Gov. Kathy Hochul has deployed 4,500 National Guard Troops to replace guards protesting dangerous working conditions at over 30 prisons across the state. Hundreds of corrections officers have walked off the job, citing staffing shortages, mandatory overtime, inadequate jail space due to prison closures, and other Albany policies they say are putting both guard and prisoner lives at risk.
Looking to keep jailers on the job, Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III issued a memo titled “Path to Restoring Workforce.” Among his actions, is the suspension of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act, a law detractors say eliminates an important tool for controlling violent inmates.
The commissioner also increased overtime pay to 2.5 times the regular rate for those staying on the job and offered amnesty to strikers who go back to work before midnight. The workers are calling for improvements to the officer work-life balance, including wage and staff increases, increased overtime pay, no overtime mandates over 16 hours, pay grade increases, increased mail security, and visitor body scans. They also want cuts to third-party vendors, a pilot program to incentivize new employees, and a $5,000 hiring bonus.
“The state of New York and the corrections commissioner have completely failed at their responsibilities,” declared Gerard Kassar, chairman of the New York Conservative Party and frequent critic of Gov. Hochul’s Progressive policies. “Laws such as the HALT Act are creating very dangerous environments in jails where you have extraordinarily violent criminals such as convicted murderers and rapists. The prisons are understaffed, and the officers are saying, ‘This isn’t about my salary; this is about whether I get to go home at night.’ Their concerns must be resolved as soon as possible.”
“Instead of sending in the National Guard, the governor should be sitting down with the legislators who saw this coming and repeal the laws that have made the situation in the jails so dangerous,” said Assemblyman Joe DeStefano, a 27-year veteran of the Suffolk Sheriff's Department. “Defund the police, cashless bail, putting criminal records off limits to employers, and the steady stream of anti-police rhetoric out of Albany do not help. We need to repeal the Progressive criminal justice ‘reforms’ before anyone else gets killed.”
“This is becoming a huge problem. The corrections officers are burning out because they have to work too many hours due to staffing shortages and overcrowded jails,” said Senator Mario Mattera, who is leading a legislative delegation to Sing Sing State Prison in Ossining to assess the situation. “These workers are already looking to find different occupations because they're losing their families over this. This is how bad it is,” Mattera said, “I’m hearing that the National Guard doesn’t even want to go in.”
“This is exactly what we warned against. It's going to reach a tipping point when you continue to take away the tools in their tool belt, to continue to take away things to keep them safe,” Senator Dean Murray said, noting that the Democrats also passed a law giving prisoners access to the personal information of the guards. “You don't think that's dangerous?” the Senator asked. “Wow.”
Officials are worried that the situation could result in another Attica Prison Uprising, a riot in 1971 that was one of the deadliest in U.S. history.
“We will continue to work with NYSCOPBA President Summers and his Executive Board through the agreed upon mediation process to address our ongoing recruitment, retention, and overall safety issues, as well as the legislature and other stakeholders,” Commissioner Martuscello said. “The safety and security of the staff and incarcerated population is paramount to me. I value the hard work and commitment of the men and women at DOCCS who have had to sacrifice time with their families due to the current staffing shortage. At this time, I am urging all those on strike to return to the facilities today in order to restore the safety and security to our facilities.”