Ruby Mims, Erie County Local member, was a PEOPLE recruiter for the month of July, 2009. PEOPLE stands for Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality.
Illustration by graphic artist Ralph Distin depicting the wrong ways of trying to save the state money, including the issue of forced furloughs on local government workers.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Western Region President Flo Tripi, right, rallies Monroe County members during a demonstration outside the county office building. Members protested the county's unfair labor practices, which have included Taylor Law violations, attempts to weaken the union, and a "whistleblower hotline" that encourages people to report "illegal" or "unethical" behavior by CSEA members.
Southold Unit members listen to unit and local leaders explain the agreement putting an end to town Supervisor Scott Russell's plan to lay off 10 percent of the town work fore and severely cut the quality of public services.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Orange County Unit member Nick Ercoline, right, and his wife, Bobbi, embrace in an image taken at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. The image was later used on the cover of a live album from Woodstock. The Ercolines eventually married and are still together.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Orange County Unit member Nick Ercoline holds a photo of him and his wife, Bobbi, taken at Woodstock in 1969. The photo has since become an iconic image of the festival.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activists demonstrate outside Newburgh Town Hall. Former Unit President Katherine Otis, one of the town's layoff targets, is third from right.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activist Betty Lennon greets a visitor to the CSEA table at the 2009 Clinton County Fair. CSEA's traveling history banner was on display at the fair.
State Department of Transportation Syracuse Local members Chuck Weiland, left, and John DeBottis display the AED device they used to save co-worker Dick Metott's life.