New York fires 2,000 prison guards who refuse to return to work after
wildcat strike
[March 11, 2025]
By MICHAEL HILL
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York fired more than 2,000 prison guards Monday
for failing to return to work after a weekslong wildcat strike that
crippled the state's correctional system, but said enough officers had
come back on the job to declare the illegal work stoppage over.
“After 22 days of an illegal strike, the governor and I are happy to
report it is now ended,” Commissioner Daniel Martuscello said during a
virtual press briefing.
The state and the guards’ union struck a new deal to end the strike this
weekend, but it was contingent on at least 85% of staff returning to
work by Monday morning. Although the number returning fell short of the
85% goal, Martuscello said the state would honor the deal's overtime and
some other provisions.
He said the National Guard would remain in place at prisons in a support
position while the department undertakes an aggressive recruiting
campaign to attract additional employees. About 10,000 security staff
are available to work in prisons across the state, he said, down from
about 13,500 before the wildcat strike.
“Termination letters have been sent to over 2,000 officers who remained
on strike. Officers and sergeants who did not have preapproved medical
leave and didn’t return by this morning, 6:45 a.m. deadline, have been
terminated effective immediately,” Martuscello said.
An email seeking comment was sent to the guards' union, the New York
State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association.
Guards upset over working conditions began illegally walking off the job
Feb. 17 at many state prisons, forcing 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.
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Correction officers greet each other during a shift change at Auburn
Correctional Facility in Auburn, N.Y., on the first day back to work
after the strike ended Monday, March 10, 2025. (Kevin Rivoli/The
Citizen via AP)
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.
Fifteen 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.
___
Associated Press writer Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York,
contributed to this story.
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