CSEA Village of Rouses Point Unit President Jason Juneau stands by a flooded boat ramp in Rouses Point. As devastating floods swept through Clinton, Essex, Warren and parts of Saratoga counties, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members put their personal lives on hold as they scrambled to help residents and businesses and went into action on a moment's notice, staffing a pumphouse around the clock, delivering and laying sandbags and leading a relief effort that netted 15,000 sandbags.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members filled the room to capacity in a workshop focusing on state contract talks with the Cuomo administration. CSEA members from across the state met at the union's annual Spring Workshop to unite, build and mobilize New York's Leading Union. Activists in attendance learned about the fight ahead to protect the Triborough Amendment and to tell the governor no tax breaks for his rich millionaire friends. In addition to the plenary and mobilization sessions, workshops focused on state government negotiations, on CSEA's "Don't Zone Out" campaign, Working People's History, the CSEA Next Wave movement, and "Uniting for Today, Building for Tomorrow."
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members participated in 2011 Workers Memorial Day remembrance ceremonies across the state to remember those who have passed away or sustained serious injuries while doing their jobs, including the members who have passed away during the past year. These empty chairs represent fallen workers at a Workers Memorial Day ceremony at the state Department of Transportation's Jefferson Residency in Watertown.
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.
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.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA -represented state Executive Branch employees ratified a contract with New York state that keeps people working and protects rights and benefits. From left, CSEA Statewide Treasurer Joe McMullen, Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley, Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan, President Danny Donohue and Director of Contract Administration Ross Hanna take part in a news conference announcing CSEA's state contract ratification.
A photo of Bill Howard, a front line coordinator of the state's response to the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, used in the Special Section of the September 2011 edition of the Work Force, Always Remember: A commemorative 10th anniversary retrospective. In 2001, Howard worked as a deputy director of state operations for then-Governor George Pataki. Today, Howards is the director of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s Employee Benefit Fund.
A photo of Michael Browne, a Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Nassau County Local member, used in the special section of the September 2011 edition of The Work Force. Always Remember: A commemorative 10th anniversary retrospective. Browne, who works for the Department of Public Works as a sewer maintenance worker and is also a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician for the Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department, was sent to lower Manhattan with other members of the fire department to support the search and rescue operations being undertaken by city firefighters at the station closest to Ground Zero.
Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee left their marks on New York, and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members are out in force aiding in the storm recovery, showing the value of public workers across the state. Statewide Treasurer Joe McMullen volunteers with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene relief efforts in the Greene County town of Prattsville, one of the communities hardest hit by the storm. CSEA members across the state are aiding the recovery with their work and by volunteering.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members honored workers on Labor Day through parades, picnics and other events across the state. In New York City, CSEA also paid a special tribute to all of those lost on September 11, 2001, as the city's Labor Parade coincided with the eve of the 10th anniversary of the attacks. CSEA activists, including Western Region President Flo Tripi, Monroe County Local President Bess Watts, CSEA President Danny Donohue, Western Region activists Debi Sherk and Sally MacDougal lead CSEA's delegation during the Rochester Labor Day Parade.