Erie County Sheriff's Deputies and the union that represents them claim the County Executive is refusing to hire more deputies at the County Holding Center. The Teamsters Local 2-64 launched a Website that directly attacks Chris Collins for his refusal to hire more sheriff deputies at the jail.
Local Teamsters president Mary Holl said the Website www.chriscollinsjail.com designed to highlight dangerous working conditions at the county jail. She said deputies are given excessive overtime.
"The forced overtime at the jail is taking a terrible toll on the Sheriff's deputies. Not only their health but their family life they work these 16 hour days and they are forced," said Holl. Quite simply we are not whiners. These men and women go in there on a daily basis. They do their jobs and do it under some very strenuous conditions in there."
But County Executive Chris Collins said he believes the union is distorting the truth.
"Where maybe we could like to have less overtime and bring in some contract employees the Teamsters have said no. They've said no to the taxpayers. They're saying higher full-time workers," said Collins.
According to the New York State Commission of Corrections the Holding Center is short staffed by 40-deputies.
Collins disagrees. In the next six months, inmates will be transferred back to the city lockout.
Collins said he believes the Website is simply a union pressure tactic because the teamsters rejected a contract with the county.