The union representing New York correction officers requested a meeting with the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, but DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello said it is "not the path forward" one month after the correction officer strike ended.
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association asked to meet with DOCCS to "address a range of serious issues affecting the safety, well-being and working conditions of correctional officers." The concerns include staffing shortages and workplace conditions — the same issues that sparked the three-week strike.
NYSCOPBA also criticized Martuscello's plan to grant early release to inmates amid a severe staffing shortage. To be eligible, inmates must be within 15 to 110 days of their release date. Incarcerated individuals who are serving sentences for violent felonies, such as murder, or sex crimes will not be eligible for early release.
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Martuscello contends the early release plan will help alleviate the ongoing staffing crisis, which worsened after the state fired 2,000 correction officers to end the walkout on March 10. According to DOCCS, the number of correction officers has fallen from 18,541 in 2020 to approximately 10,000 after the strike.
NYSCOPBA says it is advocating for the fired correction officers to be reinstated. The union's leadership accused Martuscello of denying their meeting request and instructing prison superintendents to work with local union representatives.
"We are deeply disappointed by the department's refusal to engage in a productive conversation about these critical issues," said Chris Summers, NYSCOPBA's president. "Our members' safety and the safety of the communities they serve should be a priority. The ongoing refusal to address these concerns only exacerbates the already dangerous conditions that exist in many of our facilities."
When the strike ended, Martuscello committed to implementing several policy changes. The plan included temporarily suspending the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, known as HALT, and scheduling officers for 12-hour shifts to address concerns about mandated overtime.
According to Martuscello, Summers requested a meeting on March 27 to discuss the 12-hour shifts, among other issues. But Summers was told "the request was premature," Martuscello said, "and that we were following the 12-hour shifts as outlined in the (memorandum of agreement), including providing two (days off)."
Martuscello highlighted other changes, including the first committee meeting to review HALT, the hiring of an independent analyst to review staffing plans and the deployment of legal mail scanners. DOCCS has also updated its visitation policy, which now requires visitors to submit to a body scan for a full-contact visit.
DOCCS announced this week that it is extending the double time and a half overtime pay for another month. It was initially implemented for 30 days after the officers returned to work.
Martuscello criticized NYSCOPBA's leadership for not acknowledging the "significant actions that have been put in motion already since the end of the illegal job action, all of which are focused on the safety of the workforce."
He continued, "Not only do they fail to recognize the progress being made, but they miss the fact that real change takes time and effort and is in no way advanced by angry press statements during a crisis."
But Summers says the state's refusal to meet with NYSCOPBA shows a disregard for the safety of correction officers. He urged DOCCS to "engage with us in good faith."
"We will not back down until real changes are made for the men and women who serve this state with unwavering dedication," Summers said. "Without effective changes, both public safety and the well-being of correctional officers will continue to be at risk."
Series: Coverage of the NY correction officer strike
Ë®¹ûÅÉAV's coverage of the New York correction officer strike that occurred from Feb. 17 to March 10.
New York prisons resumed visitation over the weekend, two weeks after the correction officer strike ended.
The Hochul administration is clarifying its ban on hiring fired correction officers, telling local governments the prohibition is temporary and will expire soon.Â
A Cayuga County legislator, who is a retired correction officer, said last week that 200 correction officers lost their jobs after the recent strikes at Auburn and Cayuga correctional facilities.
Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul for preventing local agencies from hiring fired state correction officers.Â
A Cayuga County Legislature committee advanced a resolution to set a public hearing on the proposed vehicle use tax, but the plan's fate is uncertain.Â
The state Legislature's one-house budgets include language to close more state prisons in the 2025-26 fiscal year.Â
Gov. Kathy Hochul's executive order blocks state agencies from hiring correction officers who participated in the recent strike and were fired from their jobs.Â
The commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has declared the 22-day correction officer strike over.Â
Third time's the charm? Another agreement has been reached to end the nearly three-week-long correction officer strike.Â
The state and a union representing New York correction officers reached an agreement Saturday to end the 20-day strike.Â
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The union representing New York correction officers plans to take legal action against the state amid a nearly three-week strike.Â
The head of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will honor the agreement reached with striking correction officers to end the 18-day walkout, despite union opposition.Â
The union representing New York correction officers has killed a deal to end the 18-day strike.Â
Striking New York correction officers are considering a new offer to end their 18-day walkout.Â
The leaders of the union representing New York correction officers say their members have "no faith in us" amid a two-week strike.Â
A lawsuit alleges that the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is restricting inmates' access to communications and visits with legal counsel.Â
State officials said Monday that the response to the two-week New York correction officer has already cost $25 million, but it could rise to $106 million a month if it continues.Â
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision began issuing termination notices to striking correction officers Sunday.Â
DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III said that New York correction officers who remain on strike will lose their health insurance Monday.Â
New York correction officers who don't return to work could face penalties, including arrest or termination, for continuing their strike.Â
Gov. Kathy Hochul says a deal to end the nearly two-week-long strike is a "real win" for the state's correction officers, but many officers are continuing the work stoppage.Â
At Auburn Correctional Facility, striking officers rejected the agreement announced late Thursday and will continue their work stoppage.Â
New York correction officers are holding the line, despite an agreement reached between their union and the state to end the 12-day strike.Â
The state and the union representing New York's correction officers have reached an agreement to end the 11-day strike.Â
Here is what's in the agreement to end the New York correction officer strike.Â
About 90% of the state's correction officers and sergeants are on strike, according to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.Â
The union representing New York correction officers says there has been "progress" in mediation to resolve the 10-day strike.Â
Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck is calling on the state Legislature to either repeal or make significant changes to HALT.Â
Gov. Kathy Hochul renews her call for the correction officer strike to end.Â
Ë®¹ûÅÉAV talked to two labor experts about the "risks" correction officers are taking by going on strike and what message the movement sends to state government.Â
A group of Democratic state senators who represent prisons, including Auburn and Cayuga correctional facilities, are calling for safer workplaces for striking correction officers.Â
Mediation begins Monday in an attempt to end the state correction officer strike.Â
New York correction officers who continue to participate in an illegal strike will be considered absent without leave, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.Â
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said one of its buses was set on fire and another was vandalized at a Cayuga County shop.Â
A pair of state legislators has provided portable toilets for the Auburn correction officer strike.Â
The top Assembly Republican visited Auburn correction officers who have been on strike since Tuesday.Â
Amid a correction officer strike, Gov. Kathy Hochul has amended her 2025-26 state budget proposal to include the closure of up to five prisons.Â
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has suspended parts of HALT and took other actions in an attempt to end the correction officer strike.Â
A memo details the National Guard's use of force policy and directs servicemembers to avoid interacting with striking correction officers at New York prisons.Â
How the correction officer strike is affecting inmates at Auburn Correctional Facility.Â
Federal and state representatives are supporting correction officers on strike at state prisons, including two in Cayuga County.Â
Gov. Kathy Hochul has activated the National Guard, while a mediator has been retained to help end the three-day-long correction officer strike.Â
Gov. Kathy Hochul has a message for striking New York correction officers.Â
Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to Auburn Correctional Facility on Wednesday as the correction officer strike entered its second day at the prison.Â
Correction officers are on strike at several New York prisons. But under state law, the strike is illegal.Â
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has responded to demands from correction officers amid a strike affecting at least 25 prisons.Â
The New York State Police is providing security at select prisons during the ongoing correction officer strike.Â
Gov. Kathy Hochul is preparing to deploy the New York National Guard to state prisons if the correction officer strike doesn't end by Wednesday.Â
Correction officers at more than 20 New York state prisons, including Auburn and Cayuga correctional facilities, are on strike.Â
Correction officers are on strike at two New York prisons to protest unsafe working conditions.
Government reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 664-4631 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on X @RobertHarding.
Robert Harding
Online producer/politics reporter
