Governor Hochul: “Let me be clear: the illegal actions being taken by a number of individuals is putting the entire state at risk. We need them back to work; this must end immediately.”

Hochul: “I understand there's a lot of frustration about the long hours. I have long stood with the corrections officers of this state… But, we have a situation right now, which is absolutely untenable, especially the fact that there were prisons left unguarded.”

Earlier on Feb 25th, Governor Kathy Hochul addressed the correction officer strikes across the State of New York.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor’s Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

?I want to take a moment to address the illegal walkouts that are occurring at prison facilities all across the State of New York. Let me be clear: the illegal actions being taken by a number of individuals is putting the entire state at risk. We need them back to work; this must end immediately.

My administration has worked tirelessly over the last nine days to resolve this. In fact, we've brought in mediators requested by the union. The mediation started on Feb 24th, it continues again on Feb 25th. We want to find out what the issue is, because the individuals who've walked out — in an unsanctioned strike, unapproved by the union — have yet to tell us the issues.

We've done everything we can to encourage them to get back to work. They know they are in violation of the New York State Taylor Law. They also are in violation of a temporary restraining order to return to work. We offered an amnesty period where they could go back to work, no questions asked. We also repealed a staffing memo that had been viewed as controversial. We also suspended portions of the HALT law, which requires a certain amount of time out and other activities that we do not have the staffing to implement.

I've also had to deploy 6,500 members of the National Guard to do the jobs of those who've walked out. That means that they've been taken either from their homes or critical assignments — whether they're protecting assets in New York City or elsewhere against terrorism.

We have tried hard to end this — I've had conversations with many, many leaders — but, we need a good faith effort to resolve this, starting now. I'm prepared to do that. I understand there's a lot of frustration about the long hours. I have long stood with the corrections officers of this state — more than, I'm going to guess, any other Governor — and say, “These conditions are hard.” I understand that. We need more of you on the job, I get that.

But, we have a situation right now, which is absolutely untenable, especially the fact that there were prisons left unguarded — think about that. The incarcerated population was left unguarded. There were people from other unions, people who work in health care, and the commissary, who were left unprotected by these actions.

Thank God for the National Guard that are in there doing work that they never anticipated, and the condition inside the prisons is stabilized. We've had to start legal proceedings against these individuals — not something I ever would want to do, but I have a law to enforce. We've also let them know that if you are striking, you’re AWOL. You no longer secure the right to have health benefits from the state, that goes away. Your legal proceedings have started. Your legal representation is not covered by the union because this is not sanctioned by the union, they will not pay for this.

And I am so grateful to the law-abiding correction officers who are still showing up and want to get back to work in a normal setting. We will get there as soon as possible. These are difficult, difficult jobs. I know that, I know that. But people took an oath of office to protect the public. We have to get back to ensuring that that oath is kept. There's an enormous strain on our system right now. I encourage everyone to come back to work. We hear you with respect to the long hours. I'm working hard to address that, but we also have — as we've heard here in the city of Albany — recruitment issues. These are hard jobs; not everybody is signing up for them.

We're doing the very best we can. The prison population has declined by half over the last number of years. We're working hard to consolidate, making sure that we are maximizing every bed in our facilities. In fact, we're transporting members of the incarcerated population as we speak to take them to other facilities where I can protect them more readily.

So, that's where we are. That's the status. We're very engaged and look forward to a resolution as soon as possible.