Niagara Leader

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney has issued a statement regarding the ongoing strikes at several correctional facilities in New York. The affected facilities include Attica, Auburn, Wyoming, Elmira, Cayuga, Albion, and Five Points.

"For years, Correctional Officers (COs) have raised serious concerns about unsafe working conditions caused by severe staffing shortages and pro-criminal policies pushed by Governor Kathy Hochul and Albany Democrats. Assaults on COs have nearly doubled, and they are routinely forced to work double and even triple shifts," stated Congresswoman Tenney.

Tenney criticized recent directives from Governor Hochul and Acting DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello for instructing prison superintendents to consider 70% staffing capacity as "full staffing."

"Instead of addressing these issues and working to make these essential jobs safer, Governor Hochul and Acting DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello recently instructed prison superintendents to treat just 70% of staffing capacity as 'full staffing.'"

The Congresswoman expressed concern over the treatment of COs who continued working during the strike. She stated that placing inmates under a 24-hour lockdown exacerbates tensions. "Now, as COs are advocating for better working conditions, Kathy Hochul and Commissioner Martuscello are holding the COs who decided to go to work hostage and forcing inmates into a 24-hour lockdown."

She warned against deploying the National Guard to manage the situation. "This situation is at a boiling point, and sending in the National Guard will only make this situation more dangerous. Our state's National Guardsmen are some of the best soldiers our country has to offer but placing them in this situation is misguided and dangerous."

In her closing remarks, Tenney called for respect towards correctional officers: "These dangerous working conditions are only set to get worse. Governor Hochul and Commissioner Martuscello must treat COs with the respect they deserve and recognize them as the essential workers they are. I stand with our courageous correctional officers."