|
|
A few years ago, most working Americans would have been crazy to say auch a thing to there boss. In the waning months of 1999 and first weeks of 2000, the economy is so good that jobs are plentiful. There are more jobs available than folks to fill them,which is one of the reasons that the TDCJ is having a hard time filling a glut of vacant positions.
Starting pay for Texas Correctional officers, after training, is a whopping $25,176. After taxes, a new correctional officer takes home less than $1,750 a month.
Think about that for a minute. A monthly car payment can average $300, and auto insurance can cost another $50 a month.The average rent on an unfurnished one bedroom apartment is $450 a month. Add to that an additional $250 a month for utilities and $300 for monthly payments on furniture and appliances. Then there are incidentals like food, clothing,laundry and dry cleaning, and miscellaneous living expenses that eat up another $400 a month. That leaves practically nothing for emergencies or putting some money aside for the future. Now add in a family - a spouse, two kids and a dog. There goes the budget.
A quick scan of the Houston,Austin,Dallas and Waco newspaper shows how many employers are begging for workers.One company needs dock workers for $10.50 an hour; another is looking for pressman trainees for $10.30 an hour. The Internal Revenue Service and H&R Block are offering $10.00-plus an hour for part-time help to people with good math skils. All of these jobs offer health care and other benefits. Moreover,these salaries are all comparable to a new correctional officer's salary.
So why would anyone in their right mind want to take a potentially life- threatening job where each day they will be cursed,harassed,and belittled? Who wants a job paying so little an hour where they stand a chance of being beaten,spit upon,stabbed,or worse?
TDCJ is also losing long-time, well trained staff members because of the good job market. According to Glen Castlebury, a TDCJ spokesman, the attrition rate for 1999 was nearly 21 percent.
|
|
|
|
