Finally, NY Prison Corrections Officer Strike Appears to Be Over

Has New York finally reached an agreement to end a wild-cat strike that has kept correctional officers off the job over the last two weeks? On Saturday, the New York State Department of Corrections announced an agreement had been reached that would take effect on Monday morning.

The agreement required that at least 85% of striking correctional workers return to work by 6:45 a.m. on Monday, and thus, the workers would not face punishment. The agreement would reinstate health insurance for striking employees and would implement a 90-day pause of The Halt Act, which prevented COs from imposing punishments for violent behavior by inmates such as solitary confinement, until a HALT committee has the opportunity to review the union's safety concerns. NYSCOPBA has not yet confirmed that 85% of the workforce returned to work Monday morning.

This conflict came at a difficult time for Upstate New York prisons as corrections officers at two local prisons, Marcy and Mid-State correctional facilities, face charges following inmate deaths. On March 1, Messiah Nantwi, an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility died after being transported to Wynn Hospital in Utica. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick has been named special prosecutor and is leading the investigation into Nantwi's death. Gov. Kathy Hochul described the events leading to Nantwi’s death as “extremely disturbing conduct.” 15 correctional facility employees have been placed on leave.

Meanwhile, across the highway from Mid-State is the Marcy Correctional Facility where in December of 2024, inmate Robert L. Brooks was beaten to death in the prison's infirmary. Ten employees of the Marcy prison have been indicted on charges related to the case, six of whom have been charged with second-degree murder and more charges pending.

COs speaking on behalf of the correctional employees say their strike is only about poor working conditions and dangerous environments, and not at all regarding the investigation into the deaths of the two inmates.