Gov. Hochul: Prison officers who are continuing wildcat strike are being fired

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul began firing prison guards Monday as a statewide wildcat strike continued into its 15th day and the state attorney general began an investigation into the death of a prisoner during the labor unrest.

At least 10 correction officers were fired early Monday, thousands more lost their health care coverage and others will lose their state pensions, state officials said.

The strike continues at 32 of the state’s 42 prisons, down from 38 prisons a week ago, said Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III. The statewide strike continues despite the warning by state officials that Monday was the last chance for striker guards to return to work avoid sanctions, such as losing health care for their families.

"A large number of staff across the state continue to remain on strike with more staff returning to duty each and every day," Martuscello said.

About 8,000 correction officers including sergeants continued to strike late Monday, according to the corrections department.

Concerning the inmate death, state officials wouldn't say if it was directly related to the strike.

"We made referrals to outside, independent investigators," said prisons Commissioner Daniel Martuscello on Monday. "We have placed staff on administrative leave and we have to wait for the investigation to unfold." He wouldn’t comment further.

The death was at the Mid-State Correctional Facility near Utica. On Dec. 9, a prisoner died at nearby Marcy Correctional Facility after a beating caught on video. Corrections officers face murder and manslaughter charges in the death of Robert Brooks.

Neither Hochul nor the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or the correction officers’ union would say how many guards continue to refuse to work. The strikers have said the issues include low staffing, violence from prisoners and mandatory overtime work,

Hochul at a morning news conference said the strike violates the state’s Taylor Law that prohibits most state workers from striking and disrupting public services.

"People are being fired, they lost their health insurance today, and a lot are going to lose their pensions," Hochul said Monday.

Inside the prisons, she said, "Things are calm ... a number [of officers] came back over the weekend."

Hochul has deployed more than 7,000 National Guard troops to protect state workers in the prisons providing meals and medication, the correction officers who went to work, and prisoners.

A week ago, 12,500 correction officers were engaged in the unauthorized strike at 38 of 42 prisons, with 1,500 officers on the job.

As of Monday state officials estimated the strike has cost $25 million and will cost the state $106,000 a month as it continues.

Hochul announced an agreement Friday between the state and the New York State Corrections Officers and Police Benevolent Association union over measures sought by the wildcat strikers. But Hochul said many correction officers ignored the deal and the warning that further action would be taken against them if they didn’t report to work on Monday.

"We structured a solution with the union Friday night," Hochul said Monday. Some "people decided, ‘We’d rather stay out.’ ... that was their choice."

Friday’s deal refused the top demand of the strikers: To end use of a law called the HALT Act. That state law limits the use of solitary confinement as punishment, which the strikers through spokesmen said was resulting in more violence against guards.

"I am not going to stand here and unilaterally overturn a law that was passed by elected officials," Hochul told reporters. "I will follow the law until the legislature makes changes."

The 2021 Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act required prisons to limit the time a prisoner can spent in solitary or segregated confinement as punishment. The measure also requires "therapeutic and rehabilitative confinement options" and requires that "a prisoner be treated with respect."

Supporters say the measure, patterned after a federal law, is more effective and safer for prisoners and correction officers.

Before the HALT Act, prisoners were confined up to 23 hours a day over days, months, even years. Under the HALT Act, solitary confinement is limited to 17 hours per day and generally limited to 15 straight days or 20 days in a 60-day period.

Friday’s agreement between the state and the union relaxed an element of the HALT Act to provide "career services," which was blamed for driving some of the mandated overtime work.

Correction officers have been required to work shifts as long as 24 hours in the prisons, which state officials acknowledge are understaffed.

Friday’s agreement includes a plan to "work toward" eliminating mandatory 24-hour shifts; $100 extra pay for voluntary overtime shifts on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays; $750 per employee paid by the state when overtime work is mandated outside the labor agreement; allowing retirees to temporarily work "certain functions"; suspending the HALT Act when a prison’s staff vacancy exceeds 30%; better screening of mail before it reaches prisoners to test for illegal or prohibited substances; a $3,000 bonus for referring new job candidates; review of salaries requested by the union; a new definition of "assault" that better track attacks on staff; and a promise that the state won’t pursue "any further administrative discipline beyond the Taylor Law."

"We took a step back, a little breather," Hochul said the Friday agreement. "Those who stayed on the job, God Bless them. They are my heroes, as are the National Guard." 

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.