3 p.m. UPDATE:
Governor Kathy Hochul this afternoon announced preparations are underway to utilize the New York National Guard to protect correction officers who are currently on the job, inmates, and the communities surrounding these correctional facilities. The Governor also directed Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel Martuscello and senior Administration officials to meet with leaders from the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association to call for an end to the “unlawful work stoppage that is causing significant public safety concerns across New York.”
“The illegal and unlawful actions being taken by a number of correction officers must end immediately,” Governor Hochul said. “We will not allow these individuals to jeopardize the safety of their colleagues, incarcerated people, and the residents of communities surrounding our correctional facilities. I have directed my Administration to meet with union leadership to resolve this situation and have also ordered the National Guard be mobilized to secure our correctional facilities in the event it is not resolved by tomorrow. Correction officers do difficult work under challenging circumstances, and I have consistently fought for them to have better pay and working conditions and will continue to do so.”
Governor Hochul is preparing to deploy members of the New York National Guard to DOCCS facilities tomorrow if the unlawful work stoppage does not end, and will begin to take appropriate disciplinary action as necessary. The Governor has also directed her Counsel to work with the Office of the Attorney General on legal mechanisms such as the Taylor Law which will compel employees to return to work.
Correction officers across New York State are walking off the job in protest of what they say are unsafe working conditions, with strikes now reaching local facilities, including Auburn, Cayuga, and Five Points.
The strikes began Monday at Elmira and Collins correctional facilities and have rapidly spread. Unofficial reports suggest that officers from nearly two dozen state facilities have joined the protest as of today.
Finger Lakes Daily News has obtained a copy of the list of work demands being made by the Corrections Officers in order to return to their jobs:
Despite the growing movement, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the union representing correction officers, stated on Monday that it did not officially sanction the strikes. From Monday:
NYSCOPBA is keenly aware of the current situation at both Collins and Elmira Correctional Facilities. The staff that have gathered outside of both facilities and who refused to enter the facility for their respective shifts, was not in any way sanctioned by NYSCOPBA.
At both facilities, staff chose to not enter for their work shifts as a result of their discontentment with current working conditions.
NYSCOPBA will continue to monitor both situations and all inquiries on current staffing levels at both facilities should be directed to DOCCS.
The officers’ concerns center around staffing shortages, increased violence within facilities, and overall deteriorating conditions that they argue put both staff and inmates at risk. While state officials have yet to comment on the developing situation, the strikes highlight growing tensions within New York’s correctional system.
It remains unclear how long the strikes will last or what impact they may have on daily operations within the facilities.
This is a developing story.
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