The cuts, the union says, have  led an alarming rise in jail violence and a record high in assaults on correction officers.

The city's Corrections Department has had to undergo the same rounds of budget cuts that other city agencies have as the Bloomberg administration has struggled to balance budgets in the wake of the recession.

Last year, Rikers officers accused Ms. Schriro of "coddling" inmates as she cut staff positions at the prison.

Coba Cut to the Bone Flyer