LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The union representing Louisville Metro Corrections officers overwhelmingly casted a vote of no-confidence Tuesday in Corrections Director Dwayne Clark.
Louisville Corrections FOP Lodge #77 President Daniel Johnson accuses Clark of violating city government policy, creating a hostile work environment and violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement. A letter from the FOP outlines 20 grievances.
Tuesday's voting results were broken down into four questions:
- Do you believe that staff and inmates are currently in a safe environment within Louisville Metro Department of Corrections?
- Yes: 1
- No: 221
- Do you believe that there is sufficient staff to manage the working environment and complete necessary job tasks at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections:
- Yes: 3
- No: 219
- Have you been actively seeing other employment options?
- Yes: 131
- No: 90
- Do you have confidence in Dwayne Clark and his Administration's ability to lead, manage and direct the activities of this agency?
- Yes: 6
- No: 216
The vote comes after weeks of controversy inside the jail. Low staffing levels have led to massive overtime accruals. In a news release on Sept. 23, Johnson listed reasons for the vote of No Confidence:
Recruitment & Retention
- Current staffing levels
- Inability and/or unwillingness to recruit
- Inability and/or unwillingness to retain
Health and Safety
- Allowing sanitation to erode to a point that increases risks for staff and inmates to contract illness
- Overcrowding of dorms while others are under capacity
- Inmate security doors not functioning properly
- Inability and/or unwillingness to maintain required equipment such as control room panels, elevators, intercoms, and radios
- Lack of progress on ballistic vest concerns that were expressed
- Lack of progress on radio channel access concerns that were expressed
- Lack of concern for safety of staff and the public displayed by removing our first line of defense at the magnetometer in the public lobby
- Not approving full radio access to police channels unless you are Administration or a “favorite”
- Dwindling Home Incarceration Program staff
- Running posts unmanned – Running the facility short staffed
Contractual Violations
- Inability and/or unwillingness to fill special security jobs
- Long standing unfilled promotional vacancies
- Backfilling schedules
- Pulling members out of contractually bided areas
- Closing CCC without any consideration to members bids
- Forcing Members beyond 16-hour contractual limit
- Removal and now denial of every switch of shift request
Following Tuesday's vote, Johnson released a lengthy statement:
"Members of Louisville Corrections Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77 no longer have confidence in Director Dwayne Clark ability to lead, manage and direct the operations of this agency. Within the last 2 years, Director Clark has exhibited indifference to the well-being of the sworn employees of this agency. He blatantly disregarded complaints from Members of this Lodge pertaining to the harassing atmosphere created by a member of his Management Team and has had multiple EEOC complaints filed against him. Director Clark has failed to hold members of his Management Team accountable for their actions. Director Clark has violated both Metro Corrections and Metro Government policy by knowingly and willingly creating a hostile work environment. Director Clarks unfair practices in the issuance of discipline often leads to arbitrations which cannot take place due to COVID state of emergency orders, thus holding up members due process. Director Clark has exhibited no behaviors that would indicate he can recruit or retain the staff required to perform even the most basic job functions. The sanitation of the jail, and overcrowding continues to spiral out of control as
Director Clark takes no immediate action to resolve any of these issues. Director Clark refuses to address concerns raised by the FOP such as ballistic vest for sworn personnel after multiple attacks on law enforcement around this country and in our own community, along with access to immediate help from metro safe on radios, yet radios for himself and the administration along with some of the “favorites” are fully programmed. He continues to operate normal jail operations with numbers as few as 1 officer to 400 inmates without a lockdown order further displaying a lack of care for the safety of the officers.
In addition to the aforementioned combined, Director Clark has created a working environment unacceptable to all, causing morale to sink to an all time low. Director Clark allows the contract to continue to be violated on a daily basis in a failed attempt to keep the department above water. Some examples of these contract violations include special security post and promotional vacancies going unfilled longer than the CBA allows, moving members out of bidded jobs, creating vacancies and forcing to fill newly created vacancies, denying all switch of shifts, closing CCC and administratively reassigning entire staff without any consideration or regards to seniority or job bids.
As a result, after bringing the above to the attention of Director Clark and other members of Metro Government and seeing no improvement, FOP Lodge 77 conducted a Vote of no Confidence on Director Clark in which 97% of the 222 voting body voted NO CONFIDENCE in his and his administration's ability to lead, manage and direct the operations of this agency. Other noteworthy numbers are 99.5% of members believe the staff and inmates are not in a safe environment. 98% of members believe we do not have sufficient staff to complete necessary job task, and 59% of members are currently seeking other employment opportunities.
The good hardworking women and men who carry this department on their backs everyday have spoken, and they have said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! The employees of Louisville Metro Department of Corrections and the citizens of this community (who this agency serves) deserve someone who can competently lead, manage and direct this agency, NONE of which Director Clark has displayed. Furthermore, the sworn employees of this agency will no longer tolerate mismanagement and abuse along with continued violations of the CBA from its appointed administration."
Related Stories:
- Corrections FOP calls for vote of No Confidence in director of Louisville's jail
- Union says 'crisis' at Louisville jail worse than 2017 problems
- FOP says Metro Corrections 'isn't safe' for inmates or officers during public forum
- Wife says Louisville Metro Corrections staffing shortage is hurting families of officers
- Metro Corrections offering officers double overtime amid staffing shortage
- Metro Corrections bringing in officers still in training to help with staffing shortage
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