Union members picket outside Menard Correctional Center

CHESTER, Ill. (KBSI) – Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1175 stood in the picket line outside Menard Correctional Center in Chester for more than four hours Monday to send a message that safety matters.

More than 300 members for AFSCE Local 1175 gathered. Their goal is to spread awareness to the public of what goes on inside the walls of the prison and to speak up on the safety of the workers.

“We’re headed to the public and the governor and the Department of Corrections,” said Eddie Caumiant, regional director for AFSCME. “Know that our safety matters been ignoring it too long and we decided we needed to take our message to the streets to make it very, very clear.”

Caumiant says they planned to picket for two shifts so multiple union eyes can see the impact they’re making here.

“We’re a labor union,” said Caumiant. “We’re going to be here one day longer than they ignore us. However long that takes. Today we are staying through two shifts, but this is not the last time we are going to do this if our message isn’t heeded today.”

Rick Hepp, the current union president for Menard, says his coworkers are aware of the picket and some plan to join during the shift change.

“Some will be out,” said Hepp. “Some couldn’t get off today so they’ll be out at 3 o’clock when their shift changes. So we intentionally did this through a shift change so that other staff could come out and join us today also.”

Hepp says they are picketing because they want the public to know outside what conditions inside are like.

“It’s just educating, educating the public on the safety issues and the concerns that go on every day and making sure our families are aware of the situations that we’re put in every day. And that, you know, there is a risk that we could not we may not come home at the end of the day. To be aware what we’re actually dealing with when no one knows outside of here what’s really going on.”