City approves proposed contract, pay raise for Louisville's corrections officers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Metro Council members unanimously approved a new contract for Louisville Metro Corrections officers Thursday night, and some jail employees said it's the best offer they've seen in years.

For the first time in years, the corrections officers are excited about a salary increase in the proposed contract.

"We feel like we got a fair raise ... one of the biggest I've seen in my career," said Rodger Ledrick, president of the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections FOP Lodge No. 77.

LMDC has been negotiating the contract with the city for about a year. Louisville Metro Corrections Director Jerry Collins said it now reflects a 21% raise for corrections officers. Starting wage for officers would be $24.44 per hour — with two days of mandatory overtime — and it increases from there.

The hourly rate for jail employees under the contract signed in 2022 was $21.32 an hour.

Collins became the jail's director nearly two-and-a-half years ago as it faced a slew of issues, including overcrowding and drug overdoses that led to inmate deaths.

Last year, a more than 450-page audit revealed some of the disturbing issues within the jail, after 13 inmates died in custody over a 15-month period. The report contained specific examples of sexual harassment in the workplace and highlighted some of the circumstances that factored into those deaths.

The audit found there were inconsistent and incomplete records and a lack of appropriate observation. A former FOP president blamed a staffing shortage for some of those issues.

Ledrick said the contract will close that gap by getting more employees through the door and keeping them.

Collins said the salary increase will also boost morale.

"One of the things, one of the big things, we had to do is really change the culture on that because it was very bad when we came back," Collins said. "And so we set expectations higher also and with those expectations and the work that the folks are doing, they deserve to be compensated for it.

"The professionalism and the expectations that we expect from our employees, I want the pay to reflect that as close as we can get to competing with the private sector."

There are 25 recruits in the next academy, and Collins said that's the highest it has been since 2016.

Related Stories: