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.
Assemblyman Rory Lancman and state Senator George Maziarz listen as Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Director of Occupational Safety and Health Janet Foley speaks to reporters at a press conference in the state Capitol about the benefits of safe patient handling programs. The Assembly Subcommittee on Workplace Safety recently released a report detailing the success of safe patient handling programs in health care facilities in New York and recommended passage of the Safe Patient Handling Act, sponsored by Lancman and Maziarz in their respective houses.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley recently told state lawmakers the majority of employees who care for people with developmental disabilities have been inaccurately portrayed in a series of New York Times articles alleging systemic abuse in the state developmental disabilities system. Berkley, who has more than 30 years of experience in the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities system as a direct care worker, said CSEA represents 18,000 workers who care for nearly 40,000 individuals with developmental disabilities. She said only a tiny fraction of those employees have ever been brought up on disciplinary charges of any nature, let alone client abuse.
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.
The H.O.U.R. Westchester campaign ? Hourlies Organized and United for Respect ? began because Westchester County Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) leaders saw the need to strengthen the union by organizing these unrepresented employee groups. Nearly 1,000 hourly and seasonal workers work at the county's parks, pools, golf courses and an amusement park and some year-round employees work on an hourly basis with no benefits. In this photo Westchester County Unit President Karen Pecora, third from right, checks in CSEA members at the CSEA Playland Day.
The H.O.U.R. Westchester campaign ? Hourlies Organized and United for Respect ? began because Westchester County Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) leaders saw the need to strengthen the union by organizing these unrepresented employee groups. Nearly 1,000 hourly and seasonal workers work at the county's parks, pools, golf courses and an amusement park and some year-round employees work on an hourly basis with no benefits. In this photo, a Rye Playland seasonal worker talks with a CSEA organizer.
Victoria Kane, a kennel attendant at the Riverhead Animal Shelter, provides quality care to animals in her care despite short staffing and attacks by a local rescue group. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Suffolk Municipal Employees Local members Lou Coronesi, an animal control officer, and kennel attendant Victoria Kane are the only public employees working at the Riverhead Animal Shelter, as the town increasingly relies on part-time "volunteers" to handle daily functions in an apparent move toward privatization.
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.