FEATURE: In The Director's Chair - Page 2

We Still Have a Long Way to Go
by Sgt. Paul Wenning, Pelican Bay State Prison

In the Director's Chair

On the sunset of the Rod Hickman ordeal and hasty exit, it is clear we still have a long way to go with the management within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. We, the union/line officers, are the enemy and whipping post for all that is going wrong. And, management's go-to "friends" are the Prison Law office and the federal courts. These are the people who eat them for lunch routinely in civil suits. Why is that? Is it because CDCR doesn't fight aggressively enough when taken to court? Interestingly, it was management's actions -- or lack thereof -- that brought the federal courts crashing down on them to begin with.

Nevertheless, spring is in the air and with it the politics that bloom at this time of year. I must share a typical management scenario that played out here at Pelican Bay State Prison. Rick Newton, CCPOA Pelican Bay chapter president, received a phone call from Bill Bailey, appointments consultant for Sen. Jim Battin. Bailey was requesting the Pelican Bay chapter reps take the senator on a tour of the institution. Newton gave him the extension number of our public information officer so he could arrange for the gate passes. Newton was already obligated to a negotiations table in Sacramento, so he asked our chapter vice president, Milton Rose, and me to accompany the senator on the tour. Sometime later, Newton made contact with the PIO prior to the tour. The PIO told Newton that we had been removed from the tour and refused to include us. Rose called the PIO, who informed him the tour with the senator is only for the "Big Wigs," such as the warden, the chief deputy secretary, and their acquaintances.

Newton spoke again with the PIO, telling him that it was us who referred the senator's office to him -- only to establish gate passes. The PIO responded, "You will have to call the senator's office to have them tell us that." Somewhat embarrassed, Newton called Bailey in Battin's office to let him know the PIO had cut us out of the tour with the senator, and that Bailey now had to contact management and tell them CCPOA would be conducting the tour. Bailey chuckled and said he would get it squared away.

On Feb. 28, 2006, Sen. Battin and his representatives arrived via the airport where the warden's people met them and escorted them to the institution. We were told to meet them at the flag pole just outside the administration building for the beginning of the tour. But as we waited, something just didn't seem right. I looked at my watch and noticed it was 10:15 a.m.

The senator and company should have been there by now. As someone walked by, I asked if they were aware of the senator's arrival and was told the senator was here already, in the warden's conference room. Rose and I went directly there, opened the door, and found not one empty seat in the room. I had to get a chair from the outer office to have a place to sit down. A whole cavalcade of associate wardens -- the entire upward mobility crew -- were there to greet the senator. (I began to understand why we were told to meet everyone at the flag pole.) Our warden gave an introductory speech about the institution, our mission statement at PBSP, and other small talk. Then something very interesting happened. Senator Battin announced that he would like to speak with the union representatives, privately, please. You could have heard a pin drop; it was as if something obscene and foreign suddenly floated to the top of the punch bowl.

In the Director's Chair - State Senator, Jim Battin

In the Director's Chair - State Senator, Jim Battin

After they all exited the room, we spoke with the senator, answering his questions, giving him information on a number of issues. Sen. Battin asked of us, privately, and the warden prior to him leaving the room, about the breach of security in the warehouse. The senator received two very different viewpoints in response. Battin also let Rose and I know that there was a time in his political career when he did not have much support running for speaker of the Assembly, when departing Speaker Willie Brown had left the post vacant -- that is, except for the support he received from CCPOA. Sen. Battin said he would never forget that.

We assisted the senator on the tour for a few hours while the management entourage accompanied us. There was a full page itinerary prepared by management that revealed their unique thought process for things of importance. Listed on the itinerary was Meet with Men's Advisory Council, Facility A, Chapel. Unbelievable as it may seem (or maybe not), management tried to cut us out of the picture, yet meeting with the inmates was priority enough to be included on the day's agenda.

I was unable to participate in the tour for the whole day. After we completed the morning portion of the tour, we all headed back to the warden's conference room. It had been transformed into a dining facility, complete with white table cloths and flowers. When I asked if there was a place at the table for Rose and me, I was politely told, "I don't think there is enough."

OK, I get it. We were not invited. I simply thanked Sen. Battin for coming to see us at Pelican Bay, and left to enjoy the rest of my RDO.

Continue Reading: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4

Print This Page

Back to Volume 23, Issue 4

Back to PEACEKeeper Main Page