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Union urges committee to make DOC industrial instructors permanent under House Bill 2859
Summary
Union and state legislators told the Joint Committee on Public Service that House Bill 2859 would convert long-serving, provisional industrial instructors at Department of Correction facilities into permanent civil‑service employees after years without appropriate examinations.
Kevin Flanagan, legislative representative for the Mass Correction Officers Federated Union, told the Joint Committee on Public Service he strongly supports House Bill 2859, ‘‘an act establishing job permanency for Mass. DOC industrial instructors.’’ He testified that many instructors have served full time for years but remain in provisional status because civil‑service examinations for the titles have not been administered.
Flanagan said civil‑service has not administered an industrial‑instructor exam in ‘‘approximately 16 years,’’ and ‘‘more than 1,000 industrial instructors have remained in provisional status despite many having served faithfully and full time for well over a decade.’’ He argued the job has become highly specialized and that a single, traditional exam cannot fairly assess all the technical trade skills now required.
Representative Hawkins introduced the testimony and asked the committee to consider the bill. Flanagan asked the committee to ‘‘record House Bill 2859 out favorably to ensure that these employees [are] recognized, granted the same job security as other state employees.’’
No committee motion or vote on House Bill 2859 was recorded during the hearing. Committee chairs took no questions from members after the testimony and the panel moved to the next item.
