Latest news with #NYSCOPBA
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOCCS will rehire some of the 2,000 corrections officers fired after wildcat strike
May 9—Despite Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul's pledge not to rehire any of the 2,000 corrections officers her administration fired in March at the end of a 22-day wildcat strike, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is moving to do just that for a limited number of officers. A spokesperson for DOCCS confirmed that negotiations are ongoing through the grievance process outlined in the collective bargaining agreement the department has with the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, the union representing corrections officers and sergeants. "Employees that were terminated have subsequently filed grievances under the collective bargaining agreement," the spokesperson said. "As a result of these grievances, the department has begun holding individual meetings as required under the contract, some of which have resulted in settlement agreements for a limited number of former employees to return to work." The DOCCS spokesperson said the department is handling about 600 grievance hearings related to terminations, noting that a hearing doesn't mean the CO will receive an invitation to return to work, and not all COs offered a chance to return will take it. That's a departure from the governor's position from March, immediately after the strike ended. After weeks of negotiations and back-and-forth, Hochul's administration offered an ultimatum to the thousands of COs still on strike in the second week of March. They offered a "memorandum of understanding," a binding agreement between DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III and the security staff that the department would make significant changes, reduce reliance on officer overtime, improve security measures for visitors and legal mail, spin up a committee to recommend changes to state laws on solitary confinement use and rehabilitative programming and pursue increases in pay for security staff. Any officers who did not return to work by 6:45 a.m. March 10 were fired. As a result, about 2,000 COs and sergeants were fired that day, and Hochul signed an emergency order barring them from being rehired by any other government entity in New York, state or local. The COs were also stripped of their peace officer registrations and removed from the state database that tracks law enforcement officers. To restore those registrations, the COs would have to restart the academy and training programs, including any special certificates they pursued in their original training. The local hiring restrictions fell away in early April, after Hochul took criticism for the move and legal questions were raised over her authority to direct local hiring decisions. But when asked about her position during a press conference on March 18, Hochul was definitive. She said she felt those officers had risked the safety of their communities, their civilian staff colleagues in the prisons and the incarcerated people themselves, and had neglected their duties. "That is what we had to deal with for 22 days, and to say that we're going to forget, I will never forget that," she said. "They're not ever working for the state of New York." But it appears that position has changed — in part because at least some of those COs fired on March 10 were out on pre-approved leave unrelated to the strike. Late Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for Hochul said she remains committed to her original position. "Governor Hochul has been clear that there must be strict consequences for individuals who repeatedly broke the law and refused to end the illegal strike," the spokesperson said. "This administration follows the law and will do so when grievances are filed, but the Governor's commitment to reforming our correctional system is steadfast." A spokesperson for NYSCOPBA confirmed that the union is assisting its members in the grievance process, but said each negotiation is individual and conditions for rehiring are being set on a case-by-case basis. The NYSCOPBA spokesperson, James Miller, said that there are a number of cases where the terminated COs were out on medical leave, family-related leave or for work-related injuries and were not involved in the strike, and those employees have asked to be reinstated. "The settlements being offered by DOCCS today are for COs that were fired only and are being picked by DOCCS on a case by case basis," Miller said. "Currently, we have 3,200 grievances filed by NYSCOPBA on behalf of members who were fired that were on family leave, vacation, job related injury, etcetera. It also includes members who went back to work, but were considered AWOL and lost health insurance, and lastly the officers who were on the unsanctioned strike and were terminated." Miller said that the officers being offered settlements will make their own choices on whether to accept the deals or not. In the meantime, conditions inside the state prisons remain poor. Since February, the state has been relying on thousands of National Guard troops to shore up staffing headcounts at the prisons, and the COs who are back to work have been asked to work regular 12-hour shifts in exchange for boosted overtime pay. COs inside the prisons say things are far from normal, and both staff and incarcerated people are on edge after months in this emergency with no clear solution. The state is working to boost CO headcounts, moving in the state budget this year to lower the CO hiring age from 21 to 18, allow out-of-state applicants for security staff jobs, and also set aside $500 million to continue paying the National Guard for deployment to the prisons.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYSCOPBA requests 'urgent meeting' with state over 'workplace crisis'
ALBANY, N.Y. (WWTI) – New York state's corrections union is asking for an 'urgent meeting' with the state to discuss what they call a 'workplace crisis.' In a letter from New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the union said there are a number of issues affecting the their members' safety, working conditions and well-being. 'There is nothing good in that bill': Retired deputy superintendent speaks out against HALT Act & striker firings Some of these issues include staffing shortages, workplace conditions, the implementation of 12-hour shifts, scheduled regular days off and vacation periods. The union would like to meet with Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) because these and other issues have 'reached a critical point following the recent organization of a grassroots strike organized by NYSCOPBA members to highlight unsafe working conditions.' The strike ended up leading to the firing of 2,000 correctional officers. A recent announcement regarding the early release of inmates up to 110 days before the end of their sentence is also compounding the issue. The early release of inmates undermines public safety and sends a troubling message to crime victims who continue to live with the trauma caused by those incarcerated and only highlights DOCCS failure to face the on-going consequences of staffing shortages in our prisons. NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers NYSCOPBA officials added that the state has 'been largely ignored by the Governor's leadership and DOCCS.' 'It's time for the State and DOCCS to recognize the importance of these concerns and work together with us to find lasting solutions,' Summers added. 'Temporary, short-sighted solutions of the early release of inmates is not a long-term solution needed to address workplace violence, staffing shortages and the inability to recruit new officers. ' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How Prison Guards Used An Illegal Strike To Fight Reform
A three-weeklong wildcat strike by thousands of New York state correctional officers across more than 40 prisons ended earlier this month, during which time 12 incarcerated people died, and many more struggled from weeks of being deprived of adequate food, medical care, time out of their cell, and access to their lawyers and loved ones. Striking prison guards cited staffing shortages, mandatory overtime and dangerous working conditions as their reasons for walking off the job. But the strike was also the result of a years-long effort by correctional officers to overturn a state law limiting the use of solitary confinement in New York state prisons and jails. Passed in 2021 and implemented the following year, the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT), capped the number of consecutive days a person could be kept in solitary confinement to 15 days— after which point the United Nations considers it a form of torture. HALT also banned solitary for people with disabilities. The bill was passed in recognition of overwhelming evidence of the harmful physical and mental health effects of solitary confinement. But shortly after it passed, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the union that represents prison guards, sued state officials in an effort to repeal HALT, claiming the reform bill violated their constitutional rights by putting them at risk of injury or death. 'The harm to life and limb of Correction Officers and Correction Sergeants that has been and will continue to occur constitutes irreparable harm and shocks the contemporary conscience,' they alleged in a complaint. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2022 as 'speculative,' but the correctional officers union vowed to keep fighting to overturn the law. Starting in mid-February, approximately 15,000correctional officers at nearly every New York state prison walked off their jobs. The strike was unsanctioned by the union and violated a state ban on public employees striking. Still, the union succeeded in one of their long-held goals. Earlier this month, the strike ended with state officials agreeing to, among other provisions, suspending parts of HALT for 90 days and agreeing to form a committee to recommend changes to the law. 'The strike was clearly a frontal assault on HALT and its protections,' Antony Gemmell, a supervising attorney for the Prisoners' Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society, told HuffPost. It was unlikely New York state lawmakers would repeal HALT, James Miller, NYSCOPBA's director of public relations said in an interview, 'so at least getting some temporary amendments to limit how it's implemented is a success.' Throughout the strike, lawyers at the Legal Aid Society received hundreds of calls from their clients, describing a 'flood of human desperation,' Kayla Simpson, a staff attorney at Legal Aid's Prisoners' Rights Project said. 'It's hard to imagine as people who haven't been incarcerated what it's like to depend on people for your basic needs — and then to have those people walk away.' 'This is not an acceptable way to meet labor demands. People died, far more have suffered,' Simpson said. 'We wouldn't accept these conditions for animals.' Simpson and her colleagues compiled some of the accounts shared by Legal Aid clients into a report released on Friday, which documents the human cost of the illegal strike. Legal Aid did not disclose the identities of those quoted in the report because of fears of retaliation, and HuffPost could not independently confirm their accounts. Multiple people told Legal Aid that their facilities had shut down 'sick call,' leaving them unable to get medical care. One person incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility told Legal Aid he was unable to get supplies to clean and dress chronic ulcers related to a blood clot in his leg, causing his leg to swell and the wound to produce foul-smelling pus. Another person at Attica, who has epilepsy, reported being ignored after reporting symptoms that typically lead to a seizure. A third person at Attica, who had open-heart surgery in 2020 and has atrial fibrillation, said their weekly medical visits stopped during the strike. 'I haven't gotten the medications I'm supposed to have in two weeks. I have one I can administer to myself, but I'm running out so I'm rationing it and it is not good. I don't know what I'm going to do,' a person incarcerated at Marcy Correctional Facility said. 'I also am supposed to have physical therapy to help me relearn to walk, but that's deemed 'non-essential' so it's canceled.' An individual at Five Points Correctional Facility told Legal Aid they experienced seizures and COVID symptoms during the strike but still couldn't get medical care. 'They're playing with our lives in here,' the person said. 'The other day I must have been laying there for 20-30 minutes and no one saw me. I woke up in a lot of pain, and no one even realized anything was happening until I yelled out after the fact. When I told a nurse about it, she told me to yell louder next time.' Nicole Whitaker, the deputy director of public information at New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said in an email, 'The Department remains focused on keeping everyone inside the correctional facilities safe and secure, as well as providing essential services including but not limited to meals, showers, telephones, commissary and delivery of packages, along with medical and mental health care, including medication.' Allegations of mistreatment have been referred to the Office of Special Investigations, she wrote. 'There were 12 incarcerated individual deaths during the strike, as compared to 13 deaths in the same period last year,' Whitaker wrote. Even after the strike ended earlier this month,incarcerated people told Legal Aid attorneys that they continued to experience neglectful conditions and hostility from returning officers. Several said they feared being injured or even killed by guards, citing the murder of Robert Brooks, who was fatally beaten by correctional officers in December at the prison in Marcy. One person incarcerated at Mid-State Correctional Facility told Legal Aid he overheard a correction officer who had recently returned to work say he wanted to 'kill all the inmates and that we all deserved to die because of our criminal history,' according to the report. 'Whatever the COs are going through, they're taking their anger out on us and bringing it back to us,' another person, who is incarcerated at Coxsackle Correctional Facility, told Legal Aid. 'I understand that most of us made wrong turns in life, but I want to go home. I don't want to get killed in here. I have kids and family to get home to, and a lot of us are starting to feel like our lives are in real danger here.' Asked about these fears, Whitaker wrote, 'While the strike has ended, we are not out of the crisis. Each facility is developing a gradual re-opening plan. In terms of the allegations, those that have been reported by an incarcerated individual claiming mistreatment have been referred to OSI for further investigation.' Although DOCCS tracks assaults by incarcerated people against staff, it does not publicly share statistics about staff assaults against the incarcerated. DOCCS data does show an increase in assaults on staff after HALT went into effect, although the overwhelming majority are described as resulting in 'no injury.' The department considers actions by prisoners like throwing a 'small object' at a staffer to be a form of assault. Last year, the Legal Aid Society, Disability Rights Advocates, and Winston & Strawn LLP filed a class action lawsuit against DOCCS, accusing the department of violating HALT by holding people with disabilities in solitary confinement. DOCCS declined to comment on the pending litigation. 'DOCCS has never complied with HALT from the beginning,' said Gemmell, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the suit. 'A huge part of what HALT intended to do is take people who would otherwise be placed in extended segregated confinement and offer them rehabilitation and therapy. That is not happening.' 'You can't look at HALT and say it's a failure when the reality is DOCCS has never given HALT a real chance to work,' said Gemmell. Prisons Said It Was COVID Isolation. The Incarcerated Describe Torture. Bodycam Video Shows New York Correctional Officers Pummeling Handcuffed Man In Fatal Beating Over 122K People Are Experiencing Solitary Confinement On Any Day: Report
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chemung County sues Governor Hochul over barred correctional officers
CHEMUNG COUNTY, N.Y. (WETM) — Chemung County issued a lawsuit to New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday, stating the actions done by Hochul's executive order are unlawful and prevent qualified individuals from gaining future employment in the county jail. Chemung County Executive Chris Moss and Sheriff William Schrom, issued the lawsuit on Thursday, March 13, challenging Hochul's executive order 47.3, which stops municipalities from hiring any of the correctional officers fired for participating in the correctional officers strikes that took place across the state at most facilities. 'We are taking this action to protect our ability to staff our jail with experienced personnel and to stand against unconstitutional overreach,' said Sheriff Schrom DOCCS: Correction officer strike ends, over 2K fired The county argues this directive unlawfully interferes with local hiring authority and puts more stress on the staffing shortages that are impacting jails and prisons. The county states the blacklisting of the fired individuals is unconstitutional. In the lawsuit, it claims the blacklisting of unionized individuals is permanent through the executive order, but goes against specific standards and limits. The lawsuit claims Hochul relied on N.Y. Executive Law § 29-a as a basis for her authority. That law states the following: Subject to the state constitution, the federal constitution and federal statutes and regulations, the governor may by executive order temporarily suspend specific provisions of any statute, local law, ordinance, or orders, rules or regulations, or parts thereof, or any agency during a state disaster emergency, if compliance with such provisions would precent, hinder, or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster. NYSCOPBA announces lawsuits after negotiations 'ended poorly' with state In other words, this law can suspend laws, rules, and regulations during a state of emergency that would otherwise prevent, slow down, or make it harder for the governor to respond to the emergency. However, the suspensions are subject to specific standards and limits stating the suspensions may not be more than 30 days, must protect the health and welfare of the public, and must be necessary to the disaster effort, within reason. The lawsuit argues that Hochul's order for barring correctional officers does not meet these specific standards and limits as it creates a permanent blacklist that will last longer than 30 days. The lawsuit challenges Hochul's order by stating that prohibiting government entities from hiring qualified persons does not safeguard the health and welfare of the public, and is not reasonably necessary to respond to the strike. Former Elmira superintendent speaks out on strike Based on this and other items listed in the lawsuit, the county is requesting the order be canceled, and if it can't be canceled, to make it so it does not apply to Chemung County, especially for the hiring of fired individuals to work in the Chemung County Jail. 'This order places an unnecessary burden on local governments and disregards our authority to make hiring decisions that best serve our community,' Moss said. Hochul enacted executive order 47 shortly after the strikes began on Feb. 17. The order, issued Feb. 19, declared a state disaster emergency in New York. This allowed for Hochul to call on the National Guard to staff facilities across the state. During the strikes, Hochul continually called the actions of the COs illegal as it went against the Taylor Law, a law preventing public employees from striking without formal permission from the union. Union accuses NY Prison Dept. of unethical, illegal actions The COs went against the union and went on strike for weeks while demanding better working conditions, a repeal to the HALT Act, an end to forced overtime, and solving understaffing issues. After days of mediation between the union (NYSCOPBA) and the New York State Department of Corrections (DOCCS), some needs were met and the strike was declared over on March 10. Around 2,000 employees who took part in the strike were fired, some of whom worked at the Elmira Correctional Facility, but an official number is unknown. The strike lasted 22 days and, in total, four deals were offered to striking officers. In the latest deal, staff were required to return to work on Monday, March 10 at 6:45 a.m. The case was filed in Albany County Supreme Court, with Chemung County seeking an expedited ruling to address its immediate staffing needs. The entire lawsuit can be found below: Summons-and-ComplDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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.'
