in February.

View the days, times, and facilities for our union holiday meetings below. To RSVP, click on your facility below.

VOTING IS NOW OPEN FOR DOC CUSTODY STAFF TO EXPAND UNIFORM OPTIONS!

After long, challenging negotiations, our union's uniform committee, consisting of union staff and rank-and-file members from DOC facilities across the state, has bargained a tentative agreement to expand available options with respect to your DOC uniforms.

If approved by Teamsters 117 members who are custody staff, the negotiated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would grant those members the ability to wear polo shirts as a DOC uniform option. Polo shirts, as with other uniform options, would be provided by the Department at no cost to custody staff. Under the agreement, members would retain the option to wear BDU-style shirts.

VOTE HERE!

Since this would constitute a change to Article 36, Uniforms, Tools, and Equipment, of our 2019-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement, custody members who are required to wear uniforms at work will have an opportunity to vote on the agreement.

You must be a member of Teamsters 117 in order to vote. If you are not a member and would like to vote on this change, please complete the online membership application here and submit it by September 30.

Voting will take place online and by telephone from September 30, 2019 at 8 a.m. through Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 5 p.m. View voting documents and instructions below:

• Voting Instructions
• Article 36 MOU - Redline Document
• VOTE HERE (Voting closes on October 10 at 8 A.M.)

Thank you to the members below who worked incredibly hard to achieve expanded uniform options for custody staff at the DOC. If you have any questions, be sure to reach out to one of the members on the committee or your Union Representative.

• Elizabeth Beaber, WCCW
• Stephen Bolinger, CRCC
• Lloyd Bookter, CBCC
• Reginald Braswell, CCCC
• Edwin Gonzalez, MCC
• Angela Henneman, SCCC
• Corey Schmidt, WSP
• Gordon Sprague, MCCCW
• Jami Todd, CRCC
• Douglas Vincent, WCC

Thank you for your service. Please stay safe.

At the end of September, we will be posting for new Shop Stewards on union bulletin boards at all Department of Corrections facilities across the state.

Our Shop Stewards play an essential role in ensuring that our union is strong and effective.

The position involves engaging your co-workers in the union, advocating for them in the workplace, enforcing the contract, maintaining direct communication with the Union Representative, and participating in grievance meetings, among many other duties.

The next two-year term for newly-elected Shop Stewards begins on January 1, 2020 and ends on December 31, 2021.

If you are interested in the position, please watch your union bulletin board for the posting and sign up. If multiple people are interested in a single position at your facility, an advisory vote will be conducted with the membership. If you have questions, please talk to your Union Representative.

The dates that postings will go up and elections will be held, if necessary, are as follows:

The fall issue of our DOC Guardian newsletter is hot off the press!

In this issue, you'll find a story about a true Teamster hero, William Flores, who apprehended a runaway inmate from the Olympic Corrections Center near Forks. 

You'll also find articles about the work of our DOC Retirement Committee and news about the independent audit report that identified severe staffing shortages in WA State prisons.

Guardian newsletter - Click Here

Print copies will be distributed at your facility over the next few weeks.

During our last DOC Retirement Committee meeting, members of the committee developed a survey to solicit your feedback about retirement. 

The survey takes just a few minutes to complete and will help the committee make policy recommendations, which is the first step toward improving benefits.

Take the survey now!

Once the results are in, the committee will research what is fiscally and politically feasible and what will have the greatest impact on the membership as a whole.

As this process unfolds, we will continue to keep you updated on the work of the committee.

We are asking that you complete the survey by no later than September 16, 2019. Thank you!

You may recall that DOC Teamsters, working in concert with our union's Legislative Affairs Department, successfully lobbied the legislature to secure funding in 2018 for a comprehensive staffing level audit at the DOC. 

At the time, the DOC had been operating under a staffing model that had not been reviewed in 30 years. An external audit was the first step in addressing insufficient staffing levels in our State's prisons. 

That external review of the Department, conducted by CGL Companies, is now complete and the company has published a report with a number of important findings.

As suspected, the audit revealed that the Department is significantly understaffed in several areas. The report concluded, for example, that an additional 250 custody staff are required above levels funded and that there are severe shortages in a number of non-custody areas as well.

You can review the entire DOC Prison Staffing Model Report here.

This week a group of rank-and-file members and union staff met with the State at our Union Hall in Tukwila to hear DOC's assessment of the audit. The Department indicated that they are developing a plan to request additional positions from the legislature.

Our union's Political Department is also in the process of developing a strategy for working with the legislature, in coordination with the Department, to begin securing funding for additional positions to meet current demand as recommended by the audit.

Needless to say, we'll need your help and an excellent turnout at next year's Lobby Day to make sure our legislators understand that DOC is severely understaffed and how that impacts staff safety.

We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications to hire an additional Union Representative for Teamsters who work at the Department of Corrections.

A successful candidate for the position should possess a solid understanding of our collective bargaining agreement and be adept at building union power through member organizing and engagement. The candidate will primarily be responsible for representing members in Western Washington. 

You can access a complete job description for the position on our union's website. Interested applicants must submit a cover letter and resume to Director of Administration Jennifer Shaw at jennifer.shaw@teamsters117.org by the close of business on Wednesday, August 14. 

We are excited to be able to add this additional position thanks to continued growth in our membership, outstanding solidarity at the DOC, and because Local 117 members are standing together to keep our union strong.  

We're pleased to announce the hiring of Eamon McCleery, an experienced labor attorney who joined our union staff effective July 1.

Eamon will be our Teamsters 117 staff attorney dedicated to handling negotiations, arbitrations, and unfair labor practice litigation on behalf of members working in corrections and law enforcement.

A native of the Pacific Northwest and a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law, Eamon previously worked as an attorney at a labor law firm specializing in representing law enforcement and corrections employees in the State of Washington.

It's important to understand that the outstanding unity and low opt-out rate among law enforcement and corrections members have allowed us to secure Eamon as an additional resource.

When members stand together and commit to each other like we have seen at Teamsters 117, we can improve wages, safety, and benefits and protect our workplace rights through professional, quality representation.

If you are in need of legal support due to an issue in the workplace, please contact your union representative who will initiate a legal review process with Eamon.