Workers sue state over prison privatization

The union representing prison employees is suing the state, seeking to overturn private prison contracts and get 270 laid-off employees back on the job. The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association claims  privatization violates state laws, including a prohibition against lending state credit to private companies A union spokesperson says the jobs were lost when the state leased the
North Central Correctional Institution in Marion and sold the Lake Erie Correctional Facility in Conneaut. An Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokesperson says prison policy changes make inmates and prisons safer and provide taxpayers a better value.