Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Mike Guynup, left, poses with Capital Region Membership Committee Chair Patty Kaufman after being announced the winner of the "Biggest Loser" competition.
Michael Flaherty of the Western Region Buffalo-Niagara Frontier Retirees Local is the PEOPLE Retiree Recruiter of the Year. He recruited 66 new PEOPLE members. From left, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) PEOPLE Coordinator Cheryl Palmer, Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan, Michael Flaherty and CSEA PEOPLE Committee Chair Rutha Bush.
Gloria Smith of the Central Region SUNY Syracuse Local is the PEOPLE Recruiter of the Year. She recruited 101 new PEOPLE members at the MVP level. From left, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan, Gloria Smith, Central Region President Colleen Wheaton and CSEA President Danny Donohue.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) President Danny Donohue, left, congratulates the 2012 Excelsior Award recipient Gary Van Asselt. This award is given to a CSEA member who promotes and fosters athletic spirit in their local school district.
Western Region delegate Bob Pyjas speaks out on the convention floor during the Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) 102nd Annual Delegates Meeting.
From left, SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn Local (Downstate Medical Center) delegates President Althea Green, Mary Harmon, Maurie Dunaway and Juanita Nottingham listen to a workshop presentation during the Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) 102nd Annual Delegates Meeting.
Bronx Psychiatric Center Local President Abraham Benjamin and Port Washington School District Custodial, Transportation and Maintenance Unit President Richard Acevedo speak out at a workshop during the Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) 102nd Annual Delegates Meeting geared towards helping CSEA workers develop skills to fight on-going attacks on the middle class.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) officers pose with National Labor Relations Board Chairman Mark G. Pearce. Back row, from left, Statewide Treasurer Joe McMullien, Central Region President Colleen Wheaton, Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley, Long Island Region President Nick LaMorte, Metropolitan Region President Lester Crockett, Pearce and Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan. In front row is Western Region President Flo Tripi.
AFSCME International President Lee Saunders, left, and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) President Danny Donohue show union solidarity at CSEA's 102nd Annual Delegates Meeting.
The Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan addresses delegates at CSEA's 102nd Annual Delegates Meeting concerning workers rights and on-going attacks against the middle class.
Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley addresses delegates at the Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) 102nd Annual Delegates Meeting urging CSEA members to "stand up for your rights" and fight back against the on-going attacks on the middle class.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) President Danny Donohue addresses delegates at CSEA's 102nd Annual Delegates Meeting urging CSEA members to "stand up for your rights" to curb attacks against the middle class.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members take part in a Nursing Home Summit. The summits are intended to coordinate the union's strategies in the fight to save public nursing homes across the state.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Blanca Maldonado looks through a photo album, one of the few of her possessions to survive Hurricane Sandy's wrath.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Blanca Maldonado enters the kitchen of her Staten Island home that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy.
Town of Stony Point Unit members Erick Brissing, Dan Cronk and Mike Finnerty remove a fallen tree after Hurricane Sandy swept through the lower half of the Southern Region of New York.
Town of Stony Point Unit member Erick Brissing clears tree debris after Hurricane Sandy swept through the lower half of the Southern Region of New York.
Activists from the SUNY at Binghamton traveled to Manhattan's Bryant Park to deliver donated blankets and coats to members of the SUNY Stony Brook and Nassau County locals who were affected by Sandy. From left, SUNY Stony Brook Local President Carlos Speight, SUNY at Binghamton Local Vice President Barbara Knighton, SUNY Stony Brook Local Treasurer Louise Melious, SUNY at Binghamton Local President David Lee, SUNY Stony Brook Local Vice President Marty Honeychuck, and Nassau County Local Activist Kelvin Lewis.
Village of Babylon Department of Public Works crew members, left to right, Greg Paeitto, Jack Christ and Henry Herman removed mounds of debris from neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Sandy.
Town of Stony Point Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Brett Bulson clears a downed tree in an area heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Central Region activists Joe Palmisano, left, and David Lee staff a phone bank for New York State Assembly candidate Al Stirpe, who won his election.
From left, Maryann Arroyo of Malverne, Long Island child care providers Lisa Price of Hempstead and Sandra Smith,and Getty Njoku of Uniondale hand-delivered more than 1,300 letters to the Nassau County Department of Social Services commissioner to protest budget proposals that would diminish access to child care subsidies for many families in Nassau County.
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.
Illustration by Graphic Artist Ralph Distin showing the importance of union members voting as if their future depended on it, against anti-union candidates who want to slash worker rights and break the unions.
State Education Department Local member and political action volunteer Pat Whalen, "We need candidates like Bill Owens, who looks out for working people and is going to make sure [working families] can put food on the table, make a decent living, send their kids to college. Nationally, if we fail to re-elect President Barack Obama and we elect Mitt Romney, I don't know what kind of a future is going to be possible for working people to have."
State Dormitory Authority Local Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Ira Bethea, "It's really important that we have candidates who are on our side because there is a lot at stake in these elections. Public services have been attacked by corporations and by other politicians unfairly. Millions of dollars have been put into these elections to blame working families for the fact that the economy is slow when in fact, that really hasn't the case."
Long Island Developmental Center Local President Rutha Bush, who is also chair of the Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) PEOPLE program (CSEA and AFSCME's political action program) accompanies a quote: "CSEA has great strength in its numbers. When we are united, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.
Activists Michele Martin, Diane Burton, Dan Meenan and Don Page are part of the teams of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activists who recently went door-to-door visiting labor households in the Syracuse area to get out the vote for union-endorsed candidates, including Dan Maffei for Congress and Al Stirpe Jr. for state Assembly.
U.S. Rep Steve Israel of Long Island addresses delegates to the Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) 102nd Annual Delegates Meeting. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair urged CSEA members to get everyone they know to vote for candidates who will support working people in the upcoming election.
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.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Village of Floral Park Unit members Joe Karam, left, and Kevin Ginnane show off their certificates of appreciation from the mayor for helping a local woman recover her engagement and wedding rings.
New York State Canal Authority workers are dwarfed by an immense flood gate structure as they lower flood gates at Erie Canal Lock 8 in Rotterdam. Canal workers and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members were critical in cleaning debris, repairing locks and infrastructure, and helping to get the canal open on time this season following two devastating storms and an earthquake.
Nassau Local President Jerry Laricchiuta speaking about the recent carjacking in Hicksville, Long Island, New York and the removal of probation records from an officer's file by the Probation Department Administration.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member Desiree Stewart, a plebotomist at Westchester Medical Center, tells Westchester County legislators about working conditions at the hospital during a legislative hearing in Greenburgh, NY.
Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo, second from left, Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley and Westchester Medical Center Unit President Peter Piazza speak with Westchester County Legislature Chairman Kenneth W. Jenkins, far left, following a legislative hearing in Greenburgh, NY about the harmful nature of cuts on the Weschester Medical Center.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Westchester County Local President John Staino, a Westchester Medical Center employee, testifies about working conditions at the hospital to county legislators at a legislative hearing in Greenburgh, NY.
A. J. Smith of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Town of Hempstead Local in the Long Island Region is the PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month for February 2012.
The Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) Bronx Psychiatric Center Local President Abraham Benjamin, right, holding bullhorn, fires up CSEA members and other workers at a rally blasting New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to lay off workers and cut the number of beds at Bronx Psychiatric Center.
George Reinhard, Mental Hygiene Therapy Aide and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member at the Greater Binghamton Health Center formerly known as the Binghamton Psychiatric Center
A screenshot from the video "Don't Sell Our County Home" produced by Snowshoefilms and community members to save the Chautauqua County Home from privatization. This is part of a larger campaign by CSEA to involve communities in protecting their county nursing homes from sale, and leaving elderly populations at risk.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) will observe Workers' Memorial Day April 28 to remember those who have passed away or sustained serious injuries while doing their jobs, including Robert DelVecchio Jr., 35, a highway worker in the Town of Mamaroneck, who passed away November 11, 2011 after being struck by a recycling truck at the town's sanitation and recycling center.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) will observe Workers' Memorial Day April 28 to remember those who have passed away or sustained serious injuries while doing their jobs, including Stephan Mueller, 47, a laborer at the City of Glen Cove, who passed away September 17, 2011, from injuries sustained from being repeatedly stung by hornets.
Taxation and Finance Local President Patricia Metzger, left, and Lottery Division activist John O'Brien, center, meet with State Senator Eric Adams to discuss outsourcing of Lottery jobs.
Town of Hempstead Local President Charlie Sellitto and Conservation and CSEA member and Waterways Commissioner Ronald Masters show off the hydrogen fuel station.
A team of more than 30 Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Southern Region participants, including Putnam County Unit members, from left, Linda Amicucci, Mark Semo and Cindy Kenworthy, took part in the Fishkill Polar Plunge on February 25, 2012 at the Fresh Air Fund-Run Camp Mariah. Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo credited team co-captains Guy Bilyou, Scott Rajczi, Jane Meunier-Gorman and Mark Semo for their hard work in getting the team fund-raising totals to an all-time high.
The "plungers", consisting of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Long Island Region members, make their way toward the chilly waters of the Long Island Sound during the Polar Plunge at Bar Beach in Port Washington, NY.
Nassau Educational Local President Monica Berkowitz speaks on behalf of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) at the Polar Plunge at Bar Beach in Port Washington, NY.
Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) City of Long Beach Unit President John Mooney made statements at city council meetings on behalf of the employees affected by the demotions and pay decreases that occurred.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Western Region activists, including Western Region Political Action Committee Chair Tim Finnigan, far left, Finger Lakes DDSO Local President Kathy Button, second from left, and Cattaraugus County Unit activist Sheri Ambuske, second from right, meet with State Senator Catharine Young, center, on AFSCME Lobby Day, 2012 concerning the Tier 6 proposal.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members and retirees from the Southern Tier, pictured with Southern Region Political Action Coordinator Chris Ludlow, lobby State Senator John Bonacic on Tier 6. Binghamton Retiree Local Secretary Jean Alverson, Binghamton Retiree Treasurer Cheryl Nolf (both are partially hidden in photo), Delaware County Local President Ken Nydam and Binghamton Retiree Local activist Richard Terpak.
Central New York DDSO Local activist Kathy Kelly, Syracuse State Employees Local President King Davis and Central New York DDSO Local activist Peter Jacobs meet with Assemblyman Samuel Roberts, far right, during AFSCME Lobby Day, 2012 concerning the Tier 6 proposal.
Kumiko Asao, far right, assistant director of the Compensation Division of the National Personnel Authority in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan, listens as the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Director of Contract Administration Ross Hanna, far left, explains how public sector labor relations works in New York. From left are Hanna, CSEA Director of Research Don Kelly, CSEA Legislative and Political Action Representative Joshua Terry, CSEA Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan and Asao.
CSEA Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley, left, and Western Region President Flo Tripi, right, congratulate Sullivan, center, on receiving the prestigious Frances Perkins Award awarded by Eleanor's Legacy, a statewide organization, named after Eleanor Roosevelt, dedicated to building a new generation of New York Democratic women leaders of all types.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Town of Hempstead Local member A.J. Smith in the Long Island Region is the PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month for February 2012.
An illustration by graphic artist Ralph Distin titled "'Caving' In The Dark of Night" depicts New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as a vampire standing in front of a cave (New York State Legislature) from which bats (Tier 6) are flying out.
CSEA activists, including Retiree Division activist Dorothy Dutton left, join other CSEA members and Public Employee Federation (PEF) members at a rally at the State Capitol recently to let the governor and state legislators know that their political deal for Tier 6 will not be forgotten.
An AFSCME activist dressed as "Monopoly Man" and an inflatable corporate pig hand out fliers in front of the New York State Capitol Building recently, urging people to tell state lawmakers to say "No" to Tier 6.
The cover of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s April 2012 edition of the Work Force. Politics before people: Cuomo, legislators put self-interest first. CSEA slammed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislative leadership, Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats for a politically expedient deal that trades the future retirement security of working New Yorkers for legislative redistricting lines.
Workers at Kingsboro Psychiatric Center held a lively lunchtime demonstration in front of the offices of Stephen Berger's investment firm, Odyssey Investment Partners. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Kingsboro Psychiatric Center Local President Fitzroy Wilson, right, demonstrates to save his facility and SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
Workers at Kingsboro Psychiatric Center held a lively lunchtime demonstration in front of the offices of Stephen Berger's investment firm, Odyssey Investment Partners. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Metropolitan Region President Lester Crockett leads workers in a demonstration in front of Berger's Manhattan investment firm.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Westchester County Local President John Staino, second from right, meets with Westchester County Legislators Catherine Borgia, far left, and Virginia Perez. (Person on far right is unidentified.)
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members employed by Westchester Medical Center recently attended a press conference to blast hospital management for outsourcing jobs with a company with a record of failure.
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.
An illustration by graphic artist Ralph Distin titled " . . . Where Angels fear to tread shows the dangers of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed Tier 6 Pension Plan", is a defined contribution plan tied to Wall Street fluctuations and places greater risks on the worker.
Civil Service Employees Association's (CSEA) union members, including Capital Region President Kathy Garrison, second from right, and State Educational Local President Sally Bywater, third from right, participate in a protest in Albany, NY outside a forum where corporate think tank head E.J. McMahon spoke. McMahon, who heads the Empire Center for New York State Policy, has advocated for pushing back public service working families' wages, benefits and pensions.
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.
Artwork used on the cover of the Civil Service Employees Association's March 2012 Work Force. Wall Street's New $cheme Tier 6: Not good for people, not good for economy. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget includes yet another pension tier, Tier 6, which will hurt all workers and do no good for our struggling economy.
Nancy Hoffman, hired as the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s general counsel in 1988, retired in December 2011. Hoffman became the driving force in the legal department's development, leading it from a handful of lawyers, limited resources and no history of accomplishment to one of the most respected and effective operations in organized labor. In this photograph, Nancy Hoffman works at her desk in CSEA Headquarters.
Nassau County recently issued layoff notices to Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) 243 Nassau Local members; and nearly 200 more county workers were demoted several pay grades, forcing a direct impact on county residents and the services they receive. Another 114 CSEA members from 16 different departments accepted voluntary retirement packages which preserved roughly 150 jobs that otherwise would have been lost to a second round of layoffs. Auto Shop Supervisor Sean Gavin repairs a street sweeper. Vehicle maintenance, snow removal and care for parks will all be more difficult with Nassau County's loss of workers through layoffs.
Nassau County recently issued layoff notices to Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) 243 Nassau Local members; and nearly 200 more county workers were demoted several pay grades, forcing a direct impact on county residents and the services they receive. Another 114 CSEA members from 16 different departments accepted voluntary retirement packages which preserved roughly 150 jobs that otherwise would have been lost to a second round of layoffs. Nassau County Probation Officer Bernice Brown is immersed in data entry tasks, following the layoffs of clerical staff.
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.
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.
Workers, including Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members, in state juvenile detention facilities are facing increasingly dangerous conditions in the facilities, including violent attacks by youths in their care. Workers are also victims of a complete lack of support or concern for their safety from officials at the state Office of Children and Family Services, which runs the facilities. The photograph shows the state Office of Children and Family Services Taberg Residential Center in Oneida County.
Illustration from the February 2012 edition of The Work Force, published by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), by graphic artist Ralph Distin of Dr. Strange "Love" shows Westchester Medical Center (WMC) CEO Mike Israel destroying the reputation of WMC as a first-class facility with layoffs, less patient care and the hiring of lower-paid private contractors.
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.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), Westchester Local 2nd Vice President Junio Ismael Alvarado, center, dressed as King Melchor, joins retired CSEA member Donald Michael Friedman, right, as King Gaspar and SEIU Local 32BJ member Marcus Luna as King Baltasar in the annual Puerto Rican and Latino holiday tradition of celebrating Three Kings Day. On January 6 of every year since he was 7, Alvarado has worn an intricate, homemade costume, which usually takes him about a month to make, and participates in celebrations and parades.