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.
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.
Cover of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) monthly publication The Work Force from February 2012. Vital services on the line: Nassau County services face drastic cuts due to misguided layoffs. Nassau County recently issued layoff notices to 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. In this photo Nassau County Probation Officer Randy Knight holds a stack of paper work previously done by clerical staff that have been laid off. Probation workers are concerned that public safety will be compromised by the layoffs.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Oswego County Local activist Jimmy Jackson, right, comes out of a full-body plunge into Oneida Lake as SUNY Binghamton Local President David Lee, left, watches.
Members of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Capital Region Team, the Polar Penguins, raised $2,200 for Special Olympics athletes when they plunged into frigid Lake George on Nov. 19, 2011. Team members made up of CSEA members, friends and family, gathered at Shepard's Cove Beach for a pre-plunge photo. CSEA members are, second row left to right, holding banner, Denise Famiano, Deb Gallachi, Mary Ann Brownell and Heidi Holcomb, CSEA Capital Region 3rd Vice President Brenda Facin and Martine Perrott and back row, left, Kim Teta, Dan Barkley, and (center) Bill Lauer.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Central Region members participate in a Polar Plunge to help support Special Olympics athletes. CSEA Central Region President Colleen Wheaton, second from right, front row, leads the region's "Polar Peeps" Team into Oneida Lake in Brewerton, NY on Dec. 4, 2011, for the Special Olympics, raising more than $13,700.