A prison guard at the Redgranite Correctional Institution believes a temporary hourly raise increase at certain institutions is causing division among workers.
Redgranite was not one of the prisons to get the raise and Sgt. Matthew Fochs says they lost 20 guards since May but only three officers went to higher paying institutions. He says the real problem comes after they hire new staff. He says once they get through training, other facilities will tell them to work for them because the pay is higher.
Fochs has been a correctional officer for 24 years and says when he started the benefit and pay were there and made up for the hostile work environment. A five-dollar-an-hour pay increase went into effect in May for six prisons with the worst staffing needs.
