It's illegal for state prison guards to walk off the job, but staff at almost all of New York state's 42 correctional facilities, including those in the Hudson Valley continue to strike.

Guards at Sing Sing prison in Ossining and other state correctional facilities say dangerously low staffing is a big problem, with mandatory workdays that run anywhere from 16 to 24 hours.

The workers are demanding more secure searches of prison visitors and a reversal of recent prison reforms limiting solitary confinement, known as the HALT Act. Parts of that law have now been temporarily suspended. Guards say understaffing remains one of their biggest issues.

“We're dealing with criminals that have murdered people, have molested kids and little girls and at the same time they're the ones who are getting everything catered to them, but the staff, we're the ones that are getting cuffed," says recently retired corrections officer Enrique Maldonado.

A mediator has been appointed, and meetings with both sides are set to begin Tuesday.