Gov. Hochul warns correction officers to end strike at a number of upstate prisons

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul said that if an unauthorized strike by correction officers doesn’t end Wednesday, she will send in National Guard troops to protect workers, prisoners and the communities around the prisons.

The strike by some correction officers at a growing number of the state’s 42 prisons statewide entered its second day on Tuesday. Correction officers have mounted the work stoppage over working conditions, including safety and mandatory overtime, according to the officers union.

The work stoppages aren’t authorized or condoned by the union, said James Miller, spokesman for the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association.

Union leaders are meeting with state officials over the issue, Hochul said.

"The illegal and unlawful actions being taken by a number of correction officers must end immediately," Hochul said in a written statement. "We will not allow these individuals to jeopardize the safety of their colleagues, incarcerated people and the residents of communities surrounding our correctional facilities."

Hochul said Tuesday that National Guard troops would be deployed to "secure our correctional facilities in the event it is not resolved by tomorrow." She said that if the work stoppage doesn’t end, strikers will face disciplinary action for staging an illegal strike.

More than half the state’s prisons have been hit with work stoppages, according to reports by North Country Public Radio. The staff shortages have resulted in some canceled visitation hours and college classes, according to the reports.

The strike comes two months after video captured a beating by correction officers that left a shackled prisoner dead at the Marcy Correctional Facility near Utica. Hochul has called for more body cameras and other measures to ensure prisoners' safety.

The union has called for greater safety for correction officers by repealing the HALT Act, which the union blames in part for the rise in violent incidents.

The 2021 Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, known as the HALT Act, restricts the use, duration and circumstances of solitary confinement as a punishment for misbehavior. The act requires greater use of more therapeutic and rehabilitative programs.

Before the HALT Act, prisoners could be sent to solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day for days, months or years, according to state records. HALT reduced that to 17 hours per day and 15 consecutive days.

"The HALT Act has emboldened violent inmates while putting our brave officers in danger," said Assemb. David DiPietro (R-East Aurora) in a written statement Tuesday. He said correction officers are working double and triple shifts because of staff shortages before this week’s work stoppages, creating a crisis in prisons.

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.