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BOP Union Sues For Its Place At The Table – Update for November 21, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

EMPLOYEES UNION SUES BOP TO REVERSE CANCELLATION

A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut challenges the BOP’s termination last September of collective bargaining rights with Council of Prison Locals 33, which represents over 85% of all BOP employees.

The lawsuit asks the court to reverse the termination of collective bargaining.

The decision to terminate collective bargaining came after President Trump signed an executive order to end collective bargaining for agencies whose primary functions involve intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national security work.

The lawsuit argues the executive order did not require the BOP to cancel collective bargaining, and was “arbitrary and capricious,” retaliation against union speech and advocacy.  The BOP claimed the union as “an obstacle to progress instead of a partner in it” when announcing the decision to terminate the CBA.

WHBF-TV, Federal lawsuit challenges termination of collective bargaining by U.S. Bureau of Prisons (November 14, 2025)

~ Thomas L. Root

‘All Work And No Pay’ For BOP Employees – October 23, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

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‘WELCOME TO OUR WORLD,’ BOP EMPLOYEES COULD GREET COURT WORKERS

A Columbia, South Carolina, newspaper spotlighted the state of Federal Bureau of Prisons employees since the shutdown, and the picture was not a pretty one: “As essential workers, employees at federal prisons are still required to show up every day. But with funding frozen due to the government shutdown, employees are facing an uncertain future. With no immediate end in sight for the shutdown, the paycheck they received last week might be the last one they see for a while. ‘Morale is very low,’ said Talmadge Coleman, who recently retired from FCI Edgefield and is president of the Local 0510 at the prison. Staff were ‘very disgruntled’ at the situation…”

The State reported that “many staff members were already living paycheck to paycheck” and last week got only a partial salary check covering time through September 30th. “With the shutdown, that will leave many of these employees who guard federal prisoners unable to pay their mortgages, make car payments or even afford groceries or the gas to get to work. Many staff members are single moms, people looking after their parents and juggling medical bills and the rising cost of living, Coleman said. ‘Creditors don’t want to hear it,’ Coleman said.”

One correctional officer told a Texas TV station that BOP employees are “looking at, ‘OK, I can make it through this month. But if it hits November 1st and we’re not getting paid…’”

President Trump has directed through executive orders that the BOP and other agencies no longer honor the collective bargaining agreements between the agencies and about a half million workers. “The agency doesn’t recognize us anymore, so that’s one less thing that we can help with,” said Brandy Moore White, president of Council of Prison Locals 33, a union that represents federal prison employees. “It’s just disaster upon disaster.”

During the 2019 shutdown, the BOP gave employees a letter that they could show to creditors explaining the situation. This time, the agency has provided no such letter.

The BOP issued an automated response to a media request asking for comment on the shutdown: “Due to the lapse in appropriations, the Office of Public Affairs is not available to respond.”

The State, Federal prisons in SC were already struggling. Then the government shut down (October 14, 2025)

KXXV-TV, Federal prison officers working without pay as shutdown reaches day 6 (October 16, 2025)

 

~ Thomas L. Root

Bureau of Prisons Says ‘Union, No’ – Update for September 30, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BOP CANCELS UNION CONTRACT FOR 30,000 EMPLOYEES

The Federal Bureau of Prisons last Thursday canceled its collective bargaining agreement with Council of Prison Locals 33, the national union representing more than 30,000 of its 34,900 workers. Cancellation of the contract, which would have expired in 2029, makes BOP employees “the latest group to be targeted by the Trump administration’s effort to assert more control over the government work force,” according to the New York Times.

BOP Director William K. Marshall III told employees that the union “has a proud history of advocating for its members, and I want to acknowledge the positive contributions it has made over the years… But when a union becomes an obstacle to progress instead of a partner in it, it’s time for change. And today, thanks to President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pamela Bondi, we’re making that change. Today, I’m announcing the termination of our contract with CPL-33 effective immediately.”

Marshall said that workers would not be fired, suspended or demoted without cause or due process, and that their pay and benefits were guaranteed by law to stay in place. Nevertheless, he told Brandy Moore White, the union’s president, that employees no longer have a right to union representation during meetings with management, investigative interviews or other proceedings. Earlier this year, the BOP prohibited the deduction of union dues from employee paychecks, causing union membership to plummet.

Moore White said, “Don’t be fooled, this is not about efficiency or accountability — this is about silencing our voice… “The vast majority of our members are Republicans and voted for this president. I literally cannot explain to you how many messages I’ve gotten from them saying this is such a slap in the face. This man vowed to protect law enforcement, and this is what we get in return. They just feel so blindsided and so frustrated with how this is going.”

She said the union plans to take legal action and seek a Congressional remedy.

Although Trump’s Executive Order issued last spring to cancel government union contracts made use of a narrow legal provision that lets a president suspend collective bargaining for national security, Marshall’s  announcement made no mention of any national security concerns. Instead, he just said the agency was ending the agreement because it believed collective bargaining was a “roadblock” to progress.

John Zumkehr, president of AFGE Local 4070 at FCI Thomson, argued the cancellation increases what he said is an already high risk of suicide among BOP employees. “When you strip away the protections we’ve fought for, you endanger the well-being of every officer and undermine the entire system,” Zumkehr said. “Instead of standing behind us, the Bureau is tearing down the few safeguards we have left.”

Writing in Forbes, Walter Pavlo noted that the BOP “has often been criticized by advocate groups as not being responsive to implementing laws, such as the First Step Act and Second Chance Act. Both of these pieces of legislation were slow to be implemented with some blaming the union for the lack of progress.”

He quoted Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, president of the Tzedek Association, a group instrumental in the creation and passing of the First Step Act, “As someone who has spent years working closely with the Bureau of Prisons on reform, I can say without hesitation that the union has been one of the greatest obstacles to real progress. For too long, every new policy, no matter how commonsense or beneficial to staff and inmates alike, had to be dragged through an approval process where the default answer was ‘no’… This is a watershed moment — an opportunity to finally build a Bureau of Prisons that works better for the men and women who serve in it and for the country as a whole.”

New York Times, Federal Bureau of Prisons Ends Union Protections for Workers (September 26, 2025)

BOP, Director’s Message (September 25, 2025)

AFGE CPL-33, Bureau of Prisons Union Condemns Administration’s Attack on Workers’ Collective Bargaining Rights (September 25, 2025)

Federal News Network, Federal Bureau of Prisons terminates collective bargaining agreement with AFGE (September 26, 2025)

Associated Press, Federal Bureau of Prisons moves to end union protections for its workers (September 25, 2025)

Forbes, Bureau of Prisons Cancels Collective Bargaining Agreement With Union (September 26, 2025)

~ Thomas L. Root

More BOP Officers Being Poisoned by Drug Smuggling – Update for April 22, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BOP STAFF FALL ILL FROM SUSPECTED MAILROOM DRUGS

BOP staff poisonings continue at an alarming pace.

Last week, 15 federal BOP employees at FCI Thomson were hospitalized after suspected exposure to illegal drugs in the prison mail room, requiring emergency Narcan administration. This incident followed another suspected exposure the prior week of 10 BOP staffers at FCC Victorville.

Spice_drugThis follows a death last summer of Marc Fisher,  BOP mailroom supervisor at USP Atwater (California), after what authorities have described as exposure to a drug-impregnated document sent as “legal mail” to an inmate in the facility. The headlines at the time were sensational, alleging that he may have succumbed to fentanyl.  However, the drug tests showed that the drugs on the document were MDMB-4en-PINACA – known as “spice” – rather than fentanyl.

The Government disclosed in February that “[t]he autopsy report indicates that the correctional officer died of natural causes from a heart attack. According to the autopsy report, ‘the circumstances of death suggest external influences, at least fear in the setting of an apparently criminal act (mailing illicit substances to an inmate). However, there is no evidence that MDMB-4en-PINACA entered his blood stream.”

The fact that Mr. Fisher was not killed directly by the illegal drugs is scant comfort to BOP employees. Kendall Bowles, president of AFGE Local 3969 (representing 650 BOP employees at Victorville), said in a press release, “The Bureau’s leadership continues to force us to process contaminated materials with inadequate protection, showing complete disregard for officer safety.”

Making matters worse, Bowles said, is what he claims is the BOP’s attempts to hide these incidents from union officials. “Under a controversial Executive Order carried over from the Trump Administration, they didn’t even notify me when staff were rushed to the hospital and they failed to issue a press release. Their secrecy speaks volumes about their priorities.”

trumpfriend250408Compounding this crisis, according to Jon Zumkehr, President of AFGE Local 4070 (representing Thomson employees), is the recent White House executive order stripping BOP staff of collective bargaining rights. “This Executive Order is having a devastating impact on our officers,” Zumkher said. “They feel completely unprotected, unsupported, and they’re watching their friends and colleagues being carried out of BOP facilities after being revived with Narcan. We need help.”

EIN Presswire, Fifteen Thomson Federal Prison Staff Members Exposed and Hospitalized (April 16, 2025)

WTTV, FCC Victorville Prison Law Enforcement Officers Hospitalized After Drug Exposure (April 13, 2025)

Executive Order, Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs (March 27, 2025)

– Thomas L. Root

Beatings Will Continue at BOP Until Employee Morale Improves – Update for April 1, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BOP EMPLOYEES TAKE IT ON THE CHIN (AGAIN)

Last Monday, 23,000 BOP employees lost their retention bonuses, reducing their pay by up to 25%. Last Thursday, President Trump stripped the prison workers, along with thousands of other federal employees, of the right of collective bargaining.

morale250225As Walter Pavlo described it in Forbes last week, “Despite already ranking last among federal agencies in employee satisfaction, morale [at the BOP] has worsened. President Trump’s recent aims to eliminate BOP employees’ ability to unionize [is] a move condemned by AFGE Council 33 President Everett Kelley as a “disgraceful and retaliatory attack” on civil servants.

The Marshall Project (TMP) reported yesterday that “[l]abor leaders say the move is devastating for the Bureau, and silences a union representing over 30,000 people at more than 120 federal prisons nationwide. It’s the latest and biggest hit to a workforce that includes many supporters of Trump’s ‘tough on crime’ campaign rhetoric.”

Director Peters is gone... and so is the union.
Director Peters is gone… and so is the union.

There is little doubt that loss of collective bargaining clout and union protection for BOP employees facing disciplinary action for misconduct “will exacerbate an ongoing staffing crisis,” as TMP put it.  The union “has consistently sounded the alarm on the chronic staffing shortages in the federal prison system,” David Fathi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project, told TMP.  While there are cases where the union has “frustrated and undermined accountability,” Fathi said, “we have frequently seen prison staff unions align themselves with incarcerated people to press for safer conditions.”

“People are still in shock,” said Brandy Moore White, national president of the Council of Prison Locals. “I think a lot of people felt secure in the fact that while we are a union, we are a law enforcement union, and we do work with both sides,” referring to Republicans and Democrats.

Compounding this frustration, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reportedly pressured staff to resign, while long hours and severe shortages persist. The likelihood of mass resignations only increases instability within the agency.”

Executive Order, Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs (March 27, 2025)

Forbes, Bureau of Prisons Is ‘Rudderless’ Operation, Says Former Director (March 28, 2025)

The Marshall Project, Trump’s Union Order Endangers Federal Prison Officers, Labor Leaders Say (March 31, 2025)

– Thomas L. Root

Goodbye to 2024 (and Good Riddance, the BOP says) – Update for December 31, 2024

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BOP’S BUMPY END TO 2024

No doubt Colette Peters will be glad to see the last of 2024, even if 2025 and the advent of a Trump presidency makes her continued role as Bureau of Prisons director uncertain. Just in the last few weeks:

deathholiday241231• Death Does Not Take A Holiday: 28-year-old Keenan Byrd died on December 18th at FCI Bennettsville of yet-unannounced causes, 50-year-old Michael Miske died of an overdose of synthetic fentanyl at FDC Honolulu on December 1st, Juan Parrado died last Thursday at FCI Thomson of undisclosed causes, and on December 6th, 41-year-old Jonathan Strader died at FCI Lewisburg died.

NTD Television reported that an “Associated Press investigation uncovered deep-seated problems within the BOP, including rampant sexual abuse, staff criminal conduct, escapes, chronic violence, and severe staffing shortages, which have slowed staff responses to emergencies, including inmate assaults and suicides;”

• The Rap Sheet: Former BOP lieutenant Daniel Mitchell pled guilty last week in federal court to conspiracy to violate an inmate’s civil rights by getting another officer to assault a SHU inmate for exposing himself in front of a female BOP officer. The offense carries a 10-year statutory maximum sentence.

Meanwhile, the 9th Circuit last week upheld an 18 USC § 922(g)(8) conviction of an FDC Seatac CO who carried a gun for his private security gig after a domestic protection order was entered against him (the same offense that brought Zackey Rahimi low);

medical told you I was sick221017Finally, former BOP Lieutenant Shronda Covington was found guilty on December 21 of violating an FCI Petersburg inmate’s civil rights by showing deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. Covington and nurse Tonya Farley, R.N., were both convicted of lying to federal agents about the inmate’s death. Another BOP Lieutenant, Michael Anderson, previously pled guilty to his role in the same death and has been sentenced to 36 months;

unionpicket241231• Union Unrest: I previously reported that the AFGE Council of Prison Locals filed an unfair labor practice claim against the BOP for violating its labor-management agreement with the union by closing FCI Morgantown. It now appears that the ULP claim covers 401 employees at all seven camps being closed, Some employees will be reassigned to other facilities, while others face being let go. The ULP claims the BOP “is obligated under the law to notify and bargain with the union on these changes to working conditions and employment” and asks the Federal Labor Relations Authority to order BOP to halt the closure and to bargain with the union.

Meanwhile, workers at FPC Duluth are mobilizing to prevent the standalone camp’s shutdown. BOP employee and union rep Tanya Gajeski has been garnering support from local congressional leaders like Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who said she has spoken to BOP Director Peters about her opposition to the closure, and Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), who questioned the reasoning behind the closure in correspondence to Peters.

WBTW, 28-year-old inmate dies at Bennettsville prison (December 20, 2024)

NTD Television Network, Hawaii Crime Boss Dies of Opioid Overdose in Federal Custody (December 26, 2024)

WQAD, Male inmate dies at FCI Thomson; FBI notified (December 27, 2024)

Sunbury Daily Item, Lewisburg federal inmate dies (December 7, 2024)

United States v. Shuemake, Case No 22-30210, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 32685 (9th Cir. December 26, 2024)

WBTW, Federal prison lieutenant could get 10 years for role in North Carolina inmate’s assault (December 28, 2024)

U.S. Attorney, E.D. Virginia, Former Federal Bureau of Prisons employees convicted of charges arising from their failure to obtain medical care for an inmate who later died from his injuries (December 24, 2024)

AFGE Press Release, AFGE Files Unfair Labor Practice Against BOP for Displacing 400 Workers Without Bargaining with Union (December 23, 2024)

St. Paul Pioneer Press, Duluth Federal Prison Camp workers seek allies in push to save jobs, facility (December 24, 2024)

– Thomas L. Root