Corrections Workers Select SEA/SEIU Local 1984

Earlier this week employees at Merrimack County Dept. of Corrections voted to part ways with their existing union and to now be represented by SEA/SEIU Local 1984. SEA/SEIU Local 1984 is the state’s largest public sector union representing employees throughout the state, according to a press statement.

There are 115 workers at Merrimack County Dept. of Corrections who will be part of the new SEA/SEIU Local 1984 bargaining unit. Sixty-five percent of the eligible workers voted in the race between SEA/SEIU Local 1984 and the National Correctional Employees Union (NCEU).

“I think this is a good change,” said First Shift Floor Supervisor, Sal Mills. “We are looking forward to a better union. NCEU could only offer us half of what SEA can. We are looking forward to better solidarity.”

The positions that are included in the bargaining unit are Shift Supervisor, Corrections Officer, Medical Services Coordinator, Correction Nurse, Maintenance Engineer, Maintenance Worker II, Training Officer, and Group II Case Manager.

“We are very pleased to welcome the workers at Merrimack County Dept. of Corrections,” said Rich Gulla, president of SEA/SEIU Local 1984. “I think we are uniquely positioned to successfully represent these workers. We represent other law enforcement workers in the state and we currently have staff members with law enforcement backgrounds who will extend their knowledge and expertise to representing this new unit.”

The Merrimack County House of Corrections operates a 237-bed, correctional facility located in Boscawen, New Hampshire. Their detainees include pre-trial adults and adjudicated juveniles, as well as male and female offenders serving sentences of up to two years handed down by the Merrimack County Superior Court, or one of the district courts in Merrimack County.