The District of Columbia’s juvenile justice agency recently ended a decade-long dispute with the youth corrections union, agreeing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to employees for past work.
The agreement resolves allegations that Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services corrections officers never received pay increases or promotions although they assumed more responsibilities.
The settlement comes amid major reform efforts the agency’s director, Vincent Schirald, introduced. He has remained at odds with the union since he took the job two years ago. Last year the union called for his dismissal.
Schiraldi and union president Glenn Adams called the settlement “historic.”
“Both sides bargained hard,” Adams said Thursday. “You can’t reform the juvenile justice system without a hard-working labor force, and you can’t have that without treating people fairly.”
Thirteen employees were awarded money for back pay and retirement and 143 employees were awarded compensation for promotion claims.
The agreement allocates more than $460,000 a year to the employees.
Schiraldi said settlement would accelerate the rest of his reform efforts.
“Our people have the hardest job in the District of Columbia,” Schiraldi said. “And they deserve to be compensated for it.”
