Oklahoma Corrections Professionals

Thanks to the many members and supporters who came to OCP’s first Capitol Day yesterday.  Our turnout was fantastic, with well over 60 people visiting with legislators about our top priorities!  In a year when the budget situation is so dire, most groups have meager turnouts for their lobby days simply because they know there is no chance of getting a pay raise.  But OCP is about more than just pay raises, and yesterday our members had good, honest conversations with our elected officials about who OCP is and our ideas for improving the public safety in Oklahoma. 

After meeting with legislators all around the building, we met up

for the “Legislators Address OCP” forum.  Representative Blackwell, Chair of the House Rules Committee and legislator for the William Key Correctional Center and the Beaver Work Center, addressed the group first and expressed the importance of Capitol Days to convey your message first-hand to legislators.  Next was Representative Christian, a former state trooper and a member of the House Public Safety Appropriations Committee, who talked about the benefits of OCP members working with other public safety employees like the troopers to accomplish our goals.  The last speaker of the day was the next minority leader of the House, Representative Inman, who fired up the crowd with his straight talk about the need to be active at the Capitol and in our hometowns in order to get the necessary support to avoid furloughs. 

The day ended with OCP members having lunch together and discussing the highlights of our visits. DOC Director Jones joined us and thanked the association for all the hard work.  The consensus among the group was that we made great inroads with our facility legislators, as well as other key members of public safety committees.  Several legislators committed to helping OCP do away with the burdensome membership requirements that only apply to our association.  One Senator our members had recently met with quoted us in his committee debate as to why he was not supportive of merging the DOC and PPB, a measure that ultimately failed and is now off the table for FY10!  All in all, we made a big impression. 

Thank you again to those members who were in attendance.  From Beaver to Madill, people drove hours to get to Oklahoma City for one of the Association’s most important days of the year.  And many who couldn’t make it made phone calls and sent letters to be delivered on their behalf.  The dedication of OCP members is what makes us strong.  It’s because of that devotion that we have gotten where we are today, it’s why we will be here for years to come, and it’s why we will ultimately be successful in our mission to improve the working conditions and image of the field of Corrections.