VOLUME II
OCTOBER 1971 ae:
NUMBER?
Major New York State prison reforms
negotiated by AFSCME Council 82
Attica: AFSCME
mourns the dead
In Memoriam
pays olen and s0r-
rouful tribute to the
Correction personnel at
liven in the line of
“Edward T. Cunningham
“John J. D’Arcangelo, Jr.
Elmer Hardie
Herbert W. Jones, Jr
Richard J. Lewis
John G. Montelone
“William Quinn:
“Carl W. Valone
Elon F. Werner
“Ronald D. Werner
Harrison W. Whalen
(Auterisk denotes @ member
of Council 82 4FSCME)
ATTICA — The name of
Attica is already assured a
grimly important chapter’ in
the history of venologs
6 1TH
beame the hiss, hleodiest
and most destructive: inmate
upheaval in American prison
history
en Correction employ
ces lost their lives; 32 inmates
died; many others were in-
jured. Estimates of the de-
struction have ranged as high
$7,000,000.
he catastrophe of Attica
has already: left mental and
emotional sears not just_on
Correction Officers and
inmates, but probably on the
nation as well
The shock-waves caused by
the Attica explosion
(Continued on Page j
‘Api hat want round the word hp tester of Bal cy polamen
to Attica
‘ASCE Counc & rhein Coracan Other Ses Sony,
ALBANY — [twas a unique victory
‘The announcement by P.J. Campa
FSCME's national
M
organization director, and William Ciuros, Jv., president of
AFSCME Council
“For the first
onal system.”
Late the evening of October
conference room crowded with AFS
ory a labor union has
major reforms in its
in a state office building
CME leaders and state
government officials, State Commissioner of Corrections
182, Ashort time after this picture was taken the Sta
.
ai Pi
in writing te AFSCME’s seven deman
of the table, Corrections Commi
Russell Oswald signed a
history - making document
agreeing to a seven-point pro-
gram of demands presented to
state by Council 82. on
By signing the documest on
et. 5, Oswald averted a
statewide lock-in of inmates in
all 22. state correctional
facilities on Oct.7.
Lock-in a Last Resort
‘The seven den
designed by
achieve greater safety and
security for both Cot
Officers and inmates.""
The whole nation watched
the unprecedented negotiations:
between AFSCME Council 82
and the state. Television and
radio coverage was almost
ISCME negotiators are for
ner Russell Oswald (in white shirt) et
constant, day and night; and
press coverage was equally
exhaustive.
Repeatedly AFSCME
leaders explained to. the
union's rank-and-file, the
public and the media that the
projected lock-in was
uncertaken with the greatest
reluctance and as “a. last
resort.” For a yearsand-achalf
Council 82 had been
temanding that the state take a
number of reform steps in the
correctional system designed
to prevent exactly: the kind of
explosion that oveurred in
Attica, but the proposals were
ignored or buried by the
Rockefeller administration,
the legislature or the Division
of Budget. After nearly. two
(Continued an P
me 3)
OCTOBER 1971
Coundil 82's convention best ever
Largest, most
eventful meet
in Albany
ALBANY — It was the
third, the largest, the most
exciting and the best publicized
convention yet held by
AFSCME Council 82.
More than 120 delegates
represented a growing State
membership now climbing
toward the 8,000 mark. The
three days of sessions at the
Thruway Hyatt House were
marked by extensive and
enthusiastic discussions of
Council 82's program of seven
demands for reforms in the
state's correctional system and
the threat of a lock-in if the
AFSCME demands were not
met. .
The delegates went on rec-
ord with a unanimous en-
dorsement of the seven de-
mands and the lock-in, if it
proved necessary
The convention elected the
AFSCME pledged
to back Council
LATHAM — AFSCME, the
nation’s largest union of public
employees, with 525,000
members, was set to throw its
full resources behind Council
82 in the Council's showdown
with the state government.
That was the
message
brought by In-
ternational
President Jer-
ry Wurf to a
meeting here
of nearly 100
officers of 14
AFSCMI
lo-
uri
. gal unions in the state's cor-
rectional institutions,
Wurf pledged the union's
complete moral, organization-
al and financial support of
Council 82's history-making
fight for seven demands de-
signed to achieve greater
safety and security of Cor-
rection Officers and inmates.
king also as a member
of the AFL-CIO Executive
Council, Wurf told the meeting
that the whole American labor
movement would bring its
weight to bear to abolish the
kind of conditions that brought
about the Attica upheaval.
They vot
unanimously to
locedn if ne
ination director, speech. At
Is Coun rsden Wiliam ‘com rend et his extome ight
1g Secretary Warren Cai
Council's seven demar
aes ring Garr, ‘ASME
Council's steers and trustees the executive order (see
for the coming year (see separate report).
separate story’), and passed a
the discriminatory
of President Nixon's wag
employees be exempted from Services
reform and @
ational orgon-
Geme's immediate ight
sated yo ond womsimony! Council 82's third saa cnvnin voted
swppert the
‘The convention learned that
strong resolution denouncing Council 82 had succeeded in
‘acter getting the current job freeze
relaxed in the State
freeze and asking that public Department of Correctional
Not a wage freeze...
but a wage cut
Here ere excerpts from the ‘Resolution On President
Nixon's W ice Freeze and Public Employees”
approved by AFSCME Council 82's third annual
convention (Sept. 29-Oct. 1) in Albany:
President Nixon's Aug. 14 executive order freezing prices
and wages has proved as appalling a failure as his previous
economic policies which produced record-high unemployment
while profits and dividends continue to soar.
The Nixon order clamped down rigidly on wage scales,
including those already negotiated, but left completely free
corporate profits and interest rates
The Nixon order is clearly @ program of soak-the-poor-and-
enrich-the-wealthy.
Because of the unique nature of their work, public
employees are now being discriminated against more harshly
than any other group of employees in business or industry.
ur International Union has pointed out that Nixon's
discriminatory order makes no allowance for the special wage
structure peculiar to public employment, under which
employees are paid on a basis other than the job they do. Public
employees must persevere through as many as seven and eight
steps — consuming the same number of years on the job—
before they reach their top salary levels.
Annual increments have nothing to do with competence or
ability. To put a ceiling on step increases as the Nixon order
does is not a wage freeze but a wage
cut,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this 3rd Annual
Convention of AFSCME Council 82 strongly urges our
te,
International Union, representing as it does 525,000 st
employees from the discriminatory order, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Commntin insists
that collective bargaining and contract ne,
Continue with the unaltered goal ot higher living standard, job
security and improved fringe benefits, and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that we insist that
appropriations assigned by state legislatures and municipal
governing councils not be diverted to other purposes but be held
scrupulously in escrow for eventual distribution to public
employees.
Civros, Cairo
and Clay
re-elected
ALBANY — Council 82
President William Ciuros was
overwhelmingly elected to a
second term at the Council's
third annual’ convention held
here Sept. 29-Oct. 1.
Aveteran Correction Officer
from the Elmira Correctional
Facility, Ciuros defeated John
Abramshe, of Woodbourne.
Reelected by acclamation to
their second terms were
Warren Cairo, of Kerhonk-
son, as Council Secretary, and
William Clay, as Treasurer.
In the convention's only
election wet, Vice-President
Neil O° in, of Long
Island, lost to Joseph Gugino,
of Buffalo, representing
Narcotic Correction Officers.
Elected as Council 82
Trustees were: Gary
Tavormina, of Woodbourne,
for a 3-year term; John
Casey, of Glens Falls, for a 2-
term; and Ric Fields, of
New York City, for a 1-year
term.
Three prison groups
vote for AFSCME
HARRISBURG, PA. —
Three separate groups of
county jail guards in
Pennsylvania recently voted
for AFSCME as their
collective bargaining
representative in elections
conducted by the State Labor
Relations Board.
In York County the vote
was nearly unanimous for
AFSCME in a unit of 28
guards and matrons with only
one no-vote. AFSCME's
petition included the signatures
of seven deputy sheriffs, but
these were separated by the
Board and will vote in a later
election.
In Dauphin County, con-
taining Harrisburg, the state
capital, a unit of 47 guards
at the Dauphin County Prison
save a malrity cz AFSCME
‘a Labor Boal
mat Philedelphies : "Trehigh
County Prison, 43 guards and
2
AFSCME representation, and
are now readying for their
first trip to the bargaining
table.
OCTOBER 1971
Candlelight memorial services fr the slain Correction Officers, held neor the
gates at Attica, wore dimaxed with a moving prayer offered by Rabbi Daniol
Karman, the prison's Jewish chaplain, At loft is Councl 82 President William
Major N.Y. prison reforms
won by Council 82 AFSCME
(Continued from Page 1)
years of getting nowhere, the
Council, in a last resort effort
to call attention to the need for
immediate reform measures,
unanimously’ decided upon the
lock-in,
The AFSCME agreement
state was
with the
unanimousl}
Tby more t
presidents and other officials
who agreed that the lock-in
threat would be permanently
withdrawn as long as the state
government kept its part of the
bargain.
Here, point by point, are
'SCME's seven demands and
the manner in which the state's
concessions responded to those
demands:
1-On the proposal for special com:
‘pensation plans for the survivors of
Attica hostages and surviving host
ages, fume oar that Gove
‘nor would be urged to establish
> eval commission 1 recom
‘mend appropriate additional ben
ofits.
24 special institution for incorrig
ible inmates to be put into opera-
tion within the next 30 days.
3-Rehiring of all laid-off Correction
Officers and the filing of al
vacant position items on all eves
with $912,060 slated for the hir
ing of 80 additional Officers. In
scion, 0 st wil re od
60 new Correction
vary to wena oh March
31, 1972, The state agreed to im-
‘mediately review with the Union,
‘on a facility - by - fecity basis.
positions that may be identified as
‘Appropriate for female Corre:
Otfcars and recall the led:
‘off female Correction Otfcers as
the reviews are completed
4-The immediate expenditure of
more than $800,000 forthe pur-
chase of new safety and security
‘equipment, including radio com-
the state. will immediately pro-
Vide 4.242 gas masks. 3.218
helmets, 695 face shields and
‘goggles. At least 750 helmets wil
be cared ow, the tlc
within 75 d
can rte training program for
Correction Officers with
the traning fo beg ata ett,
tions during November. A total of
{$1,600,000 has been made avi
for 17 hours of training for
eh Correctan Ofc 1871
and compensated at
srocmietronng An
additional $1,120,000 will be re
quested of the State Planning
Board to provide 35 more hours
‘Academy until a
Department of Corrections Train
ing Academy has been established.
6—Improvements in the provision of
shower facilities. On food services,
$689,000 is slated for the prepa
tation of meals for inmates on
the basis of nutritious diet rather
than on the current daily per
capita cost. On clothing, a special
'$134,000 fund will provide an
immediate clothing ration at
Attia, and an additional $2,000.
(000 jis planned to impliment the
‘new clothing ration with appropri:
‘ate laundry service. The new cloth-
ing will include drastic improve:
ments in material, style and tailor-
ing for both summer and winter
issues with wearability, appearance
‘modeled and relocated.
‘T-For a training academy for Cor-
tection Officers, # $200,000 fund
is planned for creation of a new
Departmental Correctional Train-
ing Academy. Arrangements have
made to use the
‘New York State Police Academy,
In addition to these seven
demands, AFSCME also pro-
posed salary adjustments for
Correction Officers. Commis-
sioner Oswald agreed to testi-
fy with the Union at wage
hearings.
ATTICA, N.Y. — A deeply
moving candlelight: praye!
service in front of the gates of
Attica: Correctional Facility
memorialized the deaths of
11 slain hostages and 32 in-
mates.
Candles flickered in the
slight. evening breeze as
clergymen of three’ faiths
prayed for the Officers and
inmates and expressed the
fervent hope that the Attica
upheaval would never occur
again cither here or in any
other state prison.
More than 200 men, women
and children attended the
services sponsored by the
American Federation of State,
County and Municipal
mployees AFL-CIO, Council
Council 82 President
Candlelight prayer service:
tears for fallen brothers
William Ciuros, Jr., presided
at the services. Participants
included AFSCME President
Jerry Wurf and AFSCME
national organization director
P. J. Ciampa.
Opening the prayer service,
the Rev. Patrick X. Crotty,
pastor of St. Peter and Paul
Church in nearby Hamburg,
told the solemn assembly,
“The sad events of the past few
the sad events of the past
ietnam, the killings
everywhere — remind us of
our need for prayer.”
Attica prison’s Jewish
chaplain, Rabbi Daniel
Kerman, drew tears from his
listeners and himself became
tearful as he said, “We have
come together to keep our
grief from choking us. The
dead are here at least as
strongly: as we who live.”
Attica: AFSCME
mourns the dead
(Continued from Page 1)
reverberated across the
country provoking new soul-
searchings, fresh appraisals, of
what America's attitudes
really are — or should be —
toward the disquieting
questions of crime and
punishment, imprisonment and
rehabilitation,
Two Congressional
committees are at work
probing the causes and conse-
quences of the uprising; three,
perhaps four, New York State
investigating groups are doing
the same,
It will be a long time — if
ever — before the truth is
known about what really
triggered the explosion and,
what really happened during
the four-day rebellion.
Now is the time that
America must decide what
changes it wants to make in its
correctional facilities to
prevent future Atticas.
But AFSCME Security Unit
Employees Council 82, while it,
still mourns the Correction
Officers who gave their lives in
the line of duty, has not waited
for the Congressional
committees to report, has not
delayed until state bodies
decided on their findings.
Council 82, acting with a
speed that astonished the
public media, formulated a
reform program of seven
demands and — in a unique
display of power — induced the
State of New York to accept
and act upon those demands.
What caused it all? What
was the spark?
The most persuasive answer
‘as given to the Scripps-
Howard newspapers by
Warren Cairo, Secretary of
AFSCME Council 82.
A lack of money, caused by
a state budget cutback, was a
basic cause of the uprising, said
Cairo in an interview that was
printed across the nation. To
begin with, he said, Attica was
understaffed and had to cut
back on things the inmates
consider essentials.
‘Lack of Money’
“The very, very basic cause
of this riot is lack of money,”
said Cairo. “This is a situation
where they're cutting, cutting,
cutting. A prisoner gets one
pair of pants. He's supposed to
have three. Money is at the
root of every one of the inmate
demands. For example, a
simple demand for unlimited
showers takes many. more
guards, If the screens are
taken down between the
prisoners and their families so
they can touch and kiss their
wives, you need more guards,
They want more varied
menus, but how do you feed
them differently on less than
$1-a-day?” :
5
OCTOBER 1971
State’s Narcotics personnel
win major improvements
ALBANY — A meeting
between three Council 82
locals and NACC Chairman
Howard Jones has brought a
series of improvements in the
working conditions of Nar.
coties Correction Officers.
Moratorium
On Campus
Rotations
ALBANY — The hated
rotating shifts for campus
Security Officers of the State
University of New York may
be on their way out as the
result of a preliminary but
important victory chalked up
by AFSCME Local 1792 on
Oct. 7.
The Local, representing 350
Security Officers, persuaded
‘SUNY to sign a memorandum
of understanding which not
only specified a “moratorium”
on any new rotating shifts but
ako the parties jointly
toa study of rotating shifts and
‘a meeting on Oct. 21 to review
the whole question.
The application of seniority
will also come up for discussion
at the Oct. 21 meeting.
Signing the memorandum of
understanding for AFSCME
were Carl Gray, Council 82
Executive Director, and
President Thomas Graham, of
Local 1792; for the University.
it was Assistant Vice
Chancellor for Employee
Relations C. J. Naples.
‘The October 10 meeting was
attended by representatives
Locals 1791, 2072 and 2073,
along with Council 82
Executive Director Carl Gray.
Included in the points of
understanding were:
©The Chairman will
introduce legislation to make
assaults on NCOs a Class “E"
felony; the legislation will
provide for protection of the
law in the use of necessary
force to restrain residents, and
it will establish as a felony
destruction or damaging of
state property by a resident.
@The Chairman will
provide legal services for
NCOs charged with criminal
action while on dut well as
legal services in civil suits.
© NCOs will not be required
to pursue escaped residents
once they are outside of the
facility.
@ The various training
academies will be evaluated,
and NCOs will receive training
at a chosen facility.
@ The Penal Code will be
studied to determine if Peace
Officer status can be bestowed
on certain types of NCOs.
© A joint labor-management
committee will investigate the
establishment of an upgrading
program for Narcotics
Correction Officers.
REP ETA
Ss ol _
A ‘cell ano
To | the Dead Hos Hos! =
ound 2s vever-poln reform
heodlines thoughout the U.S. and eround
WO rape
mee
‘and tho threat of @ lock-in captured
the world.
AFSCME pushes for State
Safety Officer upgrading
ALBANY — More than 560
New York State Safety Of-
ficers are looking forward to
an upgrading from Grade 8 to
Grade 13, and if they win it —
which now seems likely — it
will be due to the untiring
efforts of AFSCME Local
1790 and President Vincent
Diglio.
The most recent
comprehensive case for the
upgrading of Safety Officers
was presented to the Civil
Service Commission by
Council 82 leads battle
for Taylor Law changes
BANY — A fight for
drastic revisions in the anti-
union Taylor law was led by
Council 82’ President William
Ciuros, Jr., in testimony Oct. 7
before the Joint Legislative
Committee to Study Revisions
of the Taylor Law.
Ciuros and other Council 82
witnesses, stressing the need to
make collective bargaining
among public employees in
New York State a reality
instead of a delusion, pressed
for a number of basie revisions
in the statute. Principal among
these were: elimination of the
prohibition against the right to
strike, and restoration of the
right to bargain collectively on
the subject of re-allocations
without having to go through
Classification "and Compen-
sation.
Council 82's presentation
was described by a member of
the Committee as “very
thought-provoking" and
President Ciuros was invited to
submit a more detailed
statement of the Union's
position for the Committee
record.
President Diglio who backed
his arguments with hundreds
of documents demonstrating
that the duties
responsibilities of
Officers equalled those of
policemen.
In many instances, Diglio
told the Commission, Safety
Officers have more hazardous
ignments than other
policemen.
“Not only do we have to deal
with crime committed by non-
employes and_on occasion by
employees,” Diglio testified,
“but we ako have to cope with
mentally sick patients who are
unpredictable.”
After the upgrading goal,
the union's second objective is
gaining for Safety Officers
the Brofessional recognition
that ently do not
enjoy on the job, Dinlosaid
“What we want ane
Commissioner Mille
with us," said Diglo, “is police
officer status."
Hor Yok Se Us
Amarican Federation of Sete,
Executive Director
Carl Gray
bation of
‘Canty & Money
63 Cavin Ave, Albany,
ae sags AFCO
we
12206
Recording Secretory
Warren Cairo
Treasurer
Williom Clay
Allred Schneller
Charles Severance
