GOV. KATHY HOCHUL SAYS SHE’S FIRING 1,000s OF STRIKING STATE PRISON GUARDS, BUT CAN SHE?
DESPITE THE STATE'S BLUSTER, NEW YORK IS LEGALLY CONSTRAINED FROM FIRING STRIKING STATE PRISON GUARDS FOR LEGAL AND PRACTICAL REASONS
Striking guards taped a protest sign over the official Franklin Correctional Facility sign on Sunday, Mar. 2, 2025. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
Mar. 3, 2025
Gov. Kathy Hochul and her state prison chief threatened to start firing striking Correction Officers on Monday, but she can't.
"Terminations of Officers who have been AWOL for more than 11 consecutive shifts have begun," a news release by the state agency that manages New York's prison system, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, DOCCS, said on Sunday.
Gov. Hochul claimed she was "firing" the guards who allegedly murdered Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9. But, almost 3 months later, those guards remain DOCCS Correction Officers—although they are suspended without pay.
Administrative disciplinary hearings for those guards are "tentatively" set to begin sometime in "early April," state Attorney General Letitia James said in a court filing opposing a reporter's request to open those hearings to the public.
In comparison to proving murder, the case for firing the striking guards seems relatively simple so it should also be speedier. But the guards' contract gives them the right to demand administrative disciplinary hearings presided over by private arbitrators.
DOCCS' simply does not have enough arbitrators to conduct the 1000s of hearings they would be legally required to hold.
Further complicating the situation for Gov. Hochul is a new provision in the guards' contract the state allowed the guards' union to add: the right to demand disciplinary hearings be completed within 90 days of demand.
If hearings aren't completed within 90 days of demand, the charges must be dismissed, under the contract.
In short, DOCCS' employee disciplinary system would be quickly overwhelmed by sheer numbers of fired guards demanding hearings. While DOCCS might be able to complete a handful or even a 100 hearings for fired guards, it wouldn't even come close to completing the 1000s required.
Finally, there's the practical implications of firing 1000s of guards.
Simply stated, New York is short about 3,000 prison guards already. The shortage is one of the main reasons guards have cited for the wildcat strike, which began on Feb. 17.
Firing more guards will only exacerbate the shortage that helped trigger the strike in the first place. A hiring blitz won't help much, because the state's efforts to hire more guards have so far been stifled by widespread criticism of law enforcement in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police in Minnesota.
Striking prison guards from the Governeur Correctional Facility protesting on the main road in Governeur, New York, on Feb. 23, 2025. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
Gov. Hochul could deploy more National Guard, but it's not clear there are more for her to deploy.
New York is authorized to field 11,339 National Guard soldiers, according to the U.S. Army. 6,500 are currently deployed.
When New York’s Correction Officers walked off the job in 1979, 7,000 National Guardsmen were needed to watch the state's 21,000 prisoners. In 2025, New York has 33,500 prisoners that need watching, which would appear to call for about 10,000 National Guard soldiers.
But it's not clear that New York has that many National Guard free for prison duty. Some are patrolling New York City's subways, and others may be deployed overseas.
Inquires to the National Guard were directed to Gov. Hochul's office, which didn't immediately respond to an inquiry. Neither did DOCCS' spokesman, Thomas Mailey.
There is no spokesperson for the striking guards, who are striking in defiance of their union—and which urged them to return to work.
Michael H. Sussman, a civil rights lawyer who took up the guards' cause, told The Free Lance Gov. Hochul "appeared serious" about firing strikers.
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