BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Massena Village Board members say they stand behind correctional officers who were on strike for safer worker conditions and subsequently lost their jobs when Governor Kathy Hochul fired 2,000 officers last week.

According to Mayor Greg Paquin, who read a statement during the March 18 board meeting, village officials have offered their support to those officers impacted in the greater Massena community.

In his statement, Paquin said the board is "limited in what we can do as the Taylor Law limits our response."

"That does not mean that we disagree with the COs, far from it," he said.

Paquin said the board fully supports COs' desire for "safer working conditions by rescinding and fixing the HALT Act, better screening services (for mail), mandatory body scans, and changes to staffing levels, just to name a few."

He said the village has many COs in the area that officials "care deeply about" along with their family's well-being.

"Their continued employment is vital to the local economy here in Massena as well," he said.

According to Paquin, he has taken many actions to work quietly behind the scenes in support of the fired officers, including reaching out to the Governor's office on Feb. 7 to ask the Governor to make the requested changes to the HALT act.

He said he also gave permission to the Massena Fire Department on Feb. 23 to send a truck to Franklin County to participate in a parade supporting COs.

"It was nothing more than a drive-by for support," he said.

Paquin said he has also reached out to North Country state representatives in recent weeks, thanking them for their efforts in helping COs and offering any legal support possibly from the village.

"On the morning of March 10, I did reach out to a few of my CO friends and asked if there is anything we can legally do to let us know. They realized the position we are in and that we must be careful as a municipality, but they appreciated the call," he said.

Paquin said he also emailed the governor and her North Country representative on March 11, asking her to "show compassion and to reconsider her decision to terminate the 2,000 correction officers."

He said he also asked her to rescind the executive order that currently bars the fired officers from working in any state, county or local government jobs, as well as any civil service positions.

"Throughout all of this, we have relied on the advice of the Prison Task Force here in the North Country and our state representatives. Each advised we keep a non-confrontational position and to quietly lobby the Governor's office," Paquin said.

He said he has done that and will continue to do so, following the lead of leaders in the village of Gouverneur and City of Ogdensburg.

"The rationale behind this position is the economic importance of the prisons in Ogdensburg, Gouverneur and Malone. Losing any of those prisons would have far reaching economic impact throughout the region and our community as we saw with the last prison closure of Ogdensburg Correctional," Paquin said.

During the strike, Hochul added a 30-day amendment that, if included in the state budget, would allow her to close five more prisons with only 90-days notice.

Paquin said he believed the situation was not over and felt there was still room for compromise that would allow the fired COs to return to work.

"We will continue to support our correction officers as they pursue a safer working environment for not only themselves but also the prison population. We will continue to lobby the governor and our state reps asking that they continue to work towards a resolution that will benefit all," Paquin said.

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