Offer from state expected Thursday in attempt to end correction officer strike

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — An offer from New York State is expected on Thursday to correction officers still on strike across the state in an attempt to end the nearly two week long labor dispute, union leadership said.

The two sides spent around 11 hours negotiating on Wednesday, wrapping at midnight. The two sides will meet again late Thursday morning, where the formal offer is expected to occur.

The strike, which resulted in thousands of correction officers walking off the job on Feb. 17, is entering its 11th day on Thursday. It has affected over 30 prisons across the state including several in Western New York, including Collins Correctional Facility, Wende Correctional Facility, Attica Correctional Facility and Lake View Correctional Facility.

A judge granted a temporary order last week to put a temporary end to the strike, but officers remained on the picket line. State representatives and union officials have met in court throughout the week this week in attempts to end the strike and get officers back to work.

Governor Kathy Hochul said earlier this week that the state has already given in to some of the demands correction officers have made, including suspending part of the controversial HALT Act and rescinding a memo that 70 percent would be considered 100 percent staffing. A boost in overtime rate was also given to officers.

It is unknown if any more officer demands will be met.

Additional demands from officers have included cuts on third party vendors, increased mail security and visitor body scans, improvements to improve officer work-life balance, no overtime mandates over 16 hours, pay grade increases, no 30% staff reduction or reassignment, and a pilot program to incentivize new employees and a hiring bonus of $5,000.

An update is expected on this story. Check back for more information.