LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Faced with a labor shortage and a growing number of vacancies, Nebraska state officials are offering bigger incentive packages to try to get people to work in the state’s prisons, veterans homes and other facilities that require around-the-clock staffing.
State officials said the new, more generous bonuses are a short-term solution to keep the state competitive while they look for a longer-term fix.
But one union official said higher wages, not temporary bonuses, are the only real fix for staffing shortages at facilities such as the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, a chronically understaffed prison in rural, southeast Nebraska.
