Corrections Officers In Elmira & Other Locations On Strike

[Twin Tiers Living 558]

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The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision posted a letter it says is being sent to striking officers, terminating the employment of those who have missed more than ten consecutive days of work.

The certified letter is dated Sunday, March 2nd. It notifies corrections officers that their absence is unauthorized, and a "satisfactory explanation" for the absence was not given. Therefore, they are deemed to have resigned their position as a corrections officer, effective Sunday. 

It's not known how many corrections officers are receiving the termination letter. As of Sunday, many officers remained on the strike line, both at Elmira Correctional Facility and dozens of others across the state.

 

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[Twin Tiers Living 558]

This is more state related, but ties into the current prison system issues.

[Beekeeper 91]

On 2/26/2025 at 5:17 PM, Kevin said:

Agree with the strike or not, this is still I saw. 

someone said that 1 guard has been killed by inmates in the last 30 or 40 years, but something like 33 inmates died at the hands of guards in the last couple years.

Another person said the inmates are tired of the treatment they received from the guards and that's why they are lashing out.

What makes no sense to me is they are complaining they are understaffed by refusing to go to work, this making the issue worse.

Personally I would love to see a state level equivalent of Ronald Reagan with the air traffic controllers of the 80s.

I am with you.  As a teacher, I have never been allowed to strike.  They are public employees too.  If enough quit, changes will have to be made.

[Twin Tiers Living 558]

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The state Department of Corrections has begun firing and fining corrections officers who have not returned to work as the prison wildcat strike enters its third week.

Less than 10 officers have been terminated, and more than 350 officers are facing civil contempt charges that are being filed by the state Attorney General’s office, officials said.

The state’s shift to punitive measures comes after a tentative deal struck between the state and New York’s corrections union late Thursday failed to sway hundreds of striking officers to return to work. The strike, officials said, has so far cost the state $25 million.

Corrections officers received notices Saturday warning that strikers would have their health insurance coverage cancelled for them and their families effective Monday. Additionally, the department wrote in text messages to officers, stating that “those that continue to participate in this illegal strike” would be subject to imprisonment.

At a news conference on Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said striking corrections officers rejected the deal that their union agreed to.

“People decided, ‘Well, we’d rather stay out on the line,’” she said. “That was their choice. It was not the union’s position.”

 

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[MsKreed 1,689]

The deadline for the latest Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between DOCCS and NYSCOPBA was today. (here)

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Eighty-five percent (85%) of the pre-strike fill level of employees (less those who resigned since the start of the strike) need to return to work, and continue to work, in order for the provisions of this MOA to be operational as follows: at or before 6:45 a.m. on March 10, 2025 for all employees.

Several thousand COs and sergeants returned, but they did not reach the 85% threshold for the agreement to be in force. 

The Commissioner announced that approximately 2,000 NYSCOPBA members who did not return to duty have been fired. 

Although the State has said they plan to implement some of the agreed upon measures....there aren't any legal guarantees for those who went back because the MOA isn't binding without the 85% compliance. 

 

The full press conference: 

 

[Twin Tiers Living 558]

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Roughly 75% of corrections officers have returned to their posts, effectively ending a three-week wildcat strike that prompted lockdowns at facilities around the state, the head of the New York state prison system said.

New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Dan Martuscello said about 10,000 officers and sergeants had returned to work — including more than 1,200 on Monday. There were around 13,500 officers and sergeants working in the prison system before officers first walked off the job on Feb. 17.

“It is time to turn the page,” Martuscello said Monday evening. “We'll start with a high-energy recruitment campaign moving forward with a clear focus on stabilizing and resuming operations while ensuring safety and security in our facilities.”

Public employee strikes are illegal, and the state is firing more than 2,000 employees who refused to return to work, he said. Thousands of National Guard personnel will remain in prisons to support corrections staff, Martuscello said.

That will allow corrections officers to work 12-hour shifts rather than 24-hour shifts and let facilities “get back to a new normal,” he said.

 

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[MsKreed 1,689]

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Any worker who continued to participate in the wildcat strike at prisons across New York after Monday's agreement with the state will no longer be able to be hired at any state service job, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who announced Tuesday that she signed an executive order putting the ban into effect.

The executive order also recommends these workers be removed from the Central Registry of Police and Peace Officers for cause. It means they would also be prevented from being hired as a police or peace officer in state and local jurisdictions.

Source: Gov. Hochul bans state hiring of any worker terminated in prison worker strike

And I absolutely love my AI results to create an image of her....

 

[Twin Tiers Living 558]

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Former state correction officers who were terminated as a result of the wildcat strike that ended on March 10 will now be eligible for hire in local government positions on or after April 10.

New York Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray issued letters to state and local officials last week about the lift on a temporary hiring ban.

 

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