Westchester Community College workers Jennifer Dawkins, left, a former WCC student, and Claudia Romano, office assistant, help keep the college running as the school, like many community colleges across the state, faces a swelling enrollment.
Westchester Community College Library Technicians Carrie Carpenter, left, and Linda Roberti, make sure study materials are available and accessible for students.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Richard Stutzman, right, a motor vehicle clerk at the Dutchess County Department of Motor Vehicles, assists a customer at the Poughkeepsie DMV branch. DMV clerks across the state helped register hundreds of voters for the upcoming elections.
From left, Village of Woodridge Unit members John Baker, Patrick Smith and Yury Batres play an important role in the Woodridge Fire Department. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members make up the core of many volunteer fire companies across the state.
A winter rescue at Sterling Forest State Park reaffirms the importance of park rangers. On January 27, 2012, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) represented park rangers Doug Busche, right, and Dmitri Benzinger, left, helped rescue an elderly hiker who spent the night in the park after falling into a ditch and was unable to get out.
According to Town of Fallsburg Unit President and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Gene Benson, the time is right for labor activists to run for office. In November 2011, he defeated an entrenched Republican incumbent in the race to represent Fallsburg and a portion of Neversink in the Sullivan County Legislature. Gene Benson, shown here on his day job at the Town of Fallsburg, successfully ran for county office after seeing injustices done to workers.
Photo of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), Westchester County Local President John Staino, shown attending a press conference in October 2011, used as a headshot in the February 2012 Work Force. Westchester Medical Center CEO Mike Israel told local media he plans to "restructure" the hospital's Behavioral Health Center which provides a variety of services for residents struggling with mental illness. He abruptly laid off 155 CSEA members who care for some of the hospital's most vulnerable patients and will replace them with lower-paid contractors. This attack comes on the heels of 105 CSEA layoffs in December 2011.
?From left, Pawling School District Unit President Jeff Stevens, Unit Secretary Tammy Fielding and Unit Safety and Health Coordinator Dawn Marino say the Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) successful push for improved lighting at the district bus garage is a win for district transportation workers and taxpayers alike.
City of Beacon Unit President Reuben Simmons sees the importance of building the Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) reputation in the Beacon community. Simmons is pictured here working on cleanup efforts after a major storm passed through the area.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and City of Newburgh Unit members Alfred Bevier, left, and Jim Humphrey remove fallen tree branches from a city neighborhood. The Newburgh area was among the hardest hit by a blizzard that affected lower New York in late February. Recent budget cuts in Newburgh resulted in more than a dozen job cuts in the city's Department of Public Works.
Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Unit member Larry Lawless uses a backhoe to clear snow from village fire hydrants. While village residents suffered widespread power outages and downed trees, the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) work force did an excellent job keeping the roads clear, enabling utility crews to restore power.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member and Dutchess Educational Local 2nd Vice President Guy Bilyou dries off after taking the Polar Plunge in Fishkill, New York.
Photo of the Month in the April 2010 Work Force. Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Unit member Ed Hembree has a camera's flash reflect off his safety vest while he works to clear a fire hydrant after a late-February blizzard. The efforts of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members across the lower parts of the New York State made it possible for utility crews to rectify the massive power outages that occurred.
Lesly Senatus works the phones at the Rockland County Local Office, soliciting donations for earthquake victims in Haiti. The Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Rockland County Local's membership includes a large number of workers born in Haiti.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Theresa Yackel, shown here on her job at the Minisink Valley Central School District, helped give her friend Barbara a second chance at a healthy life by donating a kidney.
In the days following Hurricane Irene, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members in many communities were in a race against the clock to get equipment up and running and avoid service interruptions. CSEA members from the Mount Tremper residency of the state Department of Transportation oversee shoring a bank of the Esopus Creek in Phoenicia.
In the days following Hurricane Irene, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members in many communities were in a race against the clock to get equipment up and running and avoid service interruptions. Pat Conley, a CSEA member from the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Unit, repairs a mower that received water damage after Hurricane Irene flooded the village highway facility.
Before Hurricane Irene hit, workers at SUNY New Paltz answered management's call for round-the-clock staffing to safeguard electrical systems, handle plumbing issues, and deal with expected power outages. In this photo are SUNY New Paltz Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members who worked around the clock during Hurricane Irene to protect the campus' buildings and roads from flooding.
Before Hurricane Irene hit, workers at SUNY New Paltz answered management's call for round-the-clock staffing to safeguard electrical systems, handle plumbing issues, and deal with expected power outages. Fred A. DeStefano, an electrician and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member, shows how he rushed to shut down electrical systems in van den Berg Hall at SUNY New Paltz in order to prevent a fire.
The cover of the October 2011 Work Force. Front-line workers to the rescue: Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members respond to Irene and Lee's devastation. CSEA members across the state were involved in the immediate response to Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. CSEA member Kris Waite was part of a crew of Town of Newburgh Highway Department workers who had to open up a town roadway to fix clogged pipes that were causing repeat flooding post-Hurricane Irene.
Photo of the Month in the August 2011 Work Force. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Elizabeth Borden, a licensed practical nurse at the Rockland County Summit Park Hospital and Nursing Care Center, takes part in an advertising production for CSEA's new advertising campaign, debuting in August. Borden is one of four members photographed and filmed during a shoot at the Hilton Garden Inn in Newburgh. CSEA members in other parts of the state also participated in the campaign. Also pictured is Syracuse based commercial photographer Ron Trinca. Members were also filmed at their work sites.
Being in the right place at the right time was the difference between life and death for a Wallkill teen who was ejected from her car after it flipped in front of the home of Kim and frank Kosteczkos. The Kosteczkos, both members of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) saved her life. After noticing the girl was pinned beneath the car, Frank and another motorist who stopped lifted the car while Kim was able to drag the teen out and used Frank's shirt as a tourniquet to stop a wound from bleeding. In this photo Kim Kosteczko, right, holds her award from the Ulster County Police Chief's Association. Next to her is her husband, Frank Kosteczko.
Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to close Hudson River Psychiatric Center means vulnerable mid-Hudson Valley residents in need of mental health treatment will slip through the cracks, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) President Danny Donohue told CSEA, PEF and community members at a demonstration. In this photo Hudson River Psychiatric Center Local President Mary Casale, local Treasurer Jim Schultz and Southern Region 1st Vice President Deb Downey demonstrate along Route 9 in Poughkeepsie.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo and CSEA President Danny Donohue lead a demonstration for mental health services in the Hudson Valley. Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to close Hudson River Psychiatric Center means vulnerable mid-Hudson Valley residents in need of mental health treatment will slip through the cracks, Donohue told CSEA, PEF and community members at a demonstration.
A nurse at Poughkeepsie City School District's Krieger Elementary School, was hailed as a hero recently after saving the life of a student's grandfather during a school concert. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Poughkeepsie City School District Unit member Nancy Liber successfully revived the grandfather using CPR after the man collapsed because of a cardiac episode.
The Photo of the Month in the May 2011 Work Force published by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). More than 150 supporters of the Ulster County-run Golden Hill Health Care Center demonstrated in front of the Ulster County Office Building March 29 before a meeting of the Ulster County Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee. At that meeting, legislators continued the ongoing debate over the future of the county home. Support for building a new county home is growing among legislators on both sides of the aisle. One week later, a group of eight local Tea Party members attempted their own rally calling for the sale of Golden Hill.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Carmel School District Unit members B.J. Hawthorne and Raena O'Brien saved several lives when they noticed smoke coming from a house as they were finishing their morning bus run. Hawthorne, a district bus driver, quickly radioed for help while O'Brien, a bus monitor, banged on the door to alert the residents of the home that it was on fire. The duo's heroics garnered local media attention.
Pawling School District Unit Vice President Kevin Richard, left, and President Jeff Stevens, were first-time Southern Region Polar Plunge participants, though Stevens is a longtime volunteer for other Special Olympics programs. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)members in the Southern Region participated in the Polar Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics.
The Southern Region Polar Plunge team at the Fishkill Creek. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members in the Southern Region participated in the Polar Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics. They raised more than $2,200 during the plunge.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member and Ulster County Local President Terry Gilbert presents county legislators with petitions containing 2,562 signatures of residents who support building a new county nursing home.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activists Pat McVitty, left, and Jeff Tubbs are part of a group of CSEA members fighting to restore several dozen permanent job titles at the state-run ski area at Belleayre Mountain.
A photo of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Gerard Kent, a therapy aide at Taconic DDSO, appeared with a quote about the attacks on public employees and concern over budget cuts.
A photo of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Mary Casale, residential program assistant at Hudson River Psychiatric Center, appeared with a quote about the attacks on public employees and concern over budget cuts.
Photo of the Month in the January 2011 Work Force. Representatives from the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and management from Tarrytown and Yorktown participated in a weeklong train-the-trainer course on working in confined spaces. The workshop, taught by staff from the CSEA Occupational Safety and Health Department at the headquarters of Highland Hose Co. No. 1 in Lloyd, will allow participants to train co-workers on how to work safely in confined spaces. CSEA members Anthony Ruggiero Jr. and John Kelly died on Labor Day in Tarrytown after apparently succumbing to fumes in a manhole. The Village of Tarrytown had not offered proper confined space training to its work force. CSEA recently conducted similar trainings across the state.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Orange County Unit member Nick Ercoline holds a photo of him and his wife, Bobbi, taken at Woodstock in 1969. The photo has since become an iconic image of the festival.
A traveling display presenting Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Century of Service made public appearances in all six CSEA regions. The displays were on an 18-month odyssey that took them to every corner of the state to tell CSEA's story in highly visible public locations.
Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Unit Vice President Joe Manning, at left, addresses members of the Sullivan County Legislature. Workers at the Sullivan County Jail are paid dramatically less than their counterparts in neighboring counties causing a high turnover rate as new correction officers gain experience and leave for nearby federal and state correctional facilities.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Santos Guzman, a carpenter at Helen Hayes Hospital, in an area of the hospital he is helping renovate.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo speaks out against a proposed merger of Sullivan County BOCES with Orange-Ulster BOCES at a public hearing held February 12, 2009 at Liberty High School.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activist and Orangetown Unit President Mike Menegaux received the CSEA Local Government Mission Achievement Award.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members of the City of White Plains Unit surround, from left, Unit President Joe Roche, Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo and White Plains Councilman Glen Hockley during a news conference.