Gov. Kathy Hochul will send in the National Guard to prisons across the Empire State on Wednesday if the illegal strikes by guards continue, her office says.
Hochul warned Tuesday that the military reservists will begin flooding an unspecified number of correctional facilities to protect inmates and staff if the disruptive work stoppages – which are illegal under New York law – fail to end.
“The illegal and unlawful actions being taken by a number of correction officers must end immediately,” the Democratic governor said in a statement.
“We will not allow these individuals to jeopardize the safety of their colleagues, incarcerated people, and the residents of communities surrounding our correctional facilities.”
Demonstrations erupted Monday when officers at the upstate Collins and Elmira prisons refused to enter the facilities for their shifts in protest of their current working conditions, after a recent violent uprising at Collins.
The workers’ protests, which have since expanded to other state prisons, triggered officials to cancel all visitation at Collins, Elmira, Attica, Auburn, Five Points, Upstate, Clinton, Wende and Eastern NY correctional facilities until further notice, according to the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
A source familiar with Hochul’s threat to send in the guardsmen said that if it comes down to it, the reservists will be assigned to housing units, watch towers and entrances at various prisons.
Inmates would stay in their cells when being monitored by the guardsmen, with both groups’ only interactions being limited to providing meals, the source said.
“We are closely monitoring staffing levels at all correctional facilities and how many correction officers are participating in the illegal and unlawful job action,” a Hochul rep told The Post.
“We’ll make a determination tomorrow as to where and how many NY National Guard members are deployed based on staffing levels at each facility.”
Hochul, who defended her efforts to secure better pay and working conditions for correction officers, also directed her administration to meet with union leadership to resolve the protests.
The current contract with the union’s 17,000 members, negotiated with Hochul’s administration last year, runs through March 31, 2026.
The medium-security Collins prison was put in lockdown last week when inmates injured three guards — as workers’ gripes about understaffing and mandatory overtime also swirled.
Staffers there were said to be alarmed about a recent agency memo suggesting a reduction in positions, too.
“There is always room for progress and for disagreements and we welcome continued dialogue with the union at the table,” DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III said in a statement.
“At this time, I am urging all those on strike to end this job action.”
A prison workers’ union, NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, said it did not sanction the illegal jobs actions.
But upstate Republican lawmakers said they remain in support of the protesting officers and blasted the Democratic governor for her alleged inability to safeguard state prisons.
“New York’s prisons are becoming war zones due to the Hochul Prison Crisis. Correctional facilities are on the brink of collapse,” state Sen. Peter Oberacker said in a statement, claiming assaults on officers have hit record highs and staffing levels have been gutted.
“Her policies have emboldened violent criminals, weakened discipline inside prisons, and left officers without the backup they need to do their jobs safely,” he said of Hochul.
Some pols have also called on the governor to immediately repeal the HALT Act, a measure that limits the use of solitary confinement in prisons, with officials alleging the effort has stripped officers of their ability to maintain order.
“The Governor should be focused on getting our correction officers back in prisons by ending HALT, and a commitment to increasing staffing,” state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Niagara) said in a statement.
“Deploying our National Guard makes this situation even more dangerous. As a former member of the New York National Guard, I have the highest regard for these soldiers. However this is not what they are trained for,” he said.
