New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order on Wednesday activating members of the National Guard to the state’s correctional facilities.
Why It Matters
The action comes as corrections officers at dozens of New York prisons are on strike to protest working conditions. The work stoppage is illegal under state law.
Daniel Martuscello, commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, appeared to suggest staff cuts in a February 10 internal memo to prison superintendents obtained by WKBW.
“The broader community is discussing that 70% of our original staffing model is the new 100%,” Martuscello wrote in the memo.
What To Know
Over 3,500 National Guard members have been deployed to support and supplement correctional staff to “ensure safety and security.” The members will assist with distributing meals and medication and help maintain order in facilities.
The executive order also authorized additional overtime compensation for corrections officers and other prison staff who are reporting for duty and working to secure the facilities.
“While I am confident we will resolve this illegal strike, I am grateful for the thousands of correction officers and staff that are continuing to report for duty – I thank them for their continued service and for doing the right thing,” Hochul said in a statement.
The governor also directed the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and the Office of Employee Relations to retain independent mediator Martin Scheinman to help bring an end to the stoppage.
The state also filed an injunction under the Taylor Law and a judge granted a temporary restraining order mandating officers on strike to cease illegal activity.
Taylor Law, a law that took effect in 1967, prohibits strikes by public employees.
What People Are Saying
Hochul, in a statement: “These disruptive and unsanctioned work stoppages by some correction officers must end as they are jeopardizing the safety of their colleagues, the prison population, and causing undue fear for the residents in the surrounding communities.”
New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), in a statement obtained by WTEN: “The staff that have gathered outside of both facilities, and who refused to enter the facility for their respective shifts, was not in any way sanctioned by NYSCOPBA. At both facilities, staff chose to not enter for their work shifts as a result of their discontentment with current working conditions.”
What Happens Next
Additional National Guard members are expected to report for duty in the coming days.
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