By Corrections1 Staff
FORT TOTTEN, N.D. — Corrections officers are unable to get approval to get outside work amid the government shutdown because ethics office workers are not at work to approve requests.
“Right now, there’s kind of a jam up in the process because we’re not allowed to take outside employment without permission, and there’s nobody in the ethics office to approve those requests for outside employment,” corrections officer Tony Rowe of the Fort Totten Correctional Facility told The Hill.
The corrections facility is located on the Spirit Lake tribal lands. The shutdown has caused officers across the country to find other paid work.
Despite the holdup, Rowe says he and his fellow officers have been able to get financial assistance from unions and the Spirit Lake Tribe.
Rowe’s union, the Federation of Indo-services Union, in conjunction with the American Federation of Teachers Union, provides up to $1,500 loans to union members interest-free, and payable after the shutdown.