Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After renegotiating with correction officers on an agreement to get prison guards back to work inside correctional facilities across New York State, the State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) announced Monday the wildcat strike statewide is over.
The deal outlined that 85% of the striking corrections officers needed to return to work by 6:45 a.m. Monday, or else it won't go into effect. DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello says while the return quota was not fulfilled, the department is still moving forward with their end of the deal.
"We have approximately 10,000 corrections officers and corrections sergeants that are currently available and or working inside of our correctional facility. The 2,000-plus individuals that were terminated today represents those individuals that were still striking at the 6:45 a.m. deadline when they had to report to their facilities," stated Martuscello.
The National Guard will still be deployed at prisons across the state in a "support posture" to keep corrections officers from working 24-hour shifts. In the meantime, DOCCS plans to address the current shortage of prison guards at facilities statewide.
"It is time to turn the page. We'll start with a high energy recruitment campaign moving forward with a clear focus on stabilizing and resuming operations, while ensuring safety and security in our facilities," explained Martuscello. "At the same time, we're launching an aggressive recruitment and rebuilding campaign aimed at restructuring and strengthening docks. We are committed to building a dedicated, resilient workforce and attracting the next generation of correctional leaders, we will work to ensure the new department will be safer and more effective for everyone involved."
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On top of honoring the March 6 deal, Martuscello says corrections officers who returned to work are allowed to buy health insurance covering the full state share and employee share to the first day when their health insurance was terminated.
"We will continue to pursue the committee on plot plan efficiency, and we will maintain the referral bonus moving forward so we can continue our aggressive recruitment campaign. It's time to recover, rebuild and recruit," Martuscello said. "I want to thank the staff that have worked hard every day of this strike, your being there was critical through this challenging 22 days, I thank the 5,000 security staff that have returned to work."
Guards upset over working conditions at state-run correctional facilities have began illegally walking off the job since Feb. 17. That forced New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to send National Guard troops in to maintain operations.
Inmates have complained about deteriorating conditions behind bars since the walkout, and the death of a 22-year-old man this month at a prison near Utica is being investigated by a special prosecutor.
The walkout violates a state law barring strikes by most public employees, and was not sanctioned by the guards' union. Two previous deals aimed at ending the strike failed to coax enough guards back to end the crisis.
Like the other deals, this one addresses a key complaint of the striking guards with a 90-day suspension of a provision of a state law that limits the use of solitary confinement. Guards will work 12-hour shifts and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will not discipline officers who participated in the strike if they returned by the Monday deadline.
Multiple inmates have died since the walkouts began, though it was unclear if strike-related prison conditions played a role in the deaths.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick is investigating the death of Messiah Nantwi at Mid-State Correctional Facility on March 1 as a special prosecutor. Authorities have declined to provide details, but a court filing by the attorney general's office said there is “probable cause to believe” that as many as nine correctional officers either caused or could be implicated in his death.
15 prison staffers were placed on leave following Nantwi's death.
It is the second criminal investigation into a state prison inmate death in recent months. Six guards were charged with murder last month in the December death of Robert Brooks, who was incarcerated at the Marcy Correctional Facility, across the street from the Mid-State prison.