Understaffing is such a problem at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, in Fort Worth that doctors and teachers are being pulled from their jobs to fill guard posts, union leaders say.
Chris Beasley, vice president of the American Federation of Government Workers, said FMC Carswell will lose 71 positions overall as part of a nationwide 14-percent staff reduction.
"We're short-staffed as it is," Beasley said. "Teachers and doctors are not being allowed to work the positions they need to work to do their jobs. They're being put on housing units to work with inmates."
In a statement, the Bureau of Prisons said job cuts are part of an effort to "rightsize" after a "significant decrease" in the inmate population.
BOP's website shows the number of inmates has dropped the last four years straight.
"We believe reducing authorized positions will not have a negative impact on public safety," the BOP statement said.
Some 6,000 jobs are being cut nationwide, Beasley said.
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In North Texas, the federal government also operates a prison in Seagoville and a separate facility for men in Fort Worth.
But it's not just the union sounding an alarm.
In a recent report, the Senate Appropriations Committee noted: "The inmate to correctional officer ratio is currently 8.3 to 1, a level that is unsafe for staff and should immediately be corrected."
"They're looking at the money. They're looking at the budget," said Regina Warren, president of the American Federal of Government Workers local in Fort Worth. "They're not looking at the community's life. They're looking at the money. My life is not a dollar. My life is worth more than that."
