NEW YORK STATE — More than 2,000 corrections officers have been fired by New York State after a massive strike that has been deemed illegal due to the Taylor Law that shut down much of the state’s prison system. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the firings and said the state is moving forward without them.

“You’re not working in our state workforce, ever,” Hochul said at a recent press conference. “There are consequences when people break the law.”

The strike began on February 17. Over 4,000 corrections officers from 38 of the state’s 42 prisons walked off the job. They said they were protesting dangerous conditions inside the prisons. The strike was not approved by their union.

The walkout forced the state to bring in 7,000 National Guard troops to run the prisons. The strike has already cost the state more than $100 million.

Governor Hochul signed an executive order that permanently bans the fired officers from ever working for New York State again. She also recommended they be removed from the Central Registry of Police and Peace Officers. This would prevent them from getting jobs as police officers anywhere in the state.

Dangerous conditions

Many officers say they went on strike because prison conditions have gotten too dangerous. Dave Cornish, a retired corrections officer from Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Sullivan County, has supported the officers who walked out.

Cornish called the prisons “hell on earth.” He says that inmate attacks on staff are on the rise at Woodbourne over the past three years. 

“Nobody walked out for more money,” Cornish told the Democrat. “They just want people to understand. It’s become hell on earth within these facilities.”

Cornish and others blame a law passed in 2021 that limits solitary confinement, the HALT Act. They say it makes it harder to control violent inmates. While some solitary confinement has been allowed again, many officers say it isn’t enough.

“We created a hell in our country,” Cornish said. “And when these people came out and said, ‘Hey, we understand that we’re in hell, but this is beyond what we can take,’ you have to pay attention to that.”

Chemical exposure

Cornish also talked about officers getting sick from exposure to dangerous chemicals. He says inmates are making drugs out of wasp spray—a practice called “wasping.”

“Woodbourne had 27, 28 people go out from exposure to this chemical,” Cornish said. “People were Narcaned. And the state’s response? They told us it was exhaustion or in our heads.”

According to reports the drug causes paranoia, aggression, and overdoses. The drug does not show up on normal drug tests, which makes them hard to detect. Cornish said some officers still have health problems weeks after being exposed.

Even National Guard troops working in prisons after the strike have reported getting sick from chemical exposure, according to Assembly Member Paula Kay, who represents parts of Sullivan County. She said her office is working with prison officials to try to stop drugs from getting into the prisons. One idea is to stop incoming mail, which is how she believes that some drugs are smuggled inside.

What’s Next?

Cornish warned that the problems aren’t over. The state, according to the state budget, will close five more prisons and Cornish says, the incarcerated will go into fewer, more crowded facilities. He worries this could lead to violence, like the deadly Attica prison riot in 1971.

“They’re going to consolidate more, and they’re going to have these crowded facilities that are barely staffed,” Cornish added. “That is a recipe for an Attica situation… It’s a shame nobody listened.”