Lisa Vanderburg, a senior accounting clerk in the Health, Physical Education and Athletics Department at the Levittown district's Career and Technical Center and a Long Island Region Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activist, was named this year's recipient of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association's Excelsior Award. The Excelsior Award honors CSEA members who show commitment in any role as a parent, coach, booster or staff member and results from individual volunteerism or the performance of one's daily job in a school district.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s LEAD Class of 2011 gathered recently for their graduation in Albany. CSEA's Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program is an intensive multi-faceted program aimed at enhancing the leadership skills of CSEA leaders and activists. Taught by both union staff and outside experts, this program begins with a general background of the labor movement and labor history, the negotiating process, governmental processes, and other important information about CSEA.
An illustration by graphic artist Ralph Distin in the October 2011 Work Force published by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). Opinions of the rich and powerful (before and after) shows how the rich and powerful blame public employees for the economic mess of New York state but after major storms swept the state the public employees were viewed as heroes.
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.
Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee left their marks on New York, and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members were out in force aiding in the storm recovery, showing the value of public workers across the state. Montgomery County Augo Mechanic Technician Rick Dingman, left, speaks with CSEA President Danny Donohue about the cleanup efforts of county Department of Public Works employees following the damage caused by Hurricane Irene.
Photo of the Month in the October 2011 Work Force. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley lights a candle in honor of the CSEA members and other workers lost from the state Department of Taxation and Finance on September 11, 2001, at a September 8, 2011, ceremony at the department's New York City offices. CSEA honored all of those who lost their lives to the attacks, including 2,753 people at the World Trade Center. Among the World Trade Center losses are CSEA members Yvette Anderson, Florence Cohen, Harry Goody, Marian "Marty" Hrycak and Dorothy Temple. All were employed at the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
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.
A photo of Omayra Camacho, a crime victims specialist for the state Office of Victim Services, used in a special section of the September 2011 Work Force: Always Remember: A commemorative 10th anniversary retrospective published by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). Camacho was among the first responders assisting the families and victims of the September 11 attacks. She now assists people who were involved in the cleanup, many of whom have developed cancer, were exposed to asbestos and have other illnesses.
A photo of Michael "Rocky" Rockdashil, a Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) unit president who serves as a lieutenant in the Baldwinsville Volunteer Fire Company, was used in the special section of the September 2011, edition of the Work Force, Always Remember: A commemorative 10th anniversary retrospective. Rockdashil forged a friendship in 1999 with fellow firefighter Michael Healey of Squad 41 in the South Bronx/Harlem area, who died in the World Trade Center collapse. In the photo he holds Healey's helmet shield. The Baldwinsville firefighters were not activated to respond but they held a fund-raiser and raised $20,000 for the families of the fallen firefighters.
A photo of John Damato, a 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 published by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). Damato, who works for the Department of Public Works as a sewer maintenance worker and is also a volunteer firefighter and member of the National Guard, was deployed in the days following the September 11, 2001, attacks on a six-month Guard tour during which he alternately sifted through piles of rubble at Ground Zero searching for human remains and guarded security check points at the World Trade Center site.