The Public Sector, 1988 January 11

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Official publication of The Civil Service
Employees Association, Inc., Local 1000,

AFSCME, AFL-CIO, 143 Washington
Avenue, Albany, New York, 12210

AARON SHEPARD.
ROGER A. COLE...
KATHLEEN DALY...

-Associate Editor

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

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CONTINUING A HOLIDAY TRADITION — CSEA members in the Buffalo area have donated
food to the Buffalo City Mission during the holiday season for years. Shown delivering food
donated by CSEA members during the past holiday season are Erie County Employees CSEA Unit
ie President Stephen Caruana, left, and Erie County CSEA Local 815 President Sal Castro, right.

CSEA winter/spring training schedule

CSEA’s Education and Training Department has announced a 1988 winter/spring
schedule of courses for union activists and leaders.

The courses include “State Advanced Grievance Handling,” “‘Local Government
Advanced Grievance Handling,” Effective Union Committees” and “Internal Organizing.”
CSEA training specialists will conduct the sessions.

The ‘“‘Advanced Grievance Handling” courses are six hours in length and will be
conducted in two consecutive evening sessions in most instances. Day-long sessions will be
conducted in two regions. The remaining programs are three hours long and will be
presented in evening hours.

Interested CSEA members and leaders should contact their appropriate CSEA regional
headquarters for detailed information on registration and time and location of courses within

that particular region.

Following is the winter/spring training schedule. The courses will be conducted in the
evening except where noted otherwise. The schedule is tentative and subject to change.

Jan. 19-20
Jan. 26-27
Feb. 2
Feb. 2
Feb. 2
Feb. 10
Feb. 23-24
March 8-9
March 15
March 16
March 23
March 29-30
April 6-7
April 6
April 7

Region 1 and 6
Region 3 and 5
Region 2 (day)
Region 4 (day)
Region 2
Region 2
Region 1 and 6
Region 3 and 5
Region 1
Region 3
Region 4
Region 4
Region 2
Region 6
Region 5

State Advanced Grievance Handling
State Advanced Grievance Handling
State Advanced Grievance Handling
State Advanced Grievance Handling
Internal Organizing

Effective Union Committees

Local Gov’t Adv. Grievance Handling
Local Gov’t Adv. Grievance Handling
Internal Organizing

Internal Organizing

Effective Union Committees

Local Gov’t Adv. Grievance Handling
State Advanced Grievance Handling
Internal Organizing

Internal Organizing

Mandated increase raises dues, agency shop fee

A small increase in CSEA membership

dues and agency shop fees became effective

Jan. 1, The increase, totaling 35 cents
biweekly, is mandated because AFSCME,

CSEA’s international union affiliate, raised

the mimimum dues for local unions affiliated

with the international effective the same
date,

The increase will raise dues
deductions from $6.12 biweekly to $6.47.

The Public Sector (445010) is published every other Monday by The Civil Service
Employees Association, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210. Publication Of-
fice: 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210. Second Class Postage paid at Post
Office, Albany, New York.
Address changes should be sent to: Civil Service Employees Association, Attn:
Membership Department, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210.

COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATES

SHERYL CARLIN
LILLY GIOIA
ANITA MANLEY

DAN CAMPBELL .

CHUCK McGEARY

Region I
(516) 273-2280
Region II
(212) 514-9200
Region III
(914) 896-8180.
. Region IV
(518) 489-5424
. Region V
(315) 451-6330

RON WOFFORD Region VI
(716) 886-0391
Headquarters

(518) 434-0191

ARID 4

STEVE MADARASZ

January 11, 1988

,

This ranger refuses to

ride into

By Sheryl Carlin
CSEA Communications Associate

BROOKHAVEN — A town park ranger in
this Long Island community has charged the
town’s director of code enforcement with
harassment, alleging he, among other things,
used obscene language repeatedly when he
referred to her, warned her not to “‘play
contract” with him and parked outside her
home after work hours.

Pat Zydor, a 29-year-old member of the
Brookhaven Blue Collar Unit of Suffolk
County CSEA Local 852, says she filed
charges against Brookhaven Director of Code
Enforcement Jim Franklin because she is
“trying to stand up and be treated like a
human being, and not be abused.”

Zydor says difficulties developed shortly
after Franklin was appointed last April, and
she turned to CSEA for help with problems
related to contractual matters. With the
assistance of CSEA Unit President Pat
DeLuca and CSEA Field Representative Jim
Walters, those problems were successfully
handled by a grievance. They suggested she
consider filing a complaint with the Human
Rights Commission to deal with other
problems she said she had with Franklin.

“As far as we’re concerned the case has
merit,” an investigator assigned to her case
said recently. He said Zydor’s complaint has
been forwarded to the New York State
Division of Human Rights.

Zydor, who holds a teaching degree from
Adelphi University, has been a town park
ranger since July 1986. She says she
accepted overtime 47 of the 49 times it was
offered to her, although overtime is not
mandatory for the rangers. Both times she
turned down the overtime was because of
illness, and both times she says Franklin
retaliated.

Zydor says Franklin asked her to bring in
a doctor’s note the first time she did not
accept overtime. She says she gave Franklin
the doctor’s note as a courtesy, and he
responded by taking away her portable
radio. On another occasion, she claims, he
temporarily took away her town car.

Franklin also made drastic changes in the
rangers’ work schedule without discussing
terms of the changes with the union. The
changes did not take into account seniority,
and put Zydor on the night shift.

When Zydor and another ranger went to
discuss the change with Franklin, Zydor
referred to her CSEA contract.

“Franklin said if we wanted to play
contract we would lose, and we would lose
big,” Zydor says. “He also said the union
would not be able to help us and he used
obscene language in referring to the union
president.”

Franklin was proved wrong when CSEA
stepped in and forced Franklin to change
Zydor’s shift back to her previous schedule.

January 11, 1988

Pat Zydor: “I felt violated .. .”

After that, a witness said, ‘Franklin called
and said, ‘call that f—— Zydor who filed a
grievance with the union and tell the b—.
her schedule has been changed...,’” according
to information Zydor filed to support her
charges.

One day, after work, Zydor says she
noticed Franklin parked in his town-issued
car outside her home.

“TI felt violated, and the next day I asked

him why he was there, and he said he just
wanted to see where I lived,” Zydor says.

Zydor says the stress caused by the
situation has caused her serious health
problems. She is currently under a doctor’s
care for migraine headaches, eating
disorders and a skin rash.

“It’s really upsetting me that I’m so

sunset

what stress can do to your mind and your
body,” she says. Before Franklin became her
boss, Zydor says, she saw herself as a
health-conscious person. She used to run
every morning and enjoyed a sense of well-
being, she notes.

Witnesses have signed affidavits regarding
Franklin’s abuse of Zydor and his use of
obscene language. Some affidavits list
incidents where Franklin used foul language
and hand gestures while on the job. These
statements have become part of Zydor’s
Human Rights complaint file.

Zydor says Brookhaven Town Supervisor
Henrietta Accampora has been informed of
Franklin’s behavior not only by herself but
by many other employees as well. Those
complaints include that Franklin is alleged to
have told employees they would have to buy
tickets to political functions if they expected
promotions, and that he ordered rangers to
write fraudulent tickets, Zydor claims.

Franklin’s background

Franklin, who came to Brookhaven in 1974
through a patronage appointment as a part-
time worker, is a former police officer. He
holds a provisional appointment as director
of code enforcement despite having failed the
civil service exam for the job, according to
published reports.

He reportedly left the Suffolk County
Police Department in 1971 after an internal
affairs investigation into charges he allegedly
sold police records to private investigators
who were doing background checks on
prospective airline employees. Franklin
pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in
July 1972 and received a certificate of relief
from the courts, according to police records.

Franklin was arrested on a driving while
intoxicated charge in 1984 following an
accident. Later he refused to take a chemical
test and his license was revoked. It was fully
restored in July 1986 records show.

nervous and feel so lousy now. It’s amazing

gseaic a soared

PARK RANGER PAT ZYDOR on patrol | in Brookhaven,

|___ r

3

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Back-pay bundle

L/M agreement
awards $23,000

ALBION — Overtime back pay totaling
more than $23,000 has been awarded to
nurses staffing the Orleans County Nursing
Home. ‘‘And I’m happy to report that it was
arranged through labor/ management
negotiations,”’ said Unit President Chris
Covell, ‘“‘without the filing of any grievances
or lawsuits.”

Forty-four nurses will share the back pay,
which is retroactive to April 1986 for tinie
put in during shift change overlaps.
Payment for the 15-minute early report
period became payable when the federal
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) became
effective April 17, 1986.

Until that time, direct care nurses were
not paid for reporting early, as required,
prior to the official start of their shift,
Covell noted.

“When it was brought to my attention that
the nurses weren’t being paid for this time
we brought it up through our labor/
management committee to the county home
administrator and other county officials,
Covell recalled. ‘‘That was just last October,
so I think things were taken care of very
efficiently.”

Covell said 13 county health department
workers, who before the FLSA went into
effect, had been receiving comp time for
overtime worked, have divided $3,281 in
back pay because overtime now will be paid
at the rate of time and a half.

“Hopefully, that’s all of our members that
have been underpaid in situations like this,”
said Covell. “I’ve sat down with all the “Ym happy to report that it was arranged through
department heads and county personnel labor/management negotiations.” e:
director, Sandy Bower, and I believe all
departments are now in compliance.”

OVERTIME PAYS —
Orleans County
Employees Unit President
Chris Covell, back, and
Ann Harrold, a licensed
practical nurse, clock in
for early report, a 15-
minute period for which
county nursing home
employees have earned
back pay.

Orleans County Nursing Home ® *

THE PUBLIC SECTOR January 11, 1988

ee

- A wastewater wi

Innovative CSEA member honored
for pollution abatement efforts

By Anita Manley
CSEA Communications Associate

the dishes. Flush the toilet. They are among
the little things in life that we all take for
granted.

They are also part of complex processes
that are the daily concerns of Sal Misiti, a

r) water and sewer maintenance worker in the
Westchester County town of North Castle.

Misiti’s conscientious attitude and work
achievements recently earned him an award
from the New York State Water Pollution
Control Association. The CSEA member, a
10-year veteran in his speciality, was
honored for his exemplary operation and
maintenance of the town’s wastewater
treatment plant. The state Department of

e Environmental Conservation recommended
Misiti for the award.

Maintaining the water works for a large
population of residential homes and
businesses is a lot more involved that just
monitoring gauges. Misiti and his crew
maintain high standards to ensure that state
inspectors who come in every month are
satisfied that the cleaned wastewater
discharging from the treatment plant into a

.@ local stream is, in fact, clean.

“Tt’s (the cleaned wastewater) in better
condition than the water in the stream,”
Misiti claims proudly.

A recent tour of the facility conducted by
Misiti proved to be an educational
experience. The wastewater treatment
process, for instance, is strictly biological
and involves no chemicals.

The wastewater is piped into tanks, where
.@ it is aerated, and then moved to other tanks,
where it is raked. Eventually the water goes

NORTH CASTLE — Take a shower. Wash -

through slowly revolving cylindrical, drum-
like machines which separate more waste
from the liquid.

Sludge is allowed to dry for later use as
fertilizer while the cleaned wastewater flows
from the facility and into the local stream.

Keeping the treated water ‘‘in better
condition than the water in the stream”
requires constant testing and modification of
the treatment process as necessary, Misiti
says.

He has also made several modifications to
the system itself based on his extensive
experience.

“The engineer who designs these plants
knows what looks good on paper, but once
you actually work with the system you find
there are changes that need to be made,”
Misiti says.

For instance, at one pumping station Misiti

‘designed and. installed a diesel fuel back-up

pump in case of a power failure. During the
major snowstorm which hit the area last
October many residents were without
electricity and had no running water.

“That won’t happen here,” Misiti says.

He also redesigned the area where the
treated water flows from the treatment plant
into the stream to prevent air from getting
into the pumping system.

In addition to duties at the plant, Misiti
and his crew are on call for water main
breaks and fire hydrant emergencies.

CSEA Field Representative Wendy Hord,
who handles union matters on behalf of
North Castle town employees, calls Misiti
“an extremely conscientious and
knowledgeable employee.

“The town of North Castle is lucky to have
him. An employee like Sal can only act as a
positive role-model for co-workers.”

January 11, 1988

SAL MISITI demonstrates one of a series of tests he

performs to guarantee wastewater is being properly
cleaned. He has been honored for his exemplary
operation and maintenance of the town of North Castle
wastewater treatment plant.

WASTEWATER ENTERING the treatment plant
is pointed out by Sal Misiti to CSEA Field
Representative Wendy Hord. Hord calls Misiti “an
extremely conscientious and knowledgeable

employee.”
)

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

5

Task

lighting
where
appropriate

Adjustable
screen
Position

Horizontal
vertical
adjustable
non-glare
screen
Adjustable
Adjustable backrests
keyboad — for lower
height back
support

Adjustable

—— weigh! off
table Nghe ra Adjustable

Foot rest
for short users Five-prong
base chair

“Employees & VDTs: Finding a
Comfortable Fit” is a handy reference
guide for VDT operators. It is packed
with: suggestions that.cat Help take the: ister wat c.n mere eie meee o Senne leaner a aos he ae oe oo
stress out of long hours at workstations. [

For a free copy of the pamphlet,

1
1 I
published by the Clerical & Secretarial : YES! Please send me a copy of CSEAP’s “Employees & VDTs: Finding a ' e
Employee Advancement Program | Comfortable Fit. }
(CSEAP), just fill out the application at | |
right. | 1
Mail requests to: l Name Shey a f
Linda Sage | |
CSEA Headquarters | I
143 Washington Avenue 1! Address phe es = |
Albany, N.Y. 12224 | |
| City k Sa cgee tO al ates N.Y. Zip code | |
! @
{ Local loans i
TEE DG ia oe Pe ute dec aA NU Rl Pe nO nH Os acetone !
State VDT policy briefings underway
e

As part of the implementation of the
state’s new Video Display Terminal
(VDT) policy, a series of “executive
level” briefings are underway across
the state. Their purpose is to
familiarize management and CSEA
leaders with the policy guidelines and e«
help them start putting them into
effect at their worksites. Pictured
during a recent session at the state
Department of Social Services are:
(left to right) CSEA Local 688 Vice
President Kathy Vallee; CSEAP
Coordinator Betty Kurtik; SCEA/NYS
Joint Safety & Health Committee
Coordinator Dan Cunningham; and
Governor’s Office of Employee e
Relations Associate Director Al
DeMarco.The policy is the most
comprehensive program ever
developed for VDT worker protection.

6 THE PUBLIC SECTOR January 11, 1988

au oA Sissi he ee orm

No politics: i wins promotion fight

CLARENCE — Greg Giblin will be promoted from laborer to
motor equipment operator (MEO), thanks to an arbitrator’s
decision pursued on his behalf by CSEA.

The Town of Clarence will also be required to pay him the $2.04
per-hour wage difference between the two jobs back to Feb. 5, the
date a junior employee was promoted over Giblin to the MEO slot.

Public Employment Relations Board arbitrator Milton Goldberg,
agreeing with CSEA attorney Ron Jaros, noted that the unit contract
stipulates that seniority rules when candidates for promotion are
equal in all other qualifications.

Giblin has worked for the town since 1976, while the employee
promoted over him had only been working for 18 months. The junior
worker also happened to be a brother-in-law to a councilman and
deputy supervisor, according to George Horan, Clarence unit
president. He also noted that Giblin once ran unsuccessfully against
his boss for town highway superintendent.

Giblin’s qualifications to fill the post were supported by his
foreman, Paul M. Fiegl. He testified that, although classified as a
laborer for 12 years, Giblin had many times operated the motorized
equipment mentioned in the posted MEO job specifications,
including trucks and tractors with snow plows, mowers and
sweepers and blacktop pavers. When operating the equipment he
had received out-of-title pay.

The foreman’s opinicn was never solicited by the superintendent
of highways concerning the ability of either candidate prior to
selection of the junior employee, an omission taken into
consideration by the arbitrator.

“The record shows,” said the arbitrator, ‘‘that the town’s
decision was based largely on a comparison of the two applications
in light of criteria other than that set forth in the posted job
vacancy, job performance evaluations or input regarding their
relative ability from the foreman who has worked closely with both
men and is most familiar with their respective ability.”

Giblin’s PERB-ordered promotion will raise his hourly pay from
$8.78 to $10.82.

“Tt was a just decision,” declared Giblin of his arbitration. ‘It’s
too bad we had to go through this, but the atmosphere was too
political to deal with it any other way. And the union represented
me beautifully. Ron Jaros is an excellent attorney.”

Giblin said the town board has acted quickly to correct the
situation, voting the day after the decision was received to promote
him and issue the back pay.

UNION BACKING — Greg Giblin, left, with the Town of Clarence Unit

President George Horan, center, and Vice President Jeff Hemline after
Giblin’s grievance victory.

CSEA units win in Centereach

CENTEREACH — After months of negotiations, picketing and

sta protests, three CSEA units of the Middle Country School District
Retirement der rement demands st ‘= tall talks; have agreed on three-year contracts.
aca tne ootstlone, about 380 CREA pede One of the major issues, an upgrading of the retirement plan,
because pt was a success.

The three units, Maintenance, Heads and Chiefs and Buildings
and Grounds, will receive salary increases averaging 7 percent per
year plus increments.

The Transportation Unit is still bargaining with the school
district.

The new contracts provide:

*Dental coverage under the Employee Benefit Fund, paid for by

the district

*Sick leave increase of 20 days

*A plan by which employees can sell their unused sick days

back to the district for $50 per day.

“There were no givebacks,” said CSEA Field Representative
Jim Walters. “The membership hung in there as a team and they
came out with some new gains. We hope the district will deal fairly
with the transportation unit now.”

The Middle Country School District Units are a part of Suffolk
County Educational CSEA Local 870.

‘The members picketed prior to a
November Board of Education meeting and
‘meeting, complete with

January 11, 1988 THE PUBLIC SECTOR 7

By Anita Manley
CSEA Communications Associate

CSEA

bridge worker
pays toll as

DWI victim

CATSKILL — Bernard Gaffney hadn’t originally intended to retire
this year, but Aug. 16, 1986, changed his plans.

That was the night that Gaffney, a toll collector on the Rip Van
Winkle Bridge, drove a truck onto the bridge to help a disabled car.

“T pulled the truck up behind the guy’s car and turned on the
lights and flashers so the other drivers would know we were there,”
he said.

Unfortunately, a 24-year-old drunk driver never saw the safety
lights.

et saw the lights of the automobile coming towards us,” Gaffney
recalled, ‘‘and I knew he wasn’t slowing down or moving out of the
lane.”

Gaffney yelled to the driver of the disabled car to get up on the
walkway of the bridge while he himself jumped up and ‘“‘hugged”’
the decking.

Within seconds, the drunk driver smashed into the truck which hit
the car which in turn crashed into Gaffney pinning him to the
bridge railing. He suffered 10 broken ribs, a broken collarbone and
severe injuries to the spleen, pancreas and colon.

Five months of hospitalization were followed by a slow
recuperation at home. Another month of hospitalization last June
for surgery to repair his colon resulted in another tedious and
painful recovery. Meanwhile, Gaffney’s wife, who had been fighting

Bernard Gaffney, right, and CSEA Bridge Authority Local 050 President
Rossie Smith stand by the stairway leading to the park next to the Rip
Van Winkle Bridge where Gaffney and his late wife often enjoyed picnic
suppers.

her own battle with cancer, passed away.
Gaffney jokes and smiles with his visitors
when he remembers how his wife would
bring him his supper on the nights he
worked late on the bridge.

‘When the weather was nice, we would set
out a blanket in the little park by the bridge
and picnic next to the river,” he recalled.

Today, Gaffney lives for his two children
and his grandson who calls him ‘‘Poppy.”

An avid fisherman, Gaffney purchased a
boat recently and looks forward to fishing
for salmon in Canada with the two doctors
who cared for him in the trauma unit of
Albany Medical Center.

“T’m going to take the boat right up the
locks to Canada,” he explained.

Recently, Gaffney, who has been a New
York state employee for 29 years, was
honored at a retirement party where he was
presented with a plaque and letters from
Gov. Cuomo and the Bridge Authority
commissioners.

“As Governor Cuomo said in his letter,
Bernie’s work record, especially his efforts
on Aug. 16, 1986, to help a fellow human
being, represent the highest standards of
public service,” said Bridge Authority
Executive Director Harry Stanton.

“Tt was part of Bernie’s job to inspect the deck. And it was part
of Bernie’s job to help a disabled motorist. It was not part of
Bernie’s job to put himself between the motorist and the drunk
driver,”’ he added.

Stanton also pointed out that Gaffney is a second generation
bridge employee. His father was on the construction crew that built
the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.

“He’s lived in the shadow of that structure since he was a child,”
said Stanton.

But because of the irresponsible action of a drunk driver, Gaffney
can no longer serve on the bridge that’s been such a big part of his
life.

41t was part of Bernie’s job to help a disabled motorist.
It was not part of his job to put himself

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

between the motorist and a drunk driver

January 11, 1988

. McGowan to Cuomo:

Don’t forget public employees

ALBANY — “Education and the environment may be his two
top priorities but I want to add a third — generous state
contracts,’’ said CSEA
President William L.
McGowan in response to
Gov. Mario Cuomo’s sixth
State of the State speech.

McGowan added that the
governor’s 1988 ‘“‘wish list
remains just that until the
Executive budget is
released Jan. 13’ and he
hoped the speech ‘‘was not
just a verbal exercise.

“T also hope his positive
statements will be reflected
in current contract talks for
state workers.”

Cuomo, opening the 211th
session of the state
Legislature, explained that
education and overfilled
municipal landfills are
critical issues facing the
state.

CSEA PRESIDENT William L. McGowan
is urging Gov. Cuomo to extend his
positive outlook on the state to include
current contract talks for state workers.

He noted that municipal governments need help in
finding ways to get rid of their trash and said “State government
should lead the way in this effort.”” He suggested a four-point plan
that includes waste reduction, recycling and reuse, incineration and
landfilling.

Turning to his other priority — education — the state’s chief
executive proposed that the next 10 years be the ‘‘Decade of the
Child” and outlined a ‘bold and broad commitment” that ranges
from improved pre-natal care and expanded day care facilities to
drug and alcohol prevention programs.

The 45-minute speech contained a number of initiatives that
McGowan described as ‘‘long overdue.”

For example, the governor pledged to overhaul the Workers’
Compensation system. He proposed increasing the minimum wage
and raising unemployment insurance benefits. He wants to
“redouble our efforts to combat the spread of AIDS.” He seeks
stronger protections against racism because ‘“‘diversity gives us our
special character.” He will demand more “accountability” from
state agencies.

Cuomo also challenged legislators to use the upcoming session as
an opportunity “‘to open our hearts and use our minds for the
benefit of all.”

KEEPIN’ A "WHETHER" EYE
ON THOSE SHIPS
RETURNING TO PORT...

January 11, 1988

9

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

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Compiled by Daniel X. Campbell
CSEA Communications Associate
and Kathleen Daly
Associate Editor \

ALBANY — Two years after CSEA first raised concerns about
possible toxic exposure to members who worked on the ventilation
system from Department of Health (DOH) laboratories in the
Empire State Plaza, the union has some answers, but they are
incomplete.

As a result of its investigation into the ventilation system, the
state Department of Labor (DOL) cited the Office of General
Services (OGS) with six violations of the Public Employee Safety
and Health Act (PESHA).

CSEA became involved two years ago when members of the
OGS CSEA Local 660 complained that working on the ventilation
system could expose them to toxics from DOH labs.

The issue climaxed in 1986 when a supervisor, also a CSEA
member, refused to have workers replace filters until they were
told what toxics might be present and given the proper equipment
and training to do the work safely.

CSEA demanded that the system be tested. DOL’s investigation
began a year ago and the results have only recently been released.

Initially, CSEA learned of the report’s release from the press
rather than from the state, more than six months after completion
of the investigation.

“This isn’t just foot-dragging, it’s almost a blatant attempt to
cover up the situation,’ charged CSEA Region IV President C.
Allen Mead. “Six months of waiting for corrective steps to be taken
is not acceptable, especially since the report seems to be
inaccurate.”

CSEA Director of Occupational Safety and Health James L.
Corcoran and JoAnn Curtis, CSEA industrial hygienist, credited the
DOL staff for pursuing the investigation but criticized certain
aspects of the report.

First, results from tests on residue taken from the blades of the
huge fans on top of the Corning Tower were not included in the
report, Curtis said, because DOH refused to release the information.

Second, the report does not jibe with DOL’s earlier assurances
that certain toxics were present in the ventilation filters only in
trace amounts well below the limits for safe exposure, Corcoran
said.

“But the report shows that they are present/in levels considered
dangerous,” he said.

For example, the report shows lead as present in a

Few answers in Empire Plaza

report .

vent

Raga pati 4

concentration of 630 parts per million (ppm), while only ‘‘a few
parts per million would be acceptable,” he said.

The report also shows unacceptably high levels of chromium,
cadmium and mercury, Corcoran added.

The dioxin concentration cannot be determined precisely from
the report, Corcoran noted, because the toxic substance is generally @
measured in parts per billion or parts per trillion, a far more exact
measurement than was used.

Progress is being made, however slowly, for the OGS workers.
Management has posted notices of the the violations, said Local 660
President Leroy Holmes. With Clement Bonificio, chairman of the
local’s Safety and Health Committee, Holmes was instrumental in
getting the investigation started.

“Approximately $18,000 of equipment and materials have been
ordered to correct the situation,’ Holmes said. ‘‘I believe that at
least OGS is finally doing something about the situations, but the
health department doesn’t seem to be involved.”

Bonificio agreed.

“OGS is taking steps to correct the situation,” he said. ‘What
health (DOH) is doing is unknown. They never have acknowledged
their role or responsibility and they never will.”

THE VIOLATIONS

Clement Bonificio, chairperson of the OGS CSEA
Local 660 Safety and Health Committee, observes
ventilation system testing at the top of Corning

: e
*The ventilation system was not kept “Employees were not supplied with
clean and damaged ducts were not repaired adequate protective equipment such as
*No-smoking regulations were neither gloves and disposable clothing
followed nor enforced, risking that fumes or “No training program exists in the use of
chemicals could be ignited cleaning, storage and handling of
*OGS and the state Department of Health respirators
did not have an acceptable respirator ‘Respirators were not inspected monthly
program as required
.)
e e
Health Department is at core of issue
ALBANY — The state Department of samples of residue from ventilation
Labor (DOL) has cited the state Office of | system fan blades but never gave the
General Services for violations of the residue test results to DOL, said CSEA
Public Employee Safety and Health Act, Industrial Hygienist JoAnn Curtis.
but at the core of the issue is the state Despite what may be an incomplete
Department of Health (DOH). report, Curtis praised DOL’s efforts. e

DOH has been reluctant to give
information about what toxics could be
present in the ventilation system.

Even during the DOL investigation,
DOH withheld information. DOH took

“It was an act of courage for them to
actively pursue this in spite of pressure
by the health department,” she said. “We
consider it amazing that violations of any
standards were found because of the
political pressure on the labor
department.”

Tower.

12

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

January 11, 1988°

A

booms

» Breaking
a bad habit

Compiled by Lilly Gioia
CSEA Communications Associate

Determination should be rewarded. So
South Beach Psychiatric Center CSEA Local
446 decided to assist members determined to
kick an unhealthy habit.

Twenty members signed up, hoping to quit
coughing; stop burning holes in furniture,
clothing and other people; give up yellowed
teeth and fingers; freshen up their smoker’s

if

HOPING TO QUIT — These Local 446 members were among those who participated in a training session
designed to help them stop smoking. Watching as Local 446 Secretary Karen Mascolo, left, crushes out a
cigarette are Local 446 President Peter Antico, Fran Inglema, Audrey Vasquez and Fred Campo.

breath and eliminate morning mucus
attacks. They want, they say, to join the
other Americans who quit smoking. More
than 3 million people quit in the last year
alone.

Local 446 officials agreed that’s a healthy
objective and recently sponsored a smoking
cessation program that was free for
members who wanted assistance in
withdrawing from the smoking habit.

Karen Mascolo, a secretary at South
Beach, said she is “hopeful’’ about
becoming a non-smoker by following the
methods she learned during the three-hour
session. Mascolo said she began smoking at
age 13. In addition to improved health, she
said she is looking forward to saving all that
money she normally spends on cigarettes.

Local 446 President Peter Antico said his
local decided to sponsor the stop smoking
program because ‘‘smokers are looking at
the cost in terms of health and getting
serious about trying to deal with their
nicotine addiction.” The program, Antico
said, helps smokers overcome fears and
psychological obstacles that discourage
many people from kicking the habit.

Participants in the stop smoking class
received behavior modification instructions
and literature, self-hypnosis aids and a
recorded tape message to reinforce the
techniques taught at the seminar.

Participants are also eligible to repeat the
program at no cost if further reinforcement
is needed to deal with nicotine withdrawal.

Fatal accident spurs safety program

By Ron Wofford
CSEA Communications Associate

WEST SENECA — An accident that

claimed the life of a C09EA member has
@esulted in the West Seneca Developmental

Center being cited for a violation of the

Public Employee Safety and Health Act.

Steven A. Guzzo, an auto mechanic and
member of West Seneca Developmental
Center CSEA Local 427, was killed when he
was pinned against the garage door by the
truck on which he was fixing a taillight,
according to Richard Warmus, steward for
the operational unit.

@ Guzzo had asked a student in a Board of
Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES)
program, one of several training at the
center, to turn on the truck’s ignition to
check the turn signal lights.

Apparently the manual-transmission
vehicle was in reverse gear, and the student
also started the engine instead of merely
turning the ignition switch to the ‘“‘on”
position. It is speculated this may have
@aused the truck to violently jerk backward,
pinning the victim. A co-worker, Edward
Heckt, jumped into the truck and moved it
away from Guzzo.

Guzzo suffered multiple injuries and died
four hours later in the intensive care unit of
Mercy Hospital.

John Bieger, regional occupational safety
specialist, said the PESHA investigator

i)
January 11, 1988

cited the facility for failing to have safe
work practices in place. The facility has
asked for assistance in developing a
program.

The death of the young father of three has
hit fellow employees very hard, according to
Warmus. He had worked at West Seneca for
five years.

“He was a good person and very
knowledgeable about cars,’’ recalled
Warmus. ‘‘He was always happy to help out
others with their personal car problems, and
would use his lunchtime, occasionally, to fix
something for a fellow worker without
charge.”

Auto mechanics were a lifelong interest
for Guzzo, according to his family.

“He loved to get his hands in grease,”
said his mother, Dorothy Guzzo.

Guzzo began learning auto repairs when
he was about 14 years old, working beside
his father on cars at home and reading
library books on the subject, according to
the family. He also studied mechanics at
West Seneca High School. He graduated in
1978 and attended the General Motors
Training Center in nearby Clarence.

Steven Guzzo is survived by his parents,
Dorothy and Anthony J.; two sons, Steven
A. Jr. and Joseph; a daughter, Rachel; his
fiance, Rhonda Weisenberg; a brother,
Anthony; and a sister, Victoria Giamuzina.

Steven A. Guzzo

13

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

In Newburgh

She makes things happen

By Anita Manley
CSEA Communications Associate

NEWBURGH — Regina Angelo and the
City of Newburgh are partners. In fact, if
you live near this small city on the Hudson
River, you have no doubt heard her name.

Elected in November to serve on the city
council, Angelo, a CSEA member and
37-year employee of the Newburgh School
District, is a one-woman booster club for the
city.

No newcomer to city political circles, she
served on the city council from 1972-79 and
managed in that time to establish a number
of commissions and committees to improve
the quality of life for city residents. Some of
them included a city Youth Board, an
Industrial Development Agency and an
architectural review board.

In addition, she managed to find time to
be involved in the PTA, the American
Cancer Society as a crusade chairperson,
the Glen Hines Community Center, the city’s
200th birthday celebration in 1983, the
Newburgh Optimist Club, the board of Big
Brothers/Big Sisters, 4-H, the Historical

and the Downing Park Planning Committee.
She was also appointed by Gov. Cuomo to
the state Human Rights Commission and is
co-chairperson for the region.

What does she do in her spare time? One
chilly day, she visited all the business
owners along Newburgh’s main street to
convince them to put up Christmas lights.

On another day, she used her artistic
talents to decorate a billboard in the city
library, where she works.

On still another day, she invited a friend
to lunch in a restaurant which had recently
re-opened under new ownership in downtown
Newburgh.

“They need the business,” she said. ‘‘I
have to get the word out that they’re open.”

Angelo’s pride and joy is the historic
renovation that is taking place in Newburgh.
One of her favorite projects was a recent
candlelight tour of historic homes that
attracted 100 people. Many of the homes had
fallen into disrepair and had become
eyesores in a decaying city. Today,
however, many of the homes are owned by
young families who have renovated the
homes to their original beauty.

historic preservation,” Angelo said. “That’s®

what I’ll continue to work for.”

Angelo, who will be the lone Democrat on
the new city council, says she’s not nervous
about her position of distinction.

“T was in the same situation in 1972 and I
had no problems,” she commented.

“Politics have to end at the front door,”
she explained. “The city can’t afford to play

Society as president and now board member

Restoration of funding
Top priority at Buffalo

BUFFALO — Restoring federal funding to the Buffalo
Psychiatrie Center remains a high priority for CSEA, while
simultaneously forging the groundwork for a long-term
solution, according to CSEA Region VI President Robert L.
Lattimer.

“The real problems at the Buffalo center and others
around the state need to be addressed in a manner that will
ensure this (federal funding cut) does not occur again,” he
said.

It is also important to emphasize to the public that the
direct care staff at the facility, which comprises most of the
CSEA membership there, is doing an excellent job of providing
for those in their care, even with the burden of shortstaffing,
he added.

Lattimer, Local 407 President Joe Polito and Marty
Langer, CSEA public policy specialist, were conferring over
the final draft of a plan that calls for dealing with the long-
time underlying problems at the facility as this issue of The
Public Sector went to press.

“Because of the importance of the care that the clients
receive,” Lattimer said, ‘‘we must proceed with care and
make sure all the t’s are crossed and i’s dotted.”

The center has lost $1 million a month in federal money
following a federal health funding agency inspection that
assailed the facility for deficiencies in record keeping and
staffing.

The alleged faults included:

* long-term patient goals are undefined or not detailed

* failure to provide an adequate number of psychiatrists,

psychologists or physicians

* presence of a registered nurse for 24 hours a day not

ensured

* incomplete psychiatric evaluations

Restoration of the federal funding hinges on completion of
a new survey of the hospital by the Health Care Financing
Agency to determine if the deficiencies have been corrected.
The survey is expected to take 60 to 90 days to complete.

14

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

“I’m very interested in tourism and

politics. To get something accomplished, YO'y
have to work together.”

=

;
e Grievance victories |

CSEA fights unfairevaluation 6
for SUNY Farmingdale worker

FARMINGDALE — When Janet Bergman received her first
unsatisfactory evaluation in seven years of service, she went to
CSEA.

Bergman, a senior stenographer in the Affirmative Action
Department of SUNY Farmingdale, had requested an adjustment
in her work schedule so she could complete her college degree.

“That’s when a personality clash began and her supervisor
tried to get back at her with an unsatisfactory evaluation,” said
CSEA Field Representative Harold Krangle.

The grievance was lost at the local level, so CSEA appealed.
At the agency level hearing, the unsatisfactory evaluation was
overturned; it has been changed to satisfactory.

As Bergman said, ‘‘Justice has been done.”

Union uses videotape to win
upgrading for library workers

STONY BROOK — A picture may be worth a thousand words,
but in this case a videotape was worth an upgrading.

Members of Stony Brook University CSEA Local 614 in the
Clerk I title had been restoring library books for about a year.
Local President Tony Ruggiero filed an out-of-title grievance, but
thought it would really sway the administration officials if they
understood the type of work the employees were performing. 1

A student offered to help out and they made a videotape of
the employees restoring books while explaining the process.

“After seeing the videotape, the classification administrator
in Human Resources said we had changed her mind and that she
would try to get these employees an upgrading,” Ruggiero said.

A title of library technician or something similar would be
more appropriate , he added.

January 11, 1989

Nice honor for
a nice person

It makes everyone feel good when an individual gets
the recognition he or she deserves for excellent work.
It’s even better when that person is ‘‘one of the nicest
people on the face of the earth.”
That’s how CSEA senior audit clerk Bonnie Loyche
was described by co-workers who nominated her as
CSEA Outstanding Employee. The award is given twice
a year by CSEA and its Headquarters Staff Union.
Loyche, a 17-year CSEA employee says its an
( overwhelming honor to be selected. In typical
/ 7 understatement she adds: ‘‘I think everyone believes

pepaae Loyche

I’m so nice just because I’m the person who distributes

the paychecks every two weeks!”
But CSEA employees know better.

James Conkling
Tryon Fagility Director

Microwaves help
warm relations

JOHNSTOWN — It might not seem likely that a
microwave oven could really improve labor/management
relations.

But that was the result when CSEA Local 559 officials
at the Tryon School began working with the administration
on an employee enhancement proposal to obtain the
microwaves for the Division for Youth facility.

The employee enhancement program is part of the
Committee on Work Envioronment and Productivity
(CWEP) — the joint CSEA-NYS labor/management

committee that seeks better worker productivity through
workplace improvements.

Although labor/managment relations at Tryon had
often been fiery in the past, CSEA Local President Nick
Russo and facility director James Conkling say working
together on the proposal marked a change in their
approach towards each other.

“We spotted the availability of funds,” Conkling
explained, ‘“‘and Russo pointed out the need that existed
for our workers.”’

The microwayes have been placed throughout the
facility so that workers on all three shifts can benefit from
them.

Tony ‘‘Crit” Christiano, a 10-year CSEA member
praised the new additions to the workplace as ‘‘beautiful,
a blessing.”

But he went on to say that while things are always
changing for employees, the new spirit of cooperation
between labor and managment is a ‘‘benefit for all.”

January 11, 1988

THE PUBLIC SECTOR 1 5

———————

Hatch Act restrictions unneeded .

BUFFALO — The best protection for
public employees from political coercion are
strong public employee unions like CSEA.

That was part of the message from Region
VI President Robert L. Lattimer in response
to an editorial by the Buffalo News that had
called for retaining the restrictions on
federal employees from involvement in any
kind of political activities.

The House of Representatives voted
305-112 in November to allow the federal
government’s 3 million civilian employees
for the first time in nearly half a century to
run for office, manage election campaigns
and solicit political contributions on their
own time.

The bipartisan bill, which still must be
approved by the Senate, would repeal
provisions of the 1939 Hatch Act, restricting
partisan political activities by federal
workers.

Critics of the bill, including the Buffalo
News, have said it would politicize the Civil
Service and undermine the integrity of
government by opening the way to vote-
buying, favoritism and coercion of
employees to support candidates favored by
their bosses.

When the 50-year-old Hatch Act was
passed, Lattimer said, it applied to virutally
all state and local as well as federal
employees.

“However, the act never applied to school

employees,”’ he pointed out, “‘and no one has
seriously argued that our public educational
system, primary through college, is scandal-
ridden or venal because its employees lack
Hatch Act ‘protection.’

State and local employees have not been
restricted by the Hatch Act since 1974,
except that they were prohibited from
running for office, Lattimer wrote, with
state government regulating the political
activities of state and local employees. Only
two states have laws as restrictive as the
original Hatch Act, he added.

Of the remaining states, Lattimer noted,
19 impose no extra conditions on state and
local government employees and five
prohibit only candidacy for elective office;
while the remaining 24 maintain some
restrictions, all are less restrictive than the
Hatch Act.

“Removing the Hatch Act
restrictions from state and
local employees resulted in no
wave of scandal or
politicization of state and
local civil service workers.”

The Dream
The Legacy

Dr. Martin Luther King
January 15,1929-April4,1968

Ni rep
gy WE
ZZ Wp

Dr. King’s birthday
observed as holiday
on Monday, Jan. 18

The birthday of civil rights activist
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be
observed as a state and federal
holiday on Monday, Jan. 18, 1988.

CSEA was in the forefront in
pushing for legislation which led to
the creation of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Day as a state holiday prior
to becoming a federal holiday.

Ceremonies honoring the memory
of Dr. King will be conducted at
several localities and work sites
around the state over the next few
days, including the following:

* Rockland Psychiatric Center,
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 1 p.m., Catholic
Chapel

* Westchester Developmental
Center, Thursday, Jan. 14, 1 p.m.,
Mary Mount College, Tarrytown

* Letchworth Developmental
Center, Friday, Jan. 15, 2 p.m.,
Catholic Chapel

* South Beach Psychiatric Center,
Monday, Jan. 18, 10 a.m.— 1:30 p.m.

16

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

“Removing
Hatch Act
restrictions from
state and local
employees
resulted in no
wave of scandal or
politicization of
state and local
civil service
workers,”
Lattimer said,
referring to a 1983
survey of state
attorneys general =
that anevered no Robert L. Lattimer
systematic abuses since 1974.

“Finally,” Lattimer wrote, ‘‘there exists a
form of protection of public employees tha
was not present in the 1930s: their unions.

“Tt may be the independence of these
organizations and their aggressive defense
of the public provision of public services,
rather than a desire to protect civil service
workers from political pressure, that really
disturbs the (Buffalo) News.

“The federal Hatch Act, as it applies to
state, local and federal employees,
specifically protects them from coercion,’@
he concluded. ‘‘None of the reforms of the
last dozen years, including that which
passed the House this fall, changes these
important provisions.”

CSEA accepting
applications for ¢
several positions

ALBANY — CSEA is currently accepting
applications for the following positions:

Assistant Director of Research (Albany)
— Minimum qualifications include
bachelor’s degree (at least 15 hours e
mathematics, economics, statistics) and five
years research experience;

Field Representative (Erie/neighboring
counties) — Minimum qualifications include
bachelor’s degree or three years responsible
work experience in personnel, labor
relations or related field; driver’s license
and car for business use required;

Health and Safety Specialist (Fishkill) -@
Minimum qualifications included bachelor’s
degree in related field, or associate’s degree
and one year of experience of an
investigatory/safety nature or three years
experience, as above; driver’s license and
car for business use required;

Submit resumes immediately to:
Personnel Director
Civil Service Employees Association e
P.O. Box 7125, Capitol Station
Albany, N.Y. 12224
CSEA is an equal opportunity employer.

. &% Contract a victory for new unit

MAHOPAC — Once upon a time, not too
long ago, a group of school cafeteria
monitors toiled without a contract, for a flat
rate of pay that had been unchanged for
years, and they had no union to represent
them.

Agnes Abalos had been stuck in that rut
@or 14 years with Mahopac School District in
Putnam County and she says she often
thought about quitting.

“You could make more working for
Burger King,” she says.

But all that has changed. Today, Alabos is
the recently-elected president of the
Mahopac School District Unit, the newest
CSEA unit in Putnam County. And she and
@er 25 co-workers are celebrating their first
contract — a just-negotiated three-year
agreement.

After years of frustration at being unable
to improve their own lot, the monitors
decided to turn to CSEA for assistance. The
union already represented clerical
employees in the Mohopac School District
and many CSEA members advised the

onitors to join CSEA. They did, and the
est is history.

Their first contract provides:

*Pay raises of up to 50 percent by the

third year

*An increment structure

*A grievance procedure

*Two paid holidays

*Snow days

*Bereavement leave

=

SIGN RIGHT HERE — Region III Field Representative Richard Blair shows newly-elected Mahopac
School Monitor Unit President Agnes Abalos where to sign the unit’s first contract. With them are,
from left, negotiating team members Margaret Halet and Rosemarie Mazzella.

, CSEA Field Representative Richard Blair,
who served as chief negotiator, said the
monitors are pleased with their first pact.

“T’m delighted with the contract,” said
negotiating team member Margaret Halet.
“My first concern was a raise and we have
a step system now. It used to be that you

Dom Spacone

‘January 11, 1988

ends meet.”

Spacone.

*A new holiday

and no one lost ai
The older guys say

Perry.

could be here 14 years and make the same
money as somebody just starting.”
Rosemarie Mazzella praised the untiring
efforts of her field representative.
“Rich worked hard for us,” she said.
“‘Now we have our foot in the door. I’m
really grateful for the help from CSEA.”

Niagara unit gets ‘the best’

NIAGARA FALLS — A new three-year contract for the Niagara
Falls Schools General Unit of CSEA Local 872 has earned high
praise from both veteran and newer employees.

“I feel better as I near retirement,” said Dom Rizzo, a 25-year
employee and senior general repairman. “‘I feel I now have more
protection with the wage increase we won. It’s the greatest increase
since I’ve been here. I won’t have to moonlight as much to make

Those wage boosts for the 200-member unit add up to 23 percent
over the life of the contract, plus a 4.75 percent hourly increase and
a $600 bonus for seven job titles in the unit. The group includes
messengers, porters, storekeepers, purchasing clerks, senior
storekeepers, programmers and junior programmers.

The upgradings came about as a result of a joint job
classification and wage study commissioned by the union and the
school district, according to Unit and Local President Dominic

Other benefits include:
*Fully-paid health insurance
*Qut-of-hospital psychiatric care
*Prescription drug plan

*CBP vision care rider with dependent children covered
*GHI major medical

*Improved sick leave

*New promotional policy

Bob Anderson, a storekeeper with the district for two years,
said the new pact is top-notch.

“How could anyone complain?’’ he asked. ‘‘Everbody gained,
ything, proving the union did what it promised.
it’s the best contract ever around here.”

Spacone chaired the negotiating committee. Other members
were Collective Bargaining Specialist Danny Jinks, Russ Bettis,
Sarah Forgoine, Florence Lennox, Gerald Pasquantino and Gene

THE PUBLIC SECTOR 1 7

comera |
Close- |

ode

Jacquelyn Adolphus

Manhattan Psychiatric Center

CSEA Local 413

Region II

“A patient told me one time, ‘I’m going
to get you!’ And I really got hurt. I was
going into the day room and there
wasn’t much staff that day. He grabbed
me from behind, knocked me to the
ground and started kicking me in the
head and back. I was out eight months
with that injury.”

Christine Melvin

West Seneca Developmental Center

CSEA Local 427
Region VI

How does
understaffing affect

YOU?

Rick Galbally

Auburn Correctional Facility

CSEA Local 153

Region V

“Anywhere maximum security is of
prime concern, understaffing increases
tension and strains harmony. It also
adds an extra burden to taxpayers for
overtime.”

Val Robert

0.D. Heck Developmental Center

CSEA Local 445

Region IV

“One of the biggest problems is little
time-off available to direct care staff.
Our line of work is very demanding and
chaotic and to maintain the proper
attitude you need to feel appreciated
and need occasional days off.”

Catherine Harper

Long Island Developmental Center

CSEA Local 430

Region I

“We are definitely short-staffed and it’s
causing a lot of problems and injuries.
It’s extremely difficult when you can’t
get any time off and are working
double shifts.”

“Understaffing prevents optimal
programming for the 21 clients where I
am ward charge. We have four staff,
when we should have six.”

@
January 11, 1988

18

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Visions of sugarplums
all blurry for Amber

_

At last report about $1000 had been raised
@in the CSEA campaign to help Amber — the
little girl who lost an eye to a rare form of

cancer last fall.

But there are still a lot of bills to pay. If
you’d like to help, send your contribution to:
Amber
c/o Netha DeGroff
CSEA Div. of Parole Lecal 669
97 Central Avenue
Albany, New York 12206

Region III Political Action Coordinator
Doris Mason was guest speaker recently at
Ketchum High School in Wappingers Falls.
She discussed lobbying for CSEA as part of
the social studies curriculum. Mason
explained labor unions’ role in the
legislative process, political campaign
endorsements and CSEA’s stand on various
issues.

Swell
sweaters

Kings Park Psychiatric Center CSEA
Local 411 recently gave sweaters to their
operational unit members.

“We had them embroidered with the
CSEA logo,”’ says Local President Tony
Bentivegna.

Any KPPC operational unit member who
did not receive one should call the union
office — 544-0800.

Clinton’s pride begins at home

CSEA members at the Clinton County Nursing Home could take pride in the
national recognition they received recently. The home was a winner of Proctor &
Gamble’s Attends Caring Practices Award.

Pictured from left, Jolie Naiman of P & G, County Legislator Sam Trombley,

Ahelllty administrator Barbara Thompson, and CSEA County Unit President Geraldine
arah,

SRSA CoS

CSEA Region VI Field Representative
Penny Bush,above right, receives a gift of
appreciation from Dunkirk Schools Unit
President Jan Harris on behalf of
Chautauqua County Local 807. Bush was the
Local’s CSEA representative before
transferring to the Buffalo area.

-out
BZ.

Figuring

the
Cd
finer point
of finances

Putting aside thoughts of holiday shopping
at the height of the season, more than 30
CSEA Region V Local and Unit officers
made good use of a recent Saturday by
attending a workshop on union finances.

“We tailored the program to cover such
topics as preparing local budgets, conducting
audits, establishing scholarship funds, and a
wrap-up discussion on fund-
raising for social events and political
action,”’ explained Region V Education
Committee Chairperson Mary Lauzon,

CSEA Statewide Treasurer Mary Sullivan

(_

January 11, 1988

conducted the session.

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Overworked staff crushed by

garbage piled in college halls

20

NEW PALTZ — Welcome to SUNY New Paltz, which made
history recently when it agreed to pay a Russian pianist $80,000 a
year to teach one class.

Granted, the very talented Vladimir Feltsman deserves to reap
the fruits of his years of struggle to leave Russia and realize his
potential. But how would he feel if he knew that the university
system does not employ enough people to clean the hallowed halls
of this seat of higher learning?

In fact, mountains of garbage adorn nearly every hallway of the
dormitories while some of the most artistic, college-level graffitti
graces the walls of the bathrooms.

“Reminds you of the New York City subway system,”
commented Local 610 President Diane Lucchessi on a recent tour of
the college campus.

“And the garbage!” she exclaimed. “‘Everything from rotting
food to empty liquor bottles to used condoms and sanitary pads!
Our maintenance people are expected to stuff it into bags and
they’re not even issued gloves to protect themselves!”’

Even more aggravating, said Lucchessi, is the fact that some of
the students are hired as resident aides who are expected to enforce
a degree of discipline to keep the dorms reasonably clean.

“This is not happening,” said Lucchessi. ‘These kids are given
free rooms and a portion of their meal allowance in exchange for
enforcing rules. Obviously,”’ she emphasized, “the system is not
working and it’s time to do something about it.”

SUNY Purchase CSEA Local 637 President Clara Gerardi said
the problems are not unique to the New Paltz campus.

Just two years ago, 32 maintenance workers were cut from the
college’s Westchester campus budget.

“We managed to get back six of the positions, but I don’t know
how this place operates. When they’re looking to cut the budget, this
is where they cut,” Gerardi said. ‘You do what you can do ina
day.”

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

iy,

HALLS ON THE SUNY NEW PALTZ campus, above, are cluttered with
mountains of garbage because the university doesn’t have enough people to
maintain it.

e
“Everything from
rotting food to
empty liquor bottles ...”’

@

January 11, 1988