LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Food is often seen as a gift that warms the soul, and those who keep Louisville Metro Corrections secure received a hot meal on Tuesday by fellow officers from out of state.

A group of Fraternal Order of Police members from New York and Illinois prepared a breakfast for LMDC corrections officers outside the jail on Tuesday morning. Understaffed at LMDC, the corrections officers on duty have been forced to work overtime, prompting the national FOP members to give them the gift of food.

“When they heard how short staffed we are and how many forced hours that people are getting, they put something together,” FOP Lodge 77 President Daniel Johnson said. “Any type of thank you — a lot of times, corrections is forgotten about. Sometimes the public isn’t aware of exactly what goes on behind the walls. It’s just a huge thank you.”

There are 136 open positions at the jail as of this week, according to Johnson, which he attributes to low pay. The current contract’s starting wage is $17 per hour.

Johnson said Metro Government spent more than $7 million on LMDC over the course of last year and is on track to spend more than $10 million this year, and he believes that the money should be used to raise wages instead.

“In today’s economy, $17 an hour isn’t going to bring you a whole lot of qualified applicants,” Johnson said. “We’re asking people to put their lives on the line, to go through some very extensive training — very intense training —and to be put in a stressful environment. If you make a mistake, you could wind up in prison. You could be put on the news. People’s lives are in your hands.”

Johnson said the FOP wants the current LMDC contract be reopened by city officials in order to negotiate raising the jail’s starting pay.

Copyright 2021 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.