Tazewell County Jail workers have voted to strike over wages and working conditions

Tazewell County Justice Center, 101 S. Capitol Street in Pekin. July 14, 2020. [MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR]
Tazewell County Justice Center, 101 S. Capitol Street in Pekin. July 14, 2020. [MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR]

The Tazewell County Jail control room operators, represented by the Policemen’s Benevolent Labor Committee, voted last week to go on strike. According to Police Benevolent Labor Committee Attorney David Amerson, the decision was a response to a breakdown in negotiations with Tazewell County officials.

“The union has attempted to secure a fair contract with the county for control room operators for nearly three years,” said Amerson. “During this time, the county has engaged in a variety of techniques designed to stall negotiations or to bargain in bad faith. The control room operators are subjected to forced and inconsistent shifts, supervisory practices that skirt Illinois labor law, and pay that can only be described as shameful when compared to the seriousness of the duty they perform.”

Control room operators monitor the physical security of the jail, control security access within the facility, and are responsible for the physical safety of all correctional officers and inmates.

Amerson described their work as "a crucial public safety duty for the citizens of Tazewell County," and noted that a control room operator’s starting salary is $13 an hour. He maintained that the low pay has led to a high turnover rate in the past two years.

“It’s a constant revolving door of new people who have to be trained and obviously aren’t as effective as (more experienced) employees,” Amerson added.

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While he said he supports the operators’ right to strike, Tazewell County Sheriff Jeff Lower expressed disappointment over their decision to do so in this instance, noting that the contract over which they are striking expired Tuesday. He had believed that contract negotiations between the operators and county officials had been going in a positive direction.

“Wages were all taken care of, and there was only one issue still outstanding,” said Lower. “I’m really surprised that they were going to strike over this one issue … longevity for part-time employees. We don’t currently have any employees that this issue affects. So, I’m confused to why they’re striking for something that doesn’t affect anybody.”

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Amerson said that the operators are seeking a $15 an hour starting wage, more personal days off and better overtime conditions. He does not believe the question of wages had been satisfactorily settled prior to the control room operators’ decision to strike.

“We’ve been bargaining for three years, and last December, the county gave us their final offer on wages, meaning they were done talking about it,” he noted. “(They said) ‘We’ll spend some time bargaining over other things, like uniform allowance, but we’re done talking about wages.’”

For the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department, the strike means that correctional officers will have to work the control room – which in turn means that some officers will have to work more overtime. Both Amerson and Lower have expressed willingness for their respective sides to continue meeting in hopes of reaching an accord.

“We’ll continue forward and try to get this addressed,” said Lower. “But, I don’t see a strike is necessary to get us to negotiate when we’re already willing to do that.”

“The union remains willing and hopeful to meet and bargain with the county in order to prevent any undue disruptions to the safety of the community,” Amerson said. "The decision to strike was made in order to stabilize the essential safety services that the citizens of this county demand of their elected officials. The control room operators are not striking out of a mere desire for more money, but rather out of desperation for how their working conditions have deteriorated.”

This article originally appeared on Pekin Daily Times: Wages, conditions behind Tazewell County Jail operators' strike