Fayette County Corrections Officers Transform Their Workplace
With the ratification of a new contract boosting starting pay to $20 per hour, the members of Local Union 9113, working at the Fayette County Prison, have completed a remarkable turn-around for themselves, the county and the safety of the general public. It is the next step in a years-long effort to build a new prison and staff it adequately.
“This new contract is a game changer,” said LU 9113 President Chase Rutherford. “For the first time in years, the prison is fully staffed. That means we won’t be forced to work two or three jobs and everyone can concentrate on what they are supposed to be doing. We are bringing in new-hires and getting them trained. It’s such a huge difference from before.”
The current Fayette County prison opened in 2024, replacing a prison built in the 1800’s that was literally falling down around the corrections officers working there. The UMWA International Union, District 2 and LU 9113 engaged in a five-year fight to finally get approval from the County Commission to build the new facility.
“Working in this new prison is night and day different from how it used to be in the old place,” said LU 9113 Vice President Kevin Locke. “Over there, the inmates were in charge. Here, the officers are in charge and the inmates know it. It’s safer for everyone, and it makes the job more attractive to people.”
But once the facility was opened, with larger cellblocks and more area to cover, there were not enough officers to adequately staff it. Pay levels were not competitive with other jobs in the area. That changed last year as the UMWA negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement that significantly raised pay and benefits.
“I came here because of the pay levels,” said Dalaina Kenny, a new probationary corrections officer. “I was making more working security somewhere else, but then they raised the pay here and it became a lot more attractive. The job is interesting, tosay the least. But I like it so far.”
“Management will tell you that the new pay levels make a difference for them, too,” Rutherford said. “When they advertise a job now, they get several applications. They can pick and choose the best person for the job. This is becoming a competitive place to work around here, and it didn’t used to be that way at all.”
“We are proud to represent the workers at Fayette County Prison and all the other corrections officers we represent in District 2,” said International District 2 Vice President Chuck Knisell. “They do some of the toughest jobs in our communities, and they do them well. We are continuing to work to improve pay and conditions at everyone of them, a job which gets a little easier when we are able to negotiate contracts like we did at LU 9113.”
