BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York State leaders say the state is poised to spend $106 million per month in response to the ongoing corrections officers strike. Already, they say this strike has cost the state $25 million, with nearly three dozen prisons still operating with striking workers.
Today, the state is terminating health insurance for absent without leave corrections officers and their dependents. State leaders say "only a handful...less than ten COs" have been terminated. Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray says they were AWOL for ten work days and missed the 11th shift. Missing the 11th shift is what prompted the termination.
Officers are on strike over safety issues inside state prisons. They do not feel working conditions are safe. COs are demanding the HALT Act, which deals with solitary confinement, be repealed before they get back to work.
In what is the first question-and-answer press conference since the strike started two weeks ago, Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III said, as part of the agreement between the state and NYSCOPBA, the union representing corrections officers, the HALT Act was dealt with in two ways:
- a 90-day suspension, under authority granted by law
- "circuit breaker, using staffing in facility to determine if its safe to operate or if there's a facility wide emergency," Martuscello said.
He said some issues fell outside the scope of mediation.
"In terms of repealing the law or making specific changes on terms of what conduct constitutes being able to be placed in a special housing unit or restricted housing, those are things I have no ability to change, Marticello said. "That would require the legislature to do so."
When asked why Governor Kathy Hochul can't just repeal the HALT Act with an Executive order, Marticello said, "In terms of the Executive Order, the legislature can override an executive order with 50% plus one, so therefore there's really no change we can immediately make to the HALT Act, other than to go to the legislature to make changes."
Meantime, the state has mobilized 7,000 men and women from the New York National Guard and has 5,300 "boots on the ground" inside state prisons while corrections officers are on strike.
With an agreement between New York State and NYSCOPBA, the state says the strike is over. Under the Taylor Law,
Within sixty days of the termination of a strike, the chief executive officer of the government involved shall prepare and make public a report in writing, which shall contain the following information:
(a) the circumstances surrounding the commencement of the strike,
(b) the efforts used to terminate the strike,
(c) the names of those public employees whom the public officer or body had reason to believe were responsible for causing, instigating or encouraging the strike and (d) related to the varying degrees of individual responsibility, the sanctions imposed or proceedings pending against each such individual public employee.
It's unclear when that report will be published.
