State Sen. Ed McBroom on Wednesday supported legislation to allow Michigan corrections officers the new option to join a pension plan similar to other statewide officers, like state police troopers.
“This new pension option will hopefully help improve safety in our prisons by giving the state new tools to help attract and retain good corrections officers,” said McBroom, R-Waucedah Township. “Michigan continues to struggle to hire and retain staff to keep our prisons safe — resulting in severe shortages that have made our prisons more dangerous for both prisoners and officers. This reform will make Michigan’s benefits more competitive with other states and provide the men and women who bravely enter this tough profession the support they deserve in retirement.”
McBroom introduced Senate Bills 156 and 157 to accomplish this goal earlier this term. Nearly identical bills were later introduced by other members. SBs 166 and 167 would allow certain state employees — such as Department of Corrections officers — to participate in a retirement system, which includes both a pension component and a 401(k)-type savings component.
“As we have seen in the U.P. and across Michigan, our prisons are unsafe because they are understaffed and our officers are unappreciated and overworked,” McBroom said. “Since the department has not fixed the situation, my hope is these measures will begin to address staffing retention issues by enticing more people to become and stay corrections officers and retaining more of our current dedicated workers.
“A recent report from the department shows the huge number of recent recruits leaving within the first year. Ultimately, the state and department must go far beyond just providing a better retirement. Our starting pay, working conditions and post-employment health care must be improved. The department must be held accountable for violations of the contract and internal policies that are making the job more dangerous such as reclassifying dangerous prisoners to a lower security level. I am committed to continuing to advocate to advocate for our DOC employees on all these issues in the coming year.”
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