This week, an unsanctioned walkout of employees at over half of New York State’s prisons has thrown the correctional system into a lurch. WBFO’s Emyle Watkins was outside Collins Correctional on Wednesday as developments unfolded in a chaotic day for workers, incarcerated people and the state.
Emyle Watkins: Dozens of cars, trucks and four wheelers lined the intersection of Wheater Road and Route 62 in Collins, New York on Wednesday morning. Snow mobiles popped out of the woods. A massive group of camo-clad corrections workers and their families surrounded barrels burning wood pallets to starve off freezing temperatures. Cars honked as they blew by. All of this was to call to attention concerns over safety and staffing in state prisons, including Collins Correctional across the street.
Kenny Gold: Everybody feels like their back’s against the wall…