By Michele Evans / NYweeklyRecord.com / Date: 8/24/2026
Category: New York State Prisons / Corrections / Labor Accountability / Privacy
NEW YORK CITY, NY – New York’s prison-officer union is asking a court to block a subpoena for a vice president’s personal cellphone records as state labor officials investigate whether union leaders encouraged or condoned the 2025 corrections strike.
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association is seeking a temporary restraining order against a subpoena served on Verizon for records connected to Vice President Kenny Gold, according to court reporting published August 24.
The subpoena reportedly seeks call and text records from February 1 through June 1, 2025. The 22-day strike began February 17 and ended March 10, shutting down normal operations across the state prison system.
The union says Gold’s personal phone was not used for official union business and argues that the request is an overbroad fishing expedition that invades his privacy. It says records from a union-issued phone are already being produced.
The Public Employment Relations Board proceeding involves allegations by the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations that union officials encouraged or condoned an illegal strike. Those claims remain contested and have not been finally adjudicated.
An administrative law judge upheld most challenged subpoenas in June. Reporting on the case says the state has pointed to an alleged February 28 text referring to officers Gold knew and advised not to report for duty. The meaning, context and legal significance of that communication are still disputed.
The phone-record fight puts two accountability interests in direct conflict. The state says it needs evidence to determine who helped sustain a work stoppage that endangered prison operations. The union says investigators are crossing a line into an officer’s personal communications without a properly limited basis.
The stakes extend far beyond one executive’s privacy. Nearly 2,000 officers were fired after the strike, thousands returned to work, and National Guard members have continued supporting a prison system still struggling with staffing and safety.
If the subpoena stands, investigators could gain a broader map of contacts during the strike period. If it is blocked or narrowed, PERB may have to rely on union-device records, testimony and other evidence to prove its case.
The court has not yet ruled on the union’s request for emergency relief. It also remains unclear how much of the requested Verizon material contains message content, transactional metadata or both.
For officers, incarcerated people and their families, the investigation is ultimately about who was responsible for a breakdown that left prisons operating under emergency conditions. Any finding should rest on evidence gathered lawfully and tested in a fair process.
The central unanswered question is whether the subpoena is targeted accountability or unjustified surveillance. The ruling will help define how far New York may reach into personal devices when public-sector labor conduct threatens a critical state system.
Sources
NY Prison Union Fights Personal-Phone Subpoena
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