Letters sent to Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Director Heidi Washington last week from state legislators urge the department to extend pay raises for new correctional officer recruits to all state correctional facilities, not just five facilities in the Upper Peninsula. (Photo courtesy of the MDOC)

ESCANABA — Dozens of Michigan lawmakers are pressing the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) to expand recently announced pay raises for new correctional officer recruits to all state prisons, rather than limiting them to five facilities in the Upper Peninsula.

Last week, 36 state representatives and 10 state senators signed letters to MDOC Director Heidi Washington, urging the department to extend the higher starting pay to recruits at all 26 state prisons. The facilities collectively house about 33,000 incarcerated individuals, according to the MDOC.

The push comes after the department announced in late May new correctional officer recruits at the Marquette Branch Prison, Baraga Correctional Facility, Alger Correctional Facility, Kinross Correctional Facility and Chippewa Correctional Facility would receive salary increases worth roughly $10,000 annually.

State Rep. Will Snyder wrote in his letter, “As you know, this workforce has been facing staffing shortages that reduce workplace safety, increase workloads and hurt employee retention. The Michigan Department of Corrections identified five locations in the UP that had recruitment difficulties, while neglecting staffing difficulties present statewide.”

Snyder cited the role the MDOC plays in maintaining public safety and security in Michigan, adding, “Yet, correctional officers are subject to unsafe working conditions as prisons are being operated with far less officers than required to ensure safety. The department has tried and failed policy after failed policy to solve the staffing crisis.”

He also noted the policy was rolled out without first consulting leadership of the Michigan Corrections Organization.

While Snyder said the incentive program could be effective if expanded statewide, he argued that it remains only a partial solution.

“The integrity of our system is at risk due to a negligent assessment of the staffing crisis and an unwillingness to partner and find win-win solutions,” Snyder wrote.

In a separate letter signed by State Sen. Sue Shink and 10 other senators, lawmakers acknowledged the effort the MDOC is making to address staffing shortages at Upper Peninsula correctional facilities but argued that the crisis is a statewide issue, therefore requiring a statewide solution.

“It is concerning to pick winners and losers among facilities when officer vacancy rates are prevalent and severe across the state,” Shink wrote.

Under the department’s Safe Prisons Initiative, new officer recruits at the five U.P. facilities will see their starting pay increase from $23.45 per hour to $28.24 per hour.

In announcing the pay increases, the MDOC said the selected facilities were chosen based on current staff vacancy rates and their designation as being in a hard-to-recruit region of the state.

“Officers currently at these worksites are working tirelessly to operate their facilities in a safe and secure way around the clock,” Washington wrote in May. “We are optimistic that this change, along with other components of the Safe Prison Initiative, will provide relief to staff and create safer facilities.”

The MDOC had not publicly responded to the recent letters as of Monday.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.