NYSDOCCS: Consent award reached to end correctional strikes statewide

ALBANY, NY- A consent award has been reached after nearly two-weeks of strikes by correctional officers statewide, which were deemed illegal by Governor Kathy Hochul.

Based on numerous accounts, corrections officers essentially walked off the job as a last effort to make their concerns known about their safety while on the job.

Specifically, they blame the HALT act for taking away their disciplinary tools for when incarcerated individuals break the rules, but various leaders at the state level have said that solitary confinement is not an ethical solution for when it comes to responding to unruly inmates.

“HALT is the law,” said New York State Senator Julia Salazar in a post to social media earlier this week. “Long-term solitary confinement is torture and we don’t want it in New York.”

Despite that, documents released from New York’s DOCCS claim that the deal addresses the temporary suspension of the HALT Act, while also seeking to end mandatory 24-hour shifts and hashing out which actions can and cannot be disciplined.

Regardless, because the strikes were not approved by the union, each employee who joined the picket line will be required to agree to the latest terms and return to work by March 1 by designated times.

***Examine the full consent award here***

NYS Prison image.