FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2021
Contact: Matt Dorsey
Phone: 202-216-4451
San Diego, CA. – Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) held a press conference in downtown San Diego in an effort to save 300 good-paying jobs of workers employed at the Western Region Detention Facility (WRDF), a facility currently operating on a U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) contract that is set to expire on September 30th. The workers at the WRDF are urging President Biden to allow the USMS to extend its contract with GEO, the employer, to keep the WRDF open and avert closure.
“President Biden, we are calling on you to stand with workers and save these 300 good-paying, union jobs,” NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “These workers provide an invaluable public service to the community. These jobs are critical to these 300 families and the San Diego area, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country at 7.0 percent. Please, do not stand in the way of U.S. Marshals Service continuing their contract to keep this senseless closure from happening. These workers are depending on you.”
If the facility is closed, 300 workers, including officers, nurses, doctors, teachers, counselors, and other support staff will all be suddenly terminated, putting the well-being of them and their families in danger at one of the worst possible times.
“This closure will be simply devastating to the workers being laid off,” continued Erwin. “These are veterans who have been working at the facility for many years and love their jobs, workers who need their jobs to pay for the care of family members with disabilities and elderly parents, and single moms just trying to keep food on the table. Allowing this closure to happen would be heartless. President Biden can keep these hard-working public servants from this painful layoff. We hope that he hears this message and does the right thing.”