The Door County Jail is operating under emergency staffing rules, effective Oct. 8, with 16 employees currently working in the jail when 22 are needed to cover shifts safely and effectively, Sheriff Tammy Sternard said. Emergency staffing procedures will continue until enough staff are hired and trained to run the jail effectively, she said. The jail staffing shortage has been an ongoing issue before reaching the most recent point, and it contributed to heavy overtime costs and declining morale among jail staff, according to the Door County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. The association cited those problems, among other concerns unrelated to the jail, in its June vote of no confidence in Sternard. A vote of no confidence is a significant step for a union association, according to experts in labor relations…
Don Taylor is a department chair and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School for Workers and said there is a difference between public and private sector labor unions.
“Police officers work in a very different environment and context than factory workers, nurses, or teachers,” he said. “When faced with a group of workers who’s unhappy with a member of management, there are things that factory workers may do that are very different from what police may do. Police aren’t going to walk off the job or have a picket line.”
Door County Knock | Behind the no-confidence vote is a jail struggling with staffing and morale
Interviews: Professor Don Taylor