Another prison agreement reached on paper

Yahoo

09-03-2025

PLATTSBURGH — After what looked like another round of negotiations going nowhere, the state and correction officers union reached another deal on paper to end the three-week wildcat strike.
All that remains to be seen is whether the rank and file members who have been picketing since Feb. 17 will return to work by the prescribed deadline of Monday, March 10, at 6:45 a.m.
'DOCCS (the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision) is confirming that the parties have reached a mutual agreement that will return staff to work on Monday, March 10 at 6:45 a.m.,' a statement issued Saturday night read.
'The agreement will take effect upon at least 85 percent of staff returning to work.'
DEAL ITEMS
The deal appears to include most of the same items that were agreed upon in previous rounds of negotiations.
A suspension of the Humane Alternatives to Long Term Incarceration Act for 90 days with review to follow, changes in scheduling to alleviate overtime and double and triple shifts, improved screening procedures and limited or no discipline for striking officers.
The deal was signed by DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III, Office of Employee Relations Director Michael Volforte and New York State Correction Officers Police Benevolent Association President Chris Summers.
There was no word Saturday night from striking rank and file officers on the picket lines.
One section of the latest agreement addressed, 'Strike-Related Discipline and Other Actions.'
• a. DOCCS shall not issue notices of discipline under the collective bargaining agreement for an employee who engaged in the strike, provided the employee returned to work by the deadline and in accordance with Section 12 of the MOA.
• b. This does not apply to employees who engaged in criminal or illegal activity separate and distinct from strike participation. For example, employees who engaged in vandalism or violence will receive notices of discipline for such misconduct.
• c. DOCCS will rescind probationary terminations issued to striking employees and reinstate any employee who resigned or was deemed resigned under Article 14.10 as a result of the strike upon that employee's request when they return to work. If these individuals do not comply with Section 12 at any time, they will be immediately deemed resigned. The employee shall have the opportunity to submit evidence of compliance with Section 12 within 48 hours of receiving notice of noncompliance from the employer.
• d. DOCCS will take the necessary steps to adjourn Taylor Law contempt proceedings against individual employees who return to work by the deadline and as set forth in Section 12 of this MOA. Once these individuals have returned to work, DOCCS will move to terminate such proceedings.
• e. Health Insurance – The State will reinstate, effective immediately and retroactive to the first date of absence, the health insurance of any employee whose coverage was terminated—provided the employee pays the Cobra rate for such coverage for the period of termination and returns to work by the deadline as set forth in Section 12 of this MOA. However, an employee is not required to pay the Cobra rate if they elect not to have their health insurance restored to that date. NYSCOPBA must withdraw the health insurance litigation without prejudice.
The provisions of this section do not include any Taylor Law deductions pursuant to Civil Service Law 210 for any employee who engaged in the strike.
LATEST
The latest deal came several hours after a round of negotiations between the state and the correction officers union appeared to have failed Friday night and into Saturday morning.
In a memo Saturday to all members of NYSCOPBA, the union that represents about 14,000 correction officers, the union said that a negotiation session that began at 8 p.m. Friday night ended around 1:15 a.m. Saturday without a deal.
'Unfortunately, negotiations ended poorly due to the state's refusal to ensure that health insurance coverage would be made retroactive to the date of AWOL (absent without leave) for those who had their coverage terminated,' the memo said in part.
'NYSCOPBA insisted that this must be part of any agreement arrived at between the parties. The state was adamant that it would not move off if its position. We then asked to bring back the mediator to help resolve this issue, at which point, the state terminated negotiations.'
Saturday marked the 20th day of the strike. The officers are demanding safer working conditions inside prisons before they go back to work.
At the top of their list of concerns are a lack of staffing, being forced to work double and triple shifts and inadequate measures to keep troublesome contraband out. They also want a repeal to HALT, which strictly limits which inmates and for how long they can be sent to Special Housing for egregious infractions.
Officers and the union have been pointing to the significant increase in inmate on inmate and inmate on officer assaults since HALT was enacted in March of 2022.
With the majority of officers out on the picket line, state prisons have been run by officers that have shown up for work and members of the National Guard, which were called to action by Gov. Kathy Hochul early on in the strike.
The state and union leadership struck a deal last week after several sessions with a mediator, but the rank and file members did not feel it was strong enough and many of them stayed on strike.
The state has threatened to fire striking officers and remove their health insurance benefits and even arrest some officers.
MORE TALKS
Another round of negotiations were held this week via Zoom between representatives from the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and actual striking officers from each prison.
A deal was close, but still not quite what the rank and file members wanted, and the union leadership refused to sign off on it.
Some officers did return to work by the Friday deadline etched out in that deal, but the picket line was still quite crowded at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on Friday.
On Saturday, there were still many officers picketing at Clinton Correctional, but a much smaller number appeared outside Altona Correctional Facility, a medium security prison in Altona.
Saturday's memo from NYSCOPBA said that the union leadership must continue to condemn the strike and demand that all staff immediately return to work while the union continues to fight.
'Our plan moving forward, unless or until the state returns to the table with a reasonable offer, is to direct that members return to the facility while NYSCOPA continues to file the lawsuits necessary to protect membership rights,' the memo said.
The memo also said the union would be filing suits against the cancelation of health insurance for members and other acts by the state.
'Our law firm is working diligently to file a direct dealing improper practice charge and injunction against DOCCS and Commissioner (Daniel) Martuscello after his failed attempt to pit membership against one another and impose his MOA (memorandum of understanding) yesterday evening,' the memo said.
There was no word from NYSCOPBA Saturday night after the latest agreement was released.