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May 18, 2009
NY: Prison play canceled in NY over fight with unions
Prison play canceled in NY over fight with unions
May 17, 2009
WOODBOURNE, N.Y. - The show won't go on after all.
A troupe of 18 inmates at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility were scheduled to perform an original play Wednesday.
But the New York State Department of Correctional Services canceled the show because union workers threatened to picket.
The unions have been angry since last November when the state announced it would close 12 prison farms as part of budget cuts.
In January 2008, inmates began writing and rehearsing a play about living behind bars and keeping a family.
But Kevin Walker, regional vice president for prison guards' union, says the union sees no value in theater work for inmates.
He called it a "waste of manpower and funding."
It's unclear if the show will be rescheduled.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bcny--prisonplaycancele0517may17,0,4424464.story
Posted by lois at May 18, 2009 10:59 PM