Wisconsin’s prisons on holiday schedule; guards question wisdom of furloughs

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Wisconsin’s prisons will operate on a holiday schedule today, as most of the Corrections Department’s 10,000 employees will be on a furlough.

It’s part of Gov. Jim Doyle’s order to make all state workers take 16 unpaid days off during the next two years, to help cover a shortfall in state revenues.

Some guards say the furloughs could mean an explosion of overtime, because the prisons have to be staffed 24-7.

But deputy corrections secretary Ismael Ozanne says the holiday schedule is a proven method of keeping overtime to a minimum while keeping the prisons safe.

And Ozanne says the department has worked hard to cut heavy overtime from previous years.

Still, Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan agrees the situation might need to be re-examined saying it doesn’t make sense to pay more in overtime than what the furloughs save.

Other agencies have talked about trying to chip away at the governor’s mandate – but the administration has held firm in requiring all employees to take the furloughs.

State Employees’ Union director Marty Beil says he’d rather see nobody furloughed but he agrees that having it apply to everybody is the only fair way to do it.

Tags: wisconsin, prison, furloughs