Faced with a labor shortage and a growing number of vacancies, Nebraska state officials are offering bigger incentive packages to try to get people to work in the state’s prisons, veterans homes and other facilities that require around-the-clock staffing.
State officials said the new, more generous bonuses are a short-term solution to keep the state competitive while they look for a longer-term fix, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
But one union official said higher wages, not temporary bonuses, are the only real fix for staffing shortages at facilities such as the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, a chronically understaffed prison in rural, southeast Nebraska.
Mike Chipman, the head of union that represents prison workers and regional centers, said workers are regularly called on to work a second shift at the Tecumseh prison. He said activities for inmates often must be canceled due to a lack of security staff, even though workers are transported daily from Omaha.
“It’s getting worse and worse,” Chipman said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Eric Maher, a spokesman for the State Department of Administrative Services, said labor negotiators will be meeting with union representatives in September to discuss possible solutions.
Chipman said at least 150 of the 300 open security staff positions at state prisons are at Tecumseh. There are another 50 vacant posts at the Lincoln Regional Center, which houses inmates with mental illnesses.
Job vacancies are also at a record high at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The number has grown by 200 since Jan. 1, to 988 vacancies, a department spokeswoman said. That has prompted new incentives for nurses and food service workers.
Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the new hiring and retention bonuses on Friday, with extra incentives available for protective services staff willing to relocate to the Tecumseh prison for a year. They would receive an immediate $7,500 bonus.
That’s on top of the stipends Tecumseh workers receive for commuting there, which range from $100 to $200 a month. All prison security staff hired before July 31 will be eligible for $500-a-month retention bonuses — billed as a pilot program — over the next year.
Hiring bonuses for new prison staff are being increased from $10,000 to $15,000, payable over three years, and new bonuses for HHS and Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs workers are being offered up to $10,000.
Bonuses also are offered for employees who recruit new staffers.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.