New York governor deploys National Guard amid illegal corrections officer strike at state prisons
New York governor deploys National Guard amid illegal corrections officer strike at state prisons
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has deployed National Guard troops to secure state-run prisons amid a wildcat strike by corrections workers.
Picketing and striking by corrections officers took place at around 30 state prisons as of Wednesday morning, union officials said.
Hochul says National Guard troops are being deployed Wednesday, but she did not immediately specify where.
“They’ve already been deployed and are ready to stabilize the situation,” Hochul said of the National Guard soldiers, in a video address released Wednesday. “I am directing everyone involved in these unlawful strikes to stop these actions immediately. Legal action has already commenced to ensure compliance.”
National Guard soldiers in Humvees entered the grounds of Attica Correctional Facility, Spectrum News reported.
Later in the day, Hochul’s office said in a statement that 3,500 members of the New York National Guard started reporting for duty and will support corrections workers at prisons “with tasks including distributing meals and medication to incarcerated individuals and help maintain general order and wellness in the facilities.”
The strikes have upended the lives of prison inmates and their families, who have been denied access to everything from lawyer to family visits, said Soffiyah Elijah, executive director of Alliance of Families for Justice, which advocates for families of incarcerated people. The lockdowns also restricted access to religious services, parole hearings and medical treatment, she said.
“Our family members and their incarcerated loved ones are gripped by fear of what may happen with the governor’s calling in of the National Guard,” Elijah said, citing the massacre of people inside Attica by National Guard soldiers in 1971.
She said that families were reporting lockdowns and other restrictions at Bear Hill, Franklin, Upstate, Collins, Elmira, Five Points, Otisville, Clinton, Green Haven, Woodburn, Eastern, Attica, Auburn, Clinton, and Wende prison facilities.
A spokesperson for Hochul did respond to questions about the extent of the strikes.
“Earlier today, New York State filed an injunction under the Taylor Law and a judge granted a temporary restraining order mandating striking correction officers to cease the illegal activity,” the governor’s statement said.
Striking guards could be fined or face other sanctions under that law.
State prison guards union leaders have previously conceded that the strike is illegal and say they did not authorize it. Union representatives met with the governor’s team for the second straight day.
“Negotiations with the State have continued throughout today between NYSCOPBA and the Governor’s Office towards a resolution,” New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association spokesperson James Miller said Wednesday in a statement.
Union officials have said that corrections officers are protesting for better pay, heightened searches of prison visitors, and a reversal of recent prison reforms that limit solitary confinement.
The strike also follows the killing of inmate David Brooks. Video shows him being beaten by corrections officers while he was handcuffed at the Marcy Correctional Facility. The governor eventually ordered the firing of prison staffers involved in the death, which was ruled a homicide in early February.
A special prosecutor is expected to announce an update in the criminal case in Brooks’ death Thursday.
Associated Press
