UPDATE 3/1/25: Saturday morning marked day 13 of statewide prison strikes, as corrections officers are still refusing to return to work despite Thursday evening's deal between NYSCOPBA, the state, and DOCCS. One that officers say they do not agree with. More than 100 officers gathered outside the Elmira Correctional Facility to show their opposition.

The state asked corrections officers to return to work on March 1 at 6:45 A.M. to avoid facing disciplinary actions, however, they chose to continue their fight at the same time outside the prison on Saturday morning saying the deal was not enough.


Our WENY News reporter on scene spoke with some of those officers who said the strike will continue until Governor Hochul meets their demands to ensure safety for everyone as well as repeal the "HALT Act".


Officers, their families, friends, and supporters from the community banded together to make their voices heard. One of today's members on the line included Dakota Rinker, a young man known by many in the community for supporting the police with Dakota's Give Back Project for over 7 years.

"It honestly means a lot, because, for me personally, I love police," said Rinker. "So this honestly means a lot...What they're doing is right and what our government's doing is wrong."

Some officers also shared with WENY News that they were feeling scared and anxious this morning but, they are pushing it aside as they say they need to continue to stay on the line. Not just for their own safety, but for the safety of prisoners inside the walls too.

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- Corrections officers remain on the picket line as of Friday night, even after the union and state announced an agreement to end prison strikes statewide. One Elmira Correctional Facility officer and several local politicians are speaking out with their thoughts on the deal and what they say still needs to be done.

After three days of mediation between NYSCOPBA, the state, and the Department of Corrections, a mediator announced Thursday night an agreement to end the strike that began on February 17. However, an overwhelming majority of officers remain on the line, saying they don't agree with the terms of the deal and are asking for a guarantee of safer conditions inside prison walls.

One Elmira Corrections officer who asked to stay anonymous spoke with WENY News outside ECF on Friday and shared some of his thoughts.

"Unless they have a different offer that's something that puts our safety first, there's no way I'm walking back in there," said the officer. "I think it's an absolute insult. Kathy Hochul and [DOCCS Commissioner] Dan Martuscello came back with it. That's an absolute slap in the face."

Under the consent award on the DOCCS website, the union, state, and DOCCS agreed to several terms.

Among them, are a 90-day temporary suspension on elements of the HALT Act, DOCCS evaluations of operations, security, and safety, and some changes to overtime procedures.

Officers are being asked by the state to return to work on Saturday, March 1 by 6:45 A.M. to avoid disciplinary actions. But, several ECF employees and local politicians say there's more work to be done.

"We need a reasonable and rational resolution to this," said Senator Tom O'Mara. "You know there's been an acknowledgment in this initial offer by the state itself of the deplorable working conditions that there have been in there so, to have these kind of threats against the officers -- and now they're threatening them with arrest -- it's not promoting any feeling of goodwill towards trying to come to a resolution of this matter."

Assemblyman Phil Palmesano added, "We have to do better, can do better, and then we're going to continue to call on them because the situation right now is not an ideal situation. It's a dangerous situation for everybody."

Some of the officers choosing to remain on strike say they are aware of the consequences of continuing to strike but, they want the HALT Act repealed to ensure everyone's safety. If not for them, for the prisoners inside the walls too.

"This isn't just for us prison guards, it's not just for us that work in there," said the unnamed officer. "We're looking out for the guys that are trying to do the right thing. There's individuals in those jail cells right now that are trying to do the right thing. There's individuals in those jail cells right now trying to do the right thing that got locked up and found themselves on the wrong side of the law and they're trying to do the right thing and, because of this HALT Law, they can't. They can't get to the programs, because we don't have the staffing to do it because we're dealing with all the other issues inside the jail. These guys are missing out too. We're looking out for those guys too, and I'm being sincere about that."

On early Friday evening, Governor Kathy Hochul spoke out about the agreement calling it a commitment to creating safer work environments and she looks forward to the officers returning to work.

An excerpt from her statement says as follows:

"This will put the conditions back on safe operations. It respects the rights of incarcerated individuals and it prevents future unsanctioned work stoppages. We also share the goal with the union that 24-hour work shifts are too long. I understand this. These individuals work in tough, tough conditions. I know that, and I appreciate it. This is a lot of time away from their families. There's a lot of unpredictability. This is not an ideal situation. No one wants this. And we want to make sure that we are striving toward the goal of eliminating those shifts. This will take some time. Our ranks are down. We have many, many people out on workers comp on any given day. We need to get people back to work. We need to hire more people, and we're going to continue toward those goals.

So this agreement that we came together with last evening, represents our commitment to creating safer work environments, which the correction officers absolutely deserve, ensures proper staffing and management of facilities and creates a framework going forward to address concerns as they arise.

This resolution is just the beginning. We want to continue addressing systemic issues and make sure that the entire environment is safe for everyone involved, and protect the staff and incarcerated individuals. Now I have a lot of respect for the correction officers who dedicate themselves and their lives to public safety.

This is a critical, critical function for all of us, and I’m grateful for those who have remained at work. And looking forward to the return of others who have taken the position they have over the last number of days. But we want them back at work and we hope that they will look very seriously at what, I believe, is a real win for the correction officers."

Based on the sentiment of the officers continuing to strike in Elmira and others across the state, it doesn't appear that their return to work will happen anytime soon.

A link to the full agreement can be found here.

This is a developing story and WENY News will continue to provide updates as they become available.