Chris Cook photo

Members of Teamsters Local 117 picketed in Forks the morning of Wednesday, March 2. The informational picketing was scheduled to run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. despite stormy high wind conditions, rain and occasional hail.

Here Rich Christensen and Kathy Banner, both from Forks and on staff at Clallam Bay Corrections Center, stand on the picket line in front of the Forks Transit Center at about 10 a.m. Their signs called for “safety, dignity and respect” for state correctional workers.

The Teamsters Union is calling on the state Department of Corrections and the Legislature “to take immediate steps to improve staff safety, such as passing interest arbitration legislation for DOC employees.“

Picketers were also scheduled to be on the street in communities near state prisons in Aberdeen, Airway Heights, Gig Harbor, Monroe, Pasco, Shelton, Tumwater, Vancouver, and Walla Walla.