Latest news with #DanielF.MartuscelloIII
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New York corrections commissioner defends early release plans for some with nonviolent convictions
Apr. 2—ALBANY — State leaders are defending their decision to offer early release to people held in state prisons, and their approach to rebuilding the state prison security staff ranks after losing more than 2,000 corrections officers over a strike that ended in mid-March. On Wednesday, Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III, told reporters in the state Capitol that the decision to offer early release to nonviolent offenders between 15 and 110 days from their judicial release date was a targeted move to try to right-size a prison system running with at least 4,000 fewer COs than it is supposed to have. Martuscello said he doesn't have a target for the number of incarcerated people to release early, but review of prisoner rolls is ongoing. He said there are about 700 names being considered, and there will be fewer than 700 released. "We've taken a very narrowly focused approach to this to make sure we're balancing the staffing crisis with preserving public safety by eliminating certain crimes like A1 and A2 offenses, other than non-drug, violent felony offenses, and any sex offenses are not eligible for this whatsoever, so it's really just non-violent felony offenses that are already approved to go out the door within the next 90 days," he said. Martuscello has clear authority to extend these early releases, under the terms of Corrections Law 92. He could expand the early release terms to include a number of offenses and incarcerated people with up to a year left on their sentences. The conditions within the state prisons are suboptimal — 34 of the 42 open state prisons still have a contingent of National Guard troops stationed to pick up shifts left open by a lack of staff. Roughly 8,200 National Guard troops have been mobilized for prisons since the strikes, with a peak of 7,000 troops deployed at one time. Currently, more than 2,400 National Guard troops are stationed in state prisons, and 3,400 are deployed in total for all purposes. The National Guard troops are being transitioned to a "voluntary mission" wherein individual troops can request to be spun down from their deployment, but there is an expectation that there will be at least some contingent of National Guard troops in the prisons for the next few months at least. The state has also authorized extra pay for those who continue to work in the prisons. There are about 10,000 security staff working in the state prisons as of today, down from the nearly 14,000 that were at work as recently as February. The state prisons need about 16,000 officers to run the facilities safely, the department has said. Martuscello didn't have a timeline for when the National Guard will be pulled from the state prisons. That is ultimately up to the governor, and until the prisons have hired enough security staff without asking COs to work 24 hour shifts, they will remain. There is also a plan to close up to five state prisons this year, to consolidate the incarcerated population and also consolidate security staff headcounts. Martuscello said that decision came after the strike began and it became clear the state would be losing more COs this year. The commissioner said he has not weighed sending prisoners to out-of-state prisons to right-size the population with the security staff available, but has moved people between state facilities for that purpose. And the state prisons are still not accepting new inmates from county jails. It has been more than a month since someone held at a county jail has been sent to a state prison, and Martuscello kept the door open to extending that moratorium for much longer. "We recently just extended the moratorium to April 21, so we will be doing that," he said. "We'll take a look at that as we approach that date." REPUBLICAN REACTION The state Republican conference is overwhelmingly critical of Democratic Gov. Kathleen C. Hohcul and DOCCS for the decisions they've made in the past few weeks and months. On Wednesday, a handful of upstate Republican Assembly members who represent prison communities or sit on the Assembly Corrections Committee hosted a press conference where they denounced the early release order. "The corrections department seems to be focused on the problems, not the solutions," said Assemblyman Scott A. Gray, R-Watertown. He said the prisons have undergone a rapid decline, and worker safety has been rapidly degraded with apparently little action from the state. "We work hard to make sure all our employees have workplace safety, we work hard to make sure that they are safe, troopers at work with the Move Over Law, we make sure that our DOT people are safe with work-zone safety measures, but what happens when our corrections officers ask for workplace safety? We tell them 'no.'" he said. Gray and his GOP colleagues said there are other ways to solve the staffing issues without releasing people early from the prisons . They asked the governor to reconsider the ban on rehiring any of the 2,000 COs fired after the strike ended in mid-March, and especially to reconsider the firm rules applied to who was fired. When the strike ended, COs were given a deadline of 6:45 a.m. on March 10 to return to work or start the termination process. Some officers returned to work on Monday but after the morning deadline, and others were unable to because they were taking pre-scheduled time off. Those fired were fired whether or not they were on approved time off on the March 10 deadline, but Republicans said they think Hochul and DOCCS should weaken the terms of that firing and allow at least some of the fired COs back to work. "The solutions are right in front of us, and it's inept that we cannot arrive at some meaningful solution to these problems," Gray said. The Republicans were largely critical of a recent package of legislative language that Hochul has started to push regarding prisons. Sources with knowledge of ongoing negotiations between Hochul and the legislature's leaders have confirmed that the governor is now seeking a new proposal to boost CO headcounts, reduce workloads and increase the number of people released from prison. According to those sources, Hochul is seeking a legislative change to allow people as young as 18 to be hired as COs, expand virtual court hearings to limit inmate movements and expand good behavior time credits to get well-behaved inmates out of prison faster. Sen. Mark C. Walczyk, R-Watertown, said there are a number of reasons he is opposed to that push. Firstly, this proposal is coming after the state budget is already officially late, and is being pushed with none of the usual review, hearings or public input that budgets and state laws are supposed to get. "We have public hearings on the governor's presentation of the budget, the Senate and Assembly answer the governor's budget with their own budgets, there's public dialogue about the proposals in the budget," he said. "You're talking about things that are added in, possibly late after all the process, after the budget has been late, not negotiated in public, not seeking feedback from the public or all the interested parties here. We've seen every single time they do this, it has disastrous impacts." Walczyk said he is also opposed to the idea of 18-, 19- and 20-year-old people working in state prisons. "There's good reason corrections officers have to be 21, it takes a certain level of maturity and physical stature to be a corrections officer," he said. He said he hasn't yet had a chance to consult the state CO union, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, or other stakeholders on the issue, but he knows that the union and other prison safety advocates have not previously asked for a lower hiring age for COs. "I have a lot of concerns about sending teenagers in with convicted felons," he said. Walczyk said he is open to expanded virtual court hearings, which advocates including NYSCOPBA union members have asked for in the past. The idea is that virtual court hearings would reduce extraordinary movements of incarcerated people and would allow more COs to focus on prison-centric tasks rather than security for transportation. But the expanded good behavior time rewards aren't a good idea in Walczyk's book. He said it's another attempt to reduce criminal penalties in New York. "We've seen in the past, criminals who are released early, who are out on parole and supposed to be supervised, who violate their parole, they passed Less is More, which means they can violate their parole and not go back to prison," he said. "They continue to re-criminalize and re-victimize our communities."
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
State declares CO strike over
DANNEMORA — The grounds outside Clinton Correctional Facility looked much different Monday than they have the past three weeks. Instead of hundreds of correction officers huddling around fires, holding makeshift signs denouncing the state's treatment of them and receiving food deliveries from supportive members of the community, the parking lot across the street from Clinton Correctional was empty for the first time since before Feb. 17 — when the strike began. State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Daniel F. Martuscello III declared Monday afternoon that the strike was over, and that about 10,000 of the 13,500 officers in the state had returned to work. Monday's developments occurred after an agreement on paper was reached between the state and the correction officer's union, the New York State Correction Officers Police Benevolent Association, over the weekend. It had remained to be seen whether or not staff would return to work. THRESHOLD An 'agreement' was previously reached on Feb. 27, but the strike continued on. However, this time, it played out differently after the state set an early Monday morning deadline to return to work. 'The agreement will take effect upon at least 85 percent of staff returning to work,' a statement issued Saturday night said. James Miller, Director of Public Relations for NYSCOPBA, said Monday morning he did not have an official tally of those who went back to work. 'Received multiple inquiries this morning on the number of officers who returned to work at the deadline today,' he said by email. 'No numbers yet on how many returned to work. I will hopefully have a better sense by early afternoon. More than likely, we won't put out a statement until we know if the threshold was met.' 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. Officers across the state have been on a wildcat strike not sanctioned by the union for three weeks. They have been demanding safer conditions inside prisons. They are seeking more staffing, less double and triple shifts, better screening for packages and visitors to keep contraband out, a repeal to HALT. The state has threatened to fire striking officers and suspended health insurance coverage for them and their families. The National Guard has been called in to help those officers who have been reporting for work, cover prisons. THANKED THE STAFF Martuscello said the National Guard and the officers who have been working deserve credit. 'I want to thank the staff that have worked hard every day of this strike,' he said. 'Your being there was critical for this challenging 22 days.' While it appears that officers at Clinton Correctional Facility and Altona Correctional Facility have largely returned to work, there reportedly were still large numbers of officers picketing at prisons in Malone in Franklin County. Martuscello said that the state would be terminating about 2,000 officers who did not return to work, immediately. LEGAL AID SOCIETY While Martuscello touted the end of the strike, the Legal Aid Society said it was not happy about the deal reached, and threatened legal action. 'Although Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III and NYSCOPBA leadership have signed an agreement aimed at ending the illegal strike, the threat to incarcerated New Yorkers persists. Without a clear plan to swiftly restore essential services, resume legal and family visits, provide medical care neglected during the strike, and implement strong oversight to prevent retaliation by returning correctional staff, the people we serve in DOCCS facilities across the state will continue to face life-threatening harm,' a statement from the Legal Aid Society said Monday. 'Compounding these concerns, DOCCS has doubled down on a purported 'suspension' of HALT, the vague terms of which threaten a boundless and illegal circumvention of critical legal protections for incarcerated New Yorkers. All incarcerated New Yorkers, their families, friends, and communities, deserve to know what DOCCS is doing to comply with HALT, and we are going to court to ensure they have that clarity.' The Legal Aid Society said it will continue to closely monitor this situation to ensure the well-being of those they represent and safeguard their legal rights. JONES WANTS SAFETY State Assemblyman D. Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) a former correction officer himself, said he will remain committed to fighting for workplace safety at correctional facilities across the state. 'What is happening at correctional facilities is horrible and it should have never come to this,' Jones said. 'No one wants to see anyone lose their job for protecting workplace safety. All we want is for everyone to return to work under safe conditions.'
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Commissioner: Remaining prison strikers terminated
PLATTSBURGH — In an eight-minute news conference, state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III declared the three-week correction officers strike was over. 'The governor and I are happy to report it has now ended,' Martuscello said Monday afternoon via a Zoom news conference with media from across the state. 'We have welcomed over 5,000 correction officers and correction sergeants back, including over 1,200 today. We now have over 10,000 security staff working or available to work in our prisons across the state, and we're going to move forward with this team after four different agreements and numerous communications outlining the potential consequences associated with this illegal strike.' Martuscello said termination letters have been sent to over 2,000 people who remained on strike, officers and sergeants who did not have pre-approved medical leave and did not return by the Monday 6:45 a.m. deadline. They have been terminated effective immediately, he said. The state and the officer's union, the New York State Correction Officers Police Benevolent Association, reached a deal this past Saturday that called for at least 85 percent of the workforce to return to work by Monday. 'While we did not meet the threshold for return to work to trigger the deal that was negotiated between the state and NYSCOPBA, I'm still committed to providing some of the critical changes and benefits to my employees, to support our workforce,' Martuscello said. 'The governor and I are committing to honor the March 6 memorandum of understanding, including the HALT committee, the 90-day HALT program suspension, the 12-hour shifts that will be maintained during this emergency as we continue our transition, 2.5 times overtime for 30 days from March 6 for all strike related staff, the Civil Service reevaluation of the reallocation for both titles of correction officer and correction sergeants to be completed within two months, no discipline under the collective bargaining agreement.' Taylor Law penalties will remain in place, he said. The state will also continue to rescind the commissioner's memo regarding a reduction in staff to 70 percent, and it will pursue legal mail scanning to ensure that they can cut off contraband coming into the system and make for a safer work environment. Also, the National Guard will remain in place in a support position under the governor's direction, and health insurance that was suspended for officers and their families will be reinstated immediately upon the staff's return to work. The state will also allow employees to purchase health insurance covering the full state share and employee share to the first day of the (strike) when the health insurance was terminated. RECOVER, REBUILD 'It's time to recover, rebuild and recruit,' Martuscello said. Martuscello said that as of Monday, there were about 10,000 correction officers out of the roughly 13,500 officers that were working before the strike that had come back to work. He said prisons will be maintained by utilizing 12-hour shifts to ensure that people aren't working 24-hour shifts and begin to slowly reopen and get back to a 'new normal.' 'I want to talk directly to my employees,' he said. 'I want you to know that I heard you. Your safety, your family, your work-life balance are important to me, and I'm committed to continue to listen to your voices as we move forward. It is time to turn the page.' Martuscello said the state will 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.' 'At the same time, we're launching an aggressive recruitment and rebuilding campaign aimed at restructuring and strengthening DOCCS. We are committed to building a dedicated, resilient workforce and attracting the next generation of correctional leaders.'
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Another prison agreement reached on paper
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.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Another prison agreement reached on paper
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.
