New York state officials warned prison guards who are still participating in an ongoing wildcat strike Sunday to get back on the job — or prepare to be out of one — in an apparent last-ditch effort to end the illegal work stoppage.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision revealed termination notices have started going out to correction officers who have been on strike for more than 11 straight work days — and introduced a new policy to slow the flow of contraband.
The aggressive approach comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office and the guards’ union reached a deal with the help of a mediator last week in hopes of ending the work stoppage that has reached more than 30 prisons in the state after guards walked off the job on Feb. 17 over unsafe working conditions.
The deal suspended elements of the HALT Act, a controversial reform law meant to limit solitary confinement that’s been fiercely criticized by correction officers who say it makes conditions in the jails more dangerous.
However, the agreement — which also includes a promise to reduce excessive overtime shifts — still needs striking guards’ buy-in.
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, which brokered the deal, hasn’t backed the correction officers’ unsanctioned work stoppage and off-the-job guards believe the union is not representing their interests.
Three days after the agreement was struck, the state DOCCS shared on social media that termination notices would soon hit mailboxes.
“We did not take any action during the mediation out of respect for our employees and their families,” the state DOCCS wrote.
“Today we are forced to take action to enforce our laws and collective bargaining agreement. Terminations of Officers who have been AWOL for more than 11 consecutive shifts have begun.”
DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello, in another note, said any guard who is not back to work Monday would lose their healthcare dating back to the first day of the strike.
Additionally, they would not be eligible for COBRA, which gives workers and their families the ability to continue their health benefits for a limited time after losing a job.
“I want you to come back to work today,” Martuscello said on X.
“If you missed your shift, you should still report, and know that we will continue to have an open dialogue on making facilities safer places to work.”
Late Sunday night, the state department also announced it was implementing body imaging scanning for any prison visitors in a bid to stop contraband, including weapons and drugs, from entering facilities.
Those who refuse body scanning will have non-contact visits with the inmate they are seeing, the agency said.
While some guards were back on the job over the weekend, many continued to picket.
An informal memo opposing the deal between the union and Hochul and being spread by unsatisfied guards argued the agreement “does not solve the crisis; it merely delays it,” the Times Union reported.
“Until the state commits to genuine reforms, the problems that led to this strike will persist — and officers will not stand for that,” the memo reportedly reads.
“We urge the state to return to negotiations with a genuine commitment to long-term solutions. Until then, this agreement cannot be accepted.”
Thousands of National Guard troops have been called on to help staff the jails during the strike as inmates have been more confined to their cells due to the employee shortage.
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