Michigan raises pay for recruits

The Michigan Department of Corrections said on May 29 it will raise starting pay by about $10,000 a year for new corrections officer recruits at five Upper Peninsula prisons, a targeted move aimed at facilities with some of the state’s deepest staffing gaps. The change lifts starting hourly pay to $28.24 from $23.45 at Marquette Branch Prison, Baraga Correctional Facility, Alger Correctional Facility, Kinross Correctional Facility and Chippewa Correctional Facility. The department said the increase is part of its Safe Prisons Initiative and applies to recruits hired for the next Northern Region academy. ### Which prisons are getting the higher starting wage? Five Upper Peninsula facilities were selected because of vacancy rates and because the region is considered hard to recruit for, the department said. Those sites are Marquette Branch Prison, Baraga Correctional Facility, Alger Correctional Facility, Kinross Correctional Facility and Chippewa Correctional Facility. (michigan.gov) Director Heidi E. Washington said the incentive is meant to help hiring in places where recruitment has “historically been challenging due to a variety of factors.” Deputy Director Jeremy Bush said the department has seen barriers including housing availability and local demographics in the Upper Peninsula labor market. (michigan.gov) ### How severe are the staffing problems in the Upper Peninsula? Alger Correctional Facility in Munising is operating with about 60% of its staff positions filled, Deputy Warden Patty Hubble told the Daily Press, implying a roughly 40% vacancy rate. Hubble said the shortage there has persisted for about six years. (michigan.gov) Upper Peninsula prisons have been under strain for months in public reporting. WCMU, in a report published April 27, said a quarter of Michigan’s prisoners are housed in the Upper Peninsula while nearly three-fourths of staff assaults happen there, and that as many as one in three positions are open at some facilities. The same report cited vacancy rates ranging from 10% at Newberry to 35% at the high-security prison in Munising. (dailypress.net) A state audit cited by WCMU found 61% of more than 100 corrections staffers at Baraga Correctional Facility were considering leaving because of excessive mandated overtime. The report said 16-hour days had become common enough that staff linked shortages to mental or physical harm to workers, co-workers or inmates. (wcmu.org) ### Why is pay only part of the story? Interlochen Public Radio reported on June 2 that Michigan prison workers have complained for some time about thin staffing, safety concerns and mandatory overtime, even before the new pay increase. That reporting framed the raise as a response to long-running workplace conditions rather than a stand-alone fix. (wcmu.org) MDOC departure data cited by the Daily Press shows turnover has remained high. In fiscal 2025, 668 of 1,201 employee departures were corrections officers, and 382 of those were voluntary; 110 happened within the first year on the job. Timothy Eklin, a Ferris State University criminal justice professor quoted by the Daily Press, said workforce expectations have shifted and that younger workers place greater value on work-life balance. (interlochenpublicradio.org) He said a shrinking working-age population has created a “perfect storm” for correctional hiring and retention. (dailypress.net) ### How does this compare with other jail staffing pressures? Louisville Metro Corrections has been facing a similar mix of overcrowding and staffing shortages, according to WDRB reporting surfaced in recent coverage. That comparison does not make the Michigan move part of a broader joint policy response, but it places the pay increase inside a wider pattern of correctional systems trying to stabilize staffing under overtime pressure. (dailypress.net) ### What happens next for applicants? The department said recruits hired for the next Northern Region Officer Academy will start at the higher rate on day one. The academy begins July 20, 2026, in Kincheloe and includes eight weeks of paid training followed by eight weeks of on-the-job training at a facility. (newsbreak.com) Hiring events were scheduled for June 2 at Marquette Branch Prison, June 3 at Baraga, June 4 at Alger in Munising, and June 17 at Kinross and Chippewa in Kincheloe, according to the department. Applicants can also apply online through MDOC. (michigan.gov)