ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Nearly two weeks after launching an unsanctioned strike, corrections officers agreed to accept a tentative agreement and return to work.
It’s illegal for public employees, like teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement, to strike, but employees say unsafe staffing conditions and mandatory overtime brought them out anyway.
Under the new agreement, mandatory 24-hour overtime shifts are gone, replaced by voluntary overtime. The HALT Act, which limits the use of solitary confinement, is also on pause at the request of staff. An independent staffing specialist will be brought on to crunch the numbers on what staffing minimums are needed to prevent mandatory overtime.
On the safety front, another measure taken is security around mail. Corrections officers had a lot of safety concerns, like contraband in prisons, and this is a crackdown on that.
This seven-page agreement is binding, meaning that all employees have to be back to work by Saturday, or they could be disciplined. While they were walking the pickets, the National Guard had to be brought in to support nurses and other employees.
News10NBC also spoke with inmates and their families, who said visitations and other programs were the first thing to go, along with access to regular showers and full meals. So all are eager for some stability to come back.
The National Guard is slowly being replaced by the corrections officers through Saturday, but some members will still come in to help meet those staffing minimums and prevent mandatory overtime. It’s ultimately the governor’s call how much the National Guard stays on in the long-term.
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