BULLETIN: PINE LODGE TAKEN OFF CLOSURE LIST

After a week of push back by Federation members in Olympia and in Medical Lake, the Department of Corrections has pulled Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women off the closure list-for now at least.

"Based on the questions raised by Pine Lodge Superintendent Morton Walker and his staff, we have decided and are announcing that our previous decision to close Pine Lodge was premature," Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail said in a statement released Tuesday.

In an e-mail to Walker the secretary said could be shared with staff, Vail went on:

"In our haste to find solutions to the very difficult budget situation we face, we made many decisions, very quickly. Our intentions were good but our perspective was not very precise. We had not done all of the necessary work on our end. The result was our premature decision to close your institution."

But, Vail cautioned, this policy reversal doesn't guarantee that Pine Lodge might not be targeted again. "As it stands today, we will need to close an institution," Vail said.

Vail's decision came after blistering questions from legislators, on-point testimony from Federation members in Olympia and an emotional presentation by some 20 Local 782 members to the Medical Lake City Council Tuesday night. That's where Walker announced Vail's decision. The city had already voiced anger that the state had never informed them of the proposed closure. The closure would have adversely affected the economy of Medical Lake.

Local 782 members, though, view this as a reprieve only. They will continue to do the research to build the case for retention of Pine Lodge when DOC makes a decision for which institution it still says it must close.

This is good news, but the work continues. But it should give hope to those at Yakima Valley School, Naselle Youth Camp and other targeted institutions and programs that grassroots union pressure and community pressure based on solid facts can make a difference.