Members of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Erie Educational Local created the Polar Plunge Express for their dip into icy Lake Ontario on February 12, 2012.
Chautauqua County officials are threatening to sell the county nursing home, and union members are doing everything possible to make sure that does not happen. Bonnie Peters, front, leads a rally outside the Chautauqua County office building. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members, labor brothers and sisters, and supporters from the community gathered to demonstrate against the possible sale of the county's public nursing home.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Western Region President Flo Tripi, front right, speaks with supporters of the Erie County Medical Center Downtown Outpatient Clinic.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and Roswell Park Cancer Institute Local Women's Committee member Dale Franklin adds a toy to an Easter basket. Members of the committee received enough donations and supplies for the endeavor that they assembled a dozen baskets for children in the pediatric ward and also donated baskets to Haven House, a shelter for women and children.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and Roswell Park Cancer Institute Local Women's Committee members Nancianne Maynard and Sabrina Mitchell assemble Easter baskets for a dozen children in the pediatric ward. Members of the committee received enough donations and supplies that they also donated baskets to Haven House, a shelter for women and children.
Rick Martinez, a Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member working for the state Department of Transportation, received recognition for an idea he submitted that has improved snow plow safety. Martinez recommended an additional mirror on the state's trucks, designed to assist drivers with blind spots.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Geneva School District Unit members and their supporters pose for a photo after a demonstration. CSEA school units throughout the Western Region are facing layoffs under New York Governor David Paterson's school funding cuts.
Cattaraugus County Probation Officer and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Nila McIntyre poses with her 2009 Outstanding Service by a Probation Officer Award. McIntyre received the award in recognition of her service, dedication and professionalism, and her contributions to community corrections.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Monroe County Part-Time Unit members Jaime Kennedy-Peer, front and Linda Holzapple demonstrate for a fair contract.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member and Newark Schools bus mechanic Nate Amos works on one of the school district's buses, helping ensure the safety of school children.
Genesee County Nursing Home Certified Nursing Assistant Yvette Bundy cares for resident Everette A. Johnson. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members like Bundy provide quality care in public nursing homes across the state.
VOICE/Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) joined with Voice-Buffalo, a coalition of faith-based organizations and the YWCAs of Erie County to protest drastic cuts in child care. More than 150 providers, parents and community members attended the rally.
VOICE/Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activist Benita Whitlock, along with a child to whom she provides day care, participate in a rally against subsidy cuts in Buffalo. VOICE/CSEA joined with Voice-Buffalo, a coalition of faith-based organizations and the YWCAs of Erie County to rally to protest drastic cuts in child care subsidies for working families. Many child care providers may also be forced to close or to lay off employees.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Don Lynskey stands in Oneida County Supreme Court. Lynskey works hard to increase the local's communication with members.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activist Sheri Ambuski is part of CSEA's Next Wave initiative, or "Under 35 initiative," which is designed to extend a hand to younger CSEA members and develop the union's future.
From Long Island to Buffalo, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members helped storm ravaged areas. Once workers took care of their own duties in Long Island, they headed north to help in the Catskills, while workers from Steuben County traveled to Greene County to assist with clean up efforts there. Karen Hurtgam from the Niagara state Department of Transportation Local was among the first group of Western Region members to travel to the storm damaged area of Greene County.
The October 2011 Work Force contained the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s 2011 candidate endorsements for the Western Region, which includes the county executive race in Erie County. The photo shows CSEA members at a We Are Erie County rally in Buffalo in June 2011. County Executive Chris Collins announced plans in June to cut 300 jobs from the county budget in 2012.
A photo of Jennifer Graley, a social worker and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Chautauqua County Unit member, used in the special section of the September 2011 edition of The Work Force, Always Remember: A commemorative 10th anniversary retrospective. Graley traveled to New York City following the attacks, acting on a strong feeling that she needed to be in that place, at that time, doing whatever she could for those most in need.
Sheri Ambuske, an account clerk typist for the Department of Community Services and Mental Health in Olean, is using social media tools like texting, Twitter and Facebook to recruit new members and post current news for PEOPLE in the mostly rural area. She has already recruited 22 new members. PEOPLE is the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and AFSCME's political action program which protects and improves jobs, benefits and pensions in Washington, Albany and in your community. Sheri Ambuske, left, discusses PEOPLE with her co-worker, Maureen Krueger, at the Cattaraugus County office building.
Across the state, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members working in local government are facing job losses and difficult contract negotiations as communities struggle with loss of revenue from a weak economy. The situation will get worse as New York's new tax cap takes effect, limiting the ability of counties, cities, towns, villages and schools to manage their budgets. CSEA members Rachel Casey, left, Chris Chimera and Michele Weaver stand in support of libraries and county services during a We Are Erie County rally in downtown Buffalo.