Monday, December 10, 2012

Oil Field jobs still booming, TDCJ units near Huntsville now at risk for losing staff to better paying jobs

 By Lance Lowery, for the Backgate Website

 5,000 new permits were issued for drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale. The drilling area has expanded closer to East Texas prison towns by expanding to Grimes, Madison, and Leon Counties. All these counties border highly populated prison counties (Walker Co and Anderson Co). Oil field companies are already setting up shop in Navasota home of the Pack and Luther Units.

The labor force in these areas is already exhausted and TDCJ is already dangerously understaffed with over 740 officer short in the Huntsville Region. Oil fracking has already overwhelmed TDCJ's labor force in Beeville, Kennedy, and now in West Texas, where the Smith unit is only 52 percent staffed. Rumors are spreading that the Smith unit is shutting down cell blocks and shipping inmates.

TDCJ and Texas politicians continue to ignore the states economy as the Eagle Ford drilling inches towards areas next to Huntsville (Walker Co) and Palestine (Anderson Co), two of the most prison populated areas of Texas. The Huntsville Region is experiencing a correctional officer shortage of over 740 officers at a time of year when officer recruiting is usually up.

TDCJ leadership is playing with fire downplaying the staffing shortages and should be screaming for help from the state politicians. With the massive prison expansion in the 90's, many experienced officers with be facing retirement soon.

Texas will have a surplus of over $9,000,000,000 this next session and can easily permit correctional officers a reasonable and competitive pay increase. With competitive pay, this may keep more experience from leaving due to retirement and the expanding energy sector.

Montgomery County south of Huntsville is also experiencing a large expansion in their energy industry with Exxon Mobil relocating there world headquarters on a new 300 + acre campus. Several other companies are also relocating to the area. TDCJ can expect further employee fallout unless competitive pay is implemented.

Lance Lowry
President
AFSCME Local 3808
Texas Correctional Employees




19 comments:

  1. Be nice just to get a break at work, let alone a raise! I have NEVER understood why the officers are actually "punished" when they go to to work- -no breaks, rank talks about call-ins- -well, hello- -why bring up call-ins to the ones that are THERE- -?? Maybe I am missing something here. Just seems strange to me to put down the ones that show up- -then get treated poorly.

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  2. From the desk of BoBoTheBeaten:

    Anyone who is willing to leave state employment and go bust their butts in the oil fields are not the same people who are creating the problems at TDCJ. Lazy, shiftless, dishonest, convict boinkin' no good turds who calls in sick all the time won't likely be the ones willing to hump their butts in the oils fields. So it would appear the problems within TDCJ will continue to get worse since the good ones, the able bodied, the workers will leave and the turds will remain behind doing what turds do.

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    Replies
    1. If the shoe fits turd... then wear that fucker!

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  3. TDC would be well advised to hold
    Their management responsible in retaining employees,unit level management leaves a person to wonder how some wardens made that
    Rank with no people skills.

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  4. lol...with so many units being critically short on staff, those wizards in Huntsville are now changing the p.a.t. where employees will have to complete "minimums" in all aspects of the test. LOL...wow, you have older officers who have served the state with distinction for many years, and because they wont be able to do 10 push ups..there career is over because some politician in TDC had a dream??...No loyalty to our frontline warriors...none at all.

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  5. One TDCJ employee said she was threatened by an assistant warden to shut her mouth up and make no more complaints, that she will be fired and will be made useless, so that she will not be able to find job elsewhere in Texas if she refuses to stop complaining about the harassment she was facing. This is the plight of TDCJ employees. What can she do?

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  6. Well, the mainstream media always likes to hear those stories, and politicians hate the attention.

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  7. Applications on-line ?

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  8. Smith unit shipped off around 130 G5's from high security. 2 wings closed in high security. Rumor is they are closing HS down.

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  9. Just got my phone call oilfield here I come

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  10. Ethridge & Ethridge Until tdc makes a complete turnaround it will always be the SOS The state just needs useless bodys to fill spots,we saw So Many good employes go elsewhere due mostly to tdc management and the good ol boy Racist System

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    Replies
    1. There is no good ole boy racist system... try hard not to be a lazy drama causing sack of shit :D

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  11. if they were to close units in fort stockton and move them to el paso (since majority of those officers are from el paso) it would be more reasonable and more efficient towards the units and towards the officers

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  12. Thanks for sharing this post.I think if you employ in the oil industry, or want to start a profession in the energy first step is to locate where the jobs are in the oil fields or learn how to find oilfield jobs.

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    Texas Oil Boom!

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