Danbury Prison Union Protests Staffing Levels: Reports

DANBURY, CT — Members of the Danbury Federal Correction Institution union are rallying Wednesday to protest low staffing levels and ask Congress for help, multiple media outlets report.

A union representative told the News Times that employees are working 16-hour shifts and that employees including cooks and maintenance staff have been filling in as corrections officers.

Members of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1661 held a rally Wednesday at Hayestown Road and North Street, according to the union's social media posts. Union members are asking for Congress's help to address the problem by increasing staffing levels and providing recruitment incentives, the News Times and WLAD report.

U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes and Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy wrote a letter to the Bureau of Prisons director Tuesday asking that staffing levels increase to meet Bureau guidelines, WLAD reported.