A labor union representing federal employees at U.S. Penitentiary Thomson in Illinois claims the Bureau of Prisons failed to keep employees safe from an alleged fentanyl exposure.

On June 1, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration received a complaint that an inmate had tested positive for the highly addictive synthetic opioid, according to a letter obtained by Federal Times. The complaint further alleges that prison staff failed to notify employees of the exposure, thereby violating OSHA’s reporting requirements for hazardous substances.

“We are demanding that the director of the Bureau of Prisons take action and fix the culture of failed leadership at USP Thomson,” said Jon Zumkehr, AFGE local 4070 president, in a statement to Federal Times.

This is the second time local union leaders are calling the agency out for failing to protect the roughly 500 employees who work there and the more than 900 individuals housed at the high-security federal prison. In January, Zumkehr and others alleged that a pattern of sexual assaults against Thomson staff was pushing employees out, exacerbating staffing issues. Continued shortages of staff in critical positions now compromise security of the prison, Zumkehr said.

OSHA directed USP Thomson to investigate the complaint and report back on the hazard or else OSHA would conduct its own inspection. Scott Taylor, a spokesperson for the bureau, said in an email that Thomson has responded to OSHA and taken appropriate action.

When asked to elaborate on what those actions were, the agency did not provide specifics, citing security reasons. The union maintains there were two cases of lab-confirmed fentanyl in a week.

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“The BOP addresses this problem using a multi-faceted approach,” Taylor said. “The BOP continually evaluates and deploys as appropriate contraband-detecting technologies, including walk-through metal detectors and whole-body imaging devices. We also train staff on the proper way to respond to emergencies in which inmates may be demonstrating strange or erratic behavior as a result of possible illicit drug use. Staff respond appropriately to each incident and use universal precautions to minimize any exposure. In addition, we have employed enhanced staffing patterns in high security prisons as well as strengthened internal security procedures.”

On June 3, the union sent a message to Colette Peters, the director of the Bureau of Prisons, saying officials failed to lock down the facility. Zumkehr also said that failed controls allowed a cell phone to get into the secure portion of the prison.

In 2022, three Thomson employees were hospitalized for exposure to drugs that had entered the prison through the mail, according to reporting by the local television station.

To address staffing, the agency is continuing hiring initiatives. According to an April 5 blog post, the bureau reported that hiring outpaced attrition in February, and the focus is now on recruiting external hires in addition to internal promotions. The agency announced that, as part of the hiring campaign, new hires who onboard until Sept. 24 can take advantage of a recruitment incentive of $10,000 or 25% of initial salary, though Zumkehr and other union officials said it’s difficult to recruit for a job that is stretched by overtime, poor morale and safety concerns.

Molly Weisner is a staff reporter for Federal Times where she covers labor, policy and contracting pertaining to the government workforce. She made previous stops at USA Today and McClatchy as a digital producer, and worked at The New York Times as a copy editor. Molly majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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