Union: State will lay off PDC security guards

According to local union members, the state has plans to lay off the entire security guard force at the Porterville Developmental Center (PDC) in May.

The 28 security guards who are on the payroll of the Office of Protective Services — a branch of the state Department of Developmental Services — will reportedly be replaced with cameras that will work in conjunction with PDC police.

The guards were notified Thursday, and they said the decision came as a complete surprise.

“These decisions are coming out of Sacramento,” security guard Robert Johnson said. “I don’t think they’re concerned about the health and safety of the community around here.”

Efforts to get a statement from Developmental Services were fruitless. PDC Executive Director John Sawyer was unavailable Friday afternoon and a staff member said media calls were to be directed to the agency’s Sacramento headquarters. Media contacts there do not currently work on Fridays due to state-mandated furloughs.

Located off Highway 190, the PDC is a state-run hospital for the severely developmentally disabled that operates 24/7. Like other state agencies, it has had cuts due to the California budget crisis, including three mandatory “furlough” days per month. Most PDC employees do not get the time off, however, but receive less pay and are credited with hours they may be able to take off in the future.

While PDC is one of five DDS facilities in the state, it is the only one to service individuals in the mild to moderate range of mental retardation, who have come in contact with the legal system and who have been determined to be a danger to themselves or others and, or incompetent to stand trial. These clients are sometimes referred to as “forensic” cases.

These are the clients who the security guards monitor.

Johnson, like the other security guards, is a member of the Services Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents 500 PDC employees.

“Our main objective is to watch and observe so that nobody escapes by climbing fences or digging under them,” Johnson said. “We also look out for the health and safety of staff when they’re intermingling with clients.”

He acknowledged, however, that clients sometimes escape, although infrequently.

“One of the reasons why we haven’t had more escapes is because of the security guards,” SEIU senior steward and PDC registered nurse Janet Alexander said.

Alexander said the layoffs will likely increase overtime hours at the facility that have skyrocketed since the summer.

She predicts the many of the security guards’ tasks will have to be fulfilled by the PDC police force come May.

In July, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger issued an order that required furloughs of three days a month through June 2010. The governor estimated savings at $1.4 billion a year.

In December, however, the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians (CAPT) found that its 759 local members worked 5,900 hours of overtime at PDC in November—a 257 percent increase since September.

CAPT estimated that the cost to taxpayers was up to $180,000 in November alone.

In court decisions affecting some state workers, the Governor has been ordered to discontinue furloughs. However, he has appealed these decisions to the state Supreme Court.

Local union representatives have consistently said that PDC is at the mercy of the state, which requires the hospital to operate 24/7 while meeting a strict client to staff ratio — in spite of the furloughs.

“[Executive Director} John Sawyer is doing all he can to see if there are other positions that are open,” Johnson said. “He’s looking out for us, he hates to see this happen. He’s doing all he can to alleviate any issues or problems.”

--Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.