“The state has said that they stopped doing [draft] as of Monday [March 23], and then Tuesday, there were buses all over the road,” one CO told VICE. “They’re saying that it was due to whatever reason, whether it was medical issues, or special housing, or whatever it may be. But that's not the case. It's just the state's way of getting away with doing what they still want to do.”Initially, according to a memo obtained by VICE, the number of inmates transported from facility to facility was decreased to half of a vehicle’s carrying capacity—a measure COs found insufficient. “On their memorandum, [the state said], ‘We won't hook them up all together, we won't take like 40 [inmates] on a bus, we’ll take 20,’" a retired CO—who worked as a draft officer for over a dozen years—told VICE. "But the point being is, you're still taking them from Point A to Point B.” “You're not keeping everybody where they are so that it doesn’t spread so much.”Do you have any additional information about the NYS Clean initiative? We’d love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Katie Way securely on Signal on +1 571 205 0611, or email katie.way@vice.com.
Other private social media posts from COs shared with VICE echoed this sentiment.Cuomo is taking away corrections officers contractual raises in a time where many of us have become the sole providers for our families. "To top it off they are directly saying that there is no guarantee they will ever honor the contract that they forced upon us. If the rule of law binding [an] employer to [an] employee has no worth then this state has no worth or right to enforce any law. For those who don't know the law which prevents the state employees from striking is called the Taylor law. I can’t believe the way this state and it’s legislators treat it's sworn peace officers [sic].