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Mar. 8—Continued attempts to reach a deal to bring the striking New York State corrections officers back to work failed overnight Friday, after thousands of COs missed a deadline to return to work set in a deal that state officials tried to negotiate directly with officers.
According to a memo from NYSCOPBA, the union that represents state COs, dated for Saturday, state and union leaders met until 1:15 a.m. Saturday, but weren't able to come to a deal to reverse the suspension of striking officers health insurance coverage retroactively to the date they first went on strike.
Under the state law that bars public employees from striking, New York can suspend strikers health insurance coverage or hold them liable for the full cost of their plan when they walk off the job, as well as seek other penalties like fines and even criminal charges. For thousands of COs who haven't been to work since mid-February, the state started suspending coverage on Monday retroactive to the first shift missed. The deal negotiated between the state Department of Corrections and the officers on Thursday did not include a commitment to reverse those penalties, only that the state would not pursue further legal action against those who returned to work by Friday afternoon.
"Negotiations ended poorly due to the state's refusal to ensure that health insurance coverage would be made retroactive to the date of the first AWOL for those who had their coverage terminated," the memo reads."NYSCOPBA insisted that this must be part of any agreement arrived at between the parties. The state was adamant that it would not move off of its position."
The union has been in a somewhat unique position — it did not sanction the strike and has maintained throughout these negotiations that officers must return to work ASAP. To do otherwise would invite legal action from the state that could shut down the union, and potential jail time for union leaders.
But at the same time, it's served as the main negotiator for the striking COs, who have organized largely at a local level. At its peak, an estimated 12,000 officers were on strike at 38 of 42 state prisons, according to sources with knowledge of the ongoing job action speaking on condition of anonymity.
Some of those officers have expressed a concern over the union's role in negotiations — officers have made safety the core issue for these strikes, arguing that the 2022 HALT Act that restricts solitary confinement use and mandates a wide range of rehabilitative programming for incarcerated people has made their jobs unsafe. They've complained that while officers are being asked to do more, the prison system has been unable to sufficiently staff itself, and have pointed to increased reports of violence against COs and inmates as proof that things aren't working.
Some officers have expressed a concern that the union hasn't pushed back on HALT in its contract negotiations, and that its membership isn't pushing the issue as hard as it should be. Union leadership recently suppressed a strike vote at an executive board meeting in early February, after COs issued a demonstrative 'vote of no confidence' in Daniel F. Martuscello, III, the commissioner of DOCCS.
After a deal mediated between the union and DOCCS failed to gain significant support from the striking COs on Feb. 28, Martuscello tried to negotiate directly with striking COs, developing the deal presented Thursday. Sources close to those negotiations indicate that while NYSCOPBA president Chris Summers was present for those virtual meetings, and had expressed some support for the deal negotiated, he ultimately decided to turn against it and declined to sign the deal Thursday evening. Unsigned memos on NYSCOPBA executive board letterhead circulated later that night urging the membership not to accept that deal, because it did not return health insurance coverage retroactively. Sources indicate that Governor Kathleen C. Hochul and Martuscello tried to convince Summers to align behind the deal through Thursday night into Friday morning, but were unsuccessful. The union memo Saturday indicates those negotiations continued with DOCCS into the weekend.
Now, the union continues to urge its membership to get back to work, and said that it will use legal action to secure its demands.
"Our plan moving forward, unless or until the state returns to the table with a reasonable offer, is to direct that members return to the facility while NYSCOPBA continues to file the lawsuits necessary to protect membership rights," the Saturday memo reads. "As of today, we have filed the health insurance litigation and an application for an injunction."
It's not clear where the union stands on the state's offer regarding safety. The latest deal includes a provision to create a safety committee with members from NYSCOPBA, other unions representing prison staff, and representatives of DOCCS, aimed at reviewing the HALT Act and suggesting changes to be made to the legislation. It would also continue an already-in-place 90 day pause on the programming requirements of HALT, limiting the number of rehabilitative programs that must be offered to incarcerated people. That power was given to the DOCCS commissioner in the original legislation. The new deal also includes an agreement to contract with a security screening provider to handle all inmate mail and packages, to screen for drugs, weapons or other contraband.
When reached for comment, a NYSCOPBA spokesperson only shared the Saturday memo.
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