[commanderkai]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

fifeboy fifeboy:

I am a union guy but here I think the province needs to hire scabs. Send in the MLAs and MPs. I am sure they will find the work done by prison guards to be fun and not worthy of any increases in pay or benefits.

In future news: four MLAs became pregnant by a single detainee and the names of 14 MLAs available for trysts were written on a jailhouse wall, along with prices for various sexual favours.

Lol, yeah that Baltimore prison scandal is something I'm glad is not an issue here. Seriously, I really want to now what the fuck happened.

[Unsound]

commanderkai commanderkai:

I agree that's a serious issue, but eh. Actually going on strike with prisoners in the facility? A bit dangerous too, especially if reports prisoners are damaging the facility right now.

The union asked to have the transfer delayed until their concerns were addressed.

commanderkai commanderkai:

What's wrong with the other 8 prisons where the guards are striking at?

They're striking in support of the ones at the remand. Sheriffs at the courthousees in Edmonton and Calgary are also striking in support and social workers are considering it.

commanderkai commanderkai:

Also, is it mean of me to assume that this prison was described as "more humane" for the prisoners once it was built? I just have a bad feeling that went into the design.

I haven't heard too much about it being more "humane", other than the fact that it's big enough to actually hold the number of prisoners that are there, unlike the old centre that had 2 or 3 times the number of prisoners that it was designed for.

[commanderkai]

Unsound Unsound:

commanderkai commanderkai:

What's wrong with the other 8 prisons where the guards are striking at?

They're striking in support of the ones at the remand. Sheriffs at the courthousees in Edmonton and Calgary are also striking in support and social workers are considering it.

Eh, I have a huge issue with that. Doesn't that put all of those facilities at considerable danger of prisoners causing serious damage to each other, the facility, or the workers who don't generally go around armed, and rely on the protection of the guards?

[Unsound]

commanderkai commanderkai:

Eh, I have a huge issue with that. Doesn't that put all of those facilities at considerable danger of prisoners causing serious damage to each other, the facility, or the workers who don't generally go around armed, and rely on the protection of the guards?

That's the downside, but according to the Remand guards they were already in danger and this seemed to be the only way to get the government to listen to their concerns.
No one likes to go on strike but all too often the government just doesn't respond to concerns until they're forced to.

[commanderkai]

Unsound Unsound:

commanderkai commanderkai:

Eh, I have a huge issue with that. Doesn't that put all of those facilities at considerable danger of prisoners causing serious damage to each other, the facility, or the workers who don't generally go around armed, and rely on the protection of the guards?

That's the downside, but according to the Remand guards they were already in danger and this seemed to be the only way to get the government to listen to their concerns.
No one likes to go on strike but all too often the government just doesn't respond to concerns until they're forced to.

Don't get me wrong, if what you said is true, no doubt the government screwed up, especially if they didn't provide proper training for a new facility, but I'm a bit iffy about "solidarity" strikes at other prisons if we're already receiving reports of this prison being damaged, especially if there aren't any issues with the designs of those other prisons.

The Remand prison I can understand if they were truly in danger, but these other prisons are putting the public, other workers, the facility, and the prisoners themselves at risk. The guards at those 8 prisons should get back to work immediately.

[Thanos]

Alberta sheriffs could also be joining the action in support of the guards, which would paralyze the courts with no one to handle the prisoners and bring traffic enforcement on the highways to a shuddering halt.

I support the guards and sheriffs 100% in this.

[Public_Domain]

[OnTheIce]

Not surprising, still no word about what the actual safety issues are besides a mention of "staffing cuts".

Start to fine the union and their workers for the illegal strike.

[Lemmy]

Yeah, let's fine people for refusing unsafe work. "Tarzan say unions bad".

[OnTheIce]

Lemmy Lemmy:

Yeah, let's fine people for refusing unsafe work. "Tarzan say unions bad".

Still waiting on what's unsafe about it.

The only thing made public was a staffing issues. Shocking.

[Lemmy]

It doesn't matter what's unsafe. It doesn't even matter if it actually is unsafe. As long as the workers believe it's unsafe, they have the right to refuse work. So it's not an illegal strike.

[Thanos]

Apparently the new jail in Edmonton was designed with a cuddly-friendly concept in mind, courtesy of some psychiatrists and government bureaucrats. Open air, lots of light, not so many bars and corridors that might remind the criminals (or law-optional alternative lifestyle participants as they now prefer to be called) why they're there. Far down the list of priorities was the safety and welfare of the guards, who now have to mingle in with the prisoners with far less areas to retreat to if attacked, which is now a much higher probability considering that the prisoner-to-guard ratio is now around 30 to 1. All this was brought up to the government but it looked like no one really felt like listening, especially after they just spent a half-billion on the building.

This is probably a Klein-era fuck-up that got approved during Stelmach and no has landed in the lap of Redford, with the government under all three premiers not bothering to listen at all to what the guards were saying. And the walk-out got triggered by them suspending two guards who went after them in meetings over the safety issues. All in all it looks like almost all the blame belongs to the government, all because they didn't feel like listening to what the guards and their union reps were saying.

[OnTheIce]

$1:

Lukaszuk reiterated Sunday that the facility was deemed safe by occupational health and safety workers, which he noted were also members of the AUPE.

He said the union has presented a list of 10 demands that must be met before the guards will return to work, but he said health and safety is only one of the items on the list.

He noted the union is in the middle of collective bargaining and suggested they might be using the strike as a pressure tactic.

Good to see some of the workers breaking the line and going back to work.

[OnTheIce]

Lemmy Lemmy:

It doesn't matter what's unsafe. It doesn't even matter if it actually is unsafe. As long as the workers believe it's unsafe, they have the right to refuse work. So it's not an illegal strike.

Sure it does.

Considering members of the Union deemed it safe before opening, hard to argue it now.

[Lemmy]

No it doesn't. I, as a worker, get to decide what is or is not dangerous. It doesn't matter what my union says any more than what my employer says. If I think it's unsafe, it's unsafe and I have the right to refuse work. Are you seriously having difficulty grasping that?