OCSEA activists held an informational picket on Friday, October 9 in Lima to call attention to ongoing workplace and public-safety concerns at the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution (AOCI). Union leaders at the prison spoke to the media and community members about threats brought about by chronic understaffing, mandatory overtime and poor operational decisions by management at the facility.
“Our staff are tired and they’re fed up. And this is something––I’ve been here 32 years––and this is the worst I’ve seen this prison ran. The worst that I’ve seen, the staff morale. It’s just got to the point where we got to do this and we got to let the public know that our staff and inmates are not as safe as what they could be in this environment,” AOCI Chapter 0230 President Shawn Gruber told Lima's WLIO news.
OCSEA Staff Representative James Beverly Jr. said inaction by the Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections and local prison officials is dangerous for staff and the community. “In this administration, how they are running things is the worst by far. It’s not if the next critical incident happens, it’s when," Beverly told WLIO news. The union is calling on DRC to look at AOCI leadership and to review all complaints that have been submitted by the union.
See more photos from the event HERE: Facebook | Instagram