The state Department of Corrections has begun firing and fining corrections officers who have not returned to work as the prison wildcat strike enters its third week.
Less than 10 officers have been terminated, and more than 350 officers are facing civil contempt charges that are being filed by the state Attorney General’s office, officials said.
The state’s shift to punitive measures comes after a tentative deal struck between the state and New York’s corrections union late Thursday failed to sway hundreds of striking officers to return to work. The strike, officials said, has so far cost the state $25 million.
Corrections officers received notices Saturday warning that strikers would have their health insurance coverage cancelled for them and their families effective Monday. Additionally, the department wrote in text messages to officers, stating that “those that continue to participate in this illegal strike” would be subject to imprisonment.
At a news conference on Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said striking corrections officers rejected the deal that their union agreed to.
“People decided, ‘Well, we’d rather stay out on the line,’” she said. “That was their choice. It was not the union’s position.”
Jackie Bray, who is the commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, justified the firings, saying that corrections officers are essential workers who, under Taylor Law, are subject to termination if they do not work for 10 consecutive days and into the 11th day. Under that law, Bray added, the state could seek fines against corrections officers equivalent to the amount the state is incurring due to the strike.
“We have negotiated in good faith at the mediation table across a broad range of topics, going as far as we can legally go,” Bray said.
State Sen. Mark Walczyk, R- Watertown, Jefferson County, decried Hochul’s approach to the situation by “doubling down on threats.”
“I think the governor is already short corrections officers across the state of New York,” he said. “She needs these guys to return to work and she should listen to what they're saying about safety in the workplace. Instead of threatening these guys, we need them to be corrections officers.”
The state has spent $25 million dollars by sending about 7,000 National Guard troops and additional reinforcement into prisons, according to Bray. Current estimates from the state indicate the strike will cost New York approximately $106 million a month if it continues at its current rate.
Over the course of the strike, four prisoners have died at three separate facilities -- including an inmate allegedly fatally beaten at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy. The state is investigating the death of a 22-year-old inmate on Saturday at Mid-State Correctional Facility. Individuals allegedly involved in the incident were put on administrative leave, according to state officials. It is not clear if any of the deaths are related to the strike.
At its peak, state officials said, the strike affected 38 of 42 state facilities as nine out of 10 officers left their posts.
Several facilities stopped participating in the strikes over the weekend, including Green Haven, Fishkill, Shawangunk, Hudson, Taconic, and Sing Sing, said Daniel Martuscello, state commissioner for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
“In order to continue this dialogue, though, we really need our staff to return to the workforce so we can operate safe facilities and provide safety to the surrounding communities,” Martuscello said on Monday, speaking alongside Bray.
While some strikers returned to work Saturday, others among the wildcat group, who have been demanding safer working conditions and more leeway in using solitary confinement since the strike began on Feb. 17, say the deal does not do enough to protect corrections officers in the face of increased prison violence rates over recent years.
Martuscello: It’s up to lawmakers to repeal HALT Act
Martuscello acknowledged the mediated consent award reinstates solitary confinement only to a limited extent.
“There's really no change that we can immediately make to the HALT act, other than to go to the Legislature to make changes,” Martuscello said.
Walczyk said corrections officers tell him they’re rejecting the tentative deal because it does not allow prison staff to separate “violent” prisoners from the rest of the facility’s population by placing them in a special housing unit.
"That piece of the HALT Act, the governor completely ignored in negotiations, and it's a mainstay of what they're asking for,” Walczyk said. “It's offensive to have someone who has acted out violently or they know is a threat – not just to corrections officers but also to other inmates in the facility.”
Hochul maintained Monday she would not repeal the piece of legislation unless the Legislature chooses to.
“I’m not pretending to be the king of the state or the queen of the state,” Hochul said. “I will follow the law until the Legislature choose[s] to make any changes.”
Walczyk did acknowledge the deal made headway in addressing staffing shortages in state correctional facilities.
“One of the good things that came out of this, (the deal) talked about some of the issues with staffing levels that, I think ... were appropriately responded to,” he said.
