Claiming there is ‘no real plan’ to close Stillwater prison, union leaders blast politicians

Standing in the basement of the Minnesota State Capitol on Friday morning, union leaders for Stillwater prison blasted politicians on both sides of the aisle for what they see as a woefully shortsighted, under-planned and dangerous decision to close the 111-year-old institution.

“Stillwater is a way of life,” said Dan Gorman, a chief union steward who has worked at the state’s second-largest prison for 20 years. “Stillwater is a community, not just to the officers but the offenders as well.”

Bart Andersen, executive director of the AFSCME Council 5, which represents 4,300 corrections workers, said the ramifications of this decision will impact public safety and every corrections facility in Minnesota.

“We are sounding the alarm,” Andersen said.

The decision to close the prison was announced Thursday. It was reached as part of a budget agreement struck by Gov. Tim Walz and the Legislature, and meant to save the state $40 million.

The closing will require the transfer of 1,200 inmates from the level-four facility, which houses some of the most violent convicted criminals in Minnesota.

Andersen said the idea that there’s room for those inmates to be moved to other facilities was news to him.

“We would like to know where that space is,” he said.

Also at top of mind for the union leaders was their members, who have built their lives around working at the prison. Of its 560 full-time workers, 450 are represented by the AFSCME.

Gorman said he’s had coworkers in tears, seasoned officers telling him they don’t know if they can continue working for the Department of Corrections and new officers wondering if they made the right career choice.

He said that if the prison closes, whether people are laid off or moved, their lives will be forever changed.

Gorman chastised political leaders who have campaigned on public safety and yet plan to vote to close the prison.

“You love to stand next to us when we have our uniforms on and take pictures with us and claim you support us,” he said. “But this is the moment to have your vote match your words or your social media posts.”

Gorman said any vote to close the prison would be done by politicians who know “for a fact there is no real plan in place.”

On Thursday, Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said he will engage with the union because layoffs are possible. But he said a “large number” of staff near retirement age could help limit job loss.

However, the union leaders contradicted Schnell on Friday, saying every year there’s aging staff members who are considering retirement.

“We have seen no protections for staff,” said Megan Dayton, president of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. “We have no clarity about staffing during this transition. We have no commitment on fair compensation or placement for workers who might not be able to transfer.”

Dayton said it was just as shameful that Walz and legislative leaders decided on the closing without input from workers — a voting bloc they claim to support.

“Not great,” Dayton said of the current relationship between unions and the governor. “I expect better from a party that represents us.”

Andersen said the lack of transparency was galling.

“I find it hard to believe that this chip that was put on the table at the 11th hour wasn’t discussed thoroughly before it got put on the table,” he said.

Dayton said a study was underway to determine an orderly and thoughtful closure of the prison. Its recommendations were to be presented to the Legislature for action, instead the order has been reversed.

“That study was supposed to guide legislative decisionmaking, not trail behind it” Dayton said. “Now it is going to be conducted after incarcerated individuals are already being moved.”

Every labor leader in the room at the Capitol said they learned of the closing at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, shortly before the news broke across the state. Andersen said it was a sign of complete disrespect for prison employees who work a dangerous job.

He also said Schnell has not called him to discuss the closing.

“Commissioner Schnell, we ask you directly, when will you finally stand up and demand and defend the frontline workers that are your employees?” Andersen said.

“This decision was not made with the input of workers who risk their lives every single day inside the perimeter of our facilities. It was made behind closed doors without warning, without consultation and without a care for the lives being affected.”

Schnell said that while he didn’t contact Andersen until Friday morning, he spent Thursday at the prison meeting with about 100 staff members, including union leaders, and the warden.

There was general agreement on Friday that the prison needs repairs and renovations. But several people at the news conference took issue with the idea that keeping the prison open was a lost cause.

They also said that while Schnell said fully modernizing the prison would cost $1.3 billion, the Legislature has for years denied requests for low-cost improvements, such as fencing and new communications equipment.

“This Capitol is not brand new,” Andersen said. “The governor’s mansion is not brand new. There is a brand new Senate building. There was capital investments to make sure all those facilities are up and running and upgraded and renovated and maintained. Why can’t that happen with Stillwater?”

Dayton said that while politicians refer to these costs at the prison as “deferred maintenance,” she characterized it as “an irresponsibility to support for public service.”

She also said that the implementation of the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA) had to be considered with this news. That act was passed in 2023 as part of a public safety bill. It will allow qualified inmates a chance to shave an additional 17% off their sentences.

“Part of this plan [to close Stillwater] is reliant on MRRA, which is an early release plan,” Dayton said. “It‘s not just filling beds in other places, it‘s letting offenders out early and that is part of how they think this plan will be successful.”

The fact that legislative discussions and approved bonding bills around Stillwater prison have been taking place for years led to the question: Why now?

“Quite frankly, we don’t know,” Andersen said. “We weren’t part of any conversations about this being on the table as part of a global deal. We don’t know where this came from or why it came now.”

Andersen took particular umbrage with the way the closure was discussed Thursday. He said that when he watched Schnell‘s news conference, money appeared to be the only thing that mattered in the decision to close the prison.

“It was all about costs and maintenance and renovations and what it would take to bring the facility up to a certain standard,” he said. “Not once did he mention anything about the affected lives of closing that facility.”