Become a
Member Today!

By Phone:
1-800-374-9772

By Email:
afscme7@wt.net

Legislation

81st LEGISLATIVE SESSION OUTCOME

By Toby Tobias
June 9, 2009

This is a very difficult piece for me to pen. How do we (AFSMCE/CEC7), as an employee organization - THE UNION - express our disappointment, frustration and outright anger, if not disbelief, in the legislative outcome on TDCJ’s Correctional Officer Comprehensive Pay Package and the Adjusted Pay Package for non-corrections officers, Industry workers, clerks, and others . If we felt like we were the weak link we could apologize, say we were sorry and let it go at that. But, that did not happen. For sixteen months prior to the Legislative Session beginning January 2009, we put together a long-range strategy to maximize a favorable outcome, including securing permission for correctional officers to wear their uniforms to the Capitol on three major and one minor Lobby Days; rented vans to convey hundreds to the capitol; fed and watered them while they were there; held countless meetings on how to maximize their efforts while lobbying; published numerous newsletters on expectations; handed out legislative blue books and answered countless questions. NO, the break down did not occur with AFSCME/CEC 7 or employees of TDCJ; it falls squarely on the legislative body, in spite of everything that was done.

To all AFSCME/CEC 7 Staff, members and volunteers: THANK YOU! To all of the correctional officers and non-corrections employees who used their precious accrued time and holidays by taking off whenever possible to travel to Austin, give yourselves a “well done.” You deserve it and we applaud you for it.

There was good reason for us to expect a better-than-average outcome for TDCJ employees. After all, most legislators and senators were aware that TDCJ Correctional Officers are ranked 47th out of the fifty states in pay compensation. And, in January 2008, Brian Olsen, Executive Director of AFSCME/CEC 7, to his credit, penned a letter to the Governor regarding shortages, turnover rate and working conditions, recommending an emergency 10% across-the-board pay raise for uniformed correctional officers. Weeks and months followed without any acknowledgement by the Governor’s office and, suddenly, we were advised that a 10% pay raise was authorized for COI’s and COII’s effective May 1, 2008, which did not include the veterans. Although disappointed we came to understand this 10% was to address primarily the officer shortage and turnover rate, etc.

This action was followed by Brad Livingston, Executive Director of TDCJ, and his administration recommending a comprehensive pay plan of 20% for Correctional Officers and around 10% for all others. Now, let me tell you folks, that took a lot of brass for your Executive Director to put forth a recommendation of 20%, especially since it is one of the largest political subdivisions of state government. We supported the recommendation.

Well, as you probably know by now, the senate Budget included a 10% pay raise for uniformed Correctional Officers while searching for the other 10%, and was sent to the House of Representatives. The House budget recommended a 5% pay raise for uniformed Correctional Officers - if they could find it. All of this political posturing makes you wonder if the Senate could find 10% for a pay raise, why couldn’t the House. They are all looking at the same dollars. In the end, a 7% pay raise was agreed to for uniformed officers assigned to prison units, and an $800 one-time bonus for all other state employees.

There was another amazing development associated with this session. For the first time TDCJ Correctional Officers were the focus of a pay raise to the exclusion of all other state employees. It is apparent that Correctional Officers found their collective voice and their way to the Capitol by the score. And, if not for your persuasive presence, what percentage of a pay raise do you think the House would have volunteered?

Lastly, when you see AFSCME/CEC 7 Executive Director Brian Olsen and TDCJ Executive Director Brad Livingston you just might want to express your appreciation to these guys; the results were positive. And we, as an organization, are already preparing for the 82nd Legislative Session in January 2011. We all have the same goal in wanting the 13% that was left on the table.

We Survived

Through the muck and mire of this very strange legislative session we were happy to get the Hazardous Duty pay bill HB 2498 Rep. Youvanne Gonzales Toureilles and co-sponsored by Rep. Lois Kolkhorst and picked up in the Senate by Senator Zaffirini.

We also moved HB 2103, Tuition Reimbursement by Rep. Kolkhorst and co-sponsored by Rep. Gonzales Toureilles and picked up in the Senate by Senator Ogden. We not only testified for these bills, but we also sponsored both of them. We are saddened that many of the other bills we sponsored and fought for did not get out of the Legislature. I do wish to thank all of our members and staff who got involved and sacrificed their time and effort to get what we ended up with. HB 2103 was vetoed by Governor Perry. We were very disappointed in this action, and we will have this bill refiled in 2009.

The 4% raise does not seem like much but considering the legislative body considered no raise, we will take it. One of the problems we had with the TDCJ employees issues was the blow up scandal at the TYC. This huge scandal stole our thunder, and we had a difficult time getting the legislature refocused on the TDCJ problems. The other major distraction was the in-fighting in the House of Representatives trying to oust Rep. Speaker Craddick. With these problems, state lawmakers did little to change the problems in TDCJ that needed to be fixed.

We can not blame them all, because many of our legislative friends really went to bat for use or we would have gotten nothing. To name just a few in the House, Turner, Kolkhorst, Toureilles, Hopson, Madden, McReynolds, Hockberg, Haggerty, Jones, Oliveria, in the Senate, Whitmire, Ellis, Ogden.

Its really pitiful that some law makers were more worried about their own silly agendas than giving corrections, UTMB and Windham employees a livable respectable salary, and much needed respect. Some of the bills we sponsored that died were.

  1. HB2497 which would have given CO's paid Comp-Time instead of loosing it. This died in the House Corrections Committee
  2. HB2499, this would have given CO's a new CO VI position, this died in HB Committee, also the HB315 which died in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee for lack of Senate sponosor. We did stop the privateers again, who were after any piece of corrections they could get. Also we were able to keep the benefits from being trashed by certain legislatures. We can look at this session as a glass half empty or a glass half full, I choose half full. We have much to be thankful for even though some legislatures turned their backs on us.

AFSCME / CEC was consistently present at all the Corrections hearings to fight for you and we were the only employee organization that was there. The record is easy to check go to, "Texas Legislature online" and see who testified for HB 2497, HB 2498, HB 315, HB 2103, SB 209, HB 203 and the Pay Raise. In the words of a famous broad caster "We were there". Had we not been there I'm afraid we would have gotten nothing. We have strength in numbers and its time TDCJ, UTMB, Windham employees get involved and join with us and become part of the organization that proudly represents the employees, and fights the good fight. If you are not a member join, if you are a member sign a friend, we get stronger with each new member, and it makes it easier for us to put the pressure on those in Austin.