Thomson Prison staff learned Monday that the retention pay employees have received since 2022 will be discontinued at the end of December, resulting in a major pay cut just after the holidays.
“Christmas is right around the corner and staff are getting a 25 percent pay cut at Christmas time,” says Jon Zumkehr, president of AFGE Local Union 4070, calling the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons “the Grinch that stole Christmas from the staff at Thomson.”
“It doesn’t make any sense,” says Zumkehr. “If they are putting staff and inmates’ lives at risk by cutting the staff, by cutting the pay at Thomson, and we’re currently 71 short at Thomson. Their solution is to cut the pay by 25 percent to help bring staff to Thomson.”
Zumkehr says 13 employees are already projected to leave Thomson.
“We’re not bringing in new people, so we need to focus on keeping the current staff we have there,” says Zumkehr. “Who in their right mind would cut the pay at Thomson to try and get more staff to come and work there?”
Zumkehr also says that he is not happy with the lack of transparency from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and its director.
“We have reached out multiple times to her. She hasn’t responded,” says Zumkehr. “The national union reached out to the head of HR, last week, and they said that there has been no change in the retention, meaning it was not going anywhere.Then they notify us today of something different,” Zumkehr says.
“The director is not listening to the boots on the ground that actually works at Thomson,” says Zumkehr. “We currently have almost 150 staff saying that they will leave Thomson once this is removed. They will go work for the state of Illinois. They pay more in the state of Illinois.”
“Instead of stopping the bleeding, they are opening up the wound even more and they’re gonna put staff and inmate lives at risk by short changing the staff at Thomson, by not filling the mission, and by not getting enough staff to work there,” says Zumkehr. “And they’re gonna have blood on their hands when an inmate or staff get killed because of their decision to cut the pay at Thomson.”
Our Quad Cities News reached out to U.S Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, about the issue.
She said in a statement that “it is critical for USP Thomson to have the resources it needs to fulfill its mission, that includes being able to support a strong and stable workforce.”
“Modernizing and enhancing retention processes will strengthen the security of law enforcement officers and the safety of inmates in the long term,” she said.
Our Quad Cities News also reached out to Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Illinois, about the issue. He responded by saying “I believe that every worker is entitled to fair compensation for the work they do.”
An email from the AFGE says they are urging the Bureau of Prisons to reverse the decision to cut salaries.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin also released a statement that was attributed to Duckworth and Sorensen as well:
“For years, we have worked to support staffing at Thomson, including advocating for retention and recruitment bonuses and direct hire authority, following an understaffing crisis at the facility worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. When news of Thomson’s mission change was announced, we encouraged Director Peters to keep the 25 percent retention bonus in place to ensure that Thomson would be fully staffed. It is critical that BOP leadership prioritizes retention and recruitment efforts to incentivize employees to continue working at the facility and to help the prison run safely and effectively.”
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