Family Services workers protest unsafe conditions, plead for more staff

Clark County workers with the Department of Family Services urged their employer Wednesday to fill more than 100 vacant positions as they sounded an alarm over unsafe conditions for staff and clients.

The workers also demanded county officials create policies to provide a safe working environment across the department including at Child Haven, the facility for abused, neglected and abandoned children where employees protested Wednesday.

Members of Service Employees International Union, Local 1107, which represents family services employees, staged the early morning walkout to draw attention to staffing shortages. Roughly 100 people showed up, most SEIU members, the labor group said.

“With staffing shortages and minimal reduction in paperwork, it lessens the amount of time that staff can adequately spend with families on their caseloads,” said Michelle Maese, a supervisor in the department’s specialized unit, in a statement.

Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/family-services-workers-protest-unsafe-conditions-plead-for-more-staff-2463330/