OPEA

Dear DOC Council Member:

As the legislative session hits the midway point, I thought I would give you an update on the status of our issues as they relate to the Department of Corrections.

First off, as many of you may have heard, HB 3108 is dead for this session.  This is the bill that would have affected our benefit allowance.  Thanks to constant pressure from OPEA, beginning with the interim study on the issue this summer, the bill was killed before it could hit the house floor.  There is, however, a very small chance that some of the bill’s intent could be placed in other legislation.  Count on OPEA to monitor the situation daily.

Our $2,700 pay raise issue continues, and talks are ongoing with Senate and House leadership as well as key committee chairmen.  Those legislators with whom we are working are Sen. Kenneth Corn, Senator Richard Lerblance, Rep. Gus Blackwell and Rep. Rex Duncan.  OPEA knows that it is an election year and that it is mandatory for you to keep the pressure up on your legislators.  The association has asked members to generate phone calls to keep pay raise discussions at the forefront and OPEA members have responded with literally hundreds of calls.

The OPEA website has a very easy method for you to use to contact your lawmaker.  Go to www.opea.org and click the “Write Your Legislators” tab and share your stories with our elected officials.  There is also a place for you to blog and share ideas with coworkers.

Also, you might have seen that OPEA held a press conference during the DOC Lobby Day with statewide media in attendance.  I’m sure you also know that the general OPEA legislative rally brought in around 1,000 state workers ready for a change.

We are entering a critical time for both DOC and OPEA.  While the $25 million DOC supplemental appropriation has been approved, no action has yet been taken on the recently completed audit.  OPEA very much agrees with the audit’s findings, which calls for raises, increased staffing and modernization of facilities.

OPEA is actively running down all truths and rumors surrounding the building of private prisons.  OPEA has always and will always oppose private prisons.

There are so many issues that OPEA has championed for DOC that it’s impossible to list here, however OPEA is not just an office in Oklahoma City, it’s all of us working together, as we always have, to make our lives better.  We have chapters springing up all over the state..Lexington, OSP, JCCC and JLCC have already formed and DCCC/EWCC, DCCC and P and P are all working to get chapters started.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have.  We also have a new liaison named Alicia Wright.  She comes from a family of DOC employees, and most recently worked as a Probation and Parole officer.  Her number is 405-371-4156.

Mike Rogers