NC REPUBLICANS WANT
SENATOR SYDNEY BATCH
PUNISHED FOR HER
“BLEEPIN” LANGUAGE
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Some NC legislative Republicans are not pleased with bleeped over salty language Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch reportedly used in a recent social media post video complaining about the fact that GOP leaders in the NC General Assembly have taken over a year to talk about, but still not pass, a state budget to fund to properly fund government operations and payrolls.
Styled after a popular “Key & Peele” television show sketch, the video shows Sen. Batch acting as an “anger interpreter” for Durham Democratic Rep. Vernetta Alston, is complains about the state budget stalemate in perturbed but socially acceptable language.
"Instead of doing their jobs, Republicans are acting like a bunch of little ******* because they can't deliver a budget," Batch says after Rep. Alston in the video, with a bleep over the derogatory term.
During a subsequent news conference at the Legislature last week, Sen. Batch defended the social media video, saying, "They want to distract from words I choose to use in satire,” she said. “It’s really disappointing given the fact that they literally bend over and shake hands with and applaud a president who has, not in satire, said some of the most offensive things in this country.”
House Republican Majority Leader Brendan Jones (R- Columbus) brushed Sen. Batch’s criticism aside, demanding instead that Batch and Rep. Alston be disciplined by legislative Democratic leadership for their video.
"I am deeply disappointed to see members of Democratic leadership conduct themselves so unprofessionally in a public video," Jones said in a statement, apparently not realizing that Sen. Batch is a Democratic leader in the state Senate, and can only be punished by Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger.
When asked, Berger told reporters he had not seen the video, didn’t care to watch it, and dismissed what Sen. Batch had to say, or how she said it.
But the Democratic-led NC Legislative Black Caucus was very interested. In fact, the caucus issued a statement calling legislative Republicans “racist” for wanting to punish Sen. Batch.
“We have watched them display their blatant racism through shameful policies like their anti-DEI agenda — and no one tells them to pipe down,” Black Caucus chairwoman Sen. Kandie Smith, D-Pitt, stated. “But the moment a Black woman speaks plainly about the catastrophic failures of their one-party rule, then suddenly, they're clutching pearls. This is not a question about language. This is about who is allowed to be angry, who is allowed to speak the truth, and who is expected to stay quiet.”
-30-
NC PRISON GUARD JOBS
ARE OPEN, FOR THE
LOWEST PAY IN THE
NATION
By Cash Michaels
Interested in applying for a job which can be very dangerous and stressful, have long hours, and is in a state that pays the lowest salary in the nation?
Then according to published reports, the position of prison guard here in North Carolina is just for you. Currently, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction is sponsoring events statewide at churches, community colleges, and other local places where conditional employment offers are being on the same day. The goal is to plug an 30% or more average job vacancy rate.
Starting salary for NC correctional officers is approximately $37,621, which is ranked “dead last” (the average starting salaries in neighboring Southeastern states is $45,594). NC prison guards can make as much as $54,000.
Until Republican legislative leaders finally pass a state budget that’s over a year overdue to pay for North Carolina government’s operations and salaries, prison guards across the state are likely to remain the lowest paid in the nation, despite the fact that published reports state that a 15% salary increase was possibly on the table for them once a budget is ratified.
“We also need raises for all of our staff working behind prison walls, to recruit new people and retain the experienced staff we have," Keith Acree, spokesman for the prison system told The News and Observer. "A raise of [15%] would still leave us behind many local jails, and only bring us up slightly in the rankings compared to other state corrections systems."
In the midst of the state budget uncertainty, prisons across the state are trying to fill vacancies not just in the prison guard position, but other staff positions like nurses, totaling an overall 18% average vacancy rate. For example, at least 229 nurses are needed to fill job openings.
Right now, current NC prison guards are working 12-hour shifts under tremendous stress in high security environment environments where they are expected to be alert and proficient at all times to prevent what happened in 2017 at Pasquotank Correctional Institution . For employees there were killed during an attempted inmate escape attempt.
Prison guards are law enforcement officers, which means the job isn’t for everyone, correctional officials say. Not surprisingly, the position sees a high turnover rate. During the hiring process, applicants are required to have good character, and be able to handle pressure and adjust quickly to emergency conditions.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment