The Delco jail’s union has ratified its first labor agreement with the county. Its leaders say issues remain.

The union representing correctional officers at Delaware County’s jail has signed a temporary labor agreement with the county after operating for 17 months without one. Still, the union’s leadership said that morale remains low as negotiations continue to ratify a full contract before the end of the year.

Delaware County Prison Employees Independent Union President Frank Kwaning said the labor agreement, signed Sept. 26, comes with some benefits for the union’s 250 members, including an across-the-board raise of $3 an hour. For correctional officers, that means an hourly rate of $24, up from $21.

The union had been locked in negotiations with the county since April 2022, when George W. Hill Correctional Facility shifted from private management by the GEO Group to county oversight. GEO, one of the world’s largest private-prison firms, had managed the jail since its construction in the ‘90s.

But Kwaning said that technical issues at George W. Hill — including cell doors that do not properly lock — as well as the termination of dozens of employees without the benefit of arbitration hearings, have left union members frustrated and dejected even after the change in management.

“Even with this $3 increase, the morale is very, very low,” Kwaning said. “Since the county has taken over, the morale has gotten worse than it was with GEO. And we never thought this could happen.”

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County officials, in a statement Friday, said they have been “working diligently to address labor concerns through negotiation sessions” with the union and its leadership.

They touted the wage increase as an important accomplishment, noting that jail employees with more than 20 years on the job also received a 1.5% wage increase on top of the hourly raise.

“The wage increase is mutually beneficial by recognizing the hard-working correctional staff and supporting recruitment efforts,” according to the statement.

Kwaning estimated that about 40 to 50 union employees were terminated by the county during the management transition before officials instituted an arbitration process that includes a member of the human resources department acting as a mediator.

Kwaning and the union’s vice president, Ashley Gwaku, were among those whose employment was terminated by the county. The pair filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the state’s Labor Relations Board, saying they were unfairly targeted because of their work with the union. A judge recently ruled against them, saying the county was justified in its decision not to retain them.

Warden Laura K. Williams initially did not provide the criteria used to determine which employees would not be retained, according to Kwaning, only revealing some of the details during the Labor Relations Board proceedings. They included not retaining employees who had been suspended for more than 10 days under GEO, Kwaning said.

However, Kwaning noted that he and Gwaku had successfully challenged their suspensions under GEO for a lack of evidence. And he said the county’s new policy was instituted inconsistently, with some employees retained in the transition who had similar suspensions on their records.

“If any of our members is in violation of the rules, we don’t support any wrongdoing. It is the prerogative of the employer to issue the discipline,” Kwaning said. “And when the discipline comes to the table of the union, it is also within our rights to file grievances. But what we don’t entertain is when you violate the rights of our members.”

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The issue with the faulty cell doors remains a more pressing one, according to the union. Prisoners have been able to open the doors at will, according to Kwaning, and often are found walking around their units at night.

Kwaning said he had warned county council members about this issue even before GEO left the facility.

“We were of the view that we could just talk to them and try to come up with a solution,” Kwaning said. “We have made that effort, but still the conditions persist.”

County officials acknowledged that locks at the jail have broken “from time to time,” and that administrators respond by moving inmates while repairs were completed. They have committed funding for anticipated capital-improvement projects to update the facility’s security system, which, they said, will likely reduce these issues.

Meanwhile, negotiations continue. The current temporary labor agreement is set to expire on Dec. 31.