MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County officials believe corrections officers who have been fired for participating in an illegal strike should be permitted to be hired for other local government positions.

On March 11, Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order permanently bars correctional officers who were terminated following a recent three-week strike from obtaining future state employment. The strike was driven by officers’ concerns over deteriorating prison safety conditions, including chronic understaffing, mandatory overtime, excessively long shifts, and the negative impact of the HALT Act.

The executive order also apparently banned counties, cities, towns or villages from hiring fired employees for any positions, like secretaries, snowplow drivers or bookkeepers.

During the recent county legislature meeting, lawmakers voted to oppose the executive order.

Legislator Bob Bankoski of Dunkirk was one of the sponsors of the resolution.

“I believe the governor has overstepped her bounds,” he said before the vote.

Bankoski, who is a Democrat like Hochul, said he understands that a public employee who violates the Taylor Law will face repercussions, but argued that those who went on strike were seeking safer working conditions.

“It wasn’t about money or benefits or anything like that,” he said.

Legislator Tom Carle, D-Fredonia, said although he supports Bankoski’s position, he said the county should be cautious before hiring any workers who participated in the strike.

“Whenever we’re making decisions on hiring for the county anybody who was involved in the strike, we just have to keep in mind that they did put the public safety at risk,” he said.

Carle added that he is in favor of the resolution because he agrees that Hochul “overstepped her bounds.”

County Executive PJ Wendel said he was informed by some state officials that it is likely Hochul will not resign the executive order once it expires on April 9. However, that could change so he still encouraged the legislature to vote in favor of the resolution.

Wendel previously said he opposed the executive order.

He also took issue with Carle’s comments, regarding if the public’s safety was ever at risk.

“The prison maintained its operation. No one was in jeopardy outside of the prisons,” Wendel said.

The resolution was unanimously approved.