Hundreds of corrections officers from across New York rallied outside the state Capitol Tuesday amid an ongoing strike over working conditions in state prisons.

The corrections officers, their family members and allied lawmakers demanded better working conditions inside state prisons and a legislative repeal of the HALT Act, a 2022 law that limits the use of solitary confinement for prisoners, which they argue has undermined safety inside the state’s facilities.

“Two things need to happen: the HALT Act must be repealed and Kathy Hochul must resign,” said Steve McLaughlin, the Rensselaer County executive who joined other Republican lawmakers addressing the protesters.

Michael Sussman, a civil rights attorney and candidate for Orange County executive, crossed party lines to lead the protest.

“Polarization is not going to accomplish anything. It will allow you to be marginalized, which is what's happened so far. We have to fight strongly against that, and that's why I'm here,” said Sussman. “The last place most people who know me would think I'm going to be is here, but they're wrong.”

He was joined at Tuesday’s rally by a number of politicians including Assemblyman Brian Maher of the 101st district, which includes Wawarsing and Walker Valley. Currently, there is a bill on the table that would would answer some of the protestors' concerns by repealing the HALT Act. The bill states that this act “has severely restricted the ability to use segregated confinement for prisoners that break the rules and engage in violent behavior.”

The repeal bill was first proposed in 2022 – the year the HALT Act was implemented, and the protesters hope their pressure will help it advance. Some of the protesters ae family members of correction officers who shared their personal concerns with the current working conditions. They spoke about their loved ones’ safety and long work hours, often forced to work overtime with little warning.

Anthony Bernard, a retired corrections officer, explained how some workers “get stuck with 24 to 32 hours straight” shifts.

“Us kids deserve to have parents that come home,” said the daughter of a correction officer.

“Biggest thing is we’re not safe,” said an anonymous protester. “We already work in an unsafe job. We know that, we expect that. But when the government puts legislation in place to make it even more unsafe, that’s where we have a problem.”

As the protest continued, a smaller group of counter-protesters, including a number of people from Jails Justice Network, an organization looking to reform corrections policy, arrived. They stood a few feet away holding signs that read “brutality, rape, and murder are not in the job description,” “incarcerated lives matter,” and “Robert Brooks – say his name.”

Counter-protestors want people to know about Robert Brooks, an inmate that died after a beating he received from several corrections officers at Marcy Correctional Facility late last year. Body camera footage showed Brooks beaten by a number of officials while handcuffed and shackled in the infirmary.

Many advocates for carceral reform – including Kingston’s Sarahana Shrestha, have accused the corrections officers of going on strike because they were upset about indictments issued to the guards who killed Brooks. Guards we have spoken to are adamant that that’s not what they’re protesting.

The counter-protesters say the Brooks incident reflects that they fear what could happen to incarcerated individuals if the HALT Act is repealed.

“I was handcuffed, shackled, and beaten,” said Thomas Kearney, formerly incarcerated and the co-organizer for NYS Jails Justice Network and former Prison Rape Elimination Act outreach director for the NYS Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “After, I was charged with aggravated assault.”

“We’re talking about a system that people should be putting love at,” said Rory Smalls, a member of NYS Jails Justice Network. “[The striking corrections officers] want certain things removed to do sneaky things.”

Officers chanted Governor Kathy Hochul's name, as they blame her for the HALT situation – but she was busy at an unrelated roundtable discussion about the impact of recent tariffs imposed by President Trump.

Hochul was asked for her thoughts on the ongoing strike.

“There is no justification to break the law in the state of New York,” she said – referring to the fact that, as state employees, they’re not allowed to strike, “and they need to get back to work, because they have created a dangerous situation for the other correction officers who lived up to their duty and their oath and the law, and are in those environments.”

Hochul said the “screaming and yelling” would have “no impact” on her.

The legal status, she said, complicates matters. The strike is not sanctioned by New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), but collective bargaining rules mean that their union must be there, so no one at the table can legally represent the workers involved.

“I know what I have to do, and I believe they should be getting back to work. There are serious consequences. We have warned them,” Hochul said.