Michigan corrections officers union asks Whitmer for National Guard help

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The president of the Michigan Corrections Organization sent a letter to Governor Whitmer, requesting the National Guard to provide “immediate” support to prisons.

According to the letter , written by union president Bryon Osborn, state corrections officers are forced to work mandatory 16-hour overtime shifts, run understaffed prisons, work in isolated areas and deal with a “gang riddled prisoner population.”

“Under your watch, state corrections officers continue to suffer unlike any other state employees ever have in the history of Michigan. … They are not being allowed to have a normal, healthy life with their families. None of your other state employees are being subjected to these conditions,” Osborn wrote.

He described the prisons as dangerous facilities that are forced to operate with “far less than the required number of officers, resulting in unsafe prisoner to officer ratios.” Officers often have to work alone, the letter says, which jeopardizes safety of both officers and prisoners.

“The only people happy with the current conditions in the prisons are the prisoners, they’re being coddled at the expense of officer safety,” Osborn wrote.

He urged Whitmer to visit state prisons and speak with corrections officers.

“We’ve been seeking effective relief solutions from the Legislature and MDOC for years and are now to the point of desperation,” Osborn wrote. “I am formally requesting that you activate the Michigan National Guard to provide immediate custody support to prisons in dire need of it while we work directly with you to find realistic, permanent relief measures.”

In August, News 8 reported the Michigan Department of Corrections was short 900 officers in prisons across the state.

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