Special circumstances  Ali T Winston By Ali T Winston The Star-
Ledger  The state and the PBA Local 105 are negotiating a new
contract. The state is asking that corrections officers pay more
toward their health insurance benefits. Most people believe that
state employees receive benefits that private-sector employees
don't. Given budget constraints, corrections employees
understand that they don't have the sympathy of the rest of the
state. However, we ask that the public consider some facts.
First, corrections officers work in confined spaces. We work in
some buildings that are more than 100 years old and lack modern
ventilation. Working under these conditions, with inmates and
other staff, ordinary colds are common. In addition, many
inmates come to prison with air-borne and skin diseases.
Moreover, corrections officers must deal with combative and
violent inmates at any given time. It's not hard to understand
why we feel we deserve health benefits that offset some of the
cost that would otherwise come out o