ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s response to the 2025 corrections officer strike is on track to cost taxpayers more than $1 billion, as the state continues to rely on National Guard troops to fill staffing gaps inside its prison system.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget includes an additional $535 million to maintain the Guard’s presence in state prisons, adding to roughly $700 million already spent through the end of March, state Budget Director Blake Washington told WXXI.
Even before the strike, staffing levels were already below state targets. New York employed roughly 13,500 corrections officers and sergeants — already below the department’s staffing target of 14,600. That number has since dropped to 10,919, according to a state fact sheet.
The rising cost highlights persistent staffing shortages across New York’s 42 prisons, which worsened during a three-week wildcat strike that began in February 2025. Thousands of corrections officers walked off the job, citing rising violence, mandatory overtime and opposition to a 2021 law limiting the use of solitary confinement.
To pressure officers back to work, the state temporarily suspended portions of the law and offered incentive pay. Hochul ultimately terminated about 2,000 officers and activated the National Guard to stabilize operations.
As of the end of January 2026, about 3,000 Guard members remain assigned to 34 correctional facilities, state officials told WXXI.
“It’s really unsustainable,” said state Sen. Julia Salazar, who chairs the Senate’s corrections committee. “I’m grateful that National Guard members are supplementing the insufficient staff-levels in facilities, but it’s definitely not an ideal solution.”
Recruitment efforts fall short
The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) has expanded recruitment efforts in an attempt to rebuild its workforce. The agency lowered the minimum hiring age from 21 to 18, opened applications to out-of-state candidates and increased academy graduations by 36%, a department spokesperson said.
Still, staffing levels remain well below operational needs, officials said.
“DOCCS has really been doing yeoman’s work in doing that, but it’s tough sledding. It’s slow-going,” Washington said. “So, the governor is not going to leave the incarcerated folks or the professional staff, or the correctional officers themselves in a lurch.”
National Guard personnel volunteer for prison assignments and receive their base military pay — at least $1,671 every two weeks — plus a $2,000 biweekly supplement and housing allowances for those who travel, according to the Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
By comparison, the starting biweekly salary for a corrections officer is about $2,550, not including overtime. DOCCS also offers $3,000 recruitment bonuses, officials said.
Union supports deployment
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association does not oppose the Guard’s continued presence.
It is “understandable based on the staffing shortages that still exist — before the strike and afterwards,” said union spokesperson James Miller told WXXI.
Republican state Sen. Mark Walczyk, whose district includes three correctional facilities, said the state should prioritize policy changes that address officer safety inside prisons.
“The governor should address the safety concerns that the corrections officers have brought up,” said Walczyk, a major in the U.S. Army Reserve. “It’s bad for the National Guardsmen. It may be bad for their long-term mission in retention and recruitment. This is certainly not why somebody signs up to serve their community or their country.”
Salazar, meanwhile, has called for closing additional facilities to reduce staffing needs. DOCCS announced plans in November to close Bare Hill Correctional Facility, and state prisons were operating at 76% capacity as of October, according to the Correctional Association of New York.
