By Andrea McBride
Staff Writer
Several current and retired Caro Center employees and their families picket Monday and Tuesday on Chambers Road, hoping to put an end to staff being forced to work multiple 16-hour days in a row.
CARO — Caro Center employees, family members and retired workers gathered for an informational picket Monday and Tuesday, hopeful that their voices would be heard.
Direct care staff at the state-operated psychiatric hospital are being mandated to work extra shifts five to six days in a row, and no plans are in place to hire more help.
“Our contract says that (mandates are) supposed to be something the employer can use last resort, not every single day,” said Mary Openlander, staff representative for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a public union that represents some Caro Center workers.
The overuse of mandates became a problem last August, but Openlander said the issue has recently gotten worse due to mandate alleviation agreements being taken away by the state.
Although the agreements are being renegotiated and grievances have been filed, Openlander said more action needs to be taken to restore the well-being of employees.
“They’re tired. They’re exhausted. People are calling in sick because they’re sick — they’re really sick. Their bodies are wearing down,” Openlander said.
Laura Shrontz, AFSCME secretary/treasurer for the Caro Center said staff has fallen asleep while driving home to cities such as Alma, Mount Pleasant and Saginaw after multiple 16-hour days.
Shrontz said patients are also being put at risk, as overtired employees regularly drive them to appointments and other places.
“They expect us to work all this overtime and still take patients out to the community, to medical appointments, not only here just in Caro but … Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Flint — all over the area,” Shrontz said. “It’s just completely unsafe.”
There are 150 direct care staff for approximately 150 patients. Openlander said some patients require two staff, which automatically leaves the facility short-handed.
The local administration has taken its concerns to the Office of the State Employer and was told to come up with solutions on its own. Employees who quit or retire are replaced, but no additional help is permitted to be hired.
Almer Township resident Wayne Koper, who served as chief steward at the Caro Center for a decade, said solutions need to be found quickly.
“I’ve got a lot of concern for my community because when you’ve got people that are working these kinds of hours with these kind of individuals, it just increases the risk for everybody involved,” Koper said.
The facility, which is on Chambers Road, houses individuals who are mentally ill, have been found not guilty by reason of insanity or have been deemed incompetent to stand trial.
The number of mandatory overtime hours was 2,000 in January and is now 5,000 to 6,000 hours per month. Employees also are regularly denied incidental leave and requested days off due to operational need.
“The (union) members are fed up and they need someone to hear them,” Openlander said.