Aramark to beef up prison food staffing, hike pay

LANSING – Aramark Correctional Services, the state's problem-plagued prison food contractor, will be required to increase workers' pay an average of $2 an hour and increase its staffing level to 120%, all at the company's cost, the state's new contract overseer said Wednesday.

But a spokeswoman for Aramark said Wednesday there was "some confusion" around the wage issue and it's not accurate to say the company is increasing wages an average of $2 an hour for its Michigan prison food workers or that wages are being increased across the board.

"With new hires in the UP (Upper Peninsula), where there is a limited applicant pool, starting wages were increased in an effort to attract qualified candidates," Cutler said in an e-mail. "Aramark did add several management positions at our expense to ensure all facilities have adequate staffing at all times, to cover daily employee call outs (for being sick, not coming to work, etc.) or job transitions."

Ed Buss, who began overseeing the Aramark contract just after Labor Day, said insufficient staffing and high turnover are among the major reasons Aramark continues to have problems that include food shortages, unauthorized menu substitutions, lack of control and kitchen sanitation, and workers getting overly familiar with inmates.

"They have seen improvements, but it isn't improving at the rate it should be improving," Buss told reporters.

Buss said. "The governor was very candid ... with me. He said he wants this fixed."

Buss said Aramark pay increases would be higher in certain areas such as the UP, but would average $2 an hour across the state. Cutler said that's inaccurate and not all of its workers are getting pay hikes.

"As we do with all of our employees around the world, we routinely review market wage data and make adjustments when necessary," Cutler said. "This is happening at MDOC to ensure we continue to attract and retain qualified candidates."

A spokesman for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, where Buss works, has been unavailable for comment since Cutler disputed the comments Buss made about wages.

The Free Press has documented a litany of problems with Aramark since the company began its $145-million, three-year contract on Dec. 8, displacing about 370 state kitchen workers. The contract is estimated to save the state more than $14 million a year.

Most recently, an investigation into an allegation an Aramark worker at Kinross Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula tried to recruit an inmate to kill another inmate is under investigation by the Michigan State Police and the Attorney General's Office. Earlier, there were two instances of Aramark employees smuggling drugs -- including marijuana, cocaine and heroin into prisons to supply inmates. There have also been instances of Aramark workers caught in sex acts with inmates.

The state fined Aramark $98,000 for contract problems in March and an additional $200,000 in August, but the state recently confirmed it waived the initial $98,000 fineand Aramark never paid it.

Buss said the cost to Aramark of contract changes will be "significant," bringing the typical employee's hourly pay to around $13 an hour from $11 an hour and increasing staffing to 409 employees from slightly under 400 currently.

The state has no plans to increase its payments to Aramark to cover the extra cost, he said.

Nick Ciaramitaro, legislative director for AFSCME Council 25, said he only learned about the changes from a Free Press reporter and wanted to get more information before commenting. But he said he's suspicious that Aramark will take on significant additional costs without trying to recover them from the state.

Aramark will also improve training so its workers will be able to pat down prisoners without a corrections officer present and will be less likely to fraternize with inmates, Buss said.

And the company will launch apprenticeship and re-entry programs so workers can receive certificates for kitchen skills that will help them get jobs when they get out, he said.

Paul Egan is a reporter for the Detroit Free Press.