{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Corrections Officers Fired as Tentative Deal Fails to End Wildcat Strike","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":85,"description":"The state Department of Corrections has begun firing and fining corrections officers who have not returned to work as the prison wildcat strike enters its third week.Less than 10 officers have been terminated, and more than 350 officers are facing civil contempt charges that are being filed by the state Attorney General’s office, officials said.The state’s shift to punitive measures comes after a tentative deal struck between the state and New York’s corrections union late Thursday failed to sway hundreds of striking officers to return to work. The strike, officials said, has so far cost the state $25 million.Corrections officers received notices Saturday warning that strikers would have their health insurance coverage cancelled for them and their families effective Monday. Additionally, the department wrote in text messages to officers, stating that “those that continue to participate in this illegal strike” would be subject to imprisonment.At a news conference on Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said striking corrections officers rejected the deal that their union agreed to.“People decided, ‘Well, we’d rather stay out on the line,’” she said. “That was their choice, It was not the union’s position.”Jackie Bray, who is the commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, justified the firings, saying that corrections officers are essential workers who, under Taylor Law, are subject to termination if they do not work for 10 consecutive days and into the 11th day. Under that law, Bray added, the state could seek fines against corrections officers equivalent to the amount the state is incurring due to the strike.“We have negotiated in good faith at the mediation table across a broad range of topics, going as far as we can legally go,” Bray said.State Sen. Mark Walczyk, R- Watertown, Jefferson County, decried Hochul’s approach to the situation by “doubling down on threats.”“I think the governor is already short corrections officers...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}