The New York state prison system is teetering on disaster as guards have staged an unsanctioned wildcat strike at almost all of its 42 facilities. Governor Kathy Hochul has deployed the National Guard and, on Wednesday, obtained a court order mandating that corrections officers return to work.

While striking officers have been mostly mum to the press, Assemblymember Scott Gray, who visited picket lines outside three northern New York prisons and went inside two this week, told New York Focus that they’re determined to wrest concessions from the state and from their employer, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

“The members seem to be resolved in their determination to hang tight until some sort of corrective action is taken,” he said. To facilitate negotiations, the picketers are working on paring down their original list of 13 demands, Gray said.