(24 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Coxsackie, New York – 24 February 2025 –
1. Striking corrections officers and supporters with signs
++PARTLY COVERED++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ed Ventre, Retired Corrections Officer
“They are out here because working conditions in the prison have deteriorated to such a level that no one has ever seen the amount of violence and disregard for the safety of the officers, not to mention the fact that staffing is at an all-time low and officers are being mandated to work 24 hours straight with the threat of termination should they leave the prison.”
3. Various exteriors of Coxsackie Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley
4. Strikers and supporters with flags
++PARTLY COVERED++
5. SOUNDBITE (English) State Assemblyman Chris Tague, (R) New York:
“They’re not asking for more money. They’re not asking for better benefits. All they’re asking for is a safe and secure work environment. And it’s not just the COs, you’re talking about the inmates as well. There are serious safety concerns on both sides, and without these people in there doing their job, we got a very big problem on our hands.”
6. Various of striking corrections officers and supporters
STORYLINE:
More than 100 corrections officers and supporters continued to protest Monday in sight of Coxsackie Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley.
Current guards, retirees and family members milled about signs reading “NYS Failed Us” and “Wildcats Strike.” Passing cars and trucks honked in support of the protesters, some who gathered around burn barrels or ate grilled hot dogs
Guards would not give their names or speak on the record to reporters. But Ed Ventre, a retired corrections officer, said workers had been gathered here since last Wednesday because of deteriorating working conditions.
“No one has ever seen the amount of violence and disregard for the safety of the officers, not to mention the fact that staffing is at an all-time low and officers are being mandated to work 24 hours straight with the threat of termination should they leave the prison,” Ventre said.
Republican Assemblyman Chris Tague stopped by to give the strikers support.
“They’re not asking for more money. They’re not asking for better benefits," Tague said. "All they’re asking for is a safe and secure work environment. And it’s not just the COs, you’re talking about the inmates as well. There are serious safety concerns on both sides, and without these people in there doing their job, we got a very big problem on our hands.”
Picketing and striking by corrections officers has taken place at around 30 state prisons in the state since last week, union officials said.
They are being referred to as “wildcat” strikes, since they were not authorized by the union.
Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced legal action against the striking prison workers.
“…New York State filed an injunction under the Taylor Law and a judge granted a temporary restraining order mandating striking correction officers to cease the illegal activity,” the governor’s statement said.
Striking guards could be fined or face other sanctions under that law.
State prison guards union leaders have previously conceded that the strike is illegal and are negotiating with the governor’s office.
Union officials have said that corrections officers are protesting for better pay, heightened searches of prison visitors, and a reversal of recent prison reforms that limit solitary confinement.
A special prosecutor is expected to announce an update in the criminal case in Brooks’ death Thursday.
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