New York fires 2,000 prison guards who refuse to return to work after wildcat strike

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York fired more than 2,000 prison guards Monday for failing to return to work after a weekslong wildcat strike that crippled the state's correctional system, but said enough officers had come back on the job to declare the illegal work stoppage over.

“After 22 days of an illegal strike, the governor and I are happy to report it is now ended,” Commissioner Daniel Martuscello said during a virtual press briefing.

The state and the guards’ union struck a new deal to end the strike this weekend, but it was contingent on at least 85% of staff returning to work by Monday morning. Although the number returning fell short of the 85% goal, Martuscello said the state would honor the deal's overtime and some other provisions.

He said the National Guard would remain in place at prisons in a support position while the department undertakes an aggressive recruiting campaign to attract additional employees. About 10,000 security staff are available to work in prisons across the state, he said, down from about 13,500 before the wildcat strike.

“Termination letters have been sent to over 2,000 officers who remained on strike. Officers and sergeants who did not have preapproved medical leave and didn’t return by this morning, 6:45 a.m. deadline, have been terminated effective immediately,” Martuscello said.

An email seeking comment was sent to the guards' union, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association.

Guards upset over working conditions began illegally walking off the job Feb. 17 at many state prisons, forcing Gov. Kathy Hochul to send National Guard troops in to maintain operations. Inmates have complained about deteriorating conditions behind bars since the walkout. And the death of a 22-year-old man this month at a prison near Utica is being investigated by a special prosecutor.

The walkout violates a state law barring strikes by most public employees and was not sanctioned by the guards' union. Two previous deals aimed at ending the strike failed to coax enough guards back to end the crisis.

Like the other deals, this one addresses a key complaint of the striking guards with a 90-day suspension of a provision of a state law that limits the use of solitary confinement. Guards will work 12-hour shifts and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will not discipline officers who participated in the strike if they returned by the Monday deadline.

Multiple inmates have died since the walkouts began, though it was unclear if strike-related prison conditions played a role in the deaths.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick is investigating the death of Messiah Nantwi at Mid-State Correctional Facility on March 1 as a special prosecutor. Authorities have declined to provide details, but a court filing by the attorney general's office said there is “probable cause to believe” that as many as nine correctional officers either caused or could be implicated in his death.

Fifteen prison staffers were placed on leave following Nantwi's death.

It is the second criminal investigation into a state prison inmate death in recent months. Six guards were charged with murder last month in the December death of Robert Brooks, who was incarcerated at the Marcy Correctional Facility, across the street from the Mid-State prison.

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Associated Press writer Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York, contributed to this story.