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(New York, NY) – Governor Kathy Hochul has deployed the National Guard amidst a statewide prison strike. Hochul’s office says that 3,500 members of the Empire State’s National Guard have started responding in assistance, helping maintain “general order and wellness in the facilities”. That’s according to the governor, who is also looking at legal avenues to respond to this work stoppage. The state does have a so-called Taylor Law, making it illegal for public employees to go on strike. Hochul got a court order to end the walkout and begin working with an appointed mediator towards a solution.
Striking guards could face possible fines or other consequences. Guards are striking at facilities like Sing Sing and Fishkill following a violent uprising at Collins Prison. It also comes as charges were set to be handed down to correction officers involved in a fatal beating of 43-year-old Robert Brooks, caught on camera at Marcy Correctional Facility. Union officials are not endorsing the action making it a “wildcat” strike, but officials with the union say that guards want better pay, more thorough searches of prison visitors, and reversals of recent reforms adding limitations to solitary confinement. Union representatives have been meeting with officials from the governor’s team.
