California Correctional Peace Officers Association

Introduction

The California Prison system is the third largest penal system in the country, costing $5.7 billion dollars a year and housing over 161,000 inmates. Since 1980 the number of California prisons has tripled and the number of inmates has jumped significantly. In the past few years controversies involving prison expansion, sky-rocketing costs, and claims of mismanagement and inmate abuse have put the California prison system under heightened public scrutiny.

The California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) is the California prison guards' union. In recent years the CCPOA has become a major player in California politics. Its political influence has grown to the point that it is widely considered to be one of the most powerful political forces in Sacramento. Its lobbying efforts and campaign contributions have greatly facilitated the passage of legislation favorable to union members.

The CCPOA takes the position that correctional personnel perform a vital public service that puts them under great danger and stress, and therefore makes no apologies for its aggressive promotion of member interests and its high-profile role in California correctional policy. CCPOA's critics argue that the union has become too powerful in California politics, that it has used its power to unfair advantage, and that it has been an impediment to constructive debate and openness about the state of California prisons.

History

The California Correctional Peace Officers Association began in 1957 as the California Correctional Officers Association (CCOA). Prior to the 1980s, the group was politically weak with its membership divided between the California State Employees' Association and the California Correctional Officers' Association. The CCPOA's rise to prominence began in the 1980s, when Don Novey became the group's president. Novey, the son of a prison guard and a guard himself, led a successful effort to combine Youth Authority supervisors and parole officers with prison guards, and the CCPOA's membership soared. Novey is credited with fostering a positive public image for the union, which under his leadership spent over half a million dollars a year during the 1980s on public relations. Novey was also an aggressive lobbier and propelled the union to a position of great influence in Sacramento politics. With a strategy of large campaign contributions and adroit political maneuvering, the CCPOA rose to become one of the most powerful unions in the state. The union's impact can be gauged by the rising annual prison guard salary (from $14,440 In 1980 to $54,000 in 2002), the growth in number of state prisons (from 13 in 1985 to 31 in 1995), and large increases in the California Department of Corrections budget (from $923 million in 1985 to $5.7 billion in 2004).

By 1992 the CCPOA was the state's second largest political action committee. The union contributed over a million dollars to various senatorial and assembly candidates that year. Many analysts believe the CCPOA helped Pete Wilson win the governorship with a contribution of over a million dollars, the largest independent campaign contribution on behalf of a candidate in California history. The CCPOA backed Gray Davis for his governorship bid in 1998 against Dan Lungren. Many believe the CCPOA's support was instrumental in Davis' win.

The CCPOA has been active in funding and promoting the victims' rights movement in California. In 1991 the CCPOA assisted the movement in creating the Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau, and in 1992 the Crime Victims United of California, a political action committee which received over 95% of its startup costs from the CCPOA. In addition, the CCPOA has supported campaigns pushing longer prison terms and more "punitive" sentences for criminals. The CCPOA made large contributions to the 1994 campaign for Proposition 184,* the "three strikes" initiative which put repeat offenders behind bars, and is credited with helping the proposition to pass with over 70 percent of the vote.

*Ballot text and arguments can be found in the California Ballot Propositions Database.

Political Challenges

In light of prominent abuse scandals that rocked California prisons in the last few years, as well as allegations of large scale overspending without regard for the California budget, Governor Schwarzenegger and his administration formed a 40-member "California Corrections Independent Review Panel" in February 2004, headed by Former Gov. Deukmejian. After three months of investigation, the panel released "Reforming California's Youth and Adult Correctional System", a 300-page report which offered more than 200 recommendations to overhaul the system. The report focused on a prison culture it claims is "dysfunctional" and cited a "code of silence" that protects abusive prison workers. The report openly criticized the CCPOA's power over the system, stating that the agreement between the state and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association "clearly has resulted in an unfair and unworkable tilt toward union influence." (Sec. 10, Labor Contract).

In addition to the panel's report, the CCPOA met political challenge when the 2004-05 California state budget negotiations put the union at the center of a struggle over scheduled salary increases for correctional officers. The salary increases, part of a five-year contract giving a cumulative 37 percent pay raise to the union's 31,000 members, were opposed by the Schwarzenegger administration and the California Senate. Schwarzenegger requested that the union give back $300 million from its contract, a large piece of the $465 million he's seeking from all unions to help trim the state's budget deficit. In late May 2004 the state senate challenged the union by publicly vowing to undo the contract if the union did not agree to renegotiate salaries. The effort to annul the contract along with Schwarzengger's refusal to accept CCPOA campaign contributions in the October 2003 recall election represents a significant change in political support for the CCPOA and may mark a turning point in the union's influence in California politics.

In early July 2004, the Schwarzenegger administration reached a deal with the CCPOA that would delay the scheduled union pay raise by several years. While not a reversal of the contract, the compromise is expected to save $108 million in 2004-2005. Instead of receiving the original 10.9 percent raise, the guards received 5 percent on July 1st and are scheduled for another 5.9 percent on Jan. 1, 2005 . The 2005 and 2006 pay raises would also pay out every six months. In return for agreeing to the deferral, the CCPOA won guarantees against layoffs for two years, additional healthcare for guards at rural prisons, more control for supervisors and shorter weeks for local union officers.

On July 21st 2004, U.S. District judge Judge Thelton Henderson, publicly condemned the deal that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger struck with the state's prison guards union, saying it gives the union too much power. In a letter he sent to the Schwarzenegger administration, Henderson said that he was considering appointing a receiver to run the state Corrections Department and demanded a meeting with the governor. Judge Henderson is overseeing the settlement of a lawsuit originating from complaints about inmate abuse and poor conditions at Pelican Bay State Prison. While it is rare for Court-ordered receiverships to be ordered, at least ten other states have experienced radical court appointed changes in prison system operations. Critics of Judge Henderson claim he has no jurisdiction to order a change to the entire system. Several legislators spoke out that the deal Schwarzenegger had reached with the union was fundamentally flawed and that the governor had rushed to secure a contract by June 30, 2004.

In November 2004, Judge Henderson ordered an investigation into the state's labor contract with California's correctional officers, asking whether it gives the CCPOA too much control over prison management. In addition, the judge asked a court-appointed special master working for him to examine whether the contract hinders the state's ability to conduct fair investigations of guard misconduct. He also ruled that the practice of allowing union officers to be present at disciplinary meetings at Pelican Bay prison poses a conflict of interest.

Prison Reform

The CCPOA made news during the winter and spring of 2005 for joining with legislators and victims rights organizations in opposing Gov. Schwarzenegger's prison reform proposals. In January, 2005, Gov. Schwarzenegger announced plans for major reforms in California government during his "State of the State" speech. Among his reforms was a proposal to re-structure the California prison system. One piece of his proposal would give a governor-appointed secretary direct control over operations of the state's prison and parole systems. The Department of Corrections and the California Youth Authority would be abolished and replaced by separate units of youth and adult operations that would report to the secretary through a chief deputy secretary. The new agency would be called the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and would cost $6 billion. Some critics claim the governor's move was designed to break up CCPOA influence of state prison leadership. In April 2004, Gov. Schwarzenegger struck a deal with legislative Democrats that eliminated his new agency plan. In return, Democrats agreed to give up their power to confirm wardens at state prisons. Some pundits believe that CCPOA influence on the California state Assembly and Senate led to the dissolution of Gov. Schwarzenegger's plan.

Another part of Gov. Schwarzenegger's key prison reforms was dropped in April 2005 under pressure from the CCPOA and their allies. The governor's plan targeted parollees and involved sending parole violators to halfway houses or community-based drug abuse programs instead of returning them to prison. Adminstration advocates claimed that more than half of California's convicts released on parole return to prison within 2 years of their release. They claim that the prisons are already too overcrowded to accomodate delinquent parolees. Schwarzenegger's plan was launched in 2004 and was built on a program initiated under the Gray Davis administartion. The Department of Corrections began allowing some parolees to enter half-way houses and substance abuse facilities last year and the program was on its way to full implementation in 2005. Officals at a Senate hearing in March claimed the system was not working, however, and the CCPOA, Crime Victims United of California and other victims rights groups launched a television ad campaign against the proposal. Some analysts believe that the attacks from the CCPOA and their allies were successful when Schwarzenegger abandoned the parole program mid-April.

In part, CCPOA resistance against the governor is rooted in union resentment of his new "rehabilitation" agenda towards reforming the California prison system. Schwarzenegger advocates a less punitive approach in dealing with prisoners, one that would re-orient parolees and ex-convicts into society. His stance is a contrast to the last 20 years of state government leadership on prisons. During the 1980's and 90's, the CCPOA and other prison advocates pushed California elected officials to focus on imprisonment and punishment rather than the idea that convicts can be rehabilitated into society. The union has traditionally supported tough anti-crime initiatives such as Proposition 184 and pushed California governors Pete Wilson and Gray Davis to maintain hard-line attitudes towards California corrections. Schwarzenegger's endorsement of rehabilitation is based on his claims that California prisons are dangerously overcrowded and rehabilitation will clear more space, keep prison costs down and reform convicts more adequately than imprisonment. The CCPOA and anti-crime groups believe that rehabilitation will allow dangerous felons onto the streets and that the Governor's new stance is soft on crime. They say they will fight the loosening of parole and incarceration standards. Administration advocates deny the charges, pointing to Schwarzenegger's role in defeating Proposition 66 which would have ammended state's current "three strikes" law. Schwarzenegger supporters also say that violent offenders would not be allowed into parole and rehabilitation programs.

For more on convict rehabilitation, see IGS Library hot topic from Nov. 2004, "Proposition 66: Limitation on "Three-Strikes" Law".

Web sites

California Department of Corrections

California Correctional Peace Officers Association

Crime Victims United of California

Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau

Newspaper/Journal Articles and Reports

The following citations include links to full-text online when available. For more info, see Tips for Finding Full-Text Articles.

Sterngold, James.
"U.S. seizes state prison health care: Judge cites preventable deaths of inmates, 'depravity' of system," San Francisco Chronicle, July 1, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Furillo, Andy.
"State, guards dispute union hours: CCPOA rejects officials' contention that time off allotted for organizing work has been excessive," Sacramento Bee, June 1, 2005.
Access World News (UCB)

Furillo, Andy.
"Parole policy could cost governor," Sacramento Bee, May 7, 2005.
Access World News (UCB)

Schmidt, Steve.
"Powerful state corrections officers' union often criticized," San Diego Union-Tribune, April 18, 2005.
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Schmidt, Steve.
"Troubled system: Governor faces uphill battle reforming prisons," San Diego Union-Tribune, April 18, 2005.
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Gittlesohn, John.
"Prison guard training criticized: State correctional officers got credit for doing 'word search' puzzles," Orange County Register, Apr. 16, 2005.
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Warren, Jenifer.
"State to Scrap Key Parole Reform: Violators will go back to prison instead of into diversion programs now deemed ineffective," Los Angeles Times, Apr. 9, 2005.
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Bluth, Alexa H.
"Governor in accord on prison changes: Youth authority won't be combined with corrections, but some," Sacramento Bee, Apr. 1, 2005.
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Thompson, Don.
"Governor's prison reform expected to win approval," Ventura County Star, Mar. 31, 2005.
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Plan to reorganize prisons would keep youth system chief: Adjustments in Schwarzenegger proposal appear aimed at winning legislature's o.k.," San Jose Mercury News, Mar. 31, 2005.
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[Opinion]
"Over the line: Assemblyman goes too far on behalf of prison guards union," Fresno Bee, Feb. 16, 2005.
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[Opinion]
"Harsh but measured: Judge presses for prison reform," Sacramento Bee, November 27, 2004.
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Gladstone, Mark.
"Union barred from talks at prison: Judge cites conflic in guard-abuse cases," San Jose Mercury News, November 18, 2004.
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Martin Mark
"Judge Condemns Deal With Prison Guards: He Threatens to Take Over State System: Demands Meeting With Schwarzenegger", San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 2004.
San Francisco Chronicle

Walters, Dan
Prison Guards Union Unchecked, Alameda Times-Star, July 17, 2004.
Access World News (UCB)

Morain, Dan
"Deal Gives Guards Millions in Benefits; Schwarzenegger Ceded Powers to Union, Agreed to New Perks in Winning a Delay in a Pay Raise," Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2004.
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Lounibos, Leroy.
"Enforcing Silence On the Toughest Beat in California: Correctional Officers Don't Like Snitches," San Francisco Chronicle, July 4, 2004.
San Francisco Chronicle

Wasserman, Jim
"Panel Urges Vast State Prison Reforms: Deukmejian Report Presents Strategy To Overhaul a System Rocked by Scandal and Mismanagement," The Tribune, (San Luis Obispo, CA), July 2, 2004.
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"Guards Union Corrupts Prisons, Report Finds," San Francisco Chronicle, June 25, 2004, p. A1.
San Francisco Chronicle

Martin, Mark.
"Prison Guards Lock Arms: Formidable Union Is Fighting to Keep Its July Pay Raise," San Francisco Chronicle, June 14, 2004, p. A1.
San Francisco Chronicle

Benson, Clea.
"Prison Guards Rally for Acceptable Deal," Sacramento Bee, June 14, 2004, p. A3.
Access World News (UCB)

Harrison, Paige and Karberg, Jennifer C.
"Prison and Jail Inmates at MidYear 2003, Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, July 14, 2004.
Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin

Martin, Mark.
"Dems Oppose Prison Guards' Pay Increase: 17 Senators Want Contract Renegotiated," San Francisco Chronicle, May 19, 2004.
San Francisco Chronicle

Martin, Mark.
"Prison Budget Up, Despite No Raise," San Francisco Chronicle, May 14, 2004.
San Francisco Chronicle

Martin, Mark.
"Prison-guard Union's Political Clout: Plan to Revisit Labor Contract Faces Heavy Opposition From Well-connected Members," San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 29, 2004.
San Francisco Chronicle

Weintraub, Daniel.
"Guards Pact, a Fiscal Time Bomb, Gets Second Look," Sacramento Bee, Mar. 9, 2004, p. B7.
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Thompson, Don.
"Guards the Ones Doing 'Hard Time,' Union Says," Associated Press State & Local Wire, May 7, 2004.
Associated Press

Lindburg, Jim.
"Paying the Prison Piper: Cutting Costs, Promoting Alternatives," FCL Newsletter [Friends Committee on Legislation of California], v. 52, no. 4 (Apr. 2003), p. [1]-3.MacLean, Pamela A.

"The Strong Arm of the Law: a Small Union of California Prison Guards Wields Enormous Political Power," California Lawyer, v. 22, no. 11 (Nov. 2002), p. 25-29.Furillo, Andy.

"Prison Officers' Union on a Roll: Gains Big Raise, Court Victories," Sacramento Bee, Oct. 12, 1998, p. A1.
Access World News (UCB)

Butterfield, Fox.
"State Prison Guards Union Rises to Power: Association Emerges as Political Force," Daily News of Los Angeles, Nov. 12, 1995, p. N4.

Schiraldi, Vincent.
The Undue Influence of California's Prison Guards' Union: California's Correctional-Industrial Complex. San Francisco: Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 1994. 4 p.