New York officials fired more than 2,000 prison guards on Monday after not returning to work after weeks of strike.
A sufficient corrections officer has returned to work for the state and declared the end of the Wildcat Strike, a labor measure that violates state laws that prohibit strikes by most civil servants.
“After 22 days of illegal strikes, the governor and I are pleased to report that it's over,” corrections committee member Daniel Martasquero said at a virtual press conference.
The New York State Correctional Officer & Police Charity Association, a state-security union, signed a new contract to end the strike over the weekend, but was subject to at least 85% of staff who had returned to work by Monday morning. The 85% target has not been met, but Martuscello said the state will respect some of the contract's provisions, including overtime work.
New York prison guards were fired for ignoring a deal to end the strike, setting thousands of people to lose their health insurance
Correctional officers will greet each other during shift changes at Auburn Correctional Facility in Auburn, New York, on the first day they return to work on the first day after the strike ended on Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP)
Martuscello said the National Guard will remain in prison and pursue an aggressive recruitment campaign to help the department introduce additional employees. Gov. Kathy Hochul had deployed National Guard in several prisons to fill up for strike workers.
About 10,000 security staff can work in prisons across the state, starting from around 13,500 before the Wildcat strike, the committee member said.
“The firing letters have been sent to more than 2,000 officers who remained on the strike. The officers and sergeants who had not approved medical leave and who had not returned by 6:45am this morning were quickly closed,” Martuscello said.
Frustrated with working conditions, security guards began to move away from work in prisons across many states on February 17th. Inmates have complained about the worsening condition behind bars since the strike.
New York prisoners die in prison if security guards continue to be considered illegal under state law
Auburn Correctional Facility officials continue to hold the line on the third day of the strike to protest unsafe working conditions in Auburn, New York on Thursday, February 20, 2025. (AP)
The special prosecutor is also investigating the death of 22-year-old Messiah Nantow, a prisoner on March 1 at a mid-term correctional facility. Other inmates said Nantwi was cruelly beaten by correctional officers and 15 staff members were placed on administrative leave after the inmate's death.
There are “potential reasons to believe” that as many as nine corrections officers could have caused or involved Nantowy's death, according to court filings by the state attorney general's office.
The medium term is across from Mercy Correctional Facility, and six security guards were charged with murder in December after defeating the death of Robert Brooks.
Another inmate, 61-year-old Jonathon Grant, was declared dead last month after he was found to be unresponsive with his cells at the Auburn Correctional Facility amid on the ongoing labor attack, but it is unclear whether prison personnel played a role in his death.
Pickett, the Auburn Correctional Facility, on the third day of the strike, in Auburn, New York, on Thursday, February 20, 2025, in Auburn, New York. (AP)
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The strike was not approved by the executive union.
Two previous deals that sought to end the strike were unable to regain enough security guards to declare the end of labor measures.
As included in previous contracts, transactions reached over the weekend address the security guard's important complaints by issuing a 90-day suspension of the provisions of state law restricting the use of solitary confinement. During the suspension, the state will assess whether reviving the law poses an unreasonable risk to the safety of staff and inmates.
Security guards also work 12-hour shifts, and the state's Corrections and Community Supervision Office will not discipline officers who participate in the strike if they return by Monday's deadline.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
