In Protest Over Wages: Muskogee County Jail Employees Walk Off the Job

Muskogee County jail employees walked off the job Friday. The sheriff's budget problems could cause lay-offs or a cut in pay for employees.<br><br>Muskogee county jail employees were gathered around,

Friday, March 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Muskogee County jail employees walked off the job Friday. The sheriff's budget problems could cause lay-offs or a cut in pay for employees.

Muskogee county jail employees were gathered around, talking about the dangers they face every day. Eleven of them, which make up the entire morning shift at the jail, walked out and fellow off-duty employees joined them.

They were protesting a pay cut. "We gross $1,200 a month anyway," said jail employee Heather Wilson. "After everything is deducted out of my check, I bring home $893.16 a month for me and my two daughters that I'm raising myself."

The sheriff's office says it is about $200,000 short of its budget which ends in July. Sheriff Clifford Sinyard asked the workers if they would work for minimum wage, so there wouldn't be any layoffs.

Employees would take a 25 per cent cut in pay on minimum wage. "I don't think it's right," said jail operations manager Billie Thompson. "We have such low pay scales in Muskogee as it is and I think there has to be a better solution."

Sinyard says the United States Federal Marshals office may send nearly 50 federal inmates to the jail which would solve the problems, because the jail receives almost $42 a day per federal inmate. But Sinyard says he would have to ask judges to release some local inmates to make room for the federal prisoners. "The citizens probably won't like it, because of public safety issues," he said. "They're going to be mad at the judges and everybody else for getting the criminals back out on the street. Of course, we'll go to the lower end violators first."

The sheriff announced the possible solution to employees, who decided to cooperate until something is official. "The employees have agreed to go back in and we're going to work until Monday," said jail employee Raymond Barnes. "Come Monday, if we don't see anything change, then we're going to be back out here on the streets."

Employees say they walked out to make a statement that they won't put their lives on the line for pennies. If the U-S Marshal's office doesn't come through with the inmates, Muskogee County commissioners and the sheriff will try to hash-out a budget Monday.