Northern New York prison protests continue despite risk of terminations, loss of insurance

By Benny Nezaj

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    MALONE, New York (WPTZ) — Prison demonstrations and protests are ongoing on Monday, including in the North Country, even after a tentative deal was reached last week between the workers’ union and the state corrections department.

While some workers have accepted the offer and returned to work, the majority of corrections officers who were protesting are still on the picket lines and have rejected the result of the mediation, saying it just isn’t enough to get them back inside.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Monday that taking further action to meet workers’ demands — including overturning the HALT Act — would go against the law.

To suggest that I’m going to stand here and unilaterally overturn a law that was passed by elected officials. I’m not pretending to be the king or the queen of this state, I will follow the law until the legislature — if they choose to make any changes,” Hochul said.

The HALT Act, which stands for the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, restricts the use of segregated confinement in state and local correctional facilities.

Following this weekend’s return-to-work mandate means that the workers who remain on the picket lines today are now in violation of a restraining order that demands they get back on the job. A handful of officers have also received termination letters, according to an update from New York State Department of Corrections and Community Services Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III earlier this morning.

NBC5 spoke with some retired corrections officers in Dannemora and Malone on Monday, who told us that there is still a lot of frustration among those protesting for the past two weeks. Despite the cold and what they say is a lack of progress, they said they are not going anywhere until their demands are met.

Now, as the strikes and protests drag into a third week, state officials are speaking out with renewed vigor.

“We really need our staff to return to the workforce so we can operate in safe facilities and provide safety to the surrounding communities,” Martuscello said.

Despite termination letters being sent and health insurance benefits being taken away from those on strike, corrections staff said they are standing in solidarity to be heard.

State officials went one step further as the work stoppage continued, saying anyone who has been absent for ten workdays and doesn’t provide a satisfactory excuse or explain their absence by the end of the 11th workday will be considered “resigned.”

In Malone, corrections staff from the three facilities in the area gathered outside the Franklin Correctional Facility and said the fight was worth the risk of possibly losing it all.

“The way things are inside, it’s worth it for them to take the chance,” said Marvin Titus, a retired corrections officer.

Others remained adamant that Hochul and DOCCS could not possibly follow through with their threat to initiate mass firings.

“They want to fire 11,000 or 12,000 officers, go ahead. Good luck running your correctional facilities,” said Steven Sweeney, another retired officer. “You got industries not running, no inmates over this industry. This is a huge part of the money in Clinton.”

Visitation at all prisons statewide remains suspended at this time. Corrections officers told NBC5 that they are planning a protest on Tuesday at the state capitol in Albany. Some of the protesters from our region have already left and headed south for that event.

NBC5 will continue to provide coverage tomorrow as the protests continue for the 16th day.

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