Latest news with #Stec
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Country state lawmakers pushing to reinstate fired COs
PLATTSBURGH — Work continues from North Country state lawmakers to try to bring back 2,000 correction officers let go after a recent 22-day strike. Sen. Dan Stec (R,C-Queensbury) and Assemblyman Scott Gray (R-Watertown) have put forth legislation permitting the reinstatement of 2,000 correction officers fired by Gov. Kathy Hochul in the aftermath of the strike, and Assemblyman D. Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) also continues to push for their return to work. STRIKE Officers across the state were on strike for 22 days as they protested the dangerous working conditions inside prisons. The National Guard was activated to help cover prisons during the strike, and they continue to be deployed. The 2,000 officers who were fired did not return to work by deadlines imposed by the state after negotiations. But officers claim that those who were out legally for disability or other reasons, were wrongfully terminated as well. Senate bill S.7310 would grant a grace period for officers terminated by the governor to return to work without retribution, Stec and Gray said, which would also save the state money. State Budget Director Blake Washington has estimated that the deployment of the National Guard into correctional facilities has cost New York more than $100 million a month. The reinstatement of 2,000 officers – given a median annual salary of $75,000 and fringe rate of 60 percent – would cost the state $20 million in monthly costs, Stec and Gray said. Allowing these officers to return to work not only saves taxpayers money, but also ensures that qualified, trained personnel are working inside correctional facilities, they said. 'If New York state takes prison safety and costs seriously, Governor Hochul and Democrat leaders would end this vindictive firing and ban of 2,000 trained, dedicated correction officers,' Stec said. 'These men and women went on strike because they were in fear for their health and well-being due to unsafe conditions. In their absence, the state has deployed the National Guard, which is not trained or equipped for these circumstances. Instead of maintaining this new, dangerous status quo I urge the governor and Democrat leaders to take up mine and Assemblyman Gray's bill allowing these 2,000 COs the ability to return to work.' Gray said the 2,000 correction officers who were fired are being punished simply for speaking out against unsafe working conditions. 'Instead of addressing their concerns, just as any employer should handle workplace issues, the state fired them and treated them as if they were the criminals. Now, due to severe staffing shortages, DOCCS is forced to release prisoners early and, after a long delay, has finally acknowledged the real deficiencies in our prison system in a recently released video,' Gray said. 'However, before this situation spirals any further, we need to take immediate action to correct these wrongs, starting with reinstating the correctional officers who are ready and willing to return to the vital work they were doing. This is how we can truly begin rebuilding and restoring our prison system and public safety.' JONES EFFORTS Assemblyman D. Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) a former correction officer himself, said he has been working diligently to get the fired officers back on the job. Jones said the officers are still faced with almost daily 12-hour or longer shifts, critical staffing shortages, and continued dangerous working conditions. 'The fastest and simplest solution for the state to prevent the brewing safety crisis from getting out of control is to rehire the correction officers who are willing to return to work. Prioritizing those who were let go while on FMLA, sick leave, or other approved time off is critical to bring staff back to these facilities quickly,' Jones said. 'Restaffing the facilities also allows civilian workers – who are currently placed in positions that they are often not equipped for – to return to their normal positions and minimize the risks that come with low staff levels. Our civilian workers should not be paying the price for the inadequate staffing levels that the state can quickly resolve.' Jones said that will also help resume normal programming and other functions within the facilities. He also said that it is time for the state to return trained correction officers to their positions to lessen the burden on our state resources. 'The cost of keeping these members (National Guard) stationed in facilities they are not trained for is far higher than simply returning former corrections officers to their jobs,' Jones said. 'On top of the staffing issues, implementing safety measures that ensure all staff can go to work and know that they will return home safe is essential. We have seen far too many instances of dangerous substances getting into facilities and hospitalizing workers. It is beyond time for the state to agree that body and mail scanners are necessary for entry into our correctional facilities.' Jones said he has heard repeatedly from current corrections officers that this is an untenable situation. 'Many officers are already becoming burnt out from overexertion in poor working conditions, and it will only continue to go downhill if something is not done quickly,' Jones said. 'It is time for the governor and DOCCS (Department of Corrections and Community Supervision) to see the scale of this issue and act quickly to implement these solutions.'
Boston Globe
04-04-2025
- Boston Globe
State trooper sues agency's leader in latest challenge to Massachusetts gun laws
The legal complaint alleges that the State Police in other situations has allowed troopers who were also charged with crimes, including violent crimes, to carry firearms. Advertisement The Massachusetts State Police and Stec's attorney declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. Stec's suit, while unusual for involving a state trooper suing the agency's leader, is just the latest challenge to Massachusetts' gun licensing laws that may eventually go before the state's Supreme Judicial Court. In 2022, the nation's highest court issued a landmark ruling which found the Second Amendment prohibits states from requiring gun owners to have a 'good reason' to carry. That ruling, in what is known as Advertisement Massachusetts gun law still allows police chiefs, who are typically the local authority in issuing licenses, to deny a license if they find the applicant 'unsuitable.' But Stec's lawsuit, along with others recently filed across the state, argues that the law is still 'vague, overly broad, incapable of valid application,' and unconstitutional under the Bruen decision. In February, the Office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell That case remains unresolved. On Wednesday, a Superior Court judge referred the matter back to Boston Municipal Court for an evidentiary hearing. It is not the first time a Massachusetts resident has used the Bruen ruling to successfully overturn the denial of a concealed carry license. In May, Holyoke District Court Judge William Hadley ordered the city's police department to grant a license to a man it had deemed unsuitable because of years-old drug and domestic violence allegations. In another case, a Belchertown man successfully sued to overturn the Belchertown Police Department's denial of his license application. Both those decisions were appealed and the cases are still pending. Dan Glaun can be reached at
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Plans to release more inmates not well received by North Country state lawmakers
PLATTSBURGH — State Sen. Dan Stec (R-Queensbury) criticized a state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision decision to release certain inmates early to alleviate staffing shortages after the recent 22-day correction officers' strike. 'In view of the current staffing crisis, and in order to have the appropriate balance between the safety and well-being of those working and residing in DOCCS corrections facilities and public safety, it is appropriate that I, as commissioner, exercise my authority … to move individuals from the department's general confinement facilities into residential treatment outcount status,' state corrections Commissioner Daniel Martuscello wrote Monday, in an internal memo, which the department released to The Press-Republican. Those convicted of violent and non-violent felonies non-drug-related felonies, Class B-to-E violent felonies, and sex offenses would not be eligible for early release. To be released early, qualifying inmates must have a department-approved resident to be released to, other than a homeless shelter or Department of Social Services placement. 'Commissioner Martuscello has directed that a list of incarcerated individuals who are scheduled to be released in the next few months be reviewed for their transition into residential treatment,' said Thomas Mailey, a department spokesman. 'Governor Hochul's top priority is the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers. The Governor is aware of Commissioner Martuscello's memo and supports his efforts to safely address staffing shortages and personnel concerns,' Gov. Kathy Hochul Spokeswoman Jess D'Amelia, said in a statement. Return the officers Stec argued that a better way to deal with the staffing shortage is for Hochul to rescind her ban on state employment for about 2,000 correction officers who did not return to work after the strike. 'This move is a slap in the face to correction officers, who went on strike for 22 days to call for better conditions, and to all law-abiding citizens,' Stec said, in a statement issued on Tuesday. Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake), a former correction officer himself, agreed with Stec. 'It's been weeks since correctional officers returned to work, but there has been no real progress towards resolving short staffing and safety issues,' Jones said. 'I have been working the last couple of weeks to find a solution to get correction officers back to work but we must work together to find a path forward for Corrections in our state.' Jones said the DOCCS decision to release prisoners early due to the short staffing issues, is, 'simply ridiculous and unacceptable.' 'A better solution to this problem would be to hire correction officers who were wrongfully terminated. Those who had legitimate excuses to miss work such as family or sick leave, or workman's compensation. They want to return to work, and New York state needs to allow this to happen.' Jones said state owes it to the workforce and the correction officers who work in prisons and to the families of the officers impacted. 'Releasing convicted felons early is not the solution our taxpayers and law-abiding citizens deserve,' he said. Union New York State Correction Officers Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents correction officers, was still reviewing details of the early release policy on Tuesday afternoon, said Matt Keough, the union's executive vice president, in a telephone interview. 'Obviously, I think it's best that people complete their sentences, but we don't make that decision,' he said. The state has had difficulty recruiting correction officers, even before the recent correction officers' strike in which about 2,000 officers did not return to work. Before the strike, there were about 2,000 vacant correction officer positions in the system, and now that number has doubled to about 4,000 vacant positions, said Mailey, the department spokesman. The job has a starting annual base pay of $56,465, including during training, increasing in increments to $72,904 annually after seven years, yet it has been difficult to maintain adequate staffing. Explanations for the long-standing shortage of correction officers are myriad, including the aging of Baby Boom era officers, changes in state law that have reduced the proportion of less-violent offenders incarcerated, the delay of correction officer academy sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and general labor shortages. The pandemic played a big role in the shortages, said Keough, of NYSCOPBA. 'That was two years without a single person going through the (correction officer training) academy, he said. The state has a number of initiatives to rebuild staffing levels, said Mailey, including officer cash bonuses to correction officers who refer applicants who become new correction officers. The referring officer receives $1,500 when the new officer graduates from the academy, and a second $1,500 payment when the new officer completes a 52-week probationary period. A 'large-scale' social media and video recruitment campaign began in February focusing on upstate community college students and military personnel. The department is operating recruitment enters in the Destiny USA mall at Syracuse and Champlain Centre mall at Plattsburgh. An 'advanced placement initiative' offers applicants with correction officer experience a pay rate commensurate to their experience. Budget Hochul's state budget proposal includes language to amend the public officers' law, in relation to residency requirements for certain positions as a correction officer, allowing recruiting from other states which could greatly expand the number of potential applicants. Stec is skeptical the state will be able to rebuild staffing levels anytime soon, given current discontent among the workforce. 'The National Guard is going to be in these facilities for months, if not beyond the end of the year,' Stec said in a recent telephone interview. 'The National Guard will remain in a support posture and begin to draw down as staff return to work,' Mailey said 'The overall support and draw down will remain under the Governor's discretion. National Guard that remains in place will be used to help prevent an employee from being mandated to work a 24-hour overtime shift.' Stec said he does not foresee a strong interest in corrections jobs unless the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement, commonly known as the HALT Act, is repealed. 'They will lose people faster than they can replace them,' he said. The legislation limits long-term solitary confinement to 15 days, the maximum duration under a United Nations standard, and allows solitary confinement to be served in traditional cells, among other changes in procedures. HALT Stec said the HALT Act has contributed directly to the staffing shortage, because guarding inmates outside solitary confinement is more labor intensive, and indirectly, because HALT has diminished correction officer morale. Martuscello, the DOCCS commissioner, has temporarily suspended certain provisions of HALT for 90 days, and in early April will begin evaluating on a facility-to-facility basis whether reinstating suspended provisions would create a safety risk, Mailey said. A committee of union and state government representatives will make recommendations to the Legislature on potential changes to the HALT Act. Stec said the debate over the HALT Act is largely geographical and partisan. A handful of Democrats voted against the legislation in 2022, but he does not foresee enough Democrats switching course now to repeal the law. He said he suspects that's because there are no state correctional facilities within New York City. With few or no correction officers and families of officers living in those districts, New York City legislators do not face constituent advocacy to repeal HALT, he said. Keough, of NYSCOPBA, said the union is encouraged that a new class of correction officer trainees started at the academy on Sunday. The union is advocating that the state increase the Civil Service classification of correction officer from Level 14 to Level 17, which would increase the pay. 'That should certainly help with recruitment and retention,' Keough said.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Constantino threatens to run on independent line if GOP chooses Stec
PLATTSBURGH — Amsterdam businessman Anthony Constantino, who is among the contenders for the GOP nomination in the upcoming 21st Congressional District special election, is threatening to run as an independent if county Republican chairs select state Sen. Dan Stec (R-Queensbury) as the nominee. 'If GOP bosses rubber stamp this anti-Trump candidate (Stec), I will have to seriously consider filing for the special election as an independent to ensure that those who support President Trump and his agenda have a champion in Congress representing us,' Constantino said in a post on his campaign Facebook page on Tuesday. Constantino could not immediately be reached for additional comment on Tuesday. The post referenced the state Conservative Party disclosing earlier this week that Stec is the party's preferred candidate in the race, and that Stec, Assemblyman Chris Tague (R-Schoharie), and Liz Joy, a conservative speaker and writer from Glenville, are the only three potential GOP candidates the Conservative party would accept as its nominee. Under New York election law, candidates can run on multiple ballot lines and combine the total votes received in the tabulation. In recent congressional elections, Stefanik has received significantly more votes on the Conservative line than there are registered Conservative voters, apparently an indication of independent voters being drawn to the Conservative line. MANNING REACTS Contacted on Tuesday, Clinton County Republican Chairwoman Jerika Manning, said she hopes Constantino does not run as an independent. 'I certainly hope that he would not divide our vote on the Republican ballot. I don't think that would be productive,' she said. Manning said she did not have any additional comment. Fulton County Republican Chairman Susan O'Neil, the regional state Republican Committee vice chairwoman, downplayed Constantino's threat. 'Anthony Constantino can say whatever he wants,' she said, in a telephone interview. 'I deal with what we're doing today. I don't deal with hypotheticals.' CONSTANTINO PRESSURE Constantino has claimed that he and Stec are front runners for the nomination, citing an internal Constantino campaign poll in which he led with with 46.7% of respondents and Stec was in second place with 37.7%. Constantino has not released the methodology, questions asked or the audience makeup of the poll. Stec and Joy have both questioned the accuracy of the poll, according to news reports. Constantino has been running Facebook ads in recent days criticizing Stec for accepting the endorsement of the 'far left' New York State United Teachers, the state's largest teacher's union, in his Senate re-election bids, an endorsement Stefanik, herself, once accepted in her 2016 congressional reelection campaign. 'Now I hear he's a fan of teachers' unions? I support school choice,' Constantino wrote in the ad. Stec said in 2022 that endorsements from NYSUT and other police, corrections officer and construction unions showed that he had a broad base of support. Constantino reiterated an erroneous allegation that Stec did not endorse Trump in 2016, 2020 or 2024. In 2016, Stec initially said he was withholding an endorsement of Trump, but later said he supported the Republican ticket. Stec endorsed Trump in 2020 and 2024. SPECIAL ELECTION The special election, which has not yet been scheduled, will be held to fill the seat that becomes vacant when the U.S. Senate confirms the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) as U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Multiple national news reports have said that vote is likely to take place around April 2. Unlike a regular election, there is no primary in a special election. Party chairs in the 15 counties decide the nomination. Republican chairs have been tight-lipped about their selection process, other than to say there are 11 finalists, which include Stec, Tague, Joy and Constantino. Other finalists are: Matt Doheny, a businessman from Jefferson County who was the local Republican congressional candidate in 2012 and 2014; Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin; Joshua Parker of St. Lawrence County; Joe Pinion of Saratoga, a television news commentator who was the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in New York in 2022; Charles Potter; Joseph Rutkowski, a construction company owner from Rome; state Assemblyman Robert Smullen (R-Mohawk). O'Neil said Tuesday that Republican chairs do not expect to select a candidate until Stefanik resigns. Tague, on Tuesday, touted his consistent support of Trump. 'I'm the only candidate in consideration who's undefeated, not just in regular elections, but in a special election and not one, but two three-way races,' he said, in a statement. 'I know from experience candidate selection will be critical in this race. What will make the Republican candidate vulnerable isn't the opposition, it's a weak record of support for the President, no experience in tough fights … .' Stec has been undefeated in all of his Assembly and Senate runs, but he lost the Republican endorsement for Congress in 2010. Stec and Joy could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday. The Democratic candidate is Blake Gendebien, a dairy farmer from Lisbon, in St. Lawrence County.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Stec leading NY-21 Conservative Party preferences
The state Conservative Committee has narrowed its selection of a candidate in the upcoming 21st Congressional District special election to three candidates, all Republicans, with state Sen. Dan Stec (R-Queensbury) being the 'party preference,' Conservative party spokesman William O'Reilly said Sunday. PARTY PREFERENCE The Conservative Party Executive Committee will be meeting with Stec, Assemblyman Chris Tague (R-Schoharie), and Liz Joy, a conservative speaker and writer from Glenville, in the coming days. 'The Party could get behind any one of those three candidates, but Senator Stec remains the Party preference,' O'Reilly said. 'The Conservative Party has informed GOP leaders that it hopes to work with them to advance one of these three. Discussions are ongoing.' The special election will be held to fill the congressional seat that will be vacant when U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik resigns to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. VOTE NEARING A U.S. Senate confirmation vote is expected to be held around April 2, according to multiple national news reports. Unlike a regular election, there is no primary in a special election. Party chairs in the 15 counties in the 21st Congressional District select the nominee. All three of the Conservative Party's acceptable candidates are also seeking the Republican nomination, and were on a list of 11 finalists Republican leaders announced earlier this month. State election law allows candidates to run on multiple party lines and combine the votes received on all lines in the tabulation. Conservative party leaders have said they hope to run the same candidate as the Republican party. The Democratic candidate is Blake Gendebien, a farmer from Lisbon, in St. Lawrence County. The Gendebien campaign announced March 19 that it has raised more than $2 million since mid-December.
