UPDATE 2/18/2025 10:30 A.M.: One day after Elmira and Collins correctional facility started their demonstrations and closed visitation, numerous other locations are also adding their names to the list.

According to the Department of Corrections, the following prisons will not have visitation opportunities until further notice: Elmira, Auburn, Five Points, Upstate, Clinton, Wende, and Easter, NY.

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- Many corrections officers gathered outside the Elmira Correctional Facility early Monday, February 17th, refusing to enter for their shifts. Demonstrators were stationed across the street from ECF using portable heaters and burn barrels to stay warm. Port-a-potties had also been delivered.  

Under New York's Taylor Law, state employees are prohibited from striking. NYSCOPBA, the union representing corrections officers, stated that the union did not sanction the demonstration. 

Kenny Gold, Vice President of the Western District for NYSCOPBA, arrived at ECF after visiting Collins Correction in Erie County and expressed that officers are fed up with working conditions. "They're taking it upon themselves right now, due to working conditions and due to the fact that they know that what they're doing right now is unsustainable," Gold remarked.  

He highlighted the exhausting hours some officers are mandated to work consecutively, attributing it to the HALT law enacted in 2022 that has created a more unsafe work environment. 

Gold noted that officers have consistently raised concerns regarding safety, staffing shortages, and the impact of the HALT Act, which restricts the use of solitary confinement without significant changes being implemented. 

“Two weeks ago, the governing body of the union, all the union presidents around the state, took a unanimous vote of no confidence against the commissioner, giving a two-week notice for a meeting due to the escalating tension and concern among members,” Gold added. 

Assemblyman Phil Palmesano pointed to the HALT Act as a catalyst for increased violence within correctional facilities, citing statistics indicating a significant rise in assaults on staff and among inmates since the law's implementation. 

Senator Tom O'Mara also called for immediate reforms, citing a crisis within New York's correctional system exacerbated by factors including rapid prison closures and ongoing dangerous working conditions. 

“New York State’s correctional system is clearly in crisis. It has been continually building and growing worse, as many of us have warned, over the past decade of rapid prison closures, increasingly dangerous and demanding working conditions inside prisons, drastic workforce reductions, and the enactment of the HALT Act and other failed policies out of Albany. We need a comprehensive overhaul of safety and security within the system, beginning with the immediate repeal of HALT, for correctional officers, staff and inmates alike, and it needs to be made a priority. The recent, fatal beating of Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Onondaga County was appalling and disgusting, and it must and will be dealt with through our justice system. What took place there in no way represents the conduct of the vast majority of correctional officers and staff within the Elmira Correctional Facility and facilities throughout the state where officers and staff go to work every day to undertake the duties and responsibilities they’re charged with diligently, professionally, and respectfully. Governor Hochul and the Democrat-led State Legislature must also, finally, pay serious and meaningful attention to the concerns that have been raised, for years now, by the officers and staff concerned for their personal safety, the overall security of their facilities, and the future of their families and loved ones.”  

WENY News reached out to Governor Kathy Hochul's office regarding the demonstration but received no specific comments. The Department of Corrections released at statement Monday afternoon stating: 

“Since Commissioner Martuscello took office, the State negotiated a new labor agreement with NYSCOPBA that includes yearly salary increases, increases in location pay, and paid parental leave. We have also instituted new policies and procedures to reduce the amount of contraband entering our facilities to increase the safety of all within our facilities. We value our employees and are dedicated to continuing the recruiting efforts to increase security staffing in all DOCCS correctional facilities to restore the important work life balance for all. The job actions initiated by some rogue NYSCOPBA members, at Collins and Elmira Correctional Facilities this morning are illegal and unlawful. We are committed to engaging the union in order to return staff to work and resume normal operations at the two facilities.  Visitation at both facilities have been cancelled until further notice.”

NYSCOPBA indicated it would continue to monitor the situation, directing inquiries about staffing to DOCCS.

This is a developing story, and more information will be shared as it becomes available.