ALBANY — Negotiations between the governor’s office and the union representing thousands of striking correction officers broke down early Saturday when the administration refused to agree to retroactively restore health care benefits for employees who began walking off the job last month.
The negotiations over the latest agreement began around 8 p.m. Friday, and ended with an impasse at 1:15 a.m. Saturday.
“Unfortunately, negotiations ended poorly due to the state’s refusal to ensure that health insurance coverage would be made retroactive to the date of the first AWOL (absent without leave) for those who had their coverage terminated,” the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association said in a memo to its members. “NYSCOPBA insisted that this must be part of any agreement arrived at between the parties. The state was adamant that it would not move off of its position. We then asked to bring back the mediator to help resolve this issue, at which point the state terminated negotiations.”…