New York governor threatens to send National Guard in response to prison guard strike

NEW YORK — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul threatened Tuesday to deploy National Guard troops to restore order as a strike among prison guards across the state entered its second day. “We will not allow these individuals to jeopardize the safety of their colleagues, incarcerated people, and the residents of communities surrounding our correctional facilities.” The state corrections officer union says its “members’ backs are against the wall.” They’re demanding higher pay, stricter security checks for prison visitors and a rollback on prison reforms, including those that limit solitary confinement. “They know they can be fined and disciplined,” Kenny Gold of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association told local television station WIVB at a protest outside the Collins Correctional Facility on Monday. The strike follows renewed calls for accountability for prison guards, after video released in January showed corrections officers beating a handcuffed man at the Marcy Correctional Facility.