Correction officer strikes continue for fourth day after court mandate to end them
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Correction officer strikes are continuing for a fourth day on Thursday, after a judge granted a temporary order Wednesday night mandating that the strikes stop.
Correction officers are striking at more than 30 prisons across the state, including four in Western New York: Attica Correctional Facility, Collins Correctional Facility, Wende Correctional Facility and Lake View Correctional Facility.
Court documents obtained by WIVB News 4 on Wednesday show the state Department of Corrections maintains the Taylor Law deems the strike illegal. A judge granted the temporary restraining order, mandating striking correction officers to stop their strike immediately.
The correction officers’ union said that this was an expected step.
“My brothers and sisters out here, this is their future,” said a veteran correction officer on the picket line at Attica, who was granted anonymity. “They’re got to be in here for the next 10, 15, 20 years and the state is asking them to do a job that they don’t have the tools to do. It’s really an unlawful order on the governor’s part, it’s like being ordered to dig a hole but being told you can’t use a shovel. What are you supposed to dig with, your bare hands? It’s silliness.”
The state has deployed more than 4,500 members of the state National Guard to staff prisons, but it is unclear what exactly they are doing inside the prisons. National Guard vehicles were spotted outside of Attica Correctional on Thursday morning. Visits at all state facilities have been canceled until further notice, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) said on social media Thursday morning.
- Photo: Alecia Kaus for WIVB
- Photo: Alecia Kaus for WIVB
- Photo: Alecia Kaus for WIVB
Officer demands include the reversal of the controversial HALT Act, higher staffing levels, no overtime mandates over 16 hours, mandated body scans for visitors, scans of mail coming to inmates, and a $5,000 bonus for new employees.
The union and the state have been negotiating in recent days, but it is unknown if progress has been made.
More coverage on this story
How the Taylor Law bans correction officers from striking (2/18)
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
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