March 2018 Scoop

Subscribe to our email list

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, March 2, 2018

MORE WORKERS SIDE WITH SEANC! A total of 448 new members chose to empower themselves by joining SEANC since the beginning of 2018! Events were held this week in several locations, including Morganton, Fayetteville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem and Franklin.

And even though the legislature is not in session, SEANC's lobbyists are still working hard. Senior Lobbyist Suzanne Beasley gave us a behind-the-scenes look at her day this week covering a full slate of committee meetings and talking with lawmakers about state employee and retiree issues.

We need your help. Your voice and SEANC’s voice will be stronger when more state employees and retirees are members. Talk to your coworkers about the many benefits of joining today! And remember, all new members who join before March 31 will be entered into a drawing for a 55" 4K HDTV! If you would like for SEANC to visit your worksite, click the button below!

Request a Visit

© 2018 The State Employees Association of North Carolina www.seanc.org

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, March 9, 2018

CORRECTIONAL OFFICER ASSAULTED AT PASQUOTANK Another week, another assault on a correctional officer. This time, it was in a familiar place.

An officer at Pasquotank Correctional was assaulted on Thursday. The unidentified officer was treated for non-life threatening injuries. This is the fifth assault on Pasquotank correctional officers since October, when four correctional officers were murdered by inmates. Circumstances surrounding the attack have not been released yet.

The assault came just a day after the Department of Public Safety announced that Larry Dail was the new Eastern Region director for Prisons. Dail is a member of SEANC District 57 and previously served as a Craven Correctional Institution administrator.

SEANC Executive Director Rob Broome appeared as a guest on “You don’t say” with Rick and Donna Martinez on WPTF 680 AM in Raleigh. Broome laid out SEANC’s positions on the needs at our prisons, answered questions from the host and took calls in the hour-long interview. Listen to the interview here (interview starts at 45:13) or watch it here.

Also this week: UNC Healthcare and Atrium announced that they were putting a planned merger on hold. SEANC issued this statement from Broome in response: “This was the right decision for taxpayers and state employees. We now call on ECU and Vidant Health to come to the same decision to stop their attempt to merge because taking away competition drives up health care costs.”

The Courier-Times of Roxboro highlighted the career and retirement of Mitch Leonard.

RSVP

SEANC NAMED CHAMPIONS IN GIVING SEANC was named the Champions in Giving at the State Employees Combined Campaign (SECC) awards on March 9. Employees at SEANC contributed over $4,500 in 2017. The SECC assures state employees and retirees have the opportunity to support charitable organizations that are accountable, fiscally sound and committed to improving the quality of life in our state, nation and the world.

© 2018 The State Employees Association of North Carolina www.seanc.org

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, March 16, 2018

NATIONAL REPORT EXPOSES PROBLEMS AT DEADLY PRISONS The lead investigator from the National Institute of Corrections told legislators Thursday that the state’s prisons fall woefully short of national standards, and lawmakers need to make more than 100 changes as soon as possible to avoid more tragedy.

The NC Department of Public Safety called in the NIC for a complete review following the deadliest year in prison system history. Five correctional personnel were killed in separate attacks at Bertie and Pasquotank Correctional Institutes in 2017. A prison employee is assaulted every eight hours in North Carolina.

The NIC highlighted understaffing, outdated policies, inadequate training, and faulty and insufficient equipment among the many problems putting correctional personnel at risk.

Watch the entire meeting here.

Larger prisons in this state are still running at vacancy rates of 20 to 30 percent. This is not sustainable, and another tragedy is inevitable unless the General Assembly takes immediate action to raise salaries significantly and invest in appropriate protective gear for prison personnel.

SEANC members have taken the lead on listening to workers who have a first-hand view of the situation on the ground. Correctional personnel are the true experts in what’s wrong and how to fix NC prisons. They need a voice and don’t always feel comfortable expressing their concerns. SEANC President Stanley Drewery established a committee to hear the confidential stories of DPS personnel. So if you work for a prison, you do have a voice, and SEANC will make sure it is heard.

SEANC Government Relations Director Ardis Watkins will appear on WRAL-TV’s “On The Record” show on Saturday at 7 p.m. to discuss the report and prison reforms. Be sure to tune in!

© 2018 The State Employees Association of North Carolina www.seanc.org

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, March 23, 2018

GOVERNOR'S PRISON REFORM COMMITTEE MEETS AFTER ATTACK

The dire state of our prisons continues with no end in sight. State employees continue to go to work each day in fear of being assaulted – or worse – and there are no easy fixes.

The Governor’s Prison Reform Advisory Board met this week for the first time. SEANC President Stanley Drewery, a retired corrections officer, serves on the board. He spoke out on the need to tackle understaffing issues and increase training efforts, saying new officers often feel they “get thrown to the wolves.” Watch the whole meeting here.

His comments came after a correctional officer at Foothills Correctional in Burke County was stabbed five times on Saturday night. Subsequent reporting from WBTV in Charlotte showed that the officer had just started on the job in January and finished basic training just weeks ago. His attacker is serving two consecutive sentences for second-degree murder.

Also this week: WBTV also reported this week that staff at Piedmont Correctional in Salisbury received prior notice of a coming safety audit recently even though the state promised that practice would end.

The Charlotte Observer reported this week that the understaffing problems continue to worsen. At Lanesboro, a maximum-security prison, one in three positions was vacant in January. One officer said that it’s common for two officers to oversee more than 200 inmates at a time.

SEANC Government Relations Director Ardis Watkins appeared on WRAL-TV’s “On the Record” to discuss reforms with DPS officials.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell continued to speak out on problems with the proposed merger between ECU Physicians and Vidant Health, which has put 1,321 state employees at risk and threatens to increase costs of medical care for the eastern part of the state.

An article on Forbes.com applauded SEANC’s efforts to shine a light on extravagant fees paid with the state retirement fund to Wall Street money managers.

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2018

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, March 29, 2018

THEME PARK TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY AT SECU BRANCHES! SEANC has once again teamed up with the State Employees’ Credit Union to provide members with great deals on admission to the hottest theme parks in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee!

Visit a State Employees Credit Union branch to get your tickets!

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2018

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.