Latest on prison staff strikes: Inmates at Collins Correctional Facility moved to other prisons

ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — Inmates at Collins Correctional Facility have been moved to other prisons amid the staff strikes that have entered their second week.

The state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision says the inmates were transferred to “ensure appropriate use of staff resources.” Here is the statement from Monday night:

“The ongoing illegal actions of certain COs who refuse to show up to work are putting the safety and well-being of New Yorkers at risk. Due to staffing shortages caused by these illegal actions, the Department is in the process of transferring incarcerated individuals from Collins Correctional Facility to other prisons to ensure appropriate use of staff resources.” 

Negotiations resumed on Monday between the union representing corrections officers and leadership at state prisons, in an attempt to end the strikes across the state. A third-party mediator is helping with the negotiations. You can watch our report from Groveland Correctional Facility in Livingston County here.

The union, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, has not authorized the strikes and the state has called the strikes illegal.

Corrections officers are demanding higher staffing levels, no mandated overtime over 16 hours, and increased measures to keep them safe. Already, the NYS Department of Corrections has suspended parts of the HALT Act, which limits solitary confinement to 15 straight days. Striking prison staff have spoken out against the HALT Act, citing a rise in assaults on staff since it was implemented in 2022.

The state has deployed thousands of National Guard members to work at prisons while the strikes last.