Correction officers in New York on Monday entered their second week of an illegal strike over staffing shortages, regulations from the HALT Act and more.

Meetings between the state, union leaders and a mediator began Monday as the state Capitol became a stage for those directly impacted by the strikes to bring their concerns to lawmakers.

Spouses and loved ones of correction officers met with state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt and Senate Republicans Monday afternoon. They described the toll that mandated overtime as a result of understaffing has taken on their families, including the realities of having their spouses gone for sometimes 48 hours at a time.

“My husband has missed out on birthdays, basketball games, school events,” one wife of a correction officer said through tears.

Another described that her children were unfazed when their father told them he would be away for several days to take part in the strike.

“They’re used to not seeing him, he works 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and it’s so hard for those who work to relate and have functional relationships outside of the prison,” she said.

They stressed that it has even put their household’s dual income at risk when the other spouse has to provide child care unexpectedly.

“You’re getting mandated doubles and triples. I know so many wives that have lost their jobs,” said a woman named Bernadette who is the wife of a correction officer and served as spokesperson for the group.

While staffing issues took up a significant portion of the discussion, most of their frustration was reserved for the HALT Act, which primarily limits the use of solitary confinement, and the unsafe conditions they argue it has created by eliminating what they describe as an important deterrent. They say the resulting conditions have made recruitment impossible.

Describing violent assaults on officers, they are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to take the lead. They are asking for a full repeal of HALT and a fresh legislative start, but some acknowledged that whatever would replace HALT needs to better account for access to programming for incarcerated individuals.

“Things have to change and the HALT Act is the number one thing that has to change. There are no deterrents, but there really are no rewards for the inmates either — maybe have a reward base,” said one woman who identified herself as the wife of an officer at Woodbourne Correctional Facility.

Meanwhile, another group of protesters supporting the HALT Act stood outside a separate meeting of Assembly Republicans. Anthony Dixon, a formerly incarcerated individual, called the use of solitary confinement torture, and slammed the governor for agreeing to temporarily suspend some functions of the law amid the strike.

“You have to find better ways to correct bad behavior than torture. This is not what New York state should be doing. We are a model for the rest of the country,” he said.

Like those down the hall, Dixon drew from his own personal experience.

“I myself was in solitary confinement. It did not help me, it did not help the individuals I knew who were in there. In fact, it made people worse,” he said.

Spectrum News 1 reached out to Hochul’s office for comment, but did not hear back.