Expressing solidarity with the New York State corrections officers striking for better working conditions.

Expressing solidarity with the New York State corrections officers striking for better working conditions.

Whereas New York State corrections officers are forced to work in dangerous conditions and are constantly attacked by radical leftwing politicians;

Whereas the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision officially reported 2,070 assaults on corrections officers, nurses, and other staff across New York State in 2024, an 85-percent increase since 2019;

Whereas, in 2022, the HALT Act was signed into law severely limiting correctional officers’ ability to discipline inmates to keep other inmates safe through the use of solitary confinement;

Whereas, due to the dangerous conditions corrections officers are placed in, the number of facility personnel has significantly decreased from 16,305 corrections officers in 2022 to 13,886 corrections officers in 2025;

Whereas, due to these staffing shortages, mandatory overtime for corrections officers has reached record levels;

Whereas, to fix the staff shortage, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul proposed slashing the number of staff each facility is required to maintain to be considered at “full staffing”, which would be a 30-percent decrease in corrections officers at each facility;

Whereas the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) has repeatedly communicated to the Governor and the New York State Legislature the dangers that corrections officers are facing, the need to repeal the HALT Act, and the need for better support for our corrections officers;

Whereas, on February 17, 2025, corrections officers at the Collins and Elmira Correctional Facilities began to strike in protest of the conditions that corrections officers are facing, and the strike spread to almost all of the New York State prisons;

Whereas, in response to these strikes, Governor Hochul temporarily suspended portions of the HALT Act, locked corrections officers inside the facilities, and forced inmates into 24-hour lockdowns;

Whereas New York State and NYSCOPBA entered into arbitration, and the final consent award did not sufficiently resolve many of the underlying issues that caused the strike; and

Whereas corrections officers who continue to strike for safe working conditions are now being terminated and losing their health care: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) expresses solidarity with the New York State corrections officers as they fight for better working conditions;

(2) condemns Governor Kathy Hochul and New York State for their treatment of corrections officers; and

(3) urges the New York State Legislature to expeditiously repeal the HALT Act which makes every New York State correctional facility more dangerous.