Did Hochul go too far on prison strikers?

Gov. Kathy Hochul should be commended for bringing the illegal wildcat strike by prison guards to a conclusion within the law while keeping order in the state’s prisons.

In my view, she did not “go too far” in penalizing the most incorrigible strikers by preventing them from working for New York state ever again.

The incorrigible 2,000 made their choices. They engaged in an illegal strike, putting safety at risk on both sides of the bars. They defied their elected union leadership, undermining solidarity and the union’s ability to negotiate over working conditions.

They continued their illegal action despite multiple appeals from the governor to return to work without such a penalty. The large majority of their colleagues responded eventually to those appeals. The incorrigible 2,000 chose not to.

The Taylor Law allows for jail time for illegal strikes. The governor stopped short of that. The law is a deal between the state and its workforce that allows public employees to resolve contract disputes through union representation, but curtails their right to strike. It is a reasonable deal for workers and for the taxpayers who pay for and are served by public employees.

Like thousands of prisoners in New York’s jails, the incorrigible 2,000 made choices they may come to regret.

Gov. Hochul’s choice to prevent them from bringing their defiant attitudes to other agencies of state government is a wise one. It protects the taxpayers’ interest in assuring that our government is run by people who obey the law.

Gordon Boyd

Saratoga Springs

The writer was a religious volunteer at Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility, Wilton, from 2003 to 2010.