JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Former Gov. Eric Greitens won the support of the union representing state corrections officers during his 2016 campaign, but four years later, the group isn鈥檛 endorsing Greitens鈥 successor, fellow Republican Gov. Mike Parson.
鈥淒efinitely not going to endorse Mr. Parson with the policy changes he鈥檚 done in the last three years,鈥 said Tim Cutt, executive director of the Missouri Corrections Officers Association. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way we can endorse that.鈥
Cutt said the group hasn鈥檛 endorsed Democratic State Auditor Nicole Galloway, either. He said he had spoken with Galloway, but said her campaign hasn鈥檛 responded to more recent outreach by the union.
The corrections officers鈥 refusal to endorse Parson stands in contrast to his support from other law enforcement groups 鈥 and the lack of outreach by Galloway is puzzling given that she has tried to bat down assertions by Parson that she doesn鈥檛 adequately back law enforcement.
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The public sector union鈥檚 list of grievances is long and includes the state鈥檚 refusal to negotiate a new labor contract with the group, major changes to the state鈥檚 merit-based employment system, and the state鈥檚 continued refusal to withhold union dues for the association, which Cutt described as 鈥渄evastating.鈥
The union has also been locked in a yearslong courtroom battle with the state over disputed overtime costs. The case dates to 2012, and in August 2018, a Cole County jury awarded officers $113.7 million in back pay. The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments on the case in April.
Asked if the union is open to endorsing Galloway, he said, 鈥渁bsolutely.鈥
鈥淚 had a conversation with Ms. Galloway a few months ago and she sounded pretty promising on what she could do for state employment and corrections as a whole,鈥 Cutt said. 鈥淚 was pretty impressed with her.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to try to contact her campaign manager again this afternoon, but like I said, we鈥檙e getting down to crunch time,鈥 Cutt said Friday. 鈥淎 couple weeks before the election.鈥
The Galloway campaign confirmed the auditor had spoken with the union over the summer, but not since then.
Greitens resigned in June 2018 amid a slew of scandals, elevating Parson, then lieutenant governor, to the state鈥檚 top job.
Cutt also blasted the Parson administration鈥檚 handling of the COVID-19 pandemic within prisons.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been no clear direction from him,鈥 Cutt said.
posted Friday on the Department of Corrections鈥 website, there have been 1,061 positive cases of COVID-19 among staff working within Missouri鈥檚 prison system this year.