After the strike, New York state prisons are even more short-staffed than before
Source: NPR
March 15, 20257:55 AM ET
Martin Kaste
The state of New York was short on corrections officers before a strike among their ranks. The governor is now barring 2,000 strikers from returning to work.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
New York state's prison system is reeling after a three-week unsanctioned strike by corrections officers. That ended about a week ago, and on Monday, Governor Kathy Hochul fired 2,000 prison guards for not returning to work. As NPR's Martin Kaste reports, that leaves the system even more short-staffed and increases worries about safety.
MARTIN KASTE, BYLINE: The wildcat strike started in mid-February, and one of the guards' main complaints was a state law passed in 2021 known as the HALT Act. It restricts the use of solitary confinement. But at a press conference by guards' spouses during the strike, Bernadette Singer said that law was making it harder to isolate dangerous inmates.
BERNADETTE SINGER: Officers do not want to treat people badly. They understand that the point of prison is for rehabilitation. That is not the choice that they have anymore.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/15/nx-s1-5327232/after-the-strike-new-york-state-prisons-are-even-more-short-staffed-than-before