After 22 days, the state’s longest jail strike in many years has lastly ended — with greater than 2,000 correction officers fired after they didn’t come again to work, officers mentioned.
“The strike is over,” Martuscello mentioned with state Homeland Safety Commissioner Jackie Bray. He famous it took 4 totally different agreements to finish the wildcat work stoppage.
“I want you to know I heard you,” he mentioned referring to officers. “Your safety, your family, your work life balance are important to me. I’m committed to continue to listen to your voices as we move forward.”
Martuscello mentioned the two,000 or so officers who had been fired had been those that remained on strike Monday morning. He mentioned in all, there are roughly 10,000 officers now on the job, in comparison with the 13,500 earlier than the strike — a 26% decline more likely to make pre-existing staffing issues even worse.
The Nationwide Guard will stay readily available within the prisons for an undetermined time period, as a part of the plan. Greater than 6,000 members of the Guard have been deployed to services throughout the state.
Gov. Hochul. (Susan Watts/Workplace of Governor)
Gov. Hochul signed an government order Monday firing the roughly 2,000 putting officers and barring them from working for the state sooner or later. The order additionally directed an investigation of the job motion, which was a violation of the Taylor Regulation which bars sure state staff from putting.
“My top priority is the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers — and I have been working around-the-clock to end this illegal work stoppage and restore safety in our correctional system,” Hochul mentioned Tuesday.
Martuscello mentioned the state would honor a March 6 memorandum which supplied for a committee to overview necessities of the HALT ACT limiting solitary confinement to fifteen days, a 90-day suspension of HALT necessities to offer packages for inmates in solitary confinement, and 12-hour excursions.
A corrections officer walks into Auburn Correctional Facility whereas a number of dozen coworkers strike throughout the road in Auburn, N.Y., Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025 to protest unsafe working situations. (Kevin Rivoli/The Citizen by way of AP)
Supporters of the HALT ACT as soon as once more underscored they’ll struggle any undermining of the state legislation.
“Just as Donald Trump can’t circumvent democratically enacted laws, DOCCS does not have the authority to suspend a law passed by a supermajority of New York’s legislature and signed by the Governor,” mentioned Victor Pate of the HALT Solitary advocacy group.
“What they’re really doing is openly admitting to an unlawful violation of the HALT Solitary Confinement Law that will inflict torture, cause grave harm and even death, and worsen safety for everyone.”
The memo additionally accommodates particular strike-related additional time pay and no self-discipline for strikers who returned, although penalties beneath state legislation for putting will stay in place. He mentioned the division may even “pursue” scanning of authorized mail for medication and different contraband— a measure that may draw criticism from the authorized neighborhood.
Not less than seven inmates died through the strike, together with Messiah Nantwi, 22, of Harlem. A felony investigation is underway into the circumstances round his demise throughout an altercation with officers.
The state’s earlier longest jail strike in 1979 ended after 16 days.
Initially Revealed: March 11, 2025 at 1:49 PM EDT
