I am writing in response to your Nov. 7 article by Jeffery Alderton, “Prison officers won’t get jobs back — Actions toward 22 fired employees said ‘legitimate, consistent and fair.’”

In your piece, you quote the secretary of Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Gary Maynard, as saying that, “Our strongest asset is our people.” And yet, Mr. Maynard and his department have left corrections officers to fend for themselves, out in the cold when they were faced with what turned out to be false accusations of wrongdoing.

Once again, Secretary Maynard has let his work force bear the brunt of bad policies and questionable management, saying that incidents occurred because of “bad decisions made by the involved officers.” As AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) Maryland has said from the beginning, a majority of these officers were recklessly and unjustly accused and wrongly terminated by state officials. These dedicated officers deserve to be put back to work when they win their administrative appeals. Regardless of what he may think, Secretary Maynard is not their judge and jury.

Further, your article indicates that prison system staffing is at 98 percent and that the inmate population is being reduced. Secretary Maynard agrees, saying, “Staffing is better than it’s ever been.” In reality, the staffing levels he is referring to are levels established during the previous administration which reduced the number of line staff and increased administrative staff — putting further strain on front-line officers. In addition, I am curious to know exactly how the “98 percent” number was established, since a staffing analysis has not been conducted in several years. Currently, posts are being collapsed and vacancies are not being filled. Our corrections officers are being stretched to the limit.

If the secretary really believes that our people in corrections are his strongest asset — perhaps he should begin to work more closely with corrections officers and the union — to find solid, sustainable and equitable solutions to the real challenges we face in the department.

Patrick Moran, director

AFSCME Maryland