Tensions rise in fed prisons during shutdown as weary guards go without pay and work double shifts

Tensions rise in federal prisons during shutdown as weary guards go without pay and work double shifts

By Kimberly Kindy January 10 at 5:37 PM
Prison guard Brian Shoemaker was patrolling the halls of Lee penitentiary in southwestern Virginia on Friday when an inmate tried to squeeze past him into a restricted area. Seconds after Shoemaker told the prisoner to turn around, the inmate lunged at him, punching him in the shoulder.

Shoemaker did not sustain a major injury. But it did not escape him that he is working without a paycheck at one of the most dangerous federal jobs in America during the partial government shutdown. Fears for his and other prison staff members’ safety are escalating as 16-hour shifts become routine and a growing number of guards call in sick in protest or to work side jobs to pay their bills.

“I don’t think we should be subjected to that kind of thing and not receive a paycheck,” said Shoemaker, 48, a 17-year veteran of Lee penitentiary. “I’m walking in here and doing my job everyday, and it’s very dangerous.”

Shoemaker is one of 36,000 federal prison workers deemed “essential employees” by the U.S. government, which means he is expected to report for work during the shutdown even though he will not get paid until after the government reopens.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/tensions-rise-in-federal-prisons-during-shutdown-as-weary-guards-go-without-pay-and-work-double-shifts/2019/01/10/fc1042e8-136a-11e9-803c-4ef28312c8b9_story.html