OGDENSBURG -- Correctional officers, retirees, family members and supporters are joining in a rally outside of Riverview Correctional Facility, which is being met with support from some state and county representatives.

Similar rallies are being held in Gouverneur, Malone and more than a dozen other prisons across the state.

Corrections officers shared concerns with North Country This Week about working conditions, but were unwilling to go on the record due to fear of retaliation from their employer.

New York State prohibits public employees from striking, but there have been reports of mass call-ins by corrections officers and photos circulating on social media including signs that say strike.

Many complaints have been raised by corrections officers, including dangerous working conditions such as the reports of drug exposure which led to hospitalizations of corrections staff at Upstate Correctional Facility recently.

Among the rallying messages being issued by gatherers at the event are calls for the repeal of HALT, a bill that limits the length of time anyone can spend in "segregated confinement."

It also restricts criteria used to determine when the punishment is allowable.

In a press release to the media, state Senator Dan Stec called upon DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III to resign from his post.

“A few weeks ago, two dozen officers and civilian staffers at Upstate Correctional Facility received medical care after a synthetic drug exposure. Last week, inmates took over dorms and forced a lockdown at Collins. These events are occurring because of HALT, loopholes in the secure vendor process and use of body scanners and reduced staffing levels. It’s clear that Commissioner Martuscello is incapable of responding to these very real safety concerns and has lost the trust of our correction officers," Stec said.

"For the safety of these dedicated men and women and to help restore order and faith in the leadership structure of DOCCS, Commissioner Martuscello must resign or be removed from his post,” Stec said.

Stec noted he also sponsored legislation calling for the repeal of the HALT Act, which many say has made state prisons unsafe to work in.

He also called for mandatory body scanners and improved secure vendor processing, two critiques that have been raised following reports of numerous drug overdoses by prisoners and repeated exposures by corrections officers and medical staff at multiple prisons, including Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone.

North Country This Week will update this story when more information becomes available.

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