The Prison CO Strike is Done, But is the Labor Dispute Over?

This week started with a major announcement that the New York Corrections Officer Strike had finally ended. However, if you think the dispute has been resolved, you've got another thing coming.

Bryan Hluska is the Vice President of the Central Region for the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), and he warned that the labor dispute between corrections employees and Albany is not even close to being resolved.

"No. The folks went back in the door but this is far from over," said Hluska. "In that type of forum it was hard to address our issues as a lot of it's legislation, and with the majority of(downstate Democrats) it's hard to get a bill passed...Here we are in the budget season, so there can be things done," he said.

Hluska represents correctional officers and law enforcement personnel in the central region of New York State, advocating for their rights and addressing concerns related to their working conditions. He says some of the key issues are mandatory overtime and 24-hour shifts, low staffing levels, fentanyl laced packages coming into the prison without procedures to protect employees, and the HALT act which prevents corrections officers from implementing consequences on the inmates following serious and sometimes life-threatening violations targeting other inmates and corrections officers.

When asked if he felt that the 90-day pause on the HALT act for review by a review committee will make a difference, he said no.  Hluska says the review of HALT doesn't change any of the rules to help combat violence, as things like solitary confinement still remain off the table as a means of corrective or preventative punishment.

Hluska added that the 2,000 employees who have been fired brings the total to s shortage of 4,000 corrections officers across the state. He also said they will be fighting for those 2,000 employees who, after Governor Kathy Hochul's executive order, will not be allowed to be hired for any NYS job ever again.

"They deserve to be able to take a job in their own communities," Hluska said.

Watch the interview with Hluska below...