Posts tagged prison
Union concerned as prisons report increased violence
August 19, 2025 // The St. Louis Correctional Facility is in the central part of Michigan and can house more than 1,100 inmates. Operated by the Michigan Department of Corrections, the facility is currently designated a level IV facility. In the MDOC system, prisons are categorized by security levels I through V, with level V being maximum security. A level IV facility typically houses prisoners considered high risk for violence, escape, or disruptive behavior, with many serving long sentences. MCO is calling for action to protect the facility’s correction officers.
24-year-old driver who fatally struck UAW picketer sentenced to years in prison
July 27, 2025 // The driver who struck and killed a United Auto Workers picketer in Sept. 2024 has been sentenced to years in prison, documents obtained by News 10 confirm. Jayden Chase, 24, pleaded no contest in May to hitting multiple UAW picketers with his vehicle in September, killing 24-year-old Seth Webb and injuring numerous others.
State employees’ union says NH Department of Labor must reinstate administrative judge
June 4, 2025 // News 9 received more than 1,000 pages as a result of the right-to-know request, but most were blacked out. In March, News 9 reported that the Department of Labor was taking steps to terminate Richard Brown's employment. Brown was an administrative judge who pleaded guilty in 2012 to several charges including organized fraud, money laundering, grand theft and filing false insurance claims, according to court paperwork from Florida.
Ex-union president for Homeland Security workers in Vermont avoids prison in embezzling case
June 3, 2025 // Leticia Russi-Shareno had earlier pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge stemming from her theft that led to a $36,000 “out-of-pocket” loss to the union, according to court filings.
How New York Can Prevent Another Prison Worker Strike
March 7, 2025 // The governor should hold both sides to account. She needs a handshake deal with lawmakers to restore some of the discretion that prison superintendents previously wielded to impose solitary confinement in the most extreme cases. Such an agreement can be codified in the forthcoming state budget. In return, state law should require every DOCCS employee to wear a body camera whenever in the presence of an inmate and give the department more latitude in curbing the arrival of drugs and contraband. Finally, Hochul needs to identify and terminate the strike’s instigators. Any capitulation, real or perceived, will tempt other public employees to instigate their own illegal strikes—though some of damage in this regard has already been done.
NY reaches tentative deal to end prison strike by suspending anti-solitary confinement law
March 2, 2025 // A law restricting the use of solitary confinement in New York’s prisons would remain partly suspended for 90 days if corrections officers accept a tentative agreement the state reached with their union to end an ongoing wildcat strike. There will be no departmental discipline for any of the thousands of corrections officers if they return to work by Saturday, according to a memo the governor released. The agreement also includes provisions to reduce mandated overtime, increase the overtime pay rate and temporarily hire retired corrections officers to assist in transporting incarcerated people.
IBEW Local 98 fined $25,000 for Dougherty lobbying
February 24, 2025 // Prosecutors alleged Henon, who worked as the union’s political director while also serving on City Council, was essentially on retainer to the union leader, using his council position to help Dougherty attack rivals in other unions and pressure large companies to hire union electricians. In November 2021, they were convicted on the majority of counts they faced. The jury found both men guilty of conspiracy and honest services fraud and Henon guilty of bribery.
Hochul calls up National Guard over prison strikes
February 19, 2025 // "The illegal and unlawful actions being taken by a number of correction officers must end immediately," Hochul said in a statement. "We will not allow these individuals to jeopardize the safety of their colleagues, incarcerated people, and the residents of communities surrounding our correctional facilities." New York correctional officers have been on strike at several upstate facilities since Monday, though union officials say the job action wasn't sanctioned. The work stoppages — which are illegal under New York law — come in response to a lockdown last week when rioting inmates injured three guards and simmering complaints about understaffing and mandatory overtime in state prisons.
UAW’s response to monitor at issue in federal court hearing
November 30, 2024 // At issue is the scope of the monitor’s ability to fully review information from the union under a consent decree issued after the long-running corruption scandal that sent former top union officials and auto executives to prison. Attorneys on Tuesday described about 570 redacted documents and text messages connected to UAW President Shawn Fain as being among the issues.
Former IBEW head Johnny ‘Doc’ Dougherty heads to prison to begin 6 year sentence
October 3, 2024 // On Tuesday, former labor leader John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty reported to federal prison in Lewisburg to begin a six year sentence after being convicted of embezzling funds from the union he formerly led