The central message at Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s recent Women's Conference was CSEA women ? and men ? have the power to win the battle against unprecedented attacks on workers by politicians, corporate interests and the media. Nearly 500 activists from across the state attended. In this photo Hudson Valley DDSO Local members Delcina Fisher, Dawn Woody, Tonya Miller and Michelle Dewitt learn self defense techniques.
The central message at Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s recent Women's Conference was CSEA women ? and men ? have the power to win the battle against unprecedented attacks on workers by politicians, corporate interests and the media. Nearly 500 activists from across the state attended. In this photo Women's Committee member Catherine Custance, right, gives information to Erie County Local and Next Wave activists Alison Schoonover, Rachel Casey and Michele Weaver.
Twenty nursing instructors employed with Eastern Suffolk BOCES (adult/continuing education) recently decertified their union with UPSEU (United Public Service Employees Union) Local 424 to join the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). New BOCES Nursing Instructors Unit officers being sworn in by CSEA Suffolk County Education Employees Local President Maria Navarro, left are President Jim Van Tassel, Vice President Chris Villaneuva, Treasurer Christine McNally, and Secretary Kathleen Parente. The nursing instructors left their former union to get better representation with CSEA.
Two Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Town of Greece highway workers are credited with saving the life of an elderly man who somehow found himself in the middle of a fenced-in construction site next to the highway department and got stuck up to his armpits in mud and water and clinging to a post. The two workers heard the man's cries for help and stayed with him until emergency responders came and then helped pull the man to safety. Rescuers Dan O'Connell, left, and Ron Bandemer stand near the fence surrounding the construction site where the man became stuck in mud.
A nurse at Poughkeepsie City School District's Krieger Elementary School, was hailed as a hero recently after saving the life of a student's grandfather during a school concert. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Poughkeepsie City School District Unit member Nancy Liber successfully revived the grandfather using CPR after the man collapsed because of a cardiac episode.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and other union members take part in a Western New York Area Labor Federation We Are One rally in Buffalo. This was part of a day of action to show support for public employees in Wisconsin and elsewhere across the country on April 4, culminating in hundreds of We Are One rallies, emphasizing workers' rights and the growing gulf between the super rich and everyone else.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Rockland Psychiatric Center Local activist Sheila Dunlop takes part in a Newburgh We Are One rally. This was part of a day of action to show support for public employees in Wisconsin and elsewhere across the country on April 4, culminating in hundreds of We Are One rallies, emphasizing workers' rights and the growing gulf between the super rich and everyone else.
Long Island Region Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members rally in Hauppague against Governor Andrew Cuomo's budget. This was part of a day of action to show support for public employees in Wisconsin and elsewhere across the country on April 4, culminating in hundreds of We Are One rallies, emphasizing workers' rights and the growing gulf between the super rich and everyone else.
Teaching associates in the Niagara Falls School District took to the street to protest job cuts and stalled contract talks with management. At issue is the loss of 33 jobs, as well as health insurance proposals by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) that would level the playing field and create fair and equitable health insurance costs for unit members. Alida Barreto, a special education associate, leads co-workers during a demonstration against budget cuts.
Thanks to a dedicated town street lighting crew, Hempstead is brighter and safer at night. Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) activist Gary Aue, a field supervisor for the town, oversees a crew of 12 workers who are responsible for maintaining nearly 50,000 lights ? enough to stretch from Long Island to Colorado if they were placed in a straight line. In the photo, Town of Hempstead street lighting crew member Nick Acuri repairs a streetlight in North Valley Stream, a hamlet within the town.
A photo of Joseph Gavit as a young man. A state library worker who began as a junior clerk in 1896, Gavit was integral in documenting what was lost in a fire that tore through the State Capitol on March 29, 1911, destroying vast amounts of New York's history. Gavit's knowledge of the library collection would serve him well in helping to address the fire's aftermath, a task that filled the rest of his career. He was active in the Association of State Civil Service Employees, the original name of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), and retired from state service in 1946 after 50 years.
A photo of Joseph Gavit at work in the State Library in 1946. A state library worker who began as a junior clerk in 1896, Gavit was integral in documenting what was lost in a fire that tore through the State Capitol on March 29, 1911, destroying vast amounts of New York's history. Gavit's knowledge of the library collection would serve him well in helping to address the fire's aftermath, a task that filled the rest of his career. He was active in the Association of State Civil Service Employees, the original name of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), and retired from state service in 1946 after 50 years.
The cover of the June 2011 Work Force: VOICE in our Capital: Excitement, enthusiasm as child care activists set their agenda. More than 200 VOICE/Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) representatives from across New York State met in Albany where they reminisced and celebrated, retracing Local 100A's roots. They met with public officials and CSEA leaders and ratified an Action Plan moving Local 100A into 2012 with ambitious goals.
Photo used as the Photo of the Month in the June 2011 Work Force. Ella Rascoe, 8, of Plattsburgh, warms up with a glove toss before taking the field on the opening day of Little League. Her "CSEA" team is sponsored by Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s Clinton County Local. The local began supporting Little League 10 years ago through sponsorship of the Plattsburgh Little League All Star Tournament.
VOICE/Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) moves into next chapter: More than 200 VOICE/CSEA representatives from across New York State met in Albany where they reminisced and celebrated, retracing Local 100A's roots. They met with public officials and CSEA leaders and ratified an Action Plan moving Local 100A into 2012 with ambitious goals. In this photo, VOICE providers listen to speakers at the VOICE in our Capital conference.
VOICE/Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) moves into next chapter: More than 200 VOICE/CSEA representatives from across New York State met in Albany where they reminisced and celebrated, retracing Local 100A's roots. They met with public officials and CSEA leaders and ratified an Action Plan moving Local 100A into 2012 with ambitious goals. In this photo, from left, CSEA Secretary Denise Berkley, Treasurer Joe McMullen, Executive Vice President Mary Sullivan, state Sen. Diane Savino and CSEA President Danny Donohue take part in the VOICE in our Capital conference.
An illustration by graphic artist Ralph Distin in the June 2011 Work Force, published by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), called Sharing the Pain, depicts Governor Andrew Cuomo's and the state Senate's push for tax cuts for New York's wealthiest residents in order to create jobs, while preaching budget restraint and cuts to public services which puts people out of work.
CSEA members Jesse Fitzgerald, Jon Charland, John Lefebvre and Ross Robert lay sandbags at Swiss Marine in Saranac Lake. 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.
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) High Peaks State Employees Local members fill sandbags at the Saranac Lake Village garage. As devastating floods swept through Clinton, Essex, Warren and parts of Saratoga counties 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.
Some of the more than 50 Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) SUNY Stony Brook Local members demonstrate in front of the Elsie Owens Health Center in Coram to protest the proposed closure of that facility, which treats about 30,000 people each year. The potential loss of this critical facility is directly related to drastic reductions in aid from the state and is likely to place an added burden on hospital emergency rooms in close proximity, putting the health of Suffolk County residents at greater risk.
From left, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) SUNY Stony Brook Local President Carlos Speight, Suffolk County Legislator Sara Anker and SUNY Stony Brook Local Executive Vice President Debbie Nappi-Gonzales fight to keep the Elsie Owens Health Center open. More than 50 SUNY Stony Brook Local members demonstrated in front of the Health Center in Coram to protest the proposed closure of that facility, which treats about 30,000 people each year. The potential loss of this critical facility is directly related to drastic reductions in aid from the state and is likely to place an added burden on hospital emergency rooms in close proximity, putting the health of Suffolk County residents at greater risk.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member and South Colonie School District custodian Doug Hutton took quick action that helped save a 72-year-old man who had been playing basketball with an over-50 league at the Roessleville Elementary School when he collapsed on the court. Hutton used a defibrillator that delivered a shock to the man's body. Paramedics arrived and delivered a second shock and the man started talking.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Next Wave members Andre Medlock, Sheri Ambuske, Michele Weaver and Justin Lelonek staff their table at the Spring Workshop. 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 the rich. 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 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) Central Region President Colleen Wheaton, Special Olympics New York CEO Neal Johnson and CSEA President Danny Donohue pose with the Polar Cap Award at CSEA's annual Spring Workshop. The Central Region earned the award for the second straight year by raising the most money for the Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics. 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) President Danny Donohue presents the State Employee Mission Achievement Award to CSEA activist Bob Bostwick, a janitor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, at the Spring Workshop. 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. CSEA awards its annual Mission Achievement Awards at the workshop to activists who exemplify the union's mission.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) President Danny Donohue presents the Local Government Mission Achievement Award to Joanne LeClair, the Herkimer County Unit president at the Spring Workshop. 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. CSEA awards its annual Mission Achievement Awards at the workshop to activists who exemplify the union's mission.
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. Central Region Safety & Health Committee members planted this tree as a living memorial to fallen workers outside the state Department of Transportation's Jefferson Residency.
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. In this photo Long Island Region President Nick LaMorte and Nassau County Local President Jerry Laricchiuta take part in the Workers Memorial Day service in Hauppauge.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) President Danny Donohue speaks at the state Department of Transportation's Workers Memorial Day remembrance ceremony in Albany. 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.
State Department of Transportation workers participate in a Workers Memorial Day ceremony in Watertown's Jefferson Residency. 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.
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.
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. CSEA Western Region President Flo Tripi, center, speaks during the annual ceremony at Western New York DDSO in West Seneca.
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. CSEA Central Region Executive Vice President Jeffrey Colburn speaks at a Workers Memorial Day ceremony at the state Department of Transportation Jefferson Residency as region Occupational Safety and Health Committee members James Jackson, Anthony DeCaro, Andy Roche and Committee Chair Joe Miceli look on.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) is donating copies of A Century of Service: The Story of CSEA's First 100 Years to libraries across the state. CSEA's Rochester City Library Unit President Ove Overmyer and Western Region President Flo Tripi present a copy to Rochester Public Library Board President Sharon Orienter. Overall the Rochester City Library System received a dozen copies.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) is donating copies of A Century of Service: The Story of CSEA's First 100 Years to libraries across the state. CSEA Central Region President Colleen Wheaton, front center, presents a copy to Jenica Rogers, director of libraries at SUNY Potsdam, as a gift from CSEA to recognize National Library week. To Wheaton's left is SUNY Potsdam Local President Diane Billings. Standing behind them from left to right are CSEA members working in the college's libraries: Kay Newman, Glen Bogardus, Frank Cayward, Jill Murray, Rita Bridgen, Sheila Muller and Angie Donah.
Flowers are in bloom outside the Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Society in Menands, thanks to a group of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) 100th Annual Delegates Meeting attendees who spruced up the animal shelter's grounds and facility and helped recycle bottles as part of the Annual Delegates Meeting's Day of Service last October. Delegates also participated in several other community service projects that day, including volunteering at the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and the Louise Corning Senior Services Center.
Mike Lagoda, a Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) member and mechanic with the West Seneca Central School District, recently won a bus mechanic regional "road-eo.'' He moves on to the state competition this summer in the Albany area. It's a chance to highlight the skills he uses to keep children safe.
Things tend to run smoothly at Monroe Community College thanks to people who often work behind the scenes, including those who work in shipping and receiving. Tom Pollizi, president of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)'s Monroe Community College Unit and a driver/mover in the college's shipping and receiving department, has been recognized for the seamlessness of his work by the State University of New York. He is recipient of the SUNY Chancellors Award in Classified Service, a statewide award that recognizes employees who demonstrate excellence in activities beyond the scope of their job description.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley, center, joined Erie County Local and Unit President Joan Bender, far right, Erie County Department of Social Services Section President Kevin Kumor and members of the Erie County Local Next Wave Committee for an anniversary party celebrating the committee's accomplishments during its first year. The section's Next Wave members participated in numerous union and community events, including the CSEA Annual Delegates Meeting, regional conferences and meetings, campaigning for State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, marching in the Buffalo Labor Day parade, appearing in the AFSCME "A Better New York For All" video, hosting a "Union 101" seminar for new members and creating a Next Wave Facebook page and cleaning up of a local park. The Next Wave program is CSEA's initiative to recruit younger activists and respond to the needs of younger members.
Photo used for the cover of the July 2011 Work Force: Fighting back in Local Government: Nassau, Erie County workers fight for jobs. Across the state, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members working in local government are facing job losses and difficult contract negotiations as communities struggle with loss of revenue from a weak economy. At the June 28 special meeting of the Nassau County Legislature, legislators voted 10-9 to lay off CSEA members working for Nassau County. Hundreds of CSEA members, friends and families packed the chamber to dispute the layoff proposal brought forward by County Executive Ed Mangano.
Photo used for the cover of the July 2011 Work Force: Fighting back in Local Government: Nassau, Erie County workers fight for jobs. Across the state, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members working in local government are facing job losses and difficult contract negotiations as communities struggle with loss of revenue from a weak economy. This photo is from a We Are Erie County rally in downtown Buffalo to support libraries and county services.
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and the State of New York reach tentative contract: Plan balances shared sacrifice with fairness and respect. CSEA President Danny Donohue, center, is flanked by the CSEA State Executive Branch Negotiating Team and CSEA Director of Contract Administration and chief negotiator Ross Hanna during a news conference announcing CSEA's tentative state contract.
Across the state, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members working in local government are facing job losses and difficult contract negotiations as communities struggle with loss of revenue from a weak economy. The situation will get worse as New York's new tax cap takes effect, limiting the ability of counties, cities, towns, villages and schools to manage their budgets. CSEA members Rachel Casey, left, Chris Chimera and Michele Weaver stand in support of libraries and county services during a We Are Erie County rally in downtown Buffalo.
Illustration by graphic artist Ralph Distin: Everything under the sun shows how the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) educates its members for summer safety.
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.
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.
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.
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.