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This petition aims to:

 

1.     Expose incompetence presented by Clearfield Job Corps Center concerning residentiary management. 

 

2.     Provide adequate compensation to the Males and Females who have endured hazardous living conditions.

 

3.     Set an example of what consistency in management and equality should look like in a federal training facility. 

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Air Conditioning Crisis:

During the hottest era of the 2024 summer, Alpha, Beta, and Charlie dormitories have endured unsafe living conditions for multiple consecutive months. Alpha's A/C units were completely inoperative while Beta and Charlie dormitories’ A/C units operated at 50% capacity. In recent months students have been given few opportunities for self-preservation regarding the circumstances.

During a two-week-long heatwave with ambient temperatures ranging from 97-105 Degrees Fahrenheit, portable air conditioning units were rented for temporary use in the Alpha dormitory, one unit for each wing. However, these units do not hold the functional capacity to cool down even a substantial section of the building, much less any individual rooms. As Residential Advisors circulate the building with infrared temperature readers, room temperature readings averaged 90 Degrees Fahrenheit. 

Students' water supply from the cafeteria was limited at the beginning of the summer and continues to be limited due to funding problems. At one point the water dispensers present in the dormitories were threatened to be cut off entirely due to these same supposed funding discrepancies within the Contracting Company MTC. This was stated in an email directed to staff members which although it is non-accessible to students, the message was still relayed. 

After countless weeks of harsh living conditions and limited water supply students were finally presented with the option of temporarily moving to one of the alternative buildings, Beta or Charlie, in an attempt for some potential relief. I use the word "potential" because these buildings were only operating at partial capacity.

 

A dormitory meeting was called at 3:45 pm on 12 July 2024 by Scott Pattison, Community Life Director of Clearfield Job Corps Center. Mr. Pattison stated that people who chose to move would not be guaranteed operational air conditioning climates as only half the rooms have satisfactory cooling. Due to this statement, many Alpha dormitory residents decided not to exert their energy moving themselves and their belongings with a more than probable occurrence that they may end up enduring similar conditions in the alternative buildings as they already were in their current residency.

An additional statement related to a course of action was made during this meeting regarding the following Monday's training day. Due to substantial complaints related to poor sleep quality being filed, this resulted in compromised academic performance as well as physical, and emotional well-being being addressed. The approval from higher officials granted the center a "Late-Start Day" to commence on 15 July 2024 to allow students to obtain additional rest. 

The final address made during this meeting by Scott Pattison stated a chilling unit would be brought in for temporary use. Providing an adequate water supply is too much for their stimulus to handle, but funding commercial-grade portable air conditioners and an industrial chilling unit is not of concern. This is just a profound display of unimpeachable reasoning presented by our officials. Is it not? 

 

Alas, the astronomical temperatures in Alpha dormitory subsided on 2 August 2024 due to a selfless maintenance man whose name is unknown. This individual was seen exiting the building close to 11:00 pm Friday after his business hours and proceeded to make a statement to a resident of the Alpha 3 wing along the lines of, "I was not leaving until I got you guys your air conditioning back". Perhaps we would have had some relief weeks in advance if the higher-ups were as compassionate and caring as this lone wolf. 

The burden to Alpha dormitory residents has subsided and we as a community are grateful to have ultimately been granted relief. This however does not forgive the incompetence of how the situation has been handled and we demand further compensation for our pain and suffering. 

Just after Alpha's air conditioning was fixed, Charlie's inevitably failed. In addition, Beta's unit allegedly dropped from 50% down to 30% operational capacity. Room temperature readings in the Beta dormitory are currently averaging 85 Degrees Fahrenheit. 

Within a day of Charlie's air conditioning unit going down, an executive decision is made to evacuate the building. In addition, the residents of Charlie’s dormitory will be sent home for an entire week; potentially extending that offer depending on when the problem is fixed.

Not to mention the female dormitories, Delta and Echo, have not had functional air conditioning for over a year!

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Why was Alpha not granted this treatment and forced to endure hazardous heat conditions for over a month? 

Why is Beta not currently being granted this treatment with recognition of their situation? 

When is the negligence going to stop? 

When will there be consistency in management?

When will there be fluency in decision-making?

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Female Living Conditions:

                  I will start by addressing the air conditioning situation in the female dormitories (Delta and Echo). From my understanding, it is evident that Delta and Echo have been through much worse conditions, and for far longer than the male dormitories. Although the situation within dormitories Alpha, Beta, and Charlie is outrageous, it may be swept under the rug with the consideration that Delta and Echo have not had working A/C for over a year. The A/C units have been down in Delta and Echo since the summer of 2023 with no accommodations established until recent months when females were moved into male dormitories, primarily Charlie.

 

Why have the females been enduring harsh living conditions for countless months of back-to-back summers? Perhaps since they are the minority on the campus their voices had not been projected far enough or loud enough to be heard, or it is just another instance of incompetence and negligence on management’s part.

 

It is readily apparent that A/C concerns with these buildings, particularly their units, are not new. It is only reasonable that preparations for additional air conditioning failures should have been considered in advance. Therefore, if management cannot address active issues, they have no plans to prepare for future ones. This instance alone is a prime example of how preemptive action could have diminished the chaos we now face in the subsequent A/C failures.

Additionally, I have heard multiple complaints of harassment involving the resident males in these dormitories that the females have been relocated to. That is not something I can speak on as I have not directly experienced it, but it is a valid concern.

Aside from the air conditioning predicament in dormitories Delta and Echo, there have been many other cases of incompetence displayed by our management in providing the women of Clearfield Job Corps the amenities they are both entitled to as well as required to have for hygienic necessities.

 

The washing units in these dormitories have been inoperative for 2024 entirely, potentially dating back to late last year. Countless addresses were made at multiple business meetings discussing the contracts to obtain operational washers but still no success. From the reports I have received, only a few washers per floor of Echo, and none in Delta. In January and February 2024, a new system was incorporated where the females were given a specific time to do their laundry in the male dormitories Alpha, Beta, and Charlie.  

Funnily enough, Alpha dormitory’s washers in wing 3 failed this past June 2024. All six washers became inoperative within two weeks. When this happened everyone in Alpha 3 was in distress as Delta and Echo had been waiting a substantial number of months for service on their washers and we expected similar wait periods. By the start of July 2024, all the Alpha 3 washing units had been restored to their original operational capacity. Meanwhile, female dormitories still do not have functional washing machines. Here is another example of a lack of consistency within management.

 

The reports of mold growth in dormitories Delta and Echo are also a major concern. Instances of laundry areas having bad mold infestations gone unaddressed are a health hazard. In April 2024, the females in Echo Wings 1 and 2 were relocated to Charlie’s dormitory due to a mold infestation in the downstairs laundry area. After factoring in the poor ventilation from the inoperative A/C unit, it only makes sense that excessive moisture build-up is plausible. Considering that, who knows how long or how detrimental potential mold infestations within Delta and Echo had become before the evacuations occurred.

There have also been reports of old water jugs distributed in the female dormitories with mold accumulation in the water, later being dumped out. The validity of these statements is not cemented but this is also potentially a valid concern.

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The lack of consistency in management truly highlights how our requests have been dismissed and our needs have been pushed aside. The great Job Corps oppurtunity seems to be fading. This training facility is supposed to be a phenomenal chance for individuals to gain stability in their lives. Rather, they are unable to maintain stability within the constructs of their own campus. 

We as a community feel it is only fair to be given equal treatment or receive adequate compensation during these events. If Charlie residents are given free leave, we deserve that; paid transportation home, we deserve that; excused from a week of class, we deserve that as well. We deserve equal treatment! We have endured, suffered, became heat sick, and dehydrated, and still showed up every day for our classes not because of the threat of punishment, but because we are resilient individuals. 

Many of us have endured times far harder than these but that does not give anyone the right to treat us like we are children or animals. Many of us are under the illusion that we are nothing without this opportunity. It is the other way around. You are nothing without us. Without students, you have no funding. You have no Job Corps. You have no Job. Period. So, stop treating us like we are dispensible numbers on pieces of paper and start addressing us as the individuals we are. We will no longer stand to be mistreated and neglected due to your incompetence. Get a grip. 

 

Sincerely, 

-       Owen B. Reed