AFSCME Members in New York Secure Key Public Safety Wins in 2026 Legislative Session

Public safety workers in New York made their voices heard during this year’s legislative session and won some big victories in Albany. AFSCME Public Safety members can be found in every corner of the state and so their calls, letters and meetings helped to pass bills that strengthen public safety funding, improve workplace safety and prepare our departments for the future. 

“Few understand better than public safety workers how critical it is to be involved in the legislative session,” said Ron Walsh, a corrections superintendent for the Schenectady County, N.Y., Sheriff’s Office and president of AFSCME Council 82. “AFSCME is one of the strongest unions in the Empire State, so by working collectively, and with the support of the national union, we were able to make real gains this year. 

A key piece of legislation that anow law is SB 6406 / AB 6288, which the end of the ‘death gamble’ risk for state Corrections Officers, Security Hospital Treatment Assistants, and Supervisors. A top priority for AFSCME Council 82, the bill amends New York’s Retirement and Social Security Law by eliminating the financial risk officers faced by remaining on the job after becoming eligible for retirement. Previously, if a retirement eligible officer or security hospital treatment assistant was killed in the line of duty, their survivors would automatically receive the standard death benefit which could be much less than their earned pension reserve. Now, surviving beneficiaries have the option to receive a lump sum payment equal to the pension reserve or the standard death benefit —whichever is greater.

“For decades pension rules for State Corrections Officers and Security Treatment staff incentivized retirement as soon as eligible to ensure financial security for their families, which, is felt throughout the ranks, but particularly among front-line leadership who often have larger pension reserves,” said Russell Fox, a lieutenant with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and president of AFSMCE local 2951. “This meant that at a time of severe staffing shortages, we were losing talented Lieutenants and Supervisors who might have continued their careers if not for an outdated pension rule when their invaluable leadership is needed more than ever.”  

Other wins include increased grants to local sheriffs and departments in addition to continued record-level investments in municipal public safety enforcement, intervention and prevention work such as Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative, the SNUG Street Outreach Program, and Project RISE.