OCSEA and management agree on 36.05 wage classification upgrade for Correction Officers and Juvenile Correctional Officers

Thanks to OCSEA’s persistence and the union’s strong contract, a classification upgrade was negotiated with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DR&C) and the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) that will increase the pay for state Correction Officers and Juvenile Correctional Officers under the State Contract Article 36.05-Classifications and Pay Range Assignments.

The agreement takes effect on April 10, 2022. Read the Letters of Agreement:

• Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DR&C)
• Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS)

OCSEA and management have been in discussions for many months about how to get Correction Officers and Juvenile Correctional Officers in the door and keep them from leaving and finding other employment. “This is the result of those intensive deliberations,” said OCSEA President Chris Mabe. “Raising their pay will make these jobs more attractive and help the agencies increase hiring,” he emphasized.

“We’ve been sounding the alarm about critical understaffing in our prisons for more than a year now. Short staffing has caused so much mandatory overtime that employees are leaving in droves,” said OCSEA President Chris Mabe.

In fact, the number of Correction Officers statewide has fallen below 6,000 for the first time in nearly two decades. DR&C lost more than 1,700 Correction Officers in about a year’s time, causing mandatory overtime to skyrocket. “There is just no work-life balance, and we can’t sustain that,” said Mabe. “We’re hoping this will be a game changer for recruiting and retaining employees, restoring some balance to these agencies and giving our union members needed relief,” stated Mabe.

The union applauded DR&C and DYS management and the DeWine administration for coming to the table and expediting what is often a lengthy classification review process. “We want to thank DR&C Director Annette Chambers-Smith and DYS Director Amy Ast for working with us and recognizing the staffing emergency we were facing,” said Mabe. “This could not have been done without labor/management cooperation,” he said.

Other classifications are also being reviewed under Article 36.05, including direct care classifications in our state Developmental Centers, Behavioral Health hospitals and Ohio Veterans' Homes. These institutions have also seen a staffing crisis and mass exodus of employees during the pandemic.

OCSEA has used the Article 36.05 classification review contract provision in the past to get pay upgrades for LPNs, the IT classification series, Amusement Ride Inspectors, Auto Technicians, ODNR Parks classifications and others.

Please watch this space for more information about this important agreement. Questions? Contact the union’s Member Resource Center at MRC@ocsea.org or by calling 1-888-OCSEA11.

CC: OCSEA board and staff