NY prison guards ordered to end illegal strikes after Kathy Hochul files suit: Causing undue fear
New York prison guards were ordered to immediately stop striking by a state judge Wednesday – after Gov.Kathy Hochul sued to halt the illegal work stoppages.State Supreme Court Justice Donna M.
Siwek ruled the wildcat strikes by correction officers — which erupted Monday and have since stretched to 30 state prisons — are in violation of the Public Employee’s Fair Employment Act, also known as the Taylor Law, according to court documents filed in Erie County.The Democratic governor filed a lawsuit against the rogue strikers, who are prohibited from demonstrating under New York law, with the injunction requiring them to return to work.Hochul on Wednesday signed an executive order deploying more than 3,500 National Guard members to an unspecified number of prisons to protect inmates and staff where correction workers continue to unlawfully protest working conditions inside the correctional facilities.“These disruptive and unsanctioned work stoppages by some correction officers must end as they are jeopardizing the safety of their colleagues, the prison population, and causing undue fear for the residents in the surrounding communities,” Hochul said in a statement.“While I am confident we will resolve this illegal strike, I am grateful for the thousands of correction officers and staff that are continuing to report for duty – I thank them for their continued service and for doing the right thing.”The governor added that she appointed mediator Martin Scheinman to return striking correction officers back to work.
Staff and other on-the-job guards were also granted additional overtime under the executive order.It remains unclear the role guardsmen will play inside the prisons as soldiers in Humvees were captured arriving at Attica Correctional Facility Wednesday morning, Spectrum News reported. Sources familiar with the National Guards’ orders say they may be stationed in housing units, watch towers and at entrances to facilities.Inmates would stay ...