Strikes and protests are ongoing on at various New York state correctional facilities.
On Thursday, state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel Martuscello released a memo saying the department would not take disciplinary actions against workers who returned to work by midnight Friday. It’s still unclear how many, if any, corrections officers took him up on that offer. Spectrum News 1 is awaiting an answer from DOCCS.
A spokesperson for the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, the union representing the state’s prison workers, said it’s hard to tell how many officers returned to work. NYSCOPBA did not authorize the strikes.
Retired captain Michael Knowles, who worked at Gowanda Correctional Facility in Erie County and joined officers in solidarity Friday, said the memorandum issued by Martuscello was not enough to promise a safe work environment.
“Treat us like we’re human,” said Knowles. “Stop the double shifts. And right now they want to cram 12-hour shifts down our throat. ‘We’re going to make you work 12 hours.’ They don’t want to work. These people have families.”
Correction officers said the HALT Act has made their jobs more dangerous. It’s a law that restricts how solitary confinement can be applied to inmates. The memorandum temporarily suspends implementing some of that law.
Visitation remains canceled by DOCCS at all facilities until further notice. Advocates for these inmates say it further isolates incarcerated people, cutting them off from family and legal support. The Center for Community Alternatives says it’s a violation of basic human rights.
“There isn’t a lot of programs and things in place where a person can be occupied or keep their sanity,” said Thomas Gant, Center for Community Alternatives. “They’re human beings, they’re family members, they’re fathers, they’re mothers, they’re brothers, they’re sons, they’re daughters, so they need to be connected.”
State Assemblymember Phil Steck says at some point, visitation for inmates is a probably constitutional right, but the strikes make it difficult.
“When you have a shortage of guards and guards are going out on strike, it’s difficult to manage,” he said. “It’s difficult to manage visitation and I’ve done visitation in prisons as a lawyer. I know the process and it has to be adequately staffed in order for it to be safe for everyone.”
According to state officials, the National Guard will remain deployed in order to ensure safety.
Mediation between NYSCOPBA and the state is scheduled for Monday.
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