Push for Steady Job Tours For Correction Staff;
Captains' Misgivings Over Impact Anger Horn and COBA

By REUVEN BLAU

The Correction Department is looking to shift the majority of its officers into steady tours to enhance accountability, stabilize staff schedules, and enable the agency to expand its plan to deploy personnel in larger jails.

MARTIN F. HORN: Deal or face the wheel.

"This benefits everyone," Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn asserted during an Oct. 12 phone interview.

Based on a law enacted in 1939, the Correction Commissioner is required to institute a system of rotating tours, however. A proposed amendment, which requires City Council approval, would repeal that section of the city's Administrative Code. A Council hearing regarding the legislation is scheduled for Oct. 24.

Stems From COBA Deal

The steady tour plan was agreed to by city negotiators and the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association as part of the union's September 2005 contract.

The department's supervisory unions, however, have raised concerns over the bill's language, contending that it is vague and may enable the Commissioner to change staffing levels and force officers to work undesirable tours.

NORMAN SEABROOK: Change offers stability.

Commissioner Horn threatened to take drastic measures if the legislation is blocked as a result of their possible opposition. "I'm not going to knowingly violate the law," Mr. Horn said. "If this change does not go through, everybody goes back on the wheel." The "wheel" is the term used to refer to the weekly cycle of rotating shifts, a scheduling assignment most officers dread. The Commissioner added: "It's hard for me to believe that there are people out there advocating to keep the wheel."

Some to Still Rotate

He maintained that no officers would be forced to work steady shifts under the measure, saying, "Nothing in this proposal would prohibit us from having some employees on rotating tours."

Under the current setup, most new officers work rotating shifts of 8 hours and 31 minutes, which often change from night to day tours after each week. The majority of officers eventually transfer into an open steady shift, enabling them to maintain a routine schedule outside of work.

A small group of officers spend their entire careers working rotating shifts. Those officers, however, can't keep a steady sleep pattern and often have difficulty scheduling basic personal appointments, DOC and COBA officials said.

PETER MERINGOLO: Wants protection.

The vast majority of COs are in favor of increased steady tours, COBA President Norman Seabrook said. "We are going to help put stability in people's lives," he remarked during an Oct. 12 phone interview. "I would think that the CCA would support it."

Fears Later Impact

Correction Captains' Association President Peter D. Meringolo maintained that he is just trying to protect his members. "I'm not going to stand by and give my approval on something that could bite me on the ass later," he asserted.

That position has enraged Mssrs. Horn and Seabrook. "I have a lot of Correction Officer who have children," Mr. Seabrook noted. "It is important to me that they have that stability."

He continued, "Working the wheel is very stressful. It is outdated. We should come into the 21st Century."

JOSEPH P. ADDABBO: Ready to move on bill.

Mr. Horn threatened to leave the department if the measure gets blocked. "I should resign today, because right now the department is violating the law, and before [quitting] I should put everybody back on the wheel," he exclaimed.

Promise Not Binding

Sources indicated that Mr. Meringolo was given a letter from the city's Office of Labor Relations assuring the union that the steady tours would not negatively affect Captains.

The CCA, however, wants additional guarantees. "No letter can overcome the law," noted Harry Greenberg, the union's attorney. "It doesn't eliminate us being covered."

Mr. Seabrook blasted that stance. "Maybe they should get some lawyers that can learn how to read," he charged. "The language is not vague."

The Assistant Deputy Wardens'/Deputy Wardens' Associations has gained an additional 16 members under the expanded unit management plan, which the department has used to divide large jails by placing full-time supervisors in specific locations within those facilities.

"The ability to work steady shifts and have continuity in the various housing areas is a good thing," said union President Sidney Schwartzbaum during an Oct. 12 phone interview. "However, the implementation and interpretation of the changes in the law need clarification before I wholeheartedly endorse this legislation."

He has a meeting scheduled with Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley next week to discuss the issue, he noted.

Councilman Supportive

Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., who chairs the Civil Service and Labor Committee, pointed out that the legislation was introduced by the Mayor's Office. He also noted that COBA agreed to support the measure as part of its wage contract with the city. "It will give them some stability and will increase morale," he added during a phone interview last week.

Asked if he was concerned by the questions that had been raised regarding the wording of the measure, he replied, "I'm not sure if that has to do with the language of the bill, or is it a personal matter? As chair of the committee, I can't get involved with personal disputes."

Mr. Horn and Mr. Meringolo have long been at odds, publicly quarreling over the department's disciplinary policies and a litany of other issues.

The ongoing feud, Mr. Meringolo said, has led him to view the proposed changes with a jaundiced eye. "Given my relationship with Commissioner Horn, would I allow a law that could possibly hurt my members?" he asked. "The Commissioner said it has nothing to do with supervisory unions. Then why am I being asked to support this?"

Language Barrier

According to Mr. Meringolo, the Bloomberg administration has refused to change the wording in the law from "custodial employees" to "Correction Officers." The term custodial employees could include Captains and other administrative titles, he said.

"We gave him everything that he wanted," Mr. Hanley responded. "Peter seems to be going through a rough patch and I hope he gets better. His episodes do seem to be coming a little more frequently."

It is unclear why the Mayor's Office introduced the legislation over a year after the COBA contract was ratified. "Because it's long overdue," Mr. Horn responded, when asked to explain the delay. "This was the year that we decided to take unit management departmentwide."

Steady tours and unit management, he said, enable officers "to get to know the inmates" and improve correction supervisors' ability to monitor their staff. "It's like neighborhood policing," he remarked, adding, "It allows supervisors to better manage their time in a way that is sensitive to their needs."