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Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, who represents the towns of Ira, Sterling and Victory, supports the strike. He shook hands with officers, who have gathered across the street from Auburn Correctional Facility since their strike began on Tuesday.Ìý

The strike at Auburn and Cayuga correctional facilities is part of a statewide protest against unsafe working conditions in prisons. Correction officers provided their demands to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The list includes repealing the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act.Ìý

The law limits the use of solitary confinement in prisons. Proponents of HALT say solitary confinement is torture and the law should remain in effect. But critics, including correction officers, argue that it has contributed to the spike in assaults on incarcerated individuals and staff.Ìý

"The HALT Act looked great on paper to liberal Democrats who never spent a day working in prisons," Barclay, R-Pulaski, said. "But who has it protected? Prison violence has soared since it was implemented. Inmates are less safe. Correctional officers are less safe. The entire system has become more dangerous. We don't need another year of alarming violence to know what needs to be done." 

DOCCS suspended parts of HALT due to a statewide emergency declared by Hochul, who also activated the National Guard to provide security at prisons amid the strike. But the law's repeal is not part of the governor's 30-day budget amendments.Ìý

The amended proposal does include some prison-related provisions, including language to expedite the closure of up to five correctional facilities. It's identical to a provision in the 2024-25 budget that the Hochul administration used to close two maximum-security prisons in November.Ìý