LETITIA JAMES DOXES PRISON GUARDS AS STRIKE TURNS NASTY
ESCALATING CRISIS IN NEW YORK PRISONS
Unleash the Memes! Gov. Kathy Hochul depicted as the Wicked Witch in meme circulated on social media by New York’s striking prison gaurds.
EXCLUSIVE
Feb. 26, 2025
New York has started Doxing Correction Officers allegedly taking part in a wildcat strike against the state prison system.
25 guards had their home addresses published on the Internet by State Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday, the tenth day of a strike that started at the Collins and Elmira Correctional Facilities on Feb. 17.
The Free Lance broke the story exclusively.
By last Wednesday night, guards at all but two of New York's 42 prisons were on strike. Last Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to replace strikers. Some were sleeping in cells.
"We have more than 6,500 National Guard members on duty for this mission that are actively being deployed to correctional facilities," Matt Janiszewski, Gov. Hochul's Upstate Press Secretary, told The Free Lance on Wednesday.
"90% or about 9 out of 10 correction workers and sergeants are illegally on strike," Janiszewski added.
A page of a 3-page public court filing by New York State Attorney General Letitia James that Doxes 25 state prison guards for allegedly striking, redacted by The Free Lance.
Strikes by all public employees are illegal under New York's Taylor Law. Striking guards face automatic loss of two days' pay for every day on strike.
The strikes started the same week six New York State Correction Officers were charged with murder for beating and choking Robert Brooks to death at the Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9. Three more were charged with manslaughter. Two were charged with attempting to cover it up. Three more pled guilty to unspecified charges and are cooperating with prosecutors.
A list of demands was released by the guards who started the strike at Collins.
First is repeal of the HALT Act, which restricts prison officials’ power to impose long-term solitary confinement as discipline. According to the striking guards, without the ability to impose long-term solitary confinement, inmates face no meaningful punishment for misconduct. This has caused assaults on guards and other prisoners to increase, they say.
The agency that manages the state prison system is called the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, or DOCCS. DOCCS and Gov. Kathy Hochul appeared to grant the guards' core demands last Friday but they didn't trust her so the strike continued.
A mediator has been facilitating negotiations between the two sides since Monday, so far without a breakthrough.
Striking New York State prison guards from the Governeur Correctional Facility protesting beside the area’s main road on Feb. 25. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
On Tuesday, Gov. Hochul delivered a stern message to the striking gaurds.
“This must end immediately,” she said. “The illegal actions being taken by a number of individuals is putting the entire state at risk.”
“If you are striking,” she added. “You are AWOL. You no longer secured the right to have health benefits from the State. That goes away.”
Finally, she added, strikers should think of the legal fees they might face, “because this is not sanctioned by the union. They will not pay for this.”
While Gov. Hochul was speaking, the angry wives of striking guards were visiting the Capital office of Sen. Julia Salazar, who they hold responsible for the HALT Act. While video of the visit has not yet been made public, whatever happened prompted Sen. Salazar to issue a statement on X.
Meanwhile in Buffalo, state Attorney General Letitia James sued the union and more than 300 named guards for striking illegally under the Taylor law. State Supreme Court Justice Dennis E. Ward granted James' request for a temporary restraining order and directed the guards to return to work on Feb. 19.
The order had ZERO effect.
Before the court order can be enforced, it has to be served on the defendants. An assistant attorney general in James office served 25 guards, and filed an affirmation in the court record so swearing on Wednesday.
It's this document that contains the names and addresses of 25 Correction Officers.
Former state Attorney General Dennis Vacco is defending the guards against James' lawsuit. He did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The Free Lance telephoned several of the officers. One picked up and said “we don’t have free speech. We could get fired just for talking to you.”
Because the strike is illegal, they will only speak anonmously.
“This threatens my life,” one said. “What if I had beef with a Blood?”
While not defending the Doxing, DOCCS' spokesperson Thomas Mailey told The Free Lance that "the longer this illegal strike continues the greater the risk becomes to the stability of these facilities and for the people inside them."
"It is imperative," Mailey added, "that this unlawful job action come to an end without further delay.”
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