The Tazewell County Jail control room operators, represented by the Policemen’s Benevolent Labor Committee, voted last week to go on strike. According to Police Benevolent Labor Committee Attorney David Amerson, the decision was a response to a breakdown in negotiations with Tazewell County officials.
“The union has attempted to secure a fair contract with the county for control room operators for nearly three years,” said Amerson. “During this time, the county has engaged in a variety of techniques designed to stall negotiations or to bargain in bad faith. The control room operators are subjected to forced and inconsistent shifts, supervisory practices that skirt Illinois labor law, and pay that can only be described as shameful when compared to the seriousness of the duty they perform.”
Control room operators monitor the physical security of the jail, control security access within the facility, and are responsible for the physical safety of all correctional officers and inmates.
Amerson described their work as "a crucial public safety duty for the citizens of Tazewell County," and noted that a control room operator’s starting salary is $13 an hour. He maintained that the low pay has led to a high turnover rate in the past two years.
“It’s a constant revolving door of new people who have to be trained and obviously aren’t as effective as (more experienced) employees,” Amerson added.
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