Labor Relations

1
Chapter 23

• Labor Relations

2
Objectives

• Provide examples of typical and unusual
  provisions found in collective bargaining
  agreements covering the corrections jurisdictions
• Explain why bargaining toward a master agreement
  in a corrections jurisdiction can be prolonged
• Outline the components of a sound management and
  supervisor training program on labor relations
  and staff management

3
Introduction

• All corrections administrators, whether employed
  by a prison or jail, must become involved in the
  plethora of labor management relations activities
• They must learn the vocabulary of labor relations

4
Relevant Acts and Laws

• 1935 National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)
  formally recognized employees right to form
  and join labor organizations
• 1947 NLRA amended with Taft-Hartley Act which
  prohibited labor unions from engaging in certain
  activities
• States, in turn, developed their own collective
  bargaining laws

5
Issues that are Driven by the Union

• Bargaining Issues
• Management meeting with employee organizations is
  well established in law and is a routine practice
  in most jurisdictions
• Meet and confer is a phase meaning to bargain
• Parties exchange information, opinions, and
  proposals and endeavor to reach agreement
• Master agreement is the contract to which other
  later agreements are added

6
Issues that are Driven by the Union (cont.)

• Grievances
• Dispute between the employee organization and the
  employers
• Grievance process is usually specified within the
  collective bargaining agreement
• Normally, only contract grievances can be
  arbitrated

7
Issues that are Driven by the Union (cont.)

• Unfair Labor Practice Charges
• Action or decision by an employer that interferes
  with the organizational rights of employees
• An unfair labor practice is adjudicated before
  the administrative body that is empowered to
  oversee the administration of collective
  bargaining law

8
Issues that are Driven by the Union (cont.)

• Unfair Labor Practice Charges (cont.)
• Actions that are unlawful for the employer
• Imposing or threatening to impose reprisals on
  employees
• Discriminating or threatening to discriminate
  against employees
• Interfering with, restraining, or coercing
  employees because of the exercise of their
  guaranteed rights under collective bargaining law
• Refusing to meet or confer in good faith with a
  recognized organization

9
Issues that are Driven by the Union (cont.)

• Unfair Labor Practice Charges (cont.)
• Decisions that may be unlawful for the union
• Causing or attempting to cause the employer to
  violate a collective bargaining law
• Imposing or threatening to impose reprisals on
  employees
• Discriminating or threatening to discriminate
  against employees
• Interfering with, restraining, or coercing
  employees because of the exercise of their
  guaranteed rights under collective bargaining law
• Refusing to meet or confer in good faith with the
  employer
• Refusing to participate in the mediation process

10
Issues that are Driven by the Union (cont.)

• Issues of Importance
• Employee organizations frequently bring up other
  matters of concern during informal or formal
  meetings with administrators
• Union may take every available opportunity to
  redirect its efforts in dealing with an issue
• If the issue that is raised appears to be a
  significant issue to the union, it would be
  helpful for the manager to communicate this to
  the labor relations officer

11
Successful Labor Relations

• Labor relations office provides resources to its
  departmental management staff
• Labor relations office is charged with
  representing management in all areas of labor
  management relations
• Training is the key to success of an effective
  labor relations program
• Working with an employee organization requires
  treating the representative with integrity and
  respect

12
Successful Labor Relations (cont.)

• Taking care of problems on a day-to-day basis is
  the key to effective labor organization
• Management must know how to separate frivolous
  issues from serious ones
• Managements response should be a well thought
  out course of action to take care of the problem

13
Developing the Management Team

• Corrections administrators should share the
  routine as well as the unusual occurrences
  involving the union with the departments labor
  relations staff.
• The management team consists of all
  administrators, managers, and supervisors

14
Ethics and Labor Relations

• Ethics refers to standards of conduct standards
  that indicate how one should behave based on
  moral duties and virtues
• Pillars of character in labor relations
• Trustworthiness
• Loyalty
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Fairness
• Caring

15
Politics in Public Sector Labor Relations

• Political oversight of correctional facilities
  brings opportunities for politically sensitive
  public sector labor organizations
• Political interest in the correctional
  environment may be heightened for a variety of
  reasons
• Labor unions may draw public attention to the
  operating practices in correctional environments

16
Conclusion

• Labor relations issues in any correctional
  environment are always affected by the
  perceptions of both parties
• While labor management relations can be
  contentious, both sides should remember that they
  are working for the same agency and share the
  goal of operating safe and effective correctional
  facilities.

17
Chapter 24

• Preventing Corruption

18
Objectives

• Describe public service corruption and
  differentiate between public corruption and
  prison corruption
• Determine characteristics of professionalism
• Define acts of misfeasance and distinguish acts
  of malfeasance from acts of nonfeasance.

19
Public Service Corruption

• Corruption by public officials is considered more
  sinister than by private officials because
• Citizens have no choice but to use the available
  public services
• Public officials take an oath to execute the laws
  of the land faithfully and to serve society,
  making their failures seem more sinful
• Because of their sovereignty, public agencies can
  inflict greater damage on unsuspecting citizens
  than can officials in the private sector

20
Public Service Corruption (cont.)

• Alert and conscientious managers can monitor
  several indicators including
• Formal and informal complaints against employees
• Disciplinary actions taken against employees for
  violating agency rules and regulations
• Patterns of depressive episodes or questionable
  behavior by workers
• Erratic behaviors by workers
• Graffiti on the walls and inside bathrooms

21
Prison Corruption

• Prison personnel may experience more resentment
  and cynicism than their counterparts in other
  public agencies due to the culture of
  manipulation and violence they encounter
• New rules over the last 20 years have resulted in
  the hiring of unprecedented numbers of
  correctional officers, making screening and
  training difficult
• Correctional officers may become dependent on
  inmates for completion of some tasks and may
  overlook infractions in return

22
Standpoints on Prison Corruption

• Sociological corruption is an abuse of power
• Legal corruption involves use of oppression or
  extralegal methods to suppress the will of others
• Moral failure of staff to demonstrate
  compassion or keep a promise
• Economic abusing authority for personal gain

23
Standpoints on Prison Corruption (cont.)

• Corruption may range from a conflict with a
  fellow employee to smuggling contraband
• Corruption can include use of force violations
• Inmates can file federal civil lawsuits against
  prison officials seeking changes in prison
  conditions as well as monetary damages

24
Standpoints on Prison Corruption (cont.)

• Misfeasance acts an official is supposed to
  know how to do legally, but are willingly
  committed illegally for personal gain
• Malfeasance acts of misconduct committed by
  institution officials in violation of the
  criminal laws of the state or agency regulations
• Nonfeasance acts of avoidance or failure by an
  official

25
Prevention of Prison Misconduct

• Ethical institution leaders must be consistent,
  reasonable, fair, and sympathetic to the needs of
  officers and inmates
• Management should articulate its position on
  corruption and develop and implement
  anticorruption policy
• Message must be clear that corruption will not be
  tolerated

26
Prevention of Prison Misconduct (cont.)

• Role of policy statements
• Articulate activities generally accepted as being
  corrupt
• Internal affairs division should conduct
  investigatory procedures
• Penalties should be fair and reasonable

27
Prevention of Prison Misconduct (cont.)

• Steps to fight corruption
• Utilize hiring standards to keep out high-risk
  applicants
• Establish quality-based supervisory techniques
• Strengthen fiscal controls
• Ensure that internal auditors are honest
• Emphasize true ethical training
• Leadership should be visible and active

28
Conclusion

• Professionalism is an ideal toward which
  correctional personnel should strive
• Corruption is a shameful reality they should
  eradicate

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Chapter 25

• Sexual Misconduct

30
Objectives

• Identify some of the factors that can contribute
  to sexual abuse of inmates by correctional staff
• Outline the parameters that define staff sexual
  misconduct and permissible behaviors between
  staff and inmates
• Describe some of the approaches taken by
  correctional administrators and legislators to
  minimize sexual misconduct

31
The Prison Rape Elimination Act

• Signed into law in 2003 by President Bush
• Speaks to staff and inmate sexual abuse and
  promotes a zero-tolerance approach to all prison
  rape and sexual assault
• Responsibilities of federal agencies
• BJS collects, reviews, and analyzes related
  statistics
• Review panel conducts hearings on prison rape
• NIC offers training and technical assistance
• US Attorney Generals office publishes national
  standards for detection, prevention, reduction,
  and punishment of prison rape

32
Defining Staff Sexual Misconduct

• Variety of definitions, most of which encompass
  any type of sexual conduct between staff and
  inmates
• People in custody cannot leave the presence of
  those who have authority over them and therefore,
  the concept of welcome advances cannot be
  applied to staff sexual misconduct involving
  inmates

33
Defining Staff Sexual Misconduct (cont.)

• NIC defines staff sexual misconduct as
• Any behavior or act of a sexual nature by an
  employee toward
• A person under the care or custody of the
  department
• Any collateral contact of an offender
• Victims or their families
• Any other persons with official contact on behalf
  of offenders

34
Defining Staff Sexual Misconduct (cont.)

• NIC defines staff sexual misconduct as
• Staff sexual misconduct includes, but is not
  limited to, acts or attempts to commit such acts
  as
• Sexual assault, abuse, or harassment
• Actions designed for sexual gratification of any
  party
• Conduct of a sexual nature
• Obscenity
• Unreasonable invasion of privacy
• Inappropriate viewing
• Conversations or correspondence which suggests a
  romantic or sexual relationship
• There can be no consensual sex between staff and
  inmates

35
Legal Issues and Evolution of State Law

• Highly visible cases of misconduct in womens
  prisons have raised awareness of the issues of
  correctional staff engaged in sexual misconduct
  with inmates
• Highest incidence of staff sexual misconduct is
  that of female staff with male offenders
• Gaps in protection of offenders result in a lack
  of coverage when an incident involves particular
  types of agency personnel, agencies other than
  prisons and jails, and certain types of conduct

36
Determining Prevalence of Sexual Violence in
Correctional Facilities

• PREA raises the urgency of the corrections
  fields response to these issues by viewing the
  problem as widespread
• Difficult to determine the incidents of such
  behaviors

37
Determining Prevalence of Sexual Violence in
Correctional Facilities (cont.)

• Data on incidents have often been documented
  under more general categories
• Underreporting of incidents when they occur
• Difficult to investigate
• Staff may not recognize the signs indicating a
  potential problem
• Code of silence may prevail among inmates and/or
  staff
• Effective reporting mechanisms are not in place
• Investigations may not be objective

38
Determining Prevalence of Sexual Violence in
Correctional Facilities (cont.)

• Barriers to accurate reporting
• Problems in inmate reporting
• Difficulty obtaining physical evidence
• Inappropriate approach to inmate interviews
• Inadequate protocol training on investigation
• Lack of resources
• Lack of information on progress of investigation

39
Determining Prevalence of Sexual Violence in
Correctional Facilities (cont.)

• Barriers to accurate reporting (cont.)
• Use of outside investigators with limited
  correctional expertise
• Lack of coordination among various parties
  involved in process
• Problems with maintaining confidentiality
• Lack of support by leadership and relevant
  outside agencies

40
Determining Prevalence of Sexual Violence in
Correctional Facilities (cont.)

• PREA requires BJS to develop new national data
  collections
• At present, there are no reliable estimates of
  the extent of unreported sexual victimization
• BJS is developing and testing methods that would
  wholly measure the incidence of this problem

41
Influencing Factors

• Growth of Corrections
• More supervisors have been needed to operate all
  aspects of prison facilities
• Supervisors may feel uncomfortable confronting
  sensitive issues such as sexual misconduct
• Prison and jail crowding, staff shortages, and
  design flaws contribute to sexual violence

42
Influencing Factors (cont.)

• Cultural Collision
• Inmates may have very different backgrounds from
  staff
• Much poorer, less educated, less skilled, and
  more urban than previous prison/jail populations
• Cultural differences can create a collision of
  perceptions, communication styles, life
  experiences, and values

43
Influencing Factors (cont.)

• Advocacy Groups
• Groups and individuals advocating for inmates
  rights are concerned that correctional
  leadership, law, and policies should address
  abuse of any kind
• National and state groups have served as
  watchdogs in the form of written reports and
  hearings

44
Influencing Factors (cont.)

• Cross-Gender Supervision
• Cross-gender supervision may increase likelihood
  of heterosexual sexual misconduct
• Need to manage ratios carefully within facilities
  that employ both genders
• Assess staffing in high privacy areas
• Stay abreast of current practice

45
Influencing Factors (cont.)

• Public Interest and Increased Awareness of Abuse
  of Power
• Costly lawsuits combined with general publics
  frustration with crime have contributed to
  increased interest in corrections
• Growing awareness of sexual violence in prisons
  parallels increasing awareness of domestic
  violence

46
Dynamics of Staff-Inmate Sexual Misconduct

• Boundaries between staff and inmates can become
  blurred
• Staff feeling vulnerable in their personal lives
  may have increased vulnerability for crossing the
  lines of appropriate behavior
• Few correctional training programs address
  feelings and emotional dilemmas of staff when
  inmates become attached to them

47
Dynamics of Staff-Inmate Sexual Misconduct (cont.)

• Staff and inmate interactions must always be
  understood within the context of a paramilitary
  structure
• Many male and female inmates have experienced
  significant childhood abuse, which can impact
  adult behavior patterns
• Sexual misconduct is prevalent among female
  officers with male inmates
• Many staff fear that inmates will use false
  allegations to manipulate them

48
Approaches to Prevent and Address Staff Sexual
Misconduct

• Cases must be viewed in the context of an
  organizations culture and practices
• Need to create strong policy and practice to
  address staff sexual misconduct
• Institutions are also striving to prevent
  inmate-on-inmate sexual assault

49
Conclusion

• An understanding of the importance of
  professional boundaries and the role of
  correctional staff in an often emotional
  environment requires knowledge on inmate dynamics
  and institutional culture
• State and federal laws provide a structural
  framework for identifying sexual misconduct and
  recommending consequences for inappropriate
  behavior