MALONE, N.Y. (WCAX) – It has been one year since thousands of New York prison workers hit the picket lines to protest safety conditions.
The state workers demonstrated against what they called dangerous working conditions, including serious staffing shortages. They also asked lawmakers to repeal the controversial HALT Act, which limited solitary confinement.
The wildcat strikes went on for weeks, with both the strikers and the Department of Corrections and Community Provisions failing to reach an agreement four times.
Eventually, after 22 days on the picket lines, an agreement was struck, with some safety measures put into place. Some provisions of the HALT Act were also temporarily suspended and a HALT Committee was created, appointing various union and state members to make recommendations to lawmakers about potential changes to the HALT law.
The strike by the guards violated a state law barring walkouts by most public employees. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to some prisons to take the place of striking workers.
The strike resulted in the firing of about 2,000 New York prison guards who failed to return to work by the negotiated deadline.
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