The Public Sector, 1982 October 8

Gubertatorlal Primacy § still fresh in mind, less
than two weeks after Lt. Gov. Mario M. Cuomo
stunned political observers by defeating New
York City Mayor Ed Koch, CSEA was already at
_work for another Cuomo victory in the Nov. 2
general election.
“We did everything we could to get Mario
Cuomo to the point where he is now and we have
_ succeeded,” an elated CSEA President William
L. McGowan said following the stunning primary
victory, “but it won’t mean very much if we
don’t turn that primary victory into a victory for
the people of this state on Nov. 2.”

‘On March 10, when the state’s largest public
employee union announced its selection of
Cuomo as the first candidate ever endorsed by
the union in a gubernatorial primary, most
political obsery: TS. Lana at his chances for

arey, Comptroller Edwar
ao President Ger:
th

Official Publication of The civil )
Service Employees Association
Local 1000, American
Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees AFL-CIO

Vol. 4, No. 26
Friday, October 8, 1982

Se

(ISSN 0164 9949)

y

by- “bit attacked the lead until Sept. 23, oe
many observers considered Koch’s victory
likely, though less than certain,

Most news analysts now credit the all-out
effort by CSEA and other state labor unions with
turning the uphill Cuomo effort into a success.

On Oct. 1, CSEA’s Statewide Political Action
Committee, acting on the unanimous

recommendation of the union’s statewide —

officers, officially extended the union’s primary
endorsement into an endorsement in the general

election against millionaire Republican Lewis ©

Lehrman.

Lehrman, a retired executive from his
family’s pharmaceutical business, has a clear
position on many issues critical te public
employees. He has promised to cut state
employee jobs, cut state taxes, freeze local

expenditures (thus threatening Jocal
: aie workers), turn some state mental

risons, oppose reform Tier I

the state’s public. ‘employee Ae oes. and
he opposes reform | of the unfair ee of the

already mounted a des;
Cur ecusing him of bein;
organized, managed and directed by public
union bosses.” _

Another aspect — ‘of the apparent Achrman,
strategy is to pai
liberal,” who believes in (ecanaed high —
government spending which drives private
employers out of the state.

The lieutenant governor, meanwhile, i telling
voters of Lehrman’s close links to Reaganomics

PAINTED POST — The largest and most active anti-labor organization in
the U.S. is the Reagan administration, and the record proves it.

So said Humphrey Donahue, the national field representative of the AFL-
CIO, and guest speaker at the recent Region VI Fall Conference at the Painted
Post Holiday Inn.

“The record proves that the Reagan administration caters to big business
and wealthy corporate interests that deny workers’ rights,’ Donahue said.

Donahue’s remarks highlighted a full schedule of region conference
activities that included preparation for the CSEA Statewide Delegate
convention, to be held in Buffalo Oct. 10-15; assessment of the successful
Cuomo primary campaign; and plans for even more intense involvement in the
general election campaign.

TREASURER’S PLEASURE — Statewide Treasurer Barbara Fauser
receives plaque of appreciation from Region VI President Robert
Lattimer. Fauser, the former region treasurer, was awarded the plaque
at a luncheon in her honor.

GUEST SPEAKER — Humphrey Donahue of the AFL-CIO takes the
podium at the Western Region meeting for a discussion on anti-labor
organizations and what the AFL-CIO is doing about them,

0

UNIONISTS SHARE CONCERNS — Conference participants Richard
Marks, left, Robert Mootry and Debbie Lee, president of West Seneca
Local 427, converse during one of the conference workshops.

Page 2 THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8, 1982

Region VI Conference .

Focus on anti-labor groups, governor's race

According to Donahue, the collective bargaining process is being denied by
the Reagan administration. He cited the PATCO strike of 1981, which saw the
Reagan administration fire 11,000 air traffic controllers, and the more recent
Locomotive Engineers strike, where legistration was hastily enacted to force
strikers back to work, as examples. ‘

“It’s a shame and an irony that the very issues that PATCO cited as the
reasons for withholding their services turned up as ‘needs to be addressed’ by a
Reagan-appointed advisory board after the controllers were fired,” said
Donahue. ‘The case of the Locomotive Engineers, who don’t even work for the
government, is another example of how anti-labor this administration is.”
Donahue went on to name more than 80 companies, organizations and
corporations whose track records show a concerted effort at defeating the
collective bargaining process. Many of the names mentioned were household
corporate names, while others showed a large number of individuals and
companies who make a lucrative living as union-busting consultants.

“We've all got to remember that as workers, we share a common bond that
supercedes all other labels such as Democrat, Republican, Catholic, Baptist,
and the like,” said Donahue. ‘‘Our biggest job is to elect candidates in the
November elections that will be in tune to the needs of workers, and to work
toward sweeping this anti-worker administration in Washington out of office in
84.”

The political consciousness and activism that have been growing within
CSEA over the last few years were cited as the necessary ingredients that were
in great abundance during the Cuomo primary campaign, according to Region
VI President Robert L. Lattimer.

“The hard work put in by Dominic Savarino, Florence Tripi, June Ferner
and the many others who manned phones, stuffed envelopes and helped get out
the vote in the primary campaign are examples of what will be needed tenfold
in the upcoming general election,” he said.

In other business, region delegates honored Statewide Treasurer Barbara
Fauser, and learned of the departure of three long-time CSEA activists.

At a luncheon in her honor, Fauser, the former Region VI treasurer, was
presented with a plaque thanking her for her past work and wishing her
success in her new elective position.

Lattimer called it a “‘bittersweet”’ duty in announcing the retirement of
two long-time union stalwarts and the promotion of another.

June Ferner of West Seneca Schools Local 868 retired this summer, but
worked practically every day in behalf of the Cuomo campaign, and will
continue to work in the general election. ‘‘June has always been very active in
behalf of her fellow CSEA members as a member of the PAC and her fellow
school board members as an official in her local,’’ said Lattimer. ‘‘Her efforts
at working along with her CSEA members in the primary campaign is just
typical of her willingness and commitment.”

Sylvia Ebersold, president of Rochester Local 012, was thanked for her
long-time union activism, which included heading CSEA’s Statewide CETA
Committee and Department of Labor labor/management Committee.
Ebersold’s promotion to senior compensation claims examiner takes her out of
the bargaining unit. Succeeding her as local president is John DeFiore of the
Tax and Finance Department.

Regional First Vice President Genevieve Clark, who is retiring, leaves a
long-time record of activity on several fronts. ‘‘She’s been behind the scenes,
spending untold hours representing CSEA. This region not only recognized it,
but CSEA and all public employees in this state owe Gen Clark one hell of a lot
more than we will ever be able to repay her,”’ said Lattimer. Plans are
underway for a Nov. 13 dinner honoring Clark.

In other activities, County Workshop representatives at the conference
auended a presentation on contract negotiations by Regional Director Lee
Frank.

While pointing out that “every negotiation is different,’ Frank noted there
are basic preparation steps that are helpful in making the process as effective
and thorough as possible, such as soliciting proposals from members.

“Every member should get a proposal form 10 months before the old
contract expires,” he said. “‘The negotiating committee will then screen all
proposals before submitting them to management.”

The selection of the negotiating committee may vary from school district
to political subdivision, local or unit, “but the group must be representative of
its members, and as small as possible,” said Frank. After screening and
researching proposals, the committee should decide how to operate and set its
own rules. The letter to employer to begin negotiations should be sent seven
months prior to expiration of the old contract. The first meeting with employer
should develop ground rules for negotiations, Frank said, and the next meeting
should always be scheduled before leaving the bargaining table.

Discussion of proposals should be limited to the members of the
committee, and under no circumstances should matters be discussed or
attempted to be negotiated through the press, Frank cautioned. He also
suggested all agreed-upon proposals be initialed at the table and dated to
preclude any potential disagreement later.

Approaches to budget analysis, retroactivity, representational limits, and
mutual confidentiality were explored for the County and School District
members, while the State Workshop members heard an in-depth presentation
about the Committee on the Work Environment and Productivity from CWEP
Assistant Director Guy Dugas.

The next Region VI conference will be held Jan. 28 and 29 in Rochester.

a eee

HOLTSVILLE— The on-again, off-again Suffolk
County-CSEA contract negotiations were on
again last week as the Suffolk MINI-PERB ap-
pointed a second faet-finder. *

The new mediator-fact finder Philip Ruffo,
replaced Mario Procopio who withdrew last
month citing his membership in a CSEA retire-
ment fund.

Ruffo conducted his first mediation session on
Oct. 4 almost a month after the CSEA was last

Now!”

miles to the east.

are not going to give in.”

able to force the county to the bargaining table.

“The county can run, but it can’t hide from the
fact finder. Now at last, the truth about their so-
called offer to us will come out. They have been
consistently lying about it in the press,” said.
Charles Novo, president of Local 852. .

The CSEA has been trying to get the county to
sit down with a mediator or a fact finder since
June 30 but county negotiator Jack Ferneti has
been either “unavailable” for mediation ses-
sions or has challenged factofinders’ qualifica-

THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8 1982

Suffolk Local 852 in protest

‘What do we want?
A contract!
When do we want it?

Now!’

HAUPPAUGE — Chanting and shouting, almost 2,000 CSEA members
picketed outside the office of Suffolk County Executive Peter Cohalan to protest
the county’s nine-month stall of negotiations with Suffolk County Local 852.

The demonstration — which some veteran CSEA leaders described as the
most successful ever held in the Long Island Region — showed the solidarity of

7,000 CSEA employees of Suffolk County.
The pickets chanted: ‘‘What do we want? A contract! When do we want it?

They carried placards such as: “Nine months — It’s Time to Deliver,” and
“Stop Jacking Around With Our Contract.” The latter signs were a play on the
name of the county’s chief negotiator, Jack Farneti, a former Teamsters Union
official, who triggered the collapse of negotiations in mid-summer after he
showed up at only four of the 15 negotiation meetings.

Others took up a new chant when someone opened a window in Cohalan’s
ninth-floor suite of the H. Lee Dennison County Office Building to see and hear the
demonstration. Looking upward, they chanted: ‘‘Jump, Peter, Jump.”

Meanwhile, another group demonstrated at the Riverhead County Center, 40

Cheered by the size of the turnout and the enthusiasm of the members, Suffolk
Local 852 President Charlie Novo declared, “‘Now, I know we can win.”
Novo told the CSEA pickets: ‘‘We are going to get you a decent contract. We

The picketing was, although enthusiastic, quite orderly and peaceful. Citizens
called to jury duty inside the Dennison Building said they were sympathetic to the

pickets. Most of the jurors interviewed said they
had not been aware that the county workers had
been working without a contract for nine months,
and considered that unfair.

On the picket line, most CSEA members
interviewed said it was the first time they had
picketed but that they were eager to do it. They said
things like: ‘The county is stalling;” “We are
employees, but not slaves,’ and “‘Cohalan is not
going to get my vote.””

The showing of solidarity apparently rattled the
county executive. He was quoted by the local media
afterwards as calling the union leadership
“mindless” and “incompetent” people who were
“trying to rape the taxpayers.”

LONG ISLAND REGIONAL PRESIDENT
Danny Donohue, left, surveys large
demonstration of CSEA members at Haup-
pauge as Suffolk County Local 852 President
Charles Novo uses bullhorn to urge on pro-
testing union members upset with long delay
in contract negotiations.

Second fact finder appointed in
on-again, off-again Suffolk

negotiations

tions in a patter of “‘stalling tactics” the CSEA
Says. ‘

Moreover, the county’s attitude has hardened
in the past ten weeks say Local 852 leaders. After
last month’s highly successful demonstration,
Cohalan issued a statement accusing the Local
852 leadership of “incompetence” and claiming
that the county was offering employees a 25 per-
cent wage increase over three years. Novo said
that when the increments are deducted, the
county's offer is only 102 percent.

Page 3

NOW, WHAT DO You
THINK MIGHT BE THE

Official publication of CAUSE OF YOUR

The Civil Service Employees Association APPARENT DEPRESSION?
Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
33 Elk Street, Albany, New York 12224

The Public Sector (445010) is published every other
Friday for $5 by the Civil Service Employees
Association, 33 Elk Street, Albany, New York 12224.

Second Class Postage paid at Post Office, Albany,
New York.

Send address changes to The Public Sector, 33 Elk
Street, Albany, New York 12224.

Publication office, 1 Columbia Place, Albany, New
York 12207. Single copy price 25¢.

Gary G. Fryer—Publisher A

Roger A! Cole—Editor

Tina Lincer First—Associate Editor

Gwenn M. Bellcourt—Assistant Editor i,
Published every other Friday by Civil Service s2
Employees Association, 33 Elk Street, Albany, N.Y.
12224 (518) 434-0191.

SEA
EMPD
TRACTS.

GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF A RECURRING PROBLEM

ALBANY — An application by also acknowledged they had no role major role in the administration of e
Ke ositions the state Bridge Authority to in policy formulation. PERB agreements.” He also observed
y p remove 10 employees — five Director Harvey Milowe, who that in the past a bridge manager
- bridge managers and five assistant heard the case, noted, ‘While the has sat as a member of the CSEA
secur ed m bridge managers — from the CSEA bridge managers may have certain negotiating team. Milowe, con-

bargaining has been rejected by discretion to schedule shifts and sequently, dismissed the appli-

Bridge Authority the Public Employment Relations distribute overtime work, the cation in its entirety.

Board. extent of their discretion is itself
Local 050 circumscribed by the contract. The decision affects employees
The Authority had argued that Therefore, they do not exercise who work on five different bridges
the positions were managerial but independent judgment or play a which span the Hudson River.
e
] T :
CAN GO i 0 THE rg ge
°
sponsoring
L L L 2 " for women ‘
GET AN ABSENTEE BALLOT meet eeeron
ALBANY — The Women’s Committee of
AND YOU STILL CAN VOTE FOR MARIO CUOMO #iereterttrrtia
contest, open to all female members in the
region.
NO ONE HAS TO LOSE THEIR VOTE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY CANNOT GET TO Contestants may submit essays of any
THE POLLS ON NOVEMBER 2ND. YOUR VOTE CAN STILL COUNT! length, on any subject, which relates in
some way to the following general e
If you or someone you know will be traveling that day, or on vacation, or on statements concerning the purpose of the
sick leave, or disabled, or away at school — that vote can still count. Women’s Committee: to better the quality
of life of CSEA members; to promote better
Absentee ballots can be obtained by contacting your local county Board of job opportunities for CSEA women; to work
Elections for an application. Once received, absentee ballots must be receiv- for the betterment of all conditions
ed in the appropriate Board of Elections by October 26. However, if an in- affecting CSEA members; to enhance the
dividual becomes ill or disabled after October 24, the ballot may be filed by public image of all public employees; to
November 1 and still be counted. Absentee ballots should be delivered in provide a vehicle by which the above can be
person to the board of elections if possible. accomplished through the efforts of the
Women’s Committee and all interested
2 2 . CSEA women and men. e
Exercise your right to vote with an Se ea areeseinnerians
essay. Entries must contain at the top of
= the paper the writer’s name and mailing
address, CSEA local number and location;
absentee ballot Exercise good whether or not the local has a Women’s
Committee and, if so, the committee
H 2 contact person; and a response to the
judgment; vo e or U Mo question, “What does the number 201
represent to you?”’
Entries and questions should be
for Governor of New York tate submitted to E. Marilynne Whittam, Box e

ie RR #3, Averill Park, N.Y. 12018. ley,

Page 4 THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8,.1982

SS
BEAT EET EN

WESTCHESTER

MEDICAL CENTER

HAZARDOUS | —

TO YOUR
HEALTH?

By Stanley P. Hornak
CSEA Communications Associate

VALHALLA — “If it corrodes the pipes, I’d like to
know what it’s done to me.”

Technician Phyliss Torrier contemplates that
concern as she takes a break from her busy routine
operating Ultrasound equipment at the
Westchester Medical Center, glancing at a leak in
the overhead plumbing which causes a mixture of
urine, water and formaldehyde to ooze out.

The leak, traceable to a renal dialysis machine
four floors above, is typical of several horrendous
health hazards which exist at the 400-bed facility,
according to Susan Wein, who chairs the CSEA
county unit’s health and safety committee.

Wein recently toured the facility along with
finances than it does about the health and safety of
its employees, and that is a shame.”

Wein recently toured the facility along with
Chief Shop Steward Doug Mullen and business

tJ

THE SIGN READS “pharmacy stock” and it’s just one small section of a distribution center in the
basement of the Westchester Medical Center where temperatures never go above 60 degrees.

agent Mary Naylor Boyd. They checked out the
faulty pipes and noted that when CSEA first lodged
a complaint, the county put some rubber matting
down to alleviate the problem, but to no avail. Then,
management tried to pin the troubles on personnel,
but finally relented and admitted the fault was in
the copper plumbing. The fluids being drained were
too corrosive. Plastic pipes would have to be
installed, but that would be expensive, so both
technicians and patients would have to persevere
and risk the consequences.

Boyd calls it “the cold room,” and store-
keeper Leo Markar warns, “it’s freezing in
here.’”’ What they’re referring to is the Pharmacy
Bulk Distribution Center which is another major
trouble spot for employees.

The distribution center is a warehouse-type
facility located in the hospital’s basement. It has
one problem: no heat. Temperatures never reach
higher than 60 degrees, and can go down to the low
30’s.

CHIEF SHOP STEWARD Doug Mullen, left, solution
clerk Bill Marras, and business agent Mary Naylor Boyd
all complain that the cold temperatures make for an un-
wholesome work environment.

Bill Marras, one of six full-time employees there,
says they survive by wearing lots of extra clothing,
which they shed when going out on their rounds
distributing supplies. He also notes that running
back and forth exposes them to extremes in
temperatures and makes for an unhealthy work
environment.

CSEA has demanded the problem be corrected.
Estimates are it would cost $15,000 to do so. The
county (with an annual budget approaching $500
million) says it doesn’t have the money.

Thus far, management has agreed only to install
portable heaters, even though the electrical service
is reportedly inadequate to support them.
Complains Markar, “We need permanent heaters
that are off the floor, not seme patchwork solution.”
Meanwhile, Wein finds it ironic that while
hospital administrators give top priority to patient
care, they do comparably very little for the health
and safety of their employees.

STOREKEEPER Leo Markar tells Susan Wein
., that while everybody agrees it’s cold there, the
county refuses to fix the problem, even though it
would only: cost $15,000 to do so. Wein chairs the /
county unit’s health and safety committee.

‘the county worries more about its finances than...

about the health and safety of its employees...’

THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8,1982 Page 5

THOMAS QUIMBY, CSEA’s director of education and training, in photo at
left, gives a presentation during the Labor Institute’s open house. Above,
Region V Education Committee Chairwoman Mary Lauzon and Statewide
Education Committee Chairman Sean Egan discuss the program’s schedule
of Fall courses.

‘Open house for
E S Labor Institute

ALBANY — Anticipating a
successful session of Labor
Institute seminars this fall, the
CSEA Department of Education
and Training hosted an open house
| recently for statewide officers and

education committee members.

The open house was designed to
familiarize union officials and
members with the innovative
program, which is, ‘“‘one of z
its kind in the country,”
Director of Education and Tr: aining
Thomas Quimby.

After a presentation by Quimby,
members were briefed on the
schedule of courses being offered
this Fall in each of the six regions.

The Institute’s seminars are
broken down into three subjects:
Principles of Unionism, Applied
Principles of Unionism and
Advanced Union Studies. Upon the
successful completion of a
seminar, members receive a
certificate of achievement.

INSTITUTE OVERVIEW — CSEA Director of 3
_ Education and Training Thomas Quimby goes
over the program’s agenda with Region III’s
* Kay Kayton, center, and Loretta Rodwell, _
__ member of the joint state/CSEA Committee on §
Employee Development and Training

CORTLANDT — A ane is its annual contribution to the allow for three floating vacation e
. now in place for employees who employees’ Dental Welfare Fund. days, and provide meal allowances
Contract intact 2% wp the CSHA unit of this Moreover, in-1983 service in- that will be adjusted to reflect cur-

faker Westchester County crements paid retiring employees _ rent prices.

for Hendrick School District. wil go up to $125 for each year of The unit, which belongs to
Collective Bargaining Specialist the first ten years on the job, and = Westchester County Local 860, is
e ° Ron Mazzola explained that the $150 for each year of service made up of maintenance, custodial
school district three year pact, retroactive to July —_ thereafter. and transportation personnel, Cleo
‘ 1, awards an 8 percent pay hike this The settlement further guar- Cuevas is unit president, and he
employees year, 7 percent in 1983, and antees that there can be no was assisted in negotiations by
~ another in 1984. The change in the healthinsurance car- — Barbara Begany, Ed Kear, Charles

i _ rier which would reduce benefits, Lape and Bruce Lounsbury. @

Page 6: THE! PUBLIC SECTOR) Friday; October 8,1 1982:

REGIONAL PRESIDENT REPORT

(

LONG ISLAND REGION |

Hauppauge Atrium Building
300 Vanderbilt Motor Pkwy.
Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788
(516) 273-2280

(516) 435-0062

DANNY DONOHUE
PRESIDENT

This is a time of testing for the CSEA. In
the past year, we have all seen brothers and
sisters fired or laid off, jobs abolished, at-
tempts by management to reduce benefits
and employee rights and outright attacks
on union members ‘by politicians who feel
we are weak and vulnerable.

During this period of testing, however, we
have closed ranks and fought back against
our enemies. In so doing, we have not only
survived, but we have endured to become a
stronger union than ever before.

On the local government level, we are fac-
ing prolonged and difficult negotiations.
More negotiations than ever before are end-
ing up as legislatively-imposed contracts.

In Suffolk County, we are engaged in a bit-
ter struggle with a conservative administra-
tion which is refusing to negotiate in good
faith. The appearance at a recent
demonstration of CSEA locals from other
regions — including Regions Two and Three
— sent a message to Suffolk County that
not only do we mean business but that we
have broad-based support from other
workers in our struggle for a just and
equitable settlement.

Last year, working smoothly as a team,
CSEA managed to defeat that same govern-
ment’s efforts to fire 600 employees out-of-
hand in a so-called budget measure. In-
sisting on our rights, we managed, through
carefully supervising bump-and-retreat pro-
cedures and by insisting that personnel be
transferred to funded but vacant positions,
to reduce the number of actual firing to
under 25,

We have been fighting our enemies in
government by organizing our members in-
to an efficient political force that, because
of its voting power and ability to make
sizeable contributions to campaign funds,

wielding growing influence in the cor-

ridors of power. We believe that our efforts
in the Cuomo campaign helped to diminish
the Koch victory on conservative Long
Island and made us a force to be reckoned
with in local politics.

We are also tending to our main business
of representing employees. In the past year
we have trained more than 340-unit and
local shop stewards and have conducted a
number of workshops in unionism and at-
tended by more than 650 members. We will
continue to train and work with our
members so that they not only understand
how to better represent other members but
will also understand the overall goals of
unionism as well.

We are continuing our struggle against
sex-discrimination by employers. In Nassau
County, we are currently conducting an in-
depth study, with the help of AFSCME, into
Pay equity in the County. Although we have
more female unit presidents and chairper-
sons than in any other region and at least
60 percent of the members we trained this
year were women activists, we are continu-
ing our efforts to bring more women into
leadership roles in the CSEA.

We are constantly trying to help our
members and to insure that they are being
justly compensated for the work they per-
form. Recently, because of our efforts to im-
prove the salaries of nursing station clerks
at the University Hospital at SUNY at Stony
Brook, many other nursing station clerks at
the Upstate and Downstate Medical Centers
received two-level upgradings.

With CETA a thing of the past, a less
humane administration in Washington is
now pushing “Workfare,” a plan to use
welfare recipients to fill civil service jobs.

_ Currently efforts by Suffolk County to use

what we consider “slave labor” in jobs that
could be performed by public employees

will be vigorously resisted by us with all the
means at our disposal.

While we are united as never before, and
are making headway, the struggle against
the enemies of working men and women in
the country is far from over.

We are engaged with a powerful enemy
made up of reactionary elements in this
country which, because of their own short-
comings in not making capital investments
over past decades, have seriously damaged
America’s economic capability. These same
people are now trying to convince an in-
creasingly skeptical public that America’s
shrinking economy was caused by excess
union wage demands.

That we are starting to win our struggle
against these cynical politicians can be
seen by the recent primary victory of Mario
Cuomo. We must double our efforts to see
that he wins the governorship of this state.
A Cuomo victory over Reagan stand-in, Lew
Lehrman — who recently stated that mental
hospitals are the captives of public
employee unions and should be shut down
— will be the best way to send a message to
Washington that we are fighting back.

Let us pledge ourselves to that goal while
we are here at this convention. And then,
let’s go back home to our regions and win in
November. J

Back pay, restored hours
for custodial employees

CENTRAL ISLIP — Eighteen part-time custodial employees of Central
Islip Union School District, whose working hours were reduced by the school
district without negotiations, had their hours restored and last week received
more than $2,000 each in back pay as a result of an arbitration CSEA won on
their behalf.

“We proved with this decision that school districts have to abide by the
terms of a negotiated contract,” said Walter Weeks, president of Local 870
which represents the employees.

In December, 1978, the school district changed the part-time custodial
employees’ work schedule from four to three-hours a day and began paying
them on an hourly rate rather than with an annual salary.

The school district claimed the changes were made because of a financial
crisis and that since the district had the right to hire and fire employees it also
had the right to reduce working hours.

CSEA immediately filed a grivance claiming that the reduction in hours
and salaries was a violation of its contract. The grievance, filed for Central
Islip School District Unit President, Marve Santiago, by Field Representative
James Walters, went through the entire grievance procedure and into the
courts before it was sent back to arbitration.

An arbitrator ruled in March of this year that the district violated the col-
lective bargaining agreement and that the district must restore the employees
to their former status and pay them their full back pay.

Santiago credits the work of regional attorneys, Stuart Lipkind and Paul
Bannon as making a major contribution to the victory. Walters said the deci-
sion would discourage other Long Island school districts from taking such “‘ar-
bitrary and capricious action.”

All's not placid at Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID — Four Improper Practice charges, including one of
illegally contracting out, have been lodged against Robert Flacke,
commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation
(ENCON), and chairman of the Olympic Regional Development Authority
(ORDA). te

The Civil Service Employees Assn. filed the charges on behalf of 125 of
its members who were told on September 24 that they were being
transitioned from state contracts into ORDA positions, which would not be
covered by CSEA representation. ‘

The Olympic Regional Development Authority was formed in 1981 for
the purposes of bringing under one central control the administering and
financing of the two sites which make up the Olympic area in Lake Placid.
‘The Whiteface Ski Center is currently under the control of ENCON while the
other olympic facilities are owned and operated by the Town of North Elba.

Since the announcement of the creation of ORDA, CSEA has been
attempting to negotiate the transferring of its members from state or local
‘government contracts into the new authority. While local union
representatives and other union personnel received numerous verbal
assurances that EN CON and ORDA would meet to discuss the impact of the
numerous changes with the union, no such session has been scheduled to
date. ¥

Meanwhile, 125 CSEA members at Whiteface have been told that they
are to be transferred. without CSEA contractual protection or
representation.

CSEA Capital Region Officials believe ORDA Board Chairman Robert
Flacke, who is also ENCON Commissioner, is attempting to contract out the
jobs of the 200 employees so that the individuals could be hired without the
union to represent them.

THE PUBLIC SE@TOR , Friday,’ October 8)°982-) Page. fy}

REGIONAL PRESIDENT REPORT

METROPOLITAN REGION Ii

11 Park Place
Suite 1405,
New York, N.Y. 10007
(212) 962-3090

GEORGE CALOUMENO
PRESIDENT

The “nuts and bolts’ of any labor union’s
operations and the key to a union’s success
are how well the needs of the rank and file
are met.

This past year, | am proud to report, the
rank and file of Region Il has seen many of
its immediate problems solved. With
Reagan created recession sending labor
unions into retreat and union give-backs
highlighting- many collective bargaining
agreements, CSEA won the state employees
the best contract ever negotiated by any
labor union with the State of New York.
Region II became the first region in CSEA to
have offered formal shop steward training
to all locals in the region, thus enabling our
membership to receive more effective
representation. Effective political action by
the region stopped the move of the Workers
Compensation Board from the World Trade
Center to Jamaica, Queens, a move which
would have created genuine hardship for

region began a drive to bring the benefits of
unionism to the employees of the State
Insurance Liquidation Bureau. Our
designation cards are now before PERB and
1 expect the nearly 400 employees of the
Bureau will overwhelmingly vote to be
represented by CSEA.

But all is by no means well in Region Il.
There are serious problems which have to
be solved. Working conditions in state
psychiatric and developmental centers and
in many state agencies are generally
appalling. Security in many state buildings
is inadequate. We avoided layoffs in the
Department of Labor, but layoff notices
have been sent to 72 of our members at
Staten Island Developmental Center. The
Region will fight to solve these problems
and | am confident that we will succeed.

CSEA members, like working people
throughout the nation, are bearing the
brunt of Reaganomics. We must continue

Solidarity Day by putting our votes to work
on Solidarity Day Il, election day. We will
have no better opportunity than on
November 2nd to make our voices heard
and count.

our members and the general public. The

<a

the anti-Reagan momentum started on

Angry union goes to court
over termination of member

NEW YORK CITY — CSEA has gone to court on behalf of Bronx
Developmental Center (BDC) Local 401 member Edward Johnson, a mental
hygiene therapy aide (MHTA) terminated as a probationary employee after
having successfully completed a formal one-year training program and being
promoted to a higher grade in accordance with Office of Mental Retardation
and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) regulations.

In papers filed in New York State Supreme Court, CSEA points out that
Johnson, upon passing an open competitive examination, received a tem-
porary appointment as a grade 7 MHTA trainee and began his formal one-year
training program. He successfully completed the program and was promoted
to a grade 9 MHTA position.

Then, after nearly 13 months of satisfactory employment at BDC, Johnson
received a letter from BDC Director of Personnel Joseph Prezio, informing
him that his ‘‘performance as a probationary employee at the center does not
meet the standards which are necessary for permanent appointment to your
new job title,” and terminating him from state service.

“Johnson, by the facility’s own records, was a good employee,’ says BDC
Local 401 President Ernest Punter. ‘‘The fact is that BDC, Prezio in particular,
makes a practice of exploiting probationary employees by terminating them
for phony or no reasons.”

Punter charged that ‘“‘Prezio messed up this time; Johnson was never told
his performance was in any way unsatisfactory.”

CSEA Regional Attorney Theodore Ruthizer, representing Johnson
through the CSEA Legal Assistance Program, noted that Civil Service Law re-
quires that a probationary employee be advised “from time to time during the
probationary period” of his status and progress so that he will have the oppor-
tunity to correct any shortcomings that may exist.

The court papers filed by CSEA point out that Johnson successfully com-
pleted his training program, and, in fact, his ‘‘On the Job Training Checklist’”’
shows that he “‘performed independently” nearly all the tasks required of his
job.

However, Ruthizer cautioned that the key question in Johnson’s case is
‘whether the satisfactory completion of a required training program followed
by promotion to a higher level position constitutes satisfactory completion of a
probationary period.”

OMRDD regulations regarding the MHTA training program support
CSEA’s position that by successfully completing the training program and be-
ing promoted an employee has passed probation. An OMRDD memorandum
notes that ‘‘the new title (MHTA trainee grade 7) will carry a one year proba-
tionary period to run concurrently with the traineeship. All trainees will be re-
quired to complete this probationary period satisfactorily for advancement to
therapy aide grade 9, or be terminated . . .””

Johnson completed his training program and was promoted.

Page 8 THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8, 1982

&

are ah a ~~
CSEA SOUTHERN REGION III helped Matilda Cuomo celebrate her birthday
by surprising her with a cake during CSEA/Cuomo Day which was held at
Playland, Rye, the Sunday before the Democratic Primary. Flanking the wife
of gubernatorial candidate Mario Cuomo are, from left, Regional Treasurer
Eleanor McDonald, Local 860 President Pat Mascioli and Regional President
Ray O’Connor.

* He deserves your vote Nov. 2 *

-PRESIDENT’S
REPORT

CSEA has come a long way since the last
regular Delegates’ Meeting one year ago.
We have the best contracts that state
workers ever had. We have a Local
Government Contract Task Force hard at
work to bolster our local bargaining
resources. We have proved once again that
democracy can work in a modern labor
union. And we have just proved the experts
wrong and helped elect the first candidate
this union ever endorsed in a gubernatorial
primary election.

in a period when the economy is still on
the rocks, when an enemy of organized
labor is sleeping in the White House and
when financial restraint continues to
plague this union and its members we have
still won some great victories.

Only a few weeks ago, this union was a
major part of what some political observers
are calling “the greatest political upset of
the century.” Mario Cuomo stunned the
state, and the nation, by defeating an
opponent who the media and the experts
had preordained as the Democratic Party’s
candidate for governor.

But despite the experts’ opinions, despite
the mayor’s far greater public recognition,
despite being outspent better than two-to-
one, Mario Cuomo set the political machine
in this state on its ear and proved in the
process that organized labor is still a
political force to be reckoned with by
anyone who wants to occupy the
Governor’s Mansion.

CSEA should be terribly proud of the
undeniable fact that we were the first major
union in this state to endgrse Mario Cuomo
in the Democratic Primary. In fact, we
endorsed him before he officially
announced his candidacy. And to make this
act of faith even more special, he was the
first candidate for governor ever offici
endorsed by this union in its 72-
history,

There were plenty of people who said we
were taking too great a risk. There were
those who said we would pay a terrible
price when Koch became governor. But we
stuck with our principles and in the end we,
and the people of this state, were the
winne le: all the predictions.

CSEA displayed great political courage in

‘Opportunity in a freely conducted statewide

CSEA PRESIDENT William L. McGowan confers with Mario Cuomo, the candidate for Governor.
CSEA was prime backer of the Cuomo candidacy in the primary, and has launched a leadership
role for Cuomo heading into the November general election.

making that endorsement so many months
ago. But we believed, as the famous labor
leader Eugene Debs. put it, ‘It can be
disappointing to vote for what you want and

* not get it, but it is much worse to vote for

what you don’t want and get it.” To.our
credit, we got the candidate we wanted.

It was also a year for upset in the state
contract negotiations that affect half of this
union’s membership. Everyone was
predicting we would come away from the
bargaining table with nothing. This was the
age of the ‘“‘givebacks” in private industry,
they believed, and CSEA would fall in line.
Instead we came away with a 32 percent
contract over three years. It has some
problems, let’s be honest, but overall itis a
great contract. The membership must have
felt so too, because it was ratified by a 19 to
1 margin, by far the greatest ratification
margin in the history of this union.

For our Brothers and Sisters in local
government, my Local Government
Contract Task Force began a detailed
review of what CSEA is and isn’t doing to
help our local leadership bring home the
best contracts obtainable for our local
government membership. In three state
bargaining units with 107,000 members, it’s
easy to focus the union’s resources on
negotiations. But in the literally hundreds
upon hundreds of small bargaining units
throughout the state, our union must do
more to help local leaders cope with the
continuing restraint on negotiations and
the increasing sophistication of local
government negotiators and their hired
consultants.

1 appointed the Local Government
Contract Task Force to study the problems
of local government negotiations, to reach
out for ideas from local leaders, union staff
and our International, and to put together
recommendations to improve our
bargaining services to local government
units. In the next few months we will begin
turning those recommendations into better
contracts for local government
membership.

CSEA’s traditional commitment -to union
@emocracy was also put to the test this
year. The members of our union had the

THE PUBLIC SECTOR" Friday, October 8, 1982

election to choose their statewide officers.
Three of us were honored by their vote of
confidence. And Barbara Fauser was
chosen by the members to guide the
Treasurer’s Office for the next threé years.

There was also change in the leadership

_ of our International as the result of the loss

of Jerry Wurf, the man who is generally
recognized as the builder of the greatest
public employee union in the AFL-CIO. But
the reins of leadership were quickly picked
up by Gerald McEntee, an International Vice
President from Pennsylvania, who has
played an integral role in several
subsequent CSEA efforts, most recently the
successful battle to elect Mario Cuomo.

But despite our gains, we still face the
daily reality of a bad economy, the highest
unemployment since the Depression,
continuing fiscal pressures on state and
local government and a membership that
simply isn’t being treated fairly. Tier III
reform was turned down again this year by
the legislature. Too many high-priced
bargaining ‘consultants’ are telling
employers to balance their budgets on the
backs of our people because the Taylor Law
gives them the power to do it,

Also, there are far too many CSEA
members who feel cut off from their union.
They don’t feel like they have an identity in
our union. They can’t understand the
complexities of our structure. They simply
don’t feel like they belong.

We must do more for our members in the
coming year. We need to help them put
more bread on the table for their families
and to feel more secure in their jobs.
Through negotiations and political action,
we must deliver the dignity, economic
justice and peace of mind that our people
deserve and we must do it soon, before they
are swallowed up whole by inflation.

And we must make our people feel more
like a part of their union. That may prove to
be the greatest challenge that faces CSEA
over the long haul. No union can do much
for the people it represents if they don’t feel
like they are a part of the union.

We’ve done a damn good job of turning
CSEA into a bona fide labor union over the
past five years. Now we face an even
prester task: letting our members know
that.

Pdge (9!

can remember back, | have been preaching tor
a number of years that if we put our act
together, we could elect the Governor of the
State of New York. | am’sure with your con-
tinued support, that is exactly what we will
do; we will elect: Mario Cuomo as our next
Governor! 4

Let me warn you all of one thing that | fear
might be happening, maybe not in the near
future but that I ask you to be careful and
keep a watchful eye out for: That is that
Unions’ membership are starting to vote
throughout the State and country as well, for
“no union” on representation elections and
ballots. | ask you all to watch this very closely
so that we do not lose our status as the
largest and most powerful public employee
union of the State of New York.

First, | would like to take a few moments
of your time to thank you all so very much for
the hundreds and hundreds of cards and
prayers on my behalf during my four month
stay in the hospital.

I am glad to report that I am out of the
hospital and back home, and that my recovery
is progressing. I expect to be back in the of-
fice and field within a short period of time. In
the meantime, I wish to inform you that | am
working on a limited basis, and that my office
is still open to you, the Membership. If there
is anything that you need from my office,
please do not hesitate to contact us. Once
more, | wish to thank you for your
rememberances.

Now let me congratulate you as members
of CSEA for the wonderful job that you did in
supporting the endorsement of Mario Cuomo,
and getting him elected to run for the Gover-
nor of New York State. If some of you people

Wishing-you all-a very informative and
most successful 72nd Annual Convention!

‘Cuomo bandwagon gaining momentum)

(Continued from Page 1)

Administration that has implemented the most
sweeping tax cuts in the history of the state and
added more than half a million new private
sector jobs in New York over the past several
years.

“We were even able to seduce Mr. Lehrman
from Pennsylvania to New York,” candidate
Cuomo joked in reference to one of Lehrman’s
many political sorespots, his continuing claims
to Pennsylvania residency while keeping a New
York apartment to lawfully avoid New York
State taxes. ¥

Adopting the campaign slogan, ‘Experience
Money Can’t Buy,” Cuomo is also lashing out at
conservative Lehrman, noting that in stark
contrast to his substantial public administration
experience, Lehrman has never held a single
elective or appointive public office.

But a Cuomo victory less than four weeks from
now is far from certain. While voter registration
in New York gives a Democratic candidate a
slight edge among enrolled voters, clearly
modern voters do not vote party lines in the a
manner in which they were historically expected
to do. Added to this problem is Lehrman’s
attempts to paint Mario Cuomo as a “liberal
spender,” a potential political liability this

Cuomo’s forces. More than half of Lehrman’s
funds, the press has reported, came out of his
pocket and his family’s and they apparently are
willing to invest several millions more in the
general election.

Working for Democrats, meanwhile, is the
apparent rapid reconciliation among party
leaders following the Sept. 23 primary. In a
gracious concession speech that night, Mayor
Koch acknowledged the lieutenant governor’s
impressive victory and not only pledged his
personal support to Cuomo, he encouraged his
supporters to work for a Cuomo victory as well.

Yet many political observers point to late
primary polls showing a neck-and-neck contest
in a hypothetical Cuomo-Lehrman election as a
sign that this could be a very close election.

friend

- in local officers by the membership must be

election year.

Democrats are also worried about Lehrman’s of Sa
seemingly limitless ability to buy all of the os ie
television advertising any political candidate
could possibly want. In the primary alone, labor
Lehrman reportedly spent more than $7 million
compared to the less than $1.5 million raised by

Ne

Our results for the fiscal year just ended,
September 30, 1982, should be comparable
and in line with projections made back in
January 1981. The complete financial
statements for the year just ended, including
the certification by our outside, independent
public accountants, will be provided within a
few months.

This past year has been one of high interegy
rates which allowed our Interest Income
exceed our Budget expectations. This excess
has been put back into General Operations to
help offset the ever-increasing costs of
postage, phones, travel, paper, etc. Other
major expenses of the past year include
negotiation costs, elections for both CSEA
Statewide Officers and AFSCME Delegates,
and our participation in the Bi-Annual
AFSCME Convention.

As I am sure many of you know, the Offi
of Treasurer, to which I was elected, became a
full-time position effective July 1, 1982. The
financial dealing of a Thirty Million Dollar
corporation, which we are, certainly requires
it. All responsibility for finances; collection of
income, investment, payroll, payables,
inventory, reporting and local audits are
handled by my office. | intend to take
advantage of the expanded position to
become actively involved in all aspects of
CSEA finances. One of my first objectives w@
be to encourage accurate and timely reporting +
from all our locals, as mandated by Article IV,
Section 3(a) of the By-Laws, The trust placed

repaid with accurate and timely reporting.
Some of the forms have become more
sophisticated and my office stands ready to »
assist.any local officer in completing their

‘The graph below illustrates your union finances
by showing how your union dollars are spent.  @

5% 2%

¥
q

26%

ling responsibilities. 1 will also provide
aining for the audit committee of locals, a
randated committee, which, in far too many
stances, is not functioning.
Another major project I plan on pursuing is

n audit of all CSEA physical assets. We are
resently in fourteen offices around the State
Ind have made substantial investments in

iture, furnishings and equipment. Part of
responsibility is to safeguard these assets
Ind I plan to do so through a major
Hentification system which, hopefully, will be
lomputerized for maximum control. This will
liso assist in depreciation, computations
ecessary for proper presentation in the
inancial statements.
The auditing of locals by the Office of the
omptroller, a program which has been in
xistence for two years, will work closely with

Y @ffice to assure that all locals.are reviewed
mn @ continuing basis.

In addition, | plan to expand the reporting
rovided by my office. More detailed reports
yy cost centers are required as CSEA
fontinues to expand in terms of both dollars
ind members.

It is my duty to inform you that an increase
CSEA dues will take effect January 1,
983. This increase will raise our dues
tructure to the new minimum dues rate for

Hl FSCME locals. This change is required by
Paragraph 3 of the Affiliation Agreement of
anuary 1981, approved by CSEA’s delegate
body. The increase will be seventy cents
$.70) a month for a new annual dues of
27.80. This is a seven percent (7%)
crease over the current dues rate and is a
lesult of a formula which increases dues
based on the average increase in public
mployee salaries for the period October 1,
'980 to October 1, 1981. This information is
s@i on a survey of comparable positions
lepresented by AFSCME and conducted by
lhe Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
ensus. Thirty percent (30%) of the increase
ill go to the International for our per capita
bbligations. The remaining seventy percent
170%) will stay with CSEA and will be shared
ith locals, A graph of your CSEA dues
Hollars is adjacent and illustrates your union

ances,
| would also take.this opportunity to pay
be to Jack Gallagher, our past Treasurer.
lack devoted fourteen years to the job as
reasurer of CSEA. These were some of the
jost important years in the history of your

ion. Jack’s guiding influence allowed for an
brderly expansion from a Social organization

- ffo a powerful union, a change that occurred

ith a sound financial plan. Jack has left me
‘ith a treasury on solid financial ground. |
plan to continue in that fashion.

This is a capsule summary of highlights for
fiscal year 1981-82. A more complete report
of the highlights of the actions of the Board of

Directors is included. in the packet of

information given each CSEA.. Delegate
attending the union’s 72nd Annual Meeting.

At the time, plans are being formulated to
carry out the recommendations of the Public
Sector Committee to publish in the union
newspaper summaries of actions taken by the
Board of Directors at periodic intervals
throughout the year.

Secretary Seminars have been conducted
on an ongoing basis and the first brochure of
its kind TIPS FOR LOCAL AND UNIT
SECRETARIES was prepared by the

Statewide Secretary. The Education ©

Department has included a training session
for secretaries in the CSEA Labor Institute.

Last year this office reported to you that
approval has been granted by ‘the’ Board of
Directors for the purchase of microfilm
equipment. Records from the Office of the
Treasurer and the Membership Department
have been placed on film. The Statewide
Secretary will continue to encourage this
process and to work toward full utilization of
our microfilming capability of union records
and information.

Since 1979 statistics have been kept by
this office on attendance of delegates from
locals at the Statewide delegate meetings.
Percentages compiled since 1980 indicate
the following attendance:

Fall 1980 16%
Jan. 1981 22%
Mar. 1981 21%
Aug. 1981 51%
Fall 1981 12%

The Regional Presidents have been notified
of the locals who did not attend delegate
meetings in their respective regions. All too
often the members complain that the union is
not involved in their problems. These
percentages indicate lack of participation on

, the part of the local leadership.

For very good reason it is clearly spelled
out in the Constitution & By Laws that the
listing of delegatés for the year is to be sent
to the Statewide Secretary by July 15, as of
September 1, 1982 there were still 135
locals who had not submitted such listing. As
a result the delegates who are not
preregistered do not receive information prior
to the convention, and also encounter a
longer process in their registration.

Support help has now been approved for
this office as well as full release time for the
Statewide Secretary as of July 1, 1982, the
new term of office. | am most grateful to the
membership of CSEA Inc. for their support in
my reelection, and I look forward with great
anticipation to serving as a full time officer of
the union.

Any questions or inquiries may be directed
to the Statewide Secretary, 33 Elk Street,
Albany, New York 12224.

CELEBRATION FOR

MARIO

BUFFALO — “it’s a Celebration!”

CUOMO

This theme will set the mood for the festive reception for Lt. Gov. Mario
M. Cuomo scheduled for 4:30-6:30 p.m., Thursday at Buffalo’s Statler Hotel.

The CSEA-sponsored reception has been planned as a fund-raising event
for Cuomo’s gubernatorial campaign, Some 3,000 members and friends are
expected to take advantage of this opportunity to meet the candidate CSEA
has so actively endorsed for Governor.

Tickets for the fundraiser, priced at $20, will be available at the political
action information table at the Buffalo Convention Center throughout the
annual Delegates Convention. They may also be purchased from Regional
Presidents or from Local Presidents in Region VI.

“We planned the event to coincide with the convention, but everyone is
invited to come meet the candidate at the reception at the Statler,” explain-
ed CSEA political action training specialist Ramona Gallagher, ‘‘We’re hoping
a lot of members in the Western Region and especially the Buffalo area will
join us for this event and bring along their friends and neighbors.”

essential

another

ALBANY — The upset win by Lt.
Gov. Mario Cuomo in the Democratic
gubernatorial primary race on Sept.
23 shocked many political pundits,
and perhaps even stunned many of
Cuomo’s staunchest supporters as
well. Influenced by political polls, opi-
nions, odds and predictions, nearly all
showing Cuomo’s chances as
hopeless, they probably overlooked
the solid, grassroots campaign run by
CSEA and other labor unions. In the
end, it was the union campaign which
is credited with carrying the day for
Cuomo and defeating his seemingly
invincible opponent, New York City
Mayor Ed Koch.

Team
effort

for

The stunning win for Cuomo was not
surprising to Joseph Conway, chair-
man of the CSEA Statewide
Legislature and Political Action Com-
mittee. Nor was he surprised that so
many political experts miscalled the
results.

Cuomo
triumph

“What we did was accomplish what

Joseph Conway

is considered to be the upset of the last
25 years in state politics. I don’t think
there’s anyone that would dispute
that,”’ said Conway. ‘‘And we did that
against a 37-point political poll edge
given to Koch in March.”

CSEA was the first public employee
union to endorse Cuomo, and put
together a comprehensive campaign
to get out the vote for him. It was the
first time in the union’s 72-year
history that it had endorsed a guber-
natorial candidate in a primary race,
but with the incredible come-from
behind win, the union seemed an old
pro at engineering victories for
political underdogs.

GETTING OUT THE UNION VOTE
— Herm Parson of Rochester
Psychiatric Center Local 420 mans
phone bank in an effort to get out the
vote for Mario Cuomo, CSEA-
endorsed candidate for governor of
New York State.

“The Cuomo victory didn’t just hap-
pen. It involved a total team effort of
our union,” emphasized Conway.
“Everyone was working together —
the regions, the locals, the rank and
file, the retirees, the leadership — in
concert with the Political Action
Department. We manned the phones
and sealed the envelopes and worked
the street corners and went house to
house and made it a ‘people’
campaign.”

While three other state unions even-
tually jumped on the Cuomo band-
wagon, CSEA’s position as Cuomo’s
first major champion made the
ultimate victory that much sweeter.

“CSEA became an engine instead of
a caboose,” said Conway. ‘‘We had
the moral courage and fiber, and the
resolve, to make the primary cam-
paign work. We said, ‘We believe in
this, let’s work for it.’ We didn’t
realize at the time the other big
unions would fall in behind us.

“There was such dedication on our
part. Without it, we wouldn’t have got-
ten to first base. Our people were a
magnificent unpaid army. They went
wherever they were needed. You just
had to marvel when you'd see them —
at fund raisers, rallies, phone banks,
or writing letters.”

Although the joy of the stupendous
election triumph lingers on for CSEA
and other Cuomo supporters, Conway
warns against easing up any cam-
paign efforts now. With Election Day
less than a month away — Nov. 2 —
Conway says the steady, relentless
team work must continue, especially
in light of Republican opponent Lewis
Lehrman’s enormous wealth and
capacity to saturate the TV media
with campaign ads

“We've accomplished so much, and
yet we’ve only made it halfway,” said
Conway. ‘‘My message to our
membership is let’s get aboard, let’s
everyone get in on the Cuomo effort.

“T can see that sunlight over the
hill. Let’s get up there and grab it.
Money isn’t everything, but against a
Lehrman warchest of $9 million,
we're only going to be victorious if
everyone works together. If we can
keep on our people-oriented track,
there isn’t anyone who’s going to beat
us in November.”’

NOT REGISTERED? THERE’S STILL TIME
YOUR VOTE CAN STILL COUNT NOV. 2

Unregistered voters can REGISTER ON OCTOBE!

Unregistered ‘but otherwise eligible voters can
pediabey on October 16 at their normal politng places
an

become eligible to vote in the November 2nd
General Election. Registration times and locations
for the October 16 registration day can be obtained
by contacting your local board of elections. You owe
it to eanceell and your family to be among the solid
bloc of union members — Republicans, Democrats,
Independents, Conservatives, Liberals — who will be

Page 12

THBsPUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8, 1982

16 and VOTE NOVEMBER 2

voting for Mi io Cuomo for Governor of New York
State on November 2nd. This election is crucial for

ublic employees, and we need every vote possible

‘or the CSEA-endorsed candidate, Mario Cuomo. So
call your local board of elections now to find out
exactly where and when you can register on October
16 to be eligible to vote for Mario Cuomo for
Governor on November 2nd.

REGISTER. — AND VOTE FOR MARIO CUOMO

REGIONAL PRESIDENT REPORT

7

SOUTHERN REGION III

Rural Route 1

Box 34

Old Route 9
Fishkill, N.Y. 12524

(914) 896-8180

RAYMOND O’CONNOR
PRESIDENT

These reports have traditionally been
used to summarize accomplishments in
specific regions and otherwise share
information with delegates assembled in
convention. But | would dare to be different
this time and propose that instead of
reciting a litany of achievements in the
region my predecessor used to call, ‘“‘where
the action is,” we pause to take a more
philosophical look at where we came from,
and where we are going.

Unions were born in the agony of working
men, women and children who were
exploited by low wages, endless hours, and
mean working conditions. The slightest
infraction often incurred the severest
penalty. To be hurt was to be unemployed.

Workers soon realized that they had to

organize themselves to survive. They had
to come together to win an honest day’s
Pay for an honest day’s work. So the labor
movement was born, and after a rough
start, often against an alliance of business
and government, workers were finally able
to secure their rights when federal law in
the 1930s guaranteed them the right to
organize. Thereafter, membership grew,
and through strength in numbers our
quality of life was vastly improved by
higher wages, the introduction of fringe
benefits (vacation days, sick days,
hospitalization) and the initiation of
retirement plans. But these were all hard
fought victories which we must never take
for granted because they won for us rights
that were not freely given.

Today, in the 1980s, we public employees
must recapture the spirit, conviction and
enthusiasm of past generations. We must
also be willing to accept, even encourage,
new ideas as we expand our horizons and
dare organize the unorganized to share
with them the bounties of life in a free

society.

Y,

860 President Pat Mascioli, State Sen. John Flynn and negotiating team
member Frank Trepanowski. Also representing the union in talks were Unit
President Phil Castillo and John Dee.

YONKERS PARKING AUTHORITY CONTRACT RESOLVED—It took a com-
bination of perseverance, solidarity and political action to finally end a con-
tract dispute which began in 1978. Key players in resolving the impasse were,
from left, Field Representative Joe O’Connor, Mayor Angelo Martinelli, Local

3 years without pact, Local 830 unit reaches accord

YONKERS — Solidarity, with some political action, had paid off for the
nine employees of the city’s Parking Authority who have been without a con-
tract since Dec. 31, 1978.

Field Representative Joe O’Connor explains that after the contract ex-
pired, the Authority unilaterally imposed a legislative settlement in 1979 which
established two classes of workers by setting up a different — and lower —
salary schedule for new employees. CSEA, thereafter, decided its priority
would be to try and gain equalization for all employees even though the
Authority was intransigent on the issue.

Consequently, negotiations were deadlocked. They reached a low point
when the Authority rejected a factfinding report which could have been the
basis of a settlement.

Local 860 President Pat Mascioli chose this time to intervene. He sought

the assistance of State Sen. John Flynn as well as Mayor Angelo Martinelli,
and they used their powers of persuasion to get talks moving again. Eventual-
ly, an accord was reached and ratified by both parties.

The settlement, retroactive to Jan. 1, 1980, provides during its six-year
life compounded wage hikes of 40 percent. Significantly, it does not include a
different maximum salary for new employees nor any changes in their
benefits.

Mascioli credits the resolution to Flynn and Martinelli, while Field
Representative O’Connor says that he is glad, ‘‘the philosophy of equal pay for
equal work prevailed.”

He continues: ‘‘It’s a message not only to employees, but also to other units
and locals that we will not negotiate different salaries and benefits for new
employees, Past gains will not be diluted. We are as committed today as they
were in the past to preserve the integrity of our contracts.”

THE PUBLIC SECTOR,

“Page 13

3 vedoi2O ,yobid AOTDI2 DGaUa

REGIONAL PRESIDENT REPORT

€
CAPITAL REGION IV

1215 Western Avenue
Albany, N.Y. 12203
(518) 489-5424

JOSEPH E. McDERMOTT
PRESIDENT

With each year that passes, we, in CSEA\
and in the union movement, fight our bat-
tles, winning some and losing a few. Mostly,
though, we negotiate our contracts, file
grievances and fight them through to ar-
bitration, and, recently, become involved in
the political battles which we know are vital
to our well-being as public workers.

In one sense, most of us find that life is in
a settled routine — that we can predict, with
some degree of accuracy, what our lives are
going to be like from one day to the other.
In the past few years, though, all of us have
been able to sense that there are problems
that aren’t being handled well by the
elected officials of our state and nation.

The economy is faltering. Those of us
who live in the older part of the nation, par-
ticularly in the Northeast, are feeling it even
more. Business and industry and workers
are abandoning the so-called “grey belt”,
the cold-winter zone, for the sun-belt
states.

Times are tough and we are all forced to
find new ways to cope with the rising costs
of just about everything. There exists what
some economists are calling a ‘deep reces-
n”’, and, in some areas, especially in our
cities, the unemployment rates are ap-
proac g the level of the Great
Depression.

Industries are not just leaving our region;
many are fleeing the country altogether,
reestablishing themselves in countries
where wages are so low that they are not
likely to be lured back to the U.S., where
they would have to pay what we would con-
sider a living wage.

Whenever industry goes out of our region
and out of New York State, we are the
losers. Whether we are private or public
sector workers, we are the losers because
we live here and pay taxes here. We are the
ones who support the schools, the
hospitals, the infirmaries, the social pro-
grams, the safety and health agencies and
all of government. When we lose our in-
dustrial and business base, we lose the
ability to support ourselves (without reduc-
ing our living standards); and we lose the
ability to support government service at
every level (unless we reduce the high stand-
ards that we have set for that service in
New York).

As a people, we are facing the diminution
of our living standards in the Northeast and
we should be concerned. As committed
unionists, we should be aware of the direc-
tion in which our leaders of business and
government are taking the economy. There
are alternatives to the loss of our economic
base and we should be prepared to take ac-
tion to save that base. It’s action that every
good citizen should be more than willing to
take. And, as public workers, our very jobs
depend on acting now.

The power of amassed pension funds has

yet to be used by the workers, who are real-

ly the ones who “own” those funds. In New

York State, pension money totals $17
billion and critics of the way that the fund
has been handled point to the approximate-
ly 4.8 percent return. Some have suggested
that the money should have been invested,
at the very least, in certificates of deposit.
In that way, they would have returned
anywhere from 11 percent to 16 percent —
three or four times what the fund returned
in the most recently reported year. That
represents a loss to public employee
workers; a loss to retirees, and a loss to the
state’s economy. Many creative ways exist
to use such vast sums of money to help the
economies of states and even of regions.

In Illinois, for example, there are pro-
posals to use the money to:

¢ Provide an additional pool of capital for
businesses to increase the industrial and
job base in the state;

e Use idle state and local government
funds for constructive economic and social
ends;

* Provide safe investments in Illinois real
estate by public pension funds in family
farms, residential real estate, senior citizen
housing, and small business loan
packages, and;

¢ Provide a preference for residential
real estate acquisition or refinancing by
members or contributors to public pension
systems.

An Illinois State Representative, Alan J.
Greiman, has suggested the formation of a
“Northeast Economic Compact”, which
would. provide statutory authorization to
allow representatives of labor, industry,
pension funds, trustees, investment
boards, and banks of private and public
pension systems in the ‘northeast
quadrant” of the U.S. to meet and exchange
information, all aimed to increase develop-
ment in the area of the compact.

At the very least, the compact would
retard the flight from the various states of
industries and business that are vital to the
wellbeing.

Greiman also points out that although the
state cannot and should not prohibit the
relocation of industrial plants, “com-
munities and citizens in Illinois can attempt
to impose some kind of burden upon
‘runaway companies’ to lessen the impact
of a plant closing upon both individuals and
the local communities”.

A.H. Raskin, former labor reporter for the
New York Times, in the foreward to the
autobiography of the late David Dubinsky,
who, for 30 years, was the President of the
International Ladies Garment Workers
Union, had this to say about the industries
and businesses who are continually on the
prowl for cheaper labor:

“First the runaways went (from New York
City) to shops in New Jersey, Pennsylvania
and upstate New York; then to town-built
factories in the anti-union South and
Southwest; now they have gone global — to

sanctuaries in Taipei, Bangkok and a thou-
sand other exotically situated overseas
hide-aways, all reincarnations of the
hellholes where immigrants once huddled
over their sewing machines on the Lower
East Side.”

The economy of our nation and the more
localized economies of our state, towns,
counties and cities are affected by a thou-
sand factors. Every loss is a personal loss
because it diminishes those things in our
lives that make living a little easier, a little
more comfortable, a little more enjoyable.
Many of those things are provided by all of
us joining together and working together;
many of those are provided by government.

A dwindling tax base — economic losses
— makes our job of maintaining our living
standard, including social programs, that
much harder, but we do have alternatives.

We can begin to use our massive pension
funds creatively, and we can begin to be
especially aware of problems of unemploy-
ment in our own communities, not just in
the public sector, but in the private sector
as well. There are many ways in which we
can create jobs, and they won’t just be
make-work jobs.

Last month, Senator Daniel P. Moynihan
announced the introduction of the
“Rebuilding of America Act of 1982”, which,
he said, will provide the first formal accoun-
ting of the need for major investment in the
nation’s deteriorating ‘‘public infrastruc-
ture”, water and sewer systems, bridges
and highways.

At an estimated cost of almost one trillion
dollars, such a proposal while only address-
ing a few of the factors which make life
more liveable, means the creation of
countless new jobs. Additional proposals
must yet be formulated to deal with the
deterioration of our social and human ser-
vice programs.

Certainly, everyone recognizes that
unions have an historic and basic right to
negotiate salaries and benefits. But, we
also have evolved into a more meaningful
force in society — a force to clarion the call
for responsibility and inventiveness from
our governmental leaders. You should be
an integral part of this force.

Begin by individually not being a singular
voice; begin by making your union the
voice to ensure that the standards which
we individually have set for our nation and

our communities will be maintained. yy,

*
os i ke Election Day —

GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK

THE|PUBLIG SECTOR, Fridpys Orteber|8,) }982- |

November 2, 1982

Group under contract with state
to care for mentally retarded

Property purchases by
United Cerebral Palsy
under investigation

NEW YORK CITY — The attorney general’s of-
fice is investigating United Cerebral Palsy
Association (UCP) real estate transactions to
determine whether the non-profit organization
has “lived up to its obligation to handle its money
responsibly.’’

According to the Staten Island Advance, the in-
quiry is focusing on UCP’s purchases of a vacant
department store and two houses at prices rang-
ing from 200 to 600 percent higher than the owner
had paid for the properties 13 months earlier. No
improvements were made on the properties
before UCP bought them.

UCP, the second largest of approximately 270
private organizations under contract with New
York State to care for the mentally retarded in
residential facilities, was the subject of a in-
vestigative series in the Advance last year. The
series chronicled the agency’s poor performance
and questionable fiscal practices.

Two separate investigations prompted by the
series confirmed charges that UCP collected
more than $10 million in Medicaid funds for ser-
vices the agency did not provide and that the
agency violated state regulations by ordering
surgery for a mentally retarded patients without
parental consent. The patient died during the
surgery.

The latest charges against UCP question the
agency’s actions in purchasing the Garber
Brothers department store building in the Port
Richmond section of Staten Island and two adja-

‘Cover-in’
legislation for
court employees
upheld

ALBANY — 1980 ‘‘cover-in’”’ legislation for
employees in the Unified Court System has
been upheld as constitutional by the New York
Supreme Court, Queens County.

As a result of restructuring the court
system, few examinations were given bet-
ween 1976 and 1979, resulting in a large
number of provisional appointments. At
CSEA’s urging, ‘“‘cover-in’” legislation was
passed, providing that employees who had
served satisfactorily in their positions for one
year would be granted permanent com-
petitive class status. The bill did not affect
New York City.

According to CSEA attorney Stephen J.
Wiley, several individuals on Long Island filed
suit to declare the law in violation of the state
constitution. CSEA took the opposing view
during subsequent legal actions. j

While Wiley said CSEA judiciary locals
would be pleased to learn that the law has
been upheld, he noted that appeals and further
legal challenges are expected. f

cent houses. UCP plans to renovate the boarded-
up department store to provide job training pro-
grams for its clients. The houses would be used
for storage or demolished for parking space.

The Advance reported that a private
businessman, Paul Michelotti, bought the
department store building for $76,000 in 1978 and
then sold it to UCP for $450,000 13 months later,
realizing a profit of $374,000. The value of the
building and the surrounding land is $80,000 for
tax purposes. At the same time, Michelotti
bought the two houses as a package for about
$34,000 and, 13 months later, sold them to UCP
for $70,000, the Advance reported.

The newspaper quotes a spokesman for the at-
torney general’s office as saying he is concerned
about the relationship between UCP and
Michelotti and questioned whether the sale was
“a total arms-length deal” and whether the price
was appropriate.

The Advance also reported that the Staten
Island district attorney is conducting an inquiry
into the real estate transactions to determine if
civil charges, which require less stringent stand-

. ards of proof than the criminal charges being

considered by the attorney general, should be
brought in the case.

Ninety-eight percent of UCP’s income comes
from Medicaid funds for the care of mentally
retarded clients, most of whom were formerly
residents of Staten Island Development Center.

Changes in
health coverage
may be made
this month

ALBANY — October is the annual open transfer
period for the New York State Health Insurance
Program. During the month, members may re-
quest a change in their health insurance option.

Hospital benefits provided by Blue Cross are the
same, regardless of which of the following options
is selected:

fhe Statewide Plan, which provides
hospitalization through Blue Cross and combined
medical/surgical and major medical coverage
through Metropolitan Life.

@ The GHI Option, which provides hospitaliza-
tion through Blue Cross and medical/surgical
coverage and extended benefits through Group
Health Inc.

e The GHI Comprehensive Benefit Package
(CBP), which significantly increases the schedule
of allowances and supplements the basic GHI Op-
tion. The cost for state employees on a biweekly
payroll is $1.28 for an individual and $5.60 for family
coverage.

e Coverage through a local Health Maintenance
Organization (HMO).

Literature describing the various coverage
plans, as well as transfer applications and
assistance, is available from personnel offices. In-
formation on the CBP rider is also available by call-
ing GHI at the following numbers throughout the
state: New York City 212/760-6617; Albany
518/463-8774; Syracuse 315/422-0163; Rochester
716/254-1552; and Buffalo 716/883-5775.

Busy schedule awaits delegates

(Continued from Page 1)
forums and three general business sessions.

Activities get under way Monday morning at
the Convention Center with delegate
registration, bargaining unit seminars for ASU,
ISU and OSU representatives, and County
delegate discussions on topics concerning
Probation, Social Services and Non-Teaching
School Employees.

Four workshops — Local Government
Contract Task Force, Membership, Election
Procedures Training and Parliamentary
Procedures — will be conducted Monday at 11:30
a.m. and repeated at 1:30 p.m.

Throughout Monday afternoon and Tuesday,
reports and open discussion forums will be
conducted by CSEA statewide committees, State
departmental meetings are also set for Monday
afternoon.

State, County and Retiree delegates will meet
in sessions that kick off Tuesday’s agenda.
Political action will be the focus of an afternoon
workshop, and the Treasurer’s Office will
conduct a question and answer session on the
union’s Financial Standards Code. Tuesday
afternoon’s schedule will conclude with an open

forum with Statewide President William L.
McGowan.

General business sessions for all delegates are
scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., Wednesday
through Friday. Among business items to be
considered by the Delegates are several changes
in CSEA’s Constitution and By-laws (described
in detail in the Sept. 23 edition of The Public
Sector).

Addressing the assembled Delegates
Wednesday will be AFSCME International
President Gerald McEntee, Governor Hugh
Carey and State Comptroller Edward Regan.

CSEA members and guests will have an
opportunity to meet Mario Cuomo, CSEA-
endorsed candidate for Governor, at a fund-
raising reception at the nearby Statler Hotel.
Tickets to the CSEA-sponsored “It’s A Celebra-
tion” reception will be available in advance at
the political action information table during the
convention.

Throughout the week-long convention
information tables will be staffed by
representatives of CSEA departments, plus
representatives of CWEP, the Employee Benefit
Fund, insurance providers and P.E.0.P.L.E.

ELECT A FRIEND OF LABOR
GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK STATE

* MARIO CUOMO x

THE: PUBLIC?SECTOR, Friday, October! 8) 1982

~Poge 1p)’

ereunresriMRRM ORS LAT

&
fy

Clerical and Secretarial

Employee Advancement
~ Program: Where it’s at,
Where it’s going

LAKE GEORGE — The informal
setting of a Lake George resort gave
way to frank discussion about the
Clerical and Secretarial Employee
Advancement Program (CSEAP),
namely, where the program is going
and what it’s done for more than 300
transitioned employees in the state’s
Administrative Services Bargaining
Unit.

In what was termed an ‘“‘attempt to
mutually explore the program’s
concepts, successes and failures,”’ the
three-day conference united key
representatives from CSEA, the
Governor’s Office of Employee
Relations, the Department of Civil
Service’s Employee Advancement
Section and other top state officials.

The CSEA-sponsored conference
delved into each of the CSEAP’s six
“concepts,” which are training and
advancement programs designed for
the state’s Administrative Services
Bargaining Unit.

Concept I, which focuses on entry-
level clerical and secretarial
employees hired at Grades 3-5, will be
emphasized in the next several years,
says Collective Bargaining Specialist
Jack Conoby, who negotiated and
consequently monitors the CSEAP
program.

“We all agree that the job duties for
these entry-level clerical workers
have increased, given the
technological advances brought on by
word processors, computers and the
like. Yet they are still paid the same,”
Conoby pointed out to conference
participants.

Earlier in the day, CSEA Statewide
Secretary Irene Carr presented a
brief overview of the union’s
structure and policies, noting that,
“CSEA has come a long way since the
days of thriving as a social
institution.”

Another guest speaker, Department
of Civil Service’s Assistant Director
of Classification and Compensation
Candice Carter said that the last time
the state took a look at the
classification system was in 1954.

Admitting the system is outdated,
Carter said that through the CSEAP
program, her department will
challenge the present classification
system.

On the last day of the conference,
the union’s statewide CSEAP
committee developed a proposal for
implementing the clerical
advancement and training program.

1) APSO DM REO ROA

A LESSON IN RECLASSIFICATION — From left,
Dept of Civil Service Employee Advancement
Section staffer Ann Wasserstrom, Region V
CSEAP committee member Claire McGrath,
CSEA Statewide Secretary Irene Carr and Region
VI CSEAP committee member Elaine Todd listen
to a presentation on reclassification.

aw:

a
Ce oad

CONCEPTS UNDER SCRUTINY — From left, Dept.
of Civil Service Employee Advancement Section
Director Will Merwin, SUNY Labor Relations staffer
Mike Lewandowski, Region III CSEAP committee

member Sarah Jackson and Assistant Director of the
Governor’s Office of Employee Relations Florence
Fraser review the progress of CSEAP’s six concepts.

ia ie td
vancement Section staffer Bob Eckart, left, and Depu-
ty Director of Personnel Services John Wilson takes
notes.

INSIDE CIVIL SERVICE — Dept. of Civil Service’s
Assistant Director of Classification and Compensation
Candice Carter explains procedure as Employee Ad-

ha rn Ratatat

ee

Page 16

THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8, 1982

REGIONAL PRESIDENT REPORT

Wf
CENTRAL REGION V

Suite 308

290 Elwood Davis Road
Liverpool, N.Y. 13088
e (315) 451-6330

JAMES J. MOORE
PRESIDENT

Our report to the Delegates and
membership is brief, yet firm in its resolve.

The Federal cutbacks to New York State
@} and, in turn, to the various political
subdivisions, are creating tremendous
budgetary problems. The “quick fix” has
always been to cut back Public Employees.
All of our Regional resources are prepared
to fight any attempt by any employer to lay
See our members. Public Employees cannot

ide the scapegoat for self-serving
jians.

Our State Contracts have been ratified
and will be enforced. We will act equally as
strong in negotiating fair agreements for
those of our members who are employed by
school districts, towns, villages and cities.

YOUR level of participation in voting for
our Union-endorsed candidates, as well as
your support of your Local Officers, will

have a direct bearing on our level of

Help yourself by becoming involved!

‘Now-you-have-it-now-you-don’t’ contract
riles Auburn employees; union files IP

AUBURN — City of Auburn employees are very
unhappy these days — and for good reason.

The 185 employees represented by CSEA were
informed they had a contract after members voted
unanimously August 4 to accept a new two-year

ct.

e peThe same week, at separate meetings, members
of two other unions (city firefighters and police)
ratified similar contracts calling for salary
increases and other benefits.

The three unions have since learned that the city

council disavowed it agreed to the tentative
agreements and had directed the city’s corporation
counsel to approve the pacts.

CSEA officials have reacted to the city’s ‘now
you have it, now you don’t” tactic by filing an Im-
proper Practice charge with PERB.

Jack Miller, CSEA field representative for the
Auburn Unit members, is steadfast in his opinion
that a contract was reached and approved by the
city council members and their approval was
conveyed through the corporation counsel to the
unit president.

ON THE LINE IN AUBURN — Protesting the retraction of three contract agreements by the city council,

en

@members of the CSEA city unit, Auburn firefighters and police picketed a recent city council meeting. All
three unions have filed Improper Practice charges with PERB and now await a formal hearing.

“The chain of events is clearly defined,” Miller
explained.” Our records prove conclusively that on
the evening of July 20, CSEA and two other unions
met with John Pettigrass, Corporation Counsel for
the City of Auburn. At that time a tentative
agreement was reached on health insurance and
remaining proposals. Pettigrass then took those
proposals to the city council for approval July 22.
Following that meeting, CSEA Unit President
Charles Dickinson was advised by Pettigrass by
telephone that all — repeat all — proposals were
accepted by the council with the exception of one
that dealt with a holiday.

“On the basis of that call to Dickinson,” Miller
continued, “CSEA proceeded with plans for an
informational meeting to explain the terms of the
tentative agreement, to be followed by a
ratification vote. The meeting was held August 4
and unit members voted unanimously to accept the
two-year pact.

“Two weeks later, after the city manager had
returned from a vacation in the middle of
negotiations with three unions, we learned the city
council had reneged on their agreements. They flat
out pulled the rug on us and two other unions. Now it
remains for PERB to decide,” Miller said. ‘“This is
avery similar situation to the Wappinger Falls CSD
dispute when a school board member changed his
mind on the contract. PERB ruled that union did in
fact have a contract and the district'was ordered to
implement.” ag

In the meantime, 185 city employees represented
by CSEA, plus the unions representifg firefighters
and police, are waiting to learn’if' PERB will
untangle the mess, hopefully before ‘cold weather
arrives. ‘

Unit President Dickinson added a grim
reminder: “The picket signs are stacked and ready
just in case. We'd better get a settlement before the
first snow flies.”

‘Region IV
‘endorsements

' (Clip and save this list for Elec-
@! tion Day)
|

ALBANY — The Capital Region IV Political Ac-
tion Committee has announced the following en-
dorsements in state Senate and Assembly races in the
November 2 general election:

Neil Kelleher, 100th Assembly District; Larry
Lane, 102nd AD; Michael Hoblock, 103rd AD; Richard
Conners, 104th AD; Gail Shaffer, 105th AD; Michael
MeNulty, 106th AD; Glenn Harris, 109th AD; Andrew

Ryan, 110th AD; Howard Nolan, 42nd Senate District;
Joseph Bruno, 43rd SD; Hugh Farley, 44th SD; and
Ronald Stafford, 45th SD.

Endorsed candidates are eligible to receive
various forms of support from the union, and the com-
mittee urges all eligible voters to cast their votes for
the CSEA-endorsed candidates.

THE PUBLIC SECTOR; Friday, October 8, 1982

Page 17

REGIONAL PRESIDENT REPORT

Te

WESTERN REGION VI

Cambridge Square

4245 Union Road
Cheektowaga, N.Y. 14225
(716) 634-3540

is hoped to develop possible solutions and

to Buffalo.

ROBERT LATTIMER
PRESIDENT

Once again delegates representing CSEA needs and wants. But talk doesn’t get the
members from across New York State will job done. Now we need some action — and
convene to share problems and ideas and it that’s where you come in.

Have you met your local and unit union
provide some sense of direction for our officers? Do you know what CSEA is and
Union. On behalf of the 35,000-plus does for you? Have you attended a union
members in Region VI, | welcome everyone membership meeting regularly? Have you
offered to serve on a committee or sug-

My remarks, however, are brief. Over the gested some positive action to your local
past months and years, we’ve talked con- leaders? If not, why not? The majority of our
siderably about the future of CSEA.Wehave members are not moved by our pleas,
had studies, discussions, critiques, polls, cagoling or exhortation. And yet, in the final
etc. to point out our shortcomings and to analysis, it is only they who will make CSEA
Kc cetemine what our membership really a vibrant and effection union!

Union leaders learn how to deal
with stress at Region IV workshop

LAKE PLACID — “‘Stress is part of everyday life. If
we can control stress we can soar to great heights in our
endeavors. However, if stress controls us we can sink
into the depths of physical and emotional depression,”
Sally Bouton, CSEA education and training specialist,
told Capital Region leaders at a recent Region IV
workshop session here.

More than 200 local union leaders attended the
three-day Annual Meeting and Workshop in Lake Placid,
which featured a workshop on stress and a region
business session.

“Union officers are under a tremendous amount of
stress from all sides, management, the union and the
union’s membership,” Bouton said. ‘Management puts
union officers under stress when they are doing their
normal job as well as performing their union duties.
CSEA makes numerous demands on officers’ time and
talent, and our members can put additional stress on
union officers at various times. So, union leaders do need
stress management training,” Bouton said.

Shirley Brown, who recently resigned as region
secretary as well as all other union offices to take a new
management/confidential position, attended her final
union function. During Saturday’s program she was
praised for her contributions to the union effort over the
years, and the praise continued at Saturday evening’s
banquet program when Brown was named winner of the
1982 Region President’s Award by Regional President
Joseph E. McDermott.

CSEA Counsel Marjorie Karowe was featured
speaker at the banquet.

JUDY REMINGTON, above, President of Empire State
College Local 641, is sworn in as new Region IV secretary
by Region President Joseph E. McDermott. The
ceremony took place during recent regional meeting at
Lake Placid.

SHIRLEY BROWN, at left, former region secretary and
long-time union activist, was honored with several
presentations, including the 1982 Region President’s
Award, during Lake Placid meeting.

Social security
wage records

still not
updated;
situation
deemed
‘intolerable’

ALBANY — Despite assurances
earlier this year that record-
keeping problems had been
handled, New York State
employees’ individual Social
Security records are still
incomplete. Wages for the quarter
ended Dee. 31, 1980, have not been
posted by the Federal Social
Security Administration.

Last January, a discrepancy
showed up as State workers filed
for Social Security benefits. That
problem was blamed on
inadvertent erasing of computer
records of employee earnings for
the third quarter of 1979.

Social Security officials pledged
that no State employees would lose
any benefits as a result of the
posting problem, and denied the
possibility that a similar error had
occurred in regard to some 1980
earnings.

“It’s intolerable that a problem
such as this should go on for so
long,” CSEA President William L.
McGowan stated, pledging that the
union would carefully monitor the
situation.

State Comptroller Edward
Regan, who called the problem
“alarming because of its repetitive
nature,’’ has asked the

Commissioner of Social Security
for an immediate review. The
Comptroller also indicated there
would be no adverse impact on the
calculation of retirement benefits
by the State’s retirement systems.

Until the matter is resolved,
State employees and their
beneficiaries should have available
their W-2 forms for 1980 and
following years when applying for
Social Security benefits. A
comparison of the W-2 wage
records with the wages posted by
Social Security will enable any
wage discrepancies to be Foe

Page 18

THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8, 1982
Broome County unit OKs new salary plan

BINGHAMTON — Members of the Broome
County Unit of CSEA Local 804 recently voted to ac-
cept an agreement to implement a new salary plan.

The new plan includes an additional $1.3 million
to be dispersed according to the new salary
structure.

According to James Corcoran, CSEA field
representative, the new salary plan was a result of
the union’s request for an improved salary study be
undertaken according to the reopener clause in the
present contract. Negotiations were reopened last
spring.

“The main purpose of the improved salary study
and eventual working plan was to make the salaries
of Broome County employees comparable with
other counties of similar size and structure.
Management has known for a long time that its
salary structure was antiquated and responsible for
a high employee turnover rate and subsequent high

costs for retraining new employees. The salary
study bore out what they had suspected, so it was a
case of working out an equitable new plan with the
union negotiating team, according to the reopener
clause in the present contract.”

Corcoran explained that the new salary plan
became effective August 1, and brings economic in-
centives for the first five years, and will increase
the average minimum salary of county employees
by 20 percent.

Corcoran said all employees will be placed on a
new 5-step schedule which will allow some to
receive more than $3,000 in additional salary.

Employees in the bargaining unit who have
worked for the county over 10 years will receive a
one time longevity stipend as follows: 10-15 years
— $300; 15-19 years — $600; and 20 years or more —
$900.

Those employees required to work the 37% hour
week beginning January 1, and who are presently
earning more than the new salary schedule allows,
will receive a minimum $400 pay increase.

The 40-hour workweek will remain the same for
employees at the Broome County Airport, Security,
and two nursing homes. All other departments will
work an extra half hour per day to reach the next
37% hour work week beginning January 1. The
CSEA Broome County Unit represents approx-
imately 1,100 employees.

Corcoran praised the diligence and sacrifice of
the county negotiating team, which included Jack
Haggerty, unit president and chairman, Alene
Beall, Roberta Bidwell, Bob Shaller, Sharon Black,
Lorraine Zodosky, Del Runyon, Tom Campbell, and
Dawn Heath.

Intensive workshop arms volunteers

with techniques for steward training

FISHKILL — Like pioneers setting
out to conquer new frontiers, a team
of rank-and-file members from the
Southern Region is now available to
train shop stewards. Twenty-one
volunteers, especially screened by the
region’s Education Committee to
make certain they would be a diverse
and representative group, were
recently ‘“‘graduated’”’ from an inten-
sive five-day workshop sponsored by
AFSCME and commonly referred to
as the “Training of the Trainers”
program.

AFSCME International Represen-
tative Ron Coder said volunteers were
“practically sequestered for a week
and subject to a myriad of techniques
to develop their training skills.” Par-
ticipants themselves were unanimous
in the opinion that the program was

<< -_

‘CLASS PICTURE’ — Posing
for photo following “gradua-
tion” from training instruc-
tors program are, from left,
first row: Jim Brennan,
Janice Schaff, Joe VanDyke,
Tom Gent, Regional Presi-
dent Ray O’Connor, Regional
Educational Committee
Chairwoman Eva Katz, Irene
Amaral of the Program Com-
mittee, Dick Riley, Vince
Panetta, Ida Worthington,
Glenda Davis and Everette
Remington. In back are, from
left: John Lowery, Clyde
Wray, Chuck Allen, Diane
Cody, Grace Woods, Fred
Nero, Paul Force and Charles
Rexhouse.

an extraordinary experience.

Regional President Ray O’Connor

up a week of their own time to
undergo training. Statewide
Secretary Irene Carr visited the

group to extend her best wishes, while

said he was moved by their en-
Regional Director Thomas J.

thusiasm and the fact that they gave

Three candidates nominated
for DOL board seat

ALBANY — Candidates have been nominated by CSEA’s Statewide
Nominating Committee in a special election to fill a Department of Labor
vacancy on the union’s Board of Directors.

The committee approved the nominations of Elaine Todd of
Cheektowaga, a member of Local 352; Jeanne Lyons of Troy, a member of
Local 670; and Denis Tobin’of New York City, a member of Local 350.

Ballots will be mailed to eligible state DOL members on Oct. 28.

In the interim, eligible members who were not placed on the ballot by
the Nominating Committee can still get ballot placement by petition. To
qualify, candidates must obtain at least 450 petition signatures of DOL
members eligible to vote in this election. Official petition forms are
available from the office of the CSEA Executive Director, 33 Elk Street,
Albany, N. Y. 12224. Petitions must be filed at CSEA Headquarters by no
later than Oct. 20.

Luposello told them he was impress-
ed, “you have all volunteered for this
special role.” Regional Education
Committee Chairperson Eva Katz,
however, best summed up everyone’s

feelings by saying, ‘‘you are truly
brothers and sisters.”

Details regarding how to schedule
training sessions are being mailed to
all local and unit presidents.

yore FOR,

on November 2

THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8, 1982 _

“Page 19

WASHINGTON — “‘If the wages of women and
minorities are artificially depressed because of
discrimination, this union has an obligation to put
an end to that. We will not allow any workers
represented by CSEA to be second class workers,”’
CSEA President William L. McGowan avowed
recently in testimony prepared for federal hearings
on comparable worth.

The union president’s testimony was delivered in
the nation’s capital by CSEA Attorney Marjorie
Karowe before a joint hearing of the U.S. House of
Representatives subcommittees on Civil Service,
Human Resources, and Compensation and
Employee Benefits. The three subcommittees are
considering a federal study of the concept of
comparable worth and therefore took keen interest
in progress being made in New York.

CSEA testimony focused on the study authorized
under the union’s new collective bargaining
agreements with the state, which will study
“comparable worth with respect to predominantly
male-occupied and predominantly female-occupied
positions in the three CSEA units with the objective
of eliminating any gender-based bias which may
exist.”

The study will include not only an objective
analysis of wage differentials based on sex, but also
an analysis of wage differentials between minority-
and white-dominated jobs.

“The proposed study is, in many ways, a pioneer
attempt,”’ Karowe explained at the hearing. ‘‘It is
unique in that it will be the first comparable worth
study undertaken by a state which examines both
sex and race-based differentials.

“It is unique because there will also be an

U

at

CSEA Attorney Marjorie Karowe in Washington . . . ‘the first
comparable worth study undertaken by a state which examines both
sex- and race-based wage differentials.”

analysis of the state’s economic condition and a
forecast of prospect revenues which will enable the
state and CSEA to identify the financial cost of
corrective procedures.”

The study will be unique in another regard. Prior
studies have arrived at job values by assigning
points determined by an outside agency hired to
perform the study. In the New York study, the point
system will be derived from the employer’s own
value system.

“We start with the assumption that white male
jobs are not affected by adverse discrimination.
Then by examining benchmark jobs held primarily
by white males, we determine what value New
York State has placed on certain job
characteristics,” Karowe explained.

The theory is that jobs with the same number of

points indicating equal value should be
compensated with equal wages. Any difference in
salary will serve to illustrate that wages have been
influenced by the race or sex of the employees
holding that job.

President McGowan’s testimony also pointed out
that as the third largest government employer in
the U.S., New York provides an opportunity for the
broadest study to date. The state’s classification
system contains more than twice the job titles of
systems analyzed in other comparable worth
studies, and the state employs more workers than
those of all the other states studies put together.

“We believe the comparable worth study we
negotiated will be a landmark in the most
important employment issue of this decade,”
President McGowan noted. He praised the study as
“an example of good government and responsible
employee advocates joining together to identify an
important labor issue and planning in a
constructive manner to fashion a solution which
will remedy the wrong without encouraging
disorder.”

While the CSEA president’s testimony
documented discrimination against women in the
labor market, it cited comparable worth as more
than just a “women’s issue.”

“It is above all a question of fairness,’ President
McGowan stated. “Comparable worth is a concept
that says workers should be paid because of the job
they do, not because of who they are. CSEA believes
that workers — no matter what sex, no matter what
race — are entitled to a fair wage, fairly
determined. We pledge our power to bring that
about.”

Page 20

THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Friday, October 8, 1982