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2025-02-20 Home Front: Politix

NY Gov. Hochul orders National Guard to staff correction facilities amid unsanctioned strikes, staff shortages

[FoxNews] Strike continues despite increased salaries, benefits

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday preparations to use the New York National Guard to protect correction officers who are currently on the job, inmates, and the communities surrounding the correctional facilities.

The move comes after inmates took over three dorms and attacked three guards at Collins Correctional Facility in Erie County, amid reports of staffing shortages.

New York State politicians not willing to spend enough to hire adequate staff? Or were they trying to protect the suffering inmates from meanie guards?

Over the last year, dozens of guards at the facility have been injured by inmates, Fox News Digital previously reported.

The governor also directed Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) commissioner Daniel Martuscello and senior administration officials to meet with leaders from the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) to "call for an end to the unlawful work stoppage that is causing significant public safety concerns across New York," according to a statement.

"The illegal and unlawful actions being taken by a number of correction officers must end immediately," Gov. Hochul wrote in the statement. "We will not allow these individuals to jeopardize the safety of their colleagues, incarcerated people, and the residents of communities surrounding our correctional facilities."

New York National Guard members will be deployed to DOCCS facilities on Wednesday if the unlawful work stoppage does not end, and will begin to take appropriate disciplinary action "as necessary," according to the statement.

Hochul's counsel will work with the Office of the Attorney General on legal mechanisms, like the Taylor Law, which will compel employees to return to work.

"This illegal job action involving NYSCOPBA members is causing irreparable harm to the operations of the department and jeopardizing the safety and security of their co-workers within these facilities," Martuscello wrote. "We will continue to develop strategies to reduce assaults and to bring more staff on board."

He added there is always room for progress and for disagreements with the union, but he urges all those on strike to end the measure.

In March 2024, the union agreed to a collective bargaining agreement with the State of New York to improve working conditions for corrections officers.

Some of the benefits included: increased salaries and starting pay for new employees by $6,500, increased correction officer location-based pay by $500 to $1,000 per officer for downstate assignments, increased correction officer hazardous duty pay from $200 to $1,075, and providing 12 weeks of fully-paid parental leave.

Laws and administrative changes have been made to protect corrections officers, and recruitment efforts have been expanded.

The NYSCOPBA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Posted by Skidmark 2025-02-20 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11148 views ] Top

#1 staff shortages

The illegals are leaving?

Posted by Grom the Affective 2025-02-20 03:59|| 2025-02-20 03:59|| Front Page Top

#2 I didn’t think they jailed people in NY anymore other than Penny.

Posted by Super Hose 2025-02-20 05:53|| 2025-02-20 05:53|| Front Page Top

#3 New York State politicians not willing to spend enough to hire adequate staff? Or were they trying to protect the suffering inmates from meanie guards?

Protecting valued (captured) voters. It's getting tight out there. Got to have a place that they can get a hundred or so votes in their three week count on a close race.

Posted by Procopius2k 2025-02-20 06:53|| 2025-02-20 06:53|| Front Page Top

#4 If Hochul can't pay the guards, the Cartels will...this is truly third world.

Good order and discipline has collapsed. The good Guards are not paid enough and they have to fight on three fronts - against inmates, bad leadership and guards bought with Cartel money, and stupid politicians. Not sure there is an easy way out of this for ole Kathy - she earned this disaster.

Posted by Tennessee 2025-02-20 09:07|| 2025-02-20 09:07|| Front Page Top

#5 She get a complaint article from the BBC or nah?

Posted by swksvolFF 2025-02-20 12:24|| 2025-02-20 12:24|| Front Page Top

#6 The problem for the rest of us is when New York can't afford to incarcerate criminals, or just plain refuses to incarcerate them, and they commit crimes in other states.

Posted by Abu Uluque 2025-02-20 14:12|| 2025-02-20 14:12|| Front Page Top

#7 Cautionary observation-from CCPOA (California Correctional Peace Officer association) interactions off the record, I can tell you that staffing shortages are sometimes a desired end-state for liberal state systems with long-standing union corrections officers. Pensions in CA, (and others with similar unionized systems) I suspect, are based on "high-one" annual salaries. Overtime is counted in that computation, so you often get systems where last year individuals game the system, with fellow-union partners, to get massive amounts of overtime at the back-end of their careers, to inflate pension amounts. (I recall from many years past a rumored Oakland bus-driver in a similar system, whose last year payroll exceeded 300,000 with massive overtime and whose 35 years of service (35x2%=70%) gave him a pension of 210,000 per annum.)

Posted by NoMoreBS 2025-02-20 14:45|| 2025-02-20 14:45|| Front Page Top

#8 ^ tell me why any 'civil servant' should get a retirement that is greater than the average salary of the taxpayers. If you want to increase your pension make sure the average taxpayer's income rises as well.

Posted by Procopius2k 2025-02-20 15:33|| 2025-02-20 15:33|| Front Page Top

#9 Foks used to get the "highest of the remaining last three years." Max overtime was standard.

Posted by Besoeker 2025-02-20 15:36|| 2025-02-20 15:36|| Front Page Top

#10 at the time of my retirement, it was highest 3 yr avg and just base pay, no OT or add-ons like uniform pay reimbursement

Posted by Frank G 2025-02-20 16:06|| 2025-02-20 16:06|| Front Page Top

#11 Thanks for that correction, Frank.

Posted by Besoeker 2025-02-20 16:12|| 2025-02-20 16:12|| Front Page Top

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