ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Some of the 2,000 New York state correction officers terminated from their jobs for remaining on strike are struggling to move forward as they seek work elsewhere.
Not only are they not able to work as correction officers in the state prison system, but due to an executive order signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, they won’t be hired by any state agency.
The correction officers were fired for violating the state’s Taylor Law. No officer has technically been convicted of violating the state's Taylor Law, which bars most public employees from striking.
“Something that I think that we all as human beings deserve, a safe work environment,” said former New York state correction officer Kristen McIntyre. After working nine years as a CO, she is now unemployed.
“I'll do whatever I can now to make my position and my family whole, monetarily,” said McIntyre.
She is one of the fired employees who joined her brothers and sisters in the recent wildcat strike at nearly every state prison now struggling to find work as Hochul signed an emergency executive order barring state agencies from hiring individuals formerly employed by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision who participated in the strike.
“We started this strike based on safety. We were begging for our governor and our legislators to take a look at what we were dealing with on a daily basis and try to make any kind of change that you could,” said McIntyre, who added that she felt unsafe in the workplace on a daily basis. “Yes, I've had incidences of having to be in an area where there were multiple fights and being exposed to chemical agents.”
McIntyre works to support her family, including three children. But the governor’s order directs the Central Registry of Police and Peace Officers to revoke the fired COs’ peace officer certifications and on a temporary basis suspends laws that would allow counties and municipalities to hire them.
That includes county jails that are short staffed.
“I look at it, I'm short public servants here in Rochester in the Monroe County Jail. I could use those. We‘ve taken 13 lateral transfers from the Department of Corrections in the last three years. So, we were already looking at these very talented people,” said Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter.
He takes a look at the financial hit.
“I also look at when you fire 2,000 public servants, you and I paid $175 million at a minimum to train those guys and gals, right? That's 20,000 years of experience.”
After standing on a strike line, McIntyre says she needs to provide for her family, and her family needs her to come home from work safely each day.
“I know there's a lot of people that are like, 'you could have just went back,' going back and being injured or hurt in any way or disabled in any way wasn't an option. What would that mean for my family if something were to happen?”
Some state leaders are pushing to repeal Hochul's executive order.
Meanwhile, areas including Chemung and Oneida counties are pursuing legal action, arguing the state is going beyond its scope by prohibiting the terminated correction officers from working in service of the state, saying it will impact hiring efforts on all levels of government.
