Courts - Wyoming Correctional officers' union leaders sue state

By Ben Neary Associated Press Writer CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Leaders of a union representing some Wyoming correctional officers have filed a federal lawsuit claiming top administrators at the Wyoming Department of Corrections retaliated against them for union activities, including their public criticism of chronic understaffing at the state prison in Rawlins. Dee Garrison, president of the Wyoming Association of Correctional Employees, and union Vice President Norman MacIntosh claim in their lawsuit filed early this month that the Corrections Department unfairly disciplined them and gave them poor evaluations. The officers' union and its parent organization, the International Association of Police Associations, also claim in the lawsuit that the state's retaliation against Garrison and MacIntosh discouraged other correctional officers from becoming union members. The officers' union represents about 85 officers at state corrections department facilities. The lawsuit names the corrections department and top administrators, including Director Bob Lampert. Bruce Salzburg, Wyoming attorney general, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Garrison, a sergeant at the Rawlins prison, has worked there since 1998 and has been an outspoken critic of understaffing at the prison for years. The lawsuit cites press reports, including some by The Associated Press, in which Garrison expressed concern about long hours and fatigue among the officers. For example, the lawsuit cites a May 2007 AP article about prison staffing that reported one officer at the Rawlins prison was routinely working 16 hours a day, five days a week while several other officers commonly then worked a few 16-hour days each week. "You're tired, your exhausted. You're not as patient as you should be," Garrison said in the 2007 article. She suggested department administrators should try working 16-hour days in the prison to experience firsthand what officers were facing. Melinda Brazzale, spokeswoman for the corrections department, said there are currently 40 vacancies out of 220 correctional officer positions at the Rawlins prison. She said mandatory overtime at the prison ended about 18 months ago. Union Vice President MacIntosh started at the prison in 1997 and quit early this year, the lawsuit states. Garrison and MacIntosh both claim they were unfairly disciplined as a result of their union activities. Garrison said she was demoted from sergeant in 2006, although she's since been promoted again to the position. "I would not be doing this if I didn't hope and pray that it would help to change things not just for the employees of the Wyoming Department of Corrections, but all state employees," Garrison said of the lawsuit. "And that it would bring us up on the Constitution and the rights of every state employee -- for us to be treated as people, and not someone where, 'hey, if you leave, it's all right, because we can fill your slot real easy.'" Cheyenne lawyer Timothy Kingston represents Garrison and MacIntosh. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson of Cheyenne. "I hate to say it, but I think that the administration of the department and the Wyoming State Penitentiary frankly made their lives very difficult just in terms of how they had to deal with, I believe, day-to-day retaliation and harassment," Kingston said. Stephen L. Pevar, a lawyer with the ACLU, has filed several lawsuits against the state of Wyoming over prison conditions. He said he's heard claims that the state has retaliated against officers because of their union membership and has been concerned about the claims. Published: Tue, May 25, 2010

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