By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
COXSACKIE — The wildcat strike by corrections officers in the Coxsackie and Greene correctional facilities entered its third day Thursday.
The strike was sparked on Monday when corrections officers in the Collins and Elmira facilities initiated a work stoppage. The strike gained steam Tuesday when 25 other correctional facilities also saw officers walk out on the job.
On Thursday, roughly 100 corrections officers and their supporters lined Route 9W outside the Coxsackie prison to voice their discontent with their treatment by the state.
The officers are seeking safer working conditions, and for staffing to be brought up to 100%. They say COs are forced to take on mandatory second and third shifts to make up for the lack of staff.
The strikers also want policy changes, including the repeal of the HALT Act, passed in 2022, which severely restricted the use of solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure.
The officers say the work conditions and excessive work hours have created dangerous conditions for the employees.
Several of the signs posted and carried by workers Thursday read slogans such as “NYS Failed Us,” “We Demand A Safe Work Environment,” “This is Not Political Noise,” “Essential Not Expendable,” and “Please Keep My Daddy Safe.”
The strike has not been sanctioned by the union.
In response to the days-long strike, on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul activated the New York National Guard to help staff the facilities where workers are striking. More than 3,500 members of the state’s National Guard were called up Wednesday, and more are expected to report for duty in the coming days if the issue is not resolved, Hochul said Wednesday.
She called on striking corrections officers to go back on the job.
“These disruptive and unsanctioned work stoppages by some correction officers must end as they are jeopardizing the safety of their colleagues, the prison population, and causing undue fear for the residents in the surrounding communities,” Hochul said.
In addition to calling up the National Guard, Hochul said she appointed an independent mediator to try to resolve the strike.
