ALBANY — With concerns over exposure to illegal drugs and other dangerous substances ramping up in New York’s state prisons, our union has been proactive in elevating CSEA members’ concerns and recommending measures to keep workers and inmates safe.
State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) staff at multiple facilities have been exposed to potentially dangerous contraband that outsiders are trying to smuggle into the prisons.
Staff from CSEA’s State Operations and Occupational Safety and Health departments have been working with local officers and region staff to address incidents at DOCCS facilities and to recommend broader preventive measures aimed at lowering the risk to workers from accidental drug or chemical exposure.
Those efforts have included alerting the state Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau (PESH) of potential safety violations.
“Because our union invests in trained staff who are experts on industrial safety, we’ve been able to advocate on members’ behalf and offer solutions that reduce the risk to DOCCS staff,” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. “CSEA members working in our state correctional facilities already have challenging jobs without the added worry of exposure to illegal drugs and toxic chemicals.”
Contraband arriving in new ways
Efforts to smuggle contraband into state prisons are hardly new, but attempts by outsiders have gotten bolder and more dangerous.
Some of the increases in exposure from contraband stem from legal-related mail, which the state had once required that inmates have actual legal mail sent to them through representatives.
Mail from family and friends is typically scanned and the inmate gets a copy, but the only way get a piece of paper soaked in drugs to an inmate was through what appears to be legal-related mail.
Limitations have been placed on incoming mail after mailroom staff suffered exposure to substances including synthetic cannabinoids, which are often used in vapes. Media outlets have also reported possible fentanyl exposure.
Those sending mail have devised unusual alternatives to help incarcerated individuals get high, including soaking pesticides such as wasp spray onto paper, letting them dry, and then smoking them. Airborne exposure from such incidents has led to reported medical emergencies at several state prisons. Elected officials have said that these incidents put a strain on local emergency services due to hazmat precautions, which require ambulances transporting potentially exposed individuals to be temporarily taken out of service.
Perhaps the most brazen attempts at smuggling drugs into New York’s state prisons have been via drone. Reports of drones dropping packages containing hidden drugs into prison yards have surfaced at several facilities.
All of these instances put workers at potential risk. For CSEA-represented staff, that is particularly true for mailroom employees and medical unit workers.
Outreach leading to new precautions
Progress is being seen following CSEA and other unions representing DOCCS workers advocating for increased safeguards for mail and packages, as well as proper training and use of protective gear for the workers handling these materials.
“DOCCS and CSEA have been having ongoing, transparent discussions in statewide labor-management meetings regarding foreign substances coming in through the mail,” said CSEA Occupational Safety and Health Director Matthew Kozak. “It can be challenging to keep up with incarcerated individuals and their accomplices on the outside. It’s almost a game of cat and mouse regarding sneaking in controlled substances. New isolation and testing procedures have been developed, and DOCCS has been receptive to our suggestions.”
Measures include a push for accountability and prosecution of incarcerated individuals found possessing illegal substances and the people sending them. That accountability includes a proposal from DOCCS officials to amend the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act, which has limited penalties for inmates and made it more difficult to maintain order inside facilities.
Advocacy efforts by all unions representing DOCCS employees have made a difference. DOCCS officials issued a memo in late September outlining added screening measures the agency implemented for incoming packages and mail, including piloting newer technology to more effectively screen items.
Our union will continue to work with the state to advocate for DOCCS workers, with local officers and shop stewards serving as a vital presence in workplaces, ensuring concerns and risks are properly elevated and addressed with the agency.
— Jessica Ladlee