Philly prison union votes ‘no confidence’ in commissioner amid ‘chaos’ in the jails

Members of the union representing Philadelphia correctional officers were unanimous in a vote of “no confidence” in Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney on Tuesday night, according to David Robinson, the union’s president.

The vote, by Local 159 of AFSCME District Council 33, is likely only symbolic. However, it reflects ongoing tensions within a jail system that, amid severe staffing shortages, is failing to provide constitutionally required humane conditions for prisoners, a federal monitor has found.

“This is an emergency,” Robinson said. “The chaos in the prisons, it’s gone too far. None of us feels safe. We don’t feel safe for the incarcerated persons, and we don’t feel safe for the staff. It’s time that we take a stand and let the city know how we feel.”

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Carney did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney sent a statement on behalf of the administration, saying in part: “We appreciate the concerns raised by staff and continue to work with Commissioner Carney, who has the administration’s support and confidence, on our shared goal of ensuring good working conditions as well as safe, clean, humane environments for incarcerated people.”

At City Council budget hearing’s last month, Carney acknowledged that the jails had vacancies for 820 officers, about 40% short of a full complement. But she said that the prisons had modified the recruiting process to attract more applicants, and she was optimistic about a new contract with the union that offered a starting pay boost from $44,135 to $57,370 for those willing to work 12-hour shifts.

Despite those efforts, advocates and the federal monitor describe an ongoing “crisis” in the Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP). At least five people have died in custody already this year, including a man who died by suicide and a 33-year-old man, Jamal Collier, who was fatally stabbed during a fight.

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The Pennsylvania Prison Society, which interviewed dozens of incarcerated men during a walk-through of the jails in January, said in its most recent report that violence had surged, that lockdowns are frequent, and that many of the men had not been outdoors in months.

The report described “dangerous and degrading facilities,” vermin infestations, widespread hunger, and units left unstaffed — including a dorm where men shouted for help for half an hour during a medical emergency before anyone responded. The incarcerated people alleged that they were forced to sign false statements claiming they received recreation time.

In a memo, Carney pledged to investigate and address some of the issues, such as allegations regarding fabricated logs. She dismissed other concerns, saying that meals are adequate and sick calls are handled promptly.

Claire Shubik-Richards, the Prison Society’s executive director, said there have been micro-level improvements, such as weekly clean laundry. But, in the big picture: “It is almost the identical government-inflicted, perpetual human rights tragedy that it was two years ago.”

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The organization had called for a crisis manager; the city contracted with a former Pennsylvania corrections secretary to consult on the jails, but it’s not clear what impact that has had, she said. “Leadership matters, and we’ve had one leader through a never-ending tragedy.”

The federal monitor, appointed in a federal class-action lawsuit that began over PDP’s COVID-19 protocols and expanded to address numerous constitutional violations, said in her second quarterly report that the PDP is failing to comply with benchmark improvements.

“The city’s actions are not responsive to the enormity of PDP’s staffing crisis, and fail to acknowledge the duty imposed on defendants by this court to improve working conditions for more than 1,600 employees and reduce the suffering of more than 4,200 people confined in PDP facilities,” the monitor, Cathleen Beltz, wrote in a March 7 report.