Union Rep Tells Ethan and Lou Show Danbury’s FCI is Dangerously Understaffed

It all began when Lou and I started talking about the billboard pictured above. We felt it was only suitable to reach out to the man responsible for the billboard, which sits off Route 37 about a 1/4 of a mile from FCI. So we invited Union Rep Robert Curnan from AFG Local 1661 to come ion the show. Curnan represents Danbury's Federal Correctional Institution employees.

We wanted Robert Curnan to clarify what the billboard means. So we began our interview by letting him know that hundreds of I-95 listeners read the article and were justifiably concerned. The following are select portions of that interview.

Lou: So tell us what you say about the conditions for employees there.

Curnan: I wanted to clear up the billboard's meaning, "Are You Safe? That's our number one priority. We've never had an escape in Danbury, Knock on wood, and we don't expect to. That's our job. The issue is that the bureau has been eroding staff year by year. We are 80 people under what they say is the minimum number of people we need to run the place safely.

Lou: When you say the bureau, who are you talking about?

Curnan: The Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the people who run our agency. 

Lou: So, you're 80 employees under what you should be?

Curnan: And that's 80 correctional officers. That doesn't even take into account the employees in other departments.

Lou: I've heard you have employees working so many hours they feel that they're unsafe because they're going to get tired and lose focus. Is that true?

Curnan: Absolutely, we have guys who get mandatory overtime, which means after they work their eight-hour shift, they're told to work another eight hours. This happens two or three times per week for some of the guys.

Check out our entire interview with Union Rep, Robert Curnan from AFG Local 1661 by clicking on this link.