By Jon Moss
syracuse.com
AUBURN, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul threatened Tuesday afternoon to deploy the National Guard to state prisons if corrections officers do not end their wildcat strike.
Hochul said in a news release that the strike, which the corrections officers union has disavowed, “must end immediately.”
She said she would send in National Guard members on Wednesday if the strike does not end before then.
“We will not allow these individuals to jeopardize the safety of their colleagues, incarcerated people and the residents of communities surrounding our correctional facilities,” she said.
The strike began Monday at Collins Correctional Facility near Buffalo, which went into lockdown for several days last week after contraband was found. The protest has since grown to several other facilities across the state.
In Central New York, correctional officers were picketing Tuesday morning outside the maximum security prison in Auburn.
The union representing corrections officers, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, has said it does not sanction the strike.
Union leaders met Tuesday morning with officials from Hochul’s office and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, according to union spokesperson James Miller.
DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III said in a news release that the strike was jeopardizing the safety and security of state prisons.
“There is always room for progress and for disagreements and we welcome continued dialogue with the union at the table,” he said.
Discontent has been growing among corrections officers as they say they are forced to work extensive amounts of overtime due to a staffing shortage. Union leaders earlier this month issued a vote of “no confidence” in Martuscello.
Troopers are providing outer perimeter security at several state prisons, the State Police said Tuesday afternoon.
Strikes by government employees are illegal under a section of state Civil Service Law commonly known as the Taylor Law. Employees lose two days of pay for each day they are on strike.
Some people incarcerated in the prisons have reported denied or delayed access to medication, no meals and canceled visitation, according to the Center for Community Alternatives, a nonprofit that advocates for criminal justice reform.
Visitation has been cancelled until further notice at Attica, Auburn, Clinton, Collins, Eastern, Elmira, Five Points, Upstate and Wende correctional facilities. It could not be immediately determined whether staff were on strike at all of those prisons.
The current contract with the corrections officers union took effect in 2023 and lasts through next year.
The involvement of the National Guard recalled a two-week strike in 1979 when guard personnel ran prisons with the State Police.
This article, originally published at 9:07 a.m. on Feb. 18, has been updated with additional information.
—
©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit syracuse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.