New York's Illegal Prison Guard Strike Challenges Law Limiting the Use of Solitary Confinement

A prison guard strike across New York, which has sent many state-wide correctional facilities into chaos, may soon see some officers exchanging their positions of authority for a cell themselves if they are not able to cement a new agreement.

Guards mobilized the strike, which began February 17, in response to working conditions they say are untenable. A deal reached last week sought to address those concerns: It limited mandatory 24-hour overtime shifts, which officers say had gotten out of control in response to staff shortages, and temporarily suspended a law that hamstrings the use of solitary confinement, particularly as it pertains to placing prisoners in isolation for long stretches of time.

Last week’s deal also pledged not to discipline officers who returned to work by the deadline, which passed on Saturday. 

Many declined to oblige, especially in upstate and western New York. “They are in violation of the law,” Democratic Gov. Kathy Hocul said Tuesday, referring to New York’s Taylor Law, passed in 1967, which permits public unionization and collective bargaining but curtails strikes by public employees. “They’ve created very unsafe circumstances. There are serious consequences. We have warned them day after day after day. A lot of warnings, that you could lose your health care, the health care is gone, people are going to be arrested, you could be going to jail. You’ve lost your job, you’ve lost your income, you’ve lost everything.” As of Thursday, a handful of officers had been fired and thousands had lost health insurance.

An amended agreement may see the strike come to an end this week, should officers accept this one. It would create a ​​committee—made up of lawmakers, union leaders, and corrections officials—to analyze potential changes to the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act, which appears to be many guards’ foremost gripe.

Signed in 2021 by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, it limits putting inmates in solitary for more than 15 consecutive days and bars its use entirely for pregnant women, people under the age of 22 or older than 54, and prisoners with certain disabilities. Officers have countered that the legislation paralyzes their ability to handle violent prisoners.

At least seven inmates have died since the strike began. Thousands of soldiers with the National Guard were deployed to fill the void, although they have reportedly been ill-equipped to step into the role, absent the proper training and supplies. Inmates have been deprived of showers, visits, and basic medical attention without guards there to oversee their day-to-day needs.

The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, the union for state prison guards, did not authorize the strike. But it’s yet another reminder of the disarray that ensues from strikes put on by state employees, who hold monopolies on public goods.

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