WI prison guards could vote next year on new union - WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin's prison guards could vote as soon as next year in whether to break away from the Wisconsin State Employees Union.

   The Wisconsin State Journal reports it's a bitter fight over election setbacks, discontent with labor leaders, and anger about working conditions 17 after the state all but eliminated public sector union rights.

   Brian Cunningham, a guard at the Waupun Correctional Institution, says he's filed more than 1,900 signatures demanding a new union for about 5,800 prison workers, game wardens and other state employees classified as security and public safety workers.

   WSEU director Marty Beil says the guards are in for a rude awakening if they succeed in forming an independent union with lower dues and a smaller staff, because they would lack sufficient resources to serve members.