Labor union says state prison officials blocking access to workers

JEFFERSON CITY — The union representing Missouri prison guards says top brass at the Department of Corrections have illegally blocked its representatives from talking with newly hired officers.

In a lawsuit filed in Cole County Circuit Court, the Missouri Corrections Officers Association alleges that Corrections Director Anne Precythe ordered an underling to tell the union it could no longer attend training classes, where it typically informed new employees about the role of the union and the parameters of its contract with the state.

The lawsuit marks the latest legal dispute between prison workers and prison administrators, who oversee an agency with 20 facilities spread across the state.

Last year, for example, a Cole County jury awarded thousands of officers nearly $114 million in back pay.

Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/labor-union-says-state-prison-officials-blocking-access-to-workers/article_6c58ee71-e75e-5155-a32c-eb7b45bf18b0.html