Gov. Kathy Hochul is preparing to send the National Guard into state prisons as unsanctioned strikes and protests by corrections officers spread to more than two dozen facilities across the state.
The governor on Tuesday pledged to mobilize the soldiers to “secure our correctional facilities” if the work stoppages aren’t ended, calling the strikes “illegal and unlawful” and directing her administration to meet with union leadership.
The strikes — which a corrections officers union spokesperson said were not sanctioned by the union — began Monday at prisons in western New York and the Southern Tier, with officers holding signs decrying what they call unsafe working conditions inside the facilities. Some provided the state with a list of demands that include a boost in staffing levels and the repeal of a 2021 state law limiting the use of solitary confinement.
By Tuesday afternoon, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said the “illegal job actions” had spread to 25 of the prison system’s 42 facilities. Hochul gave the corrections officers until Wednesday to return to the job before sending the National Guard in.
"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 in a statement.
As the work stoppages spread, the state canceled visitations at eight prisons across the state as of Tuesday afternoon, including the Elmira, Attica, Auburn, Five Points, Upstate, Clinton, Wende and Eastern NY correctional facilities, according to DOCCS.
The state Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association declined immediate comment on Hochul’s pledge to send in troops.
On Monday, association spokesperson Jimmy Miller said the union was “keenly aware” of the work stoppages, but did not sanction them “in any way.”
“At both facilities, staff chose to not enter for their work shifts as a result of their discontentment with current working conditions,” Miller said in a statement.
Hochul’s decision to mobilize National Guard troops drew condemnation from state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a Buffalo-area Republican.
Ortt, an Army National Guard veteran, said sending troops into prisons is “not the best use of these brave New Yorkers.”
“Deploying our National Guard makes this situation even more dangerous,” Ortt said. “As a former member of the New York National Guard, I have the highest regard for these soldiers. However this is not what they are trained for.”
The strikes come during what has been a tumultuous period in the New York state prison system, which has 42 facilities that house more than 33,000 incarcerated people.
In December, 43-year-old Robert Brooks was beaten to death by officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility near Utica, spurring a wave of suspensions and the appointment of a special prosecutor to bring expected charges. Brooks’ death was captured on body cameras and spurred a national outcry, leading some lawmakers — and Brooks’ father — to call for major reform within the prison system.
A medical examiner ruled Brooks’ death a homicide.
Corrections officers have decried what they say are unsafe conditions for staff in New York prisons, in part because of understaffing concerns. State data shows the reported number of assaults on corrections officers and staff has climbed in recent years, from about 1,000 in 2019 to more than 2,000 last year.
Earlier this month, the officers’ union voted “no confidence” in state Corrections Commissioner Daniel Martuscello. A couple days later, the commissioner issued an internal memo obtained by news outlets that spoke of ongoing difficulties in recruiting new corrections officers, saying that the “broader [prison] community is discussing that 70% of our original staffing model is the new 100%.”
In a statement, Martuscello said he met with the union’s president and executive board Tuesday “to discuss a path forward to returning all facilities to normal operations and ending this illegal strike.”
“There is always room for progress and for disagreements and we welcome continued dialogue with the union at the table,” the commissioner said. “At this time, I am urging all those on strike to end this job action.”
