'Exodus' of prison employees puts more stress and strain on those who stay on the job; group calls inmate strike in Ala.

A guard tower in Beeville, Tex. (Photo by Eric Gay, Associated Press)

Across the country, prison systems are strained by an "exodus of corrections officers," making life inside the walls harder for both inmates and employees, reports Stateline, a publication of The Pew Charitable Trusts. States are raising salaries and increasing recruiting efforts to attract more potential employees to prisons — which are disproportionately located in rural areas.

"In February, 8,043 of the 24,020 jobs inside the Texas correctional system were vacant, an all-time high. A recent pay raise has helped lower that number to just under 7,000," Stateline reports. Kansas and Florida both had nearly a quarter of their prison jobs vacant. Multiple states were raising wages for a dangerous job with a typical salary range from $42,909 to $53,482, depending on experience and location.

The staff shortages are worsening conditions for prisoners, as wait times for medical appointments, meals, showers and the delivery of ice and water to non-air-conditioned cells are delayed by a lack of staff, Stateline reports.

A tough job is also made even tougher by a lack of staff, but some longtime corrections officers told Stateline that the salary enables them to raise and house a family. On the other hand, Andy Potter, the founder of One Voice United — which advocates for corrections officers — told Stateline that the pay and benefits of the position don't match the high stress and danger of the job.

"The Alabama Department of Corrections said it has received reports of inmate work stoppages at all the major prisons in the state after a prison-reform organization called for a strike," AL.com reports. "The organization Both Sides of the Wall called for the strike beginning this morning as a protest of conditions in the state’s overcrowded, understaffed prisons, which the Department of Justice says hold men in conditions that violate the Constitution."