Unions representing correction officers and staff at the Stillwater state prison are calling for a halt to the plan to close the 111-year-old facility in Bayport.

“The proposed stated budget agreement that includes the closure of Stillwater Correctional Facility is not only shortsighted, it’s downright dangerous, disruptive and deeply disrespectful to the workers that keep the community safe and the inmates safe,” said Bart Andersen, executive director of the American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees Council 5, at a news conference at the state Capitol on Friday.

State officials said the move to close Stillwater addresses safety concerns relating to its aging infrastructure and will save more than $40 million annually.

But union leaders said Friday that the closure leaves staff members’ futures uncertain and poses safety risks to inmates, staff and the public.

Study in question

The prison houses some of the state’s most dangerous offenders, said Dan Gorman, AFSCME vice president and chief steward. Moving them could overcrowd other facilities.

“It makes it very dangerous for the inmate population and for the staff that work in those facilities,” Gorman said.

Union leaders also said they were left in the dark about the decision to close the facility and continue to have questions about the plans. A state study intended to look at closing the prison and advise lawmakers on it will apparently be unnecessary, they said.

“This move comes before the very study that was meant to inform a thoughtful and orderly closure of this facility,” said Megan Dayton, president of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. “That study was supposed to guide legislative decision-making … now it’s going to be conducted after incarcerated individuals are already being moved. That is not planning, that is scrambling. We have seen no bill language. We have seen no protections for staff. We have no clarity at all about staffing during this transition. We have no commitment on fair compensation or placement for workers who might not be able to transfer.”

While state officials say a full modernization or replacement of Stillwater would cost an estimated $1.3 billion, union members say low-cost improvements they have requested over the years have been ignored.

Safety concerns

From what union leaders have been told, part of the closure plan is reliant on the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act, which allows inmates to earn earlier release, Dayton said. The MRRA, passed by the Legislature in 2023 as part of the public safety bill, allows qualified inmates to reduce their sentences.

However, state officials have said inmates will not be released early as part of the closure.

Early release under the MRRA is earned and determined on an individual basis, DOC officials said Friday, and its implementation is separate from the closure of the Stillwater prison.

In response to concerns of overcrowding at other facilities caused by the closure and ensuing safety risks, DOC officials said that all of its correctional facilities are currently staffed fully at between 97 and 100% and such staffing is intended to meet needs at full capacity.

State officials and state labor relations specialists will begin labor management discussions immediately following passage of the proposal, which union agreements require in instances of staff reductions, according to state officials.

“As part of this, we’re not reducing population or releasing anyone to make this happen. This would be handled by … bed space and, again, phased over time,” Paul Schnell, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, said at a Thursday news conference.

State officials have cited safety concerns for inmates and staff at the aging Stillwater facility when discussing its closure. Some union members questioned that assessment and what they described as a long-term underinvestment in the prison and in low-cost safety improvements.

“It appears to be a cost-savings measure right now. And in order to consolidate effectively, to deliver programming effectively, to correct behavior, you have to invest in it,” Dayton said. “You have to spend money to rehabilitate people so that they can be functioning members of society again. And we have no guarantee that that’s part of this plan.”

Operating a step below “maximum security,” the “close security” facility for adult male felons — built in 1914 — currently has 1,171 inmates. Its closure is expected by June 30, 2029, under the plan announced by state officials Thursday.