Clerical Union Members Working in State Prisons Speak Out For Safety

New Britain, CT, April 14, 2020 – As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds within Connecticut’s state prisons, one group of unheralded but essential workers is sharing their mounting concerns over the Department of Correction’s lack of preparation and sensitivity: clerical employees.

Nearly 250 of these workers are part of the AFSCME NP-3 Administrative-Clerical Bargaining Unit. The vast majority of them are women, and many are the chief providers for themselves and their families. They are being required to report to prison and parole facilities and getting exposed to the risks associated with COVID-19.

Mary Haeseler, an Identification and Records Specialist at Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Uncasville, articulated her concerns about deteriorating conditions at the prison, which has the highest number of COVID-19 positive tests, both staff and inmates, in the state.

 “Administrative staff are absolutely on the front lines,” Haesler, a member of AFSCME Local 610, said. “I work in the Radgowski building where workers have tested positive, so we’re exposed to the virus. Radgowski has open dorms and Corrigan has pods that control the airflow of the individual cell blocks. The whole situation is unhealthy. We need the agency to implement more aggressive measures to promote safer working conditions for everybody.”

Allie Oullette of AFSCME Local 704, who works as an ID Records Specialist at Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution in Enfield, said, “Inmates had access to the area where I work until our facility went into lockdown,” she said. “Working in an open dorm setting increases the dangers of exposure. The facilities can’t operate without us. There are steps the state can take to better protect us, whether it’s increasing telecommuting or providing protective equipment.”

“Clerical employees are the backbone of the system. A great deal of responsibility falls on our shoulders,” said Theresa Stone, an ID Records Specialist and AFSCME Local 478 member who works at Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire. “We’re doing what we can to help during this crisis, but we are also on the front lines. Everyone is working in fear, It’s an institutional situation.”

Mark Torres works as an ID Records Specialist for the Parole and Community Services Office in Hartford. He is also the president of AFSCME Local 704, which represents Hartford-area clerical employees at multiple agencies, including the DOC.

“It’s outrageous that front-line healthcare and public safety workers who encounter exposure every day during this crisis are facing a severe shortage of personal protective equipment”  Torres said.

“The Corrections Administration must immediately cease mandating clerical staff to do unnecessary work at the prisons and parole offices during this pandemic," he added. "These administrative workers must be allowed to work from home for public safety and the safety of their brave co-workers. If they come in to work, then they need PPE like everyone else.”

  • Click here to read CT News Junkie's coverage of our NP-3 members' concerns.
  • Click here to read The Day's coverage of NP-3 Clerical concerns.