ENotice of election 7
of statewide Board of
Directors ...Page 16
COUNTIES | CITIES
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Page 3
CSEA members across the state
fight winter's fury with aging
equipment and fewer workers.
Page 4
School news and an important
update on the current
tuberculosis crisis.
Page 5
Onondaga County CSEA members
fight a plan to contract out
laundry services, and the local
president makes his mark as a
write-in candidate for county
executive. In Lawrence, employees
at the Peninsula Public Library
fight for a fair contract.
Page 6
Updates on the fights in Nassau
and Westchester counties.
Page 7
The City of Fulton is in deep
trouble and laying off employees,
but the crisis didn't happen
overnight. The city has a history of
poor labor relations and refused
CSEA's offers to help find answers
to the fiscal crisis.
Page 8
Rabies is a dangerous disease and
a real threat to public workers.
Find out about the disease and
how to avoid it.
CSEA member
works to bring EAP
to Seneca County
WATERLOO - CSEA Seneca County Local
850 President Paulette Barrett likens her
county co-workers and management to her
second family. After all, she says, her office
is like her home away from home.
That feeling, she says, means workers
often bring problems from home to the
workplace and vice versa. When not
addressed, those problems can cause
others, often disrupting families, affecting
job performance and creating unnecessary
stress.
Workplace and personal problems don’t
have to go untreated, though. Thanks to
determination and cooperation from county
management, CSEA and the county
recently embarked on their first county-
wide Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
The EAP program is a confidential
referral service that matches employees
with problems to local agencies and
services that can help them to control and
resolve their problems.
CSEA originally suggested establishing
an EAP program to help build a working
labor-management relationship with the
county, where relations had previously
been strained, Barrett says.
“I wanted to find some way to reconcile
our differences, and make it easier for
everyone to get along,” she says.
She knows what it's like
Barrett knows herself how tough times
and problems can affect job performance.
She is a recovering alcoholic. Her struggle
has helped her understand how easily
problems grow, and how hard it can be to
get proper help, she says.
“You have to have been there, in order to
know what it's like,” she says.
That's why Barrett fought to bring EAP to
Seneca County. Working with CSEA EAP
Program Director Jim Murphy, County
Administrator Ray Demming and the
PEOPLE
INTHE NEWS
county Board of Supervisors, she fought to
get a program in place that would be
available to all county workers,
management and their families, no matter
what union they are in or what job title
they hold.
“We wanted to help everyone to do their
best. EAP will help you work through those
tough times,” she says. “I've seen a lot of
good people coming apart at the seams,
when it really wasn’t necessary.”
Open for business
Barrett proudly shows off the new office
the county has provided for the EAP in the
County Office Building. The program
operates under the County's EAP
Committee, comprised of the Board of
Supervisors, Barrett and Demming.
Barrett and co-worker Jan Marquart
serve as EAP coordinators, who are trained
to counsel workers and direct them to the
proper services. Her office is open on
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 5, and
already she says about 30 people each
month have come in for referrals. She’s glad
that people are getting the help that they
need, she says.
“We're all here for the same purpose. If
you can’t do that work then you've got a
problem," Barrett says. "EAP can get you
help.”
y
THE
nu ecto-t..
Official publication of The Civil Service
Employees Association, Inc., Local 1000,
AFSCME, AFL-CIO, 143 Washington
Avenue, Albany, New York, 12210
MICHAEL P. MORAN, Publisher
ROGER A. COLE, Editor
KATHLEEN DALY, Associate Editor
STANLEY HORNAK, Assistant Director
of Communications
No
The Public Sector (445010) is published monthly by The Civil Service Employees
~
Association, Publication Office: 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.
Os COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATES
SHERYL C. JENKS Region I
(516) 273-2280
LILLY GIOIA Region Il
(212) 514-9200
ANITA MANLEY Region III
(914) 896-8180
DAN CAMPBELL Region IV
(518) 489-5424
MARK M. KOTZIN Region V
(315) 433-0050
RON WOFFORD Region VI
(716) 886-0391
STEPHEN MADARASZ Headquarters
(518) 434-0191
"ap
y,
2 January 1992 g
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
Fighting winter's fury with
fewer workers, older trucks
An army of state and local government employees and
equipment are in the midst of the annual battle against the ravages
of Mother Nature as winter increases its strangle hold on the
Northe
Only this year, victimized by severe budget problems, there are
fewer men and women on the frontlines. And in many cases they
are fighting the battle with inadequate, unsafe and outdated
equipment municipalities cannot afford to replace.
On the state level the concerns center around fewer employees
overall trying to wage the fight as one-person crews (see pages 18
and 19).
At the town, village, city and county level, where one-person
plowing has been a dangerous fact of life for years, the issues often
revolve around a reduced workforce fighting a losing battle with
old, worn-out equipment. Local government highway employees
often find themselves at risk in worn-out vehicles miles from
civilization on deserted, sometimes unpaved, backroads. Here are
some examples of problems facing local government workers:
Jefferson County
The Jefferson County Highway Department lost almost $2
million in their budget last year, according to CSEA County Unit
President Dan Brady. As a result the county had to create a second
shift to save money by cutting overtime.
Madison County
The Madison County Department of Public Works has lost about
30 people that have not been replaced over the past 10 years,
according to CSEA County DPW Unit President Richard Britton.
Because of the smaller staff the county has had to combine
sanding and plowing operations, which were previously done
separately. Other measures may have to be taken as the county
continues to lose positions through attrition.
A CONFUSING ARRAY OF LEVERS confronts a one-person snow
plow operator. Drivers must use all of these levers in addition to
driving the big truck, staying in contact by radio with dispatchers
and controlling front and side wing plows. All of that is
compounded by poor visibility and driving condions during winter
storms,
"It's dangerous!"
Onondaga County
Staff levels are decreasing and the age of the equipment is
increasing in Onondaga County,
according to County DOT Unit President
Paul Ranczuck. Because of the decrease
in fulltime staff the county has used more
seasonal workers to get the job done.
“We have not hired anybody iti four or
five years that I know of,” Ranezuck said.
In the past the trucks were replaced
after five or six years of service. Now,
Ranczuck said, there are more than 10
trucks in the fleet more than five years
old and the county plans to purchase
only one new truck this year. Equipment
maintenance is more difficult and there
more down-time.
“We do the best we can with what we've |):
got, but sometimes the lack of equipment
and personnel can hamper getting the
roads done as quickly and efficiently as
we'd like,” Ranezuck said.
Chautauqua County
Roger Elf, a member of Chautauqua County CSEA Local 807,
knows first-hand that
there are risks
associated with
operating as a one-
person crew — he’s
faced the danger for
years.
“Driving as a one-
person crew, as I have
for 13.years, I can
understand the
concerns of state
drivers. I'm not sure
our equipment is the
same, but it does get
dangerous, especially
in a driving
swstorm.”
ROGER ELF
knows from
experience --
Rensselaer County
Delays by state crews
caused by one-person
plowing is causi
additional work for
county and city crews,
according to Steve
Scouller, a member of
the Rensselaer County
CSEA unit.
tate and county
crews used to get out
about the same time
Now by the time state
crews get out things
are real messy and
traffic has to go slower
because they're driving from a plowed county road onto an
unplowed or semi-cieared state road,” Scouller said. “And we have
to go back when we're done doing our own plowing and clean up
where the state one-person plow left piles of icy slush.
Intersections, curves, bridge ramps, you name it and there's a pile
of slush just waiting to cause an accident.
“We don’t have one-man plows in our county. It's dangerous.
And a one-man plow just can’t do the job that has to be done on
these roads.”
it does get
dangerous,
especially in a
driving
snowstorm."
¢g f January 1992 3
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
SCHOOL DISTRICT AFFAIRS
CSEA forces district to pay
longevity award on time
RIVERHEAD - After you win a benefit,
you still have to be prepared to fight for it.
That's the conclusion of Diane Klement,
president of the Teacher Aides Unit, and
Wendy Dr+ms:, president of the General
Unit, ot the Riverhead School District. They
had to go to arbitration to get longevity
payments owed to four members.
The former superintendent refused to
pay longevity awards in September as was
established practice. He wanted to wait
until employees completed the following
school year, claiming the money was an
incentive to keep employees on the job.
It didn’t make sense to CSEA, and the
arbitrator agreed.
“Such an interpretation is inconsistent
with the very idea of longevity, namely, to
pay for service already completed,” he
ruled.
The CSEA contract provides $300
longevity is earned on completion of 15
years and $600 on completion of 20 years,
payable the following September.
The delay was frustrating, but the
outcome was satisfying, Klement said.
“It made it look like we knew what we
were talking about and they didn’t,” she
said
GENERAL NEWS
In response to the tuberculosis crisis in
the state corrections system, health
officials were completing the screening of
the system's 90,000 employees and
inmates as this edition of The Public Sector
went to press. The massive effort was
undertaken with labor and management
cooperation after disclosures that 13
inmates and a corrections officer had died
from the deadly diseas
The diseased inmates were also
responsible for a TB epidemic at Upstate
Medical Center in which at least 52 people
were infected.
Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that
can be spread through the air when a
person who has the disease coughs, speaks
or sneez
The disease is curable with a
combination of isolation, drugs and
treatment, but if left untreated it can be
fatal. Complicating the current crisis is the
discovery that some of the TB cases are
At long last, CSEA’s involvement in
efforts to establish protection for workers
against the spread of blood-borne disease
have succeeded. The Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) hz
finally issued the standard to protect
health care and other workers from
workplace exposure,
CSEA’s international union, AFSCME,
first petitioned OSHA for a standard in
1986. In 1989, three CSEA members
provided first-hand testimony to an OSHA
panel on the dangers of blood-borne
disease for public employees, It was part of
the union's concerted effort to have the
standards adopted.
Actions continue to stem TB
crisis for public employees
resistant to drugs.
Although the crisis is most immediate in
Department of Corrections, CSEA is
working with health off to address the
risk for members in other agencies. The
state Department of Labor's Publi
Employee Safety and Health (PESH)
division is also investigating the situation
throughout public employment and is
looking into the possible need for
workplace standards to reduce risks.
CSEA is also pushing for better
education and training to alleviate
employee fears about the dangers of TB.
The TB outbreak has also sparked
controversy over workers compensation
claims for occupational disease. The state
Insurance Fund is apparently challenging
s' claims that their TB exposure was
occupational.
CSEA is advising its members to file and
keep fighting for their claims in the workers
compensation system.
New workplace protections against disease
The standards apply for all workers
based on potential exposure to infectious
diseases; they are not applied based on job
title.
The standards require that precautions
be taken whenever handling blood, bodily
fluids or other potentially contaminated
materials such as soiled clothing, bed
linens and the like.
In health care settings employers must
make protective clothing, gloves, goggles,
surgical masks and other protective
equipment readily available for workers.
The standard also requires that employers
must offer, at their expense, hepatitis B
vaccinations to all employees exposed to
TB Facts
* Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease
that usually affects the lungs; it can
affect anyone of any age.
* Tuberculosis is spread through the
air when a person with active
tuberculosis coughs, sneezes or talks;
Infection generally results from
prolonged exposure to the TB
organisms in a confined space.
* A positive reaction to a TB skin
test does not indicate that you have
the disease; it only means that you
have been exposed to the disease.
* 90 percent of people who are
infected never actually develop the
disease; TB may last for a lifetime as
an infection without ever developing
into the disease.
* Tuberculosis disease is
characterized by the appearance of TB
symptoms such as fever, nightsweats,
fatigue, weight loss and a persistent
cough. 2
* A person with TB disease may
remain contagious until he/she has
been on appropriate treatment for
several weeks; however, a person with
TB infaction cannot spread the
infection,
blood or other potentially infectious
materials,
The standard also emphasizes the
importance of engineering in protections
through the development of technology
and procedures to reduce the risk of
exposure. For example, safer, self-
sheathing hypodermic needles are
recommended to reduce the risk of
workers accidentally getting needle sticks.
4 January 1992 g .
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
Onondaga contracts its dirty laundry;
union warns it's a costly mistake
SYRACUSE — Despite warnings from
CSEA Onondaga County Local 834 officials
that it would be a big and costly mistake,
Onondaga County voted to contract out
laundry service as this edition of The Public
Sector went to press.
The union is worred that contracting out
laundry services could mean jobs and
services will be lost. That's why CSEA
fought the proposal, even though the
county has promised it will not cut any
jobs, Local President Dale King said.
King and other union officials recently
protested the plan at a public hearing.
Switching from the county-run laundry
service at Van Duyn Nursing Home and
Hospital to a private contractor would be a
costly mistake, King testified.
“The public employees who currently run
the laundry do a great job,” he said. “They
can continue to do the job better and
cheaper than any private contractor."
The switch to a private contractor is
subject to negotiations. CSEA and the
county attempted to negotiate, but declared
impasse and the matter wound up before
the county legislature.
CSEA Van Duyn Unit President Tom
Murphy also attended the hearing. He and
King both said the move would cost
taxpayers more because of the private
contractor's profit motive.
“The taxpayer would get hurt by this
change,” King said. “If the county gets rid
of its responsibility and accountability for
this operation, some private contractor
could get rich while taxpayers foot the bill.
"Shouldn't the county be responsible for
this service if it asks the dents to pay
for it?”
The laundry also serves several] other
county operations which would lose that
service and probably end up paying more
for individual laundry service, Murphy said.
That would lessen any costs savings
hoped for in the proposed contracting-out
scheme.
King had urged the legislators to hold off
making their decision until they studied the
proposal’s impact on the whole county.
SYRACUSE — At least six voters in
Onondaga County expressed their
unhappiness with the status quo by
casting write-in ballots for a CSEA elected
official for county executive.
In fact, CSEA Onondaga County Local
834 President Dale King got more write-in
votes than any of the 22 write-in
candidates -- six.
The official candidates for county
executive were incumbent Nicholas Pirro,
the winner, and former state Assembly
representative Mel Zimmer.
Some of King's stiffest write-in
competition came from America’s best-
CSEA local president leads write-in votes
loved rodent, Mickey Mouse, whom he beat
by a margin of four votes. Also coming in
behind the CSEA local president were law
professor Anita Hill, tennis legend Jimmy
Connors, Mad Magazine's Alfred E.
Neuman and the Easter Bunny.
All joking aside, the election carried a
serious message, King said. The 3,700
county employees in Local 834 have been
without a contract for more than a year.
Union members recently turned down a
contract offer that had no raise for 1991.
The votes show that CSEA members are
not happy with County Executive Pirro’s
contract proposals, King said.
Peninsula Library oe pipics! contract delays
LAWRENCE - While the Peninsula Public
Library celebrated its 40th anniversary
recently, its employees were outside
protesting stalled contract negotiations.
CSEA members demonstrated in front of
the library to let patrons know how low
r salaries are compared to other area
and school district libr: »CSEA
Labor Relations Specialist John Labriel
said.
“There are 15 people in the Peninsula
Library Unit of CSEA Nassau County Local
830, yet there are 30 people here to support
them,” he said.
Unit Pr dent Marie Doran and her
members were well organized. They sent
letters to area politicians making them
aware of the low salaries, and they handed
out literature documenting the pay
disparity between Peninsula and other
libraries.
Since 1987, the Nassau County Library
Association has recommended $23,000 as a
starting salary for new librarians. Peninsula
pays § $18,000. Five Nassau County libraries
offer $25,294 to $30,054 for the same
librarian position.
“The low salaries cause us to lose
valuable staff members who are good
“We are extremely
saddened that the board
says what a great job *
we're doing, but refuses to
pay us a fair salary for our
work.”
WE WANT A FAIR CONTRACT -- CSEA members picket at the Peninsula Library's 40th
anniversary to let the public know that library workers are without a contract. The
library's pay is substantially lower than that of other Nassau County libraries.
employees and have positive public service
attitudes,” Doran said.
Austin Dridge is proof that low salaries
make it tough to keep good employees.
Dridge, who joined the demonstration, left
the Peninsula Public Library after 10 years
to work in the West Hempstead Library
solely because the pay is much better.
Negotiations for a new contract are now
at imp CSEA Collective Bargaining
Specialist Harold Krangle said.
Doran, who has remained with the
library for 22 years, said the situation is
frustrating.
“We are extremely saddened that the
board says what a great job we're doing,
but refuses to pay us a fair salary for our
work.”
gZ ‘ January 1992 5
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
Nassau County budget
socks CSEA members
with layoffs, furloughs
MINEOLA—The howling of the wind as it
whipped through the bitter cold was like
the collective moans of CSEA members
throughout Nassau County when the Board
of Supervisors approved a budget calling for
about 3,000 layoffs, 26 furlough days and a
9.7 percent property tax increase.
For many it is a “bad news budget” which
raises taxes while cutting services, but for
the CSEA members who will be hit from
every angle, it is truly devastating.
CSEA members will pay higher taxes as
well as suffering 26 unpaid furlough days
and the threat of layoffs.
CSEA Nassau Local 830 President Rita
Wallace said the union will do everything
possible to minimize the blow to members.
“We have applied for a grant from the
New York state Department of Labor asking
for money for retraining programs for union
members who lose their jobs,” she said.
The union also is setting up various
seminars on how to survive the layoffs.
Representatives from unemployment, the
Department of Social Services and CSEA
will speak on civil service law, insurance
conversion, retirement and other pertinent
issues.
Many county departments will close
because of the layoffs, while the lack of
funds for Nassau County Medical Center
may mean it will become an emergency
hospital only.
While the county has the legal right to lay
off workers, CSEA is fighting the furloughs
which may violate the Taylor Law.
CSEA is working to expedite the furlough
hearings before the Public Employment
Relations Board (PERB).
The union has not yet received a list of
the titles targeted for layoff, although the
county said some notices would be out
before Christmas.
“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
from Nassau County,” CSEA Region I
President Gloria Moran said. “The county
has really proven its lack of compassion
and empathy with this plan.”
Despite demonstrations attended by more
than 3,000 angry CSEA members and
impassioned pleas to cut from the top and
stop contracting out, the county chose to
put the burden on the shoulders of the
CSEA members.
Under civil service law, probational and
provisional employees in targeted titles will
be laid off first, followed by part-time and
seasonal employees in targeted titles. Full-
time employees in those titles will be the
last to be let go.
With rumors rampant, and the real
threat of 3,000 or more layoffs, union
members are extremely nervous. For many
lower-level employees, the furloughs and
certainly the layoffs, will push them onto
the welfare rolls.
“The county better open more soup
kitchens — we're going to need them,”
Moran said.
CSEA says
no way to
Westchester
ulitimatum
WHITE PLAINS - Despite frigid weather,
400 Westch County workers showed
their solidarity the week before Christmas
by demonstrating in front of the County
Office Building to protest the county
executive's ultimatum that they give up
contractual raises or face layoffs.
CSEA membi joined by county
correction officers, county police and
community college teachers, also attended
a budget hearing following the
demonstration.
Westchester County is threatening to lay
off hundreds of county employees unless
CSEA agrees to give up raises due in
1992, something union officials refuse to
Westchester County Unit Pres
Melton said. “We have a signed contract,
approved by legislature.
“I believe there is money in the budget
for those jobs,” Melton told reporters. “We
will continue to lobby lawmakers to act
responsibly, to fulfill their obligations to
the taxpayers to provide services and to
stop frivolous spending at the expense of
the county employees.”
January 1992
6
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
EDITOR'S NOTE: Municipal budgets do not reach crisis levels
all at once and labor-management relations do not turn sour
overnight either. The City of Fulton is a perfect example of
what can happen when conditions are allowed to get too far
out of hand.
By Mark M. Kotzin
Communications Associate
FULTON — CSEA members in the City of Fulton are still reeling
from the recent surprise layoffs that cut the city’s workforce by
nearly a third. CSEA officials say the city repeatedly ignored union
offers to help solve budget problems.
Despite heated objections from CSEA members and leaders, the
city’s Common Council recently passed three surprise resolutions
abolishing 29 titles from the city workforce. About 68 people
working in those titles were laid off. Many were seasonal workers,
and five were full-time CSEA-represented workers.
Layoffs mean cuts in services
That, according to CSEA Fulton DPW Unit President Dave
Ritchie, has meant cuts in service and a crushing blow to employee
morale. The worst part, he said, is that the city totally ignored the
union in the layoff decision and repeatedly ignored the union's
offers of help
“It's been impossible. They haven't worked with us at all,” he
said. “We've tried to talk, but they aren’t willing to listen.”
Ritchie works at the city’s Parks and Recreation Department,
where the city recently closed a skating rink because they couldn't
staff it. If the layoffs are permanent, the city will also have to close
a public pool and several public campgrounds, Ritchie said.
City broke the law
City officials violated the state’s Open Meetings Law when they
made the layoff decision at a secret, closed-door meeting, CSEA
Labor Relations Specialist Merwin Stevens said.
They also violated the contract layoff procedure by improperly
notifying affected employees, he said. Under their contract,
workers are supposed to get a week's notice of any layoff. Instead,
the employees got less than 24 hours notice. Stevens and CSEA
Region V President Jim Moore publicly blasted the Common
Council for failing to follow proper procedures.
Past problems with city administration
This isn’t the first time that the city has ignored or violated the
law. Many previous problems the union has fought in the city can
be traced to the city’s unwillingness to work with the union. Mayor
Muriel Allerton, who left office this month, was against the union
and had a lot to do with the administration's attitude, Stevens
said.
In recent years, the union has fought repeatedly to force the
city to comply with safety and health laws because of violations at
the city’s Water Pollution Control Center. After the city ignored
repeated labor-management requests, CSEA called in the state
Department of Labor (DOL) for several inspections. Over two years,
DOL cited the city for more than 20 violations of the Public
Employees Safety and Health (PESH) Act.
In a letter to the state labor commissioner, the city attorney
complained that the DOL employees were wrong to show up
unannounced for one of their inspections. He alleged that the DOL
employees “conspired” with CSEA, and said he didn’t care whether
the PESH law allows DOL employees to show up unannounced.
‘We've tried to talk, but they aren't willing to listen"
City of Fulton ignored union
efforts to help solve problems
7
5 Lo
CSEA City of Fulton Unit President
Dave Ritchie locks the door to the
city's skating rink which has been
closed to the public due to layoffs
“| and budget cuts.
CSEA members: Here's how to report unsafe, unhealthy work conditions
If you believe unsafe or unhealthy conditions exist in your workplace, don't hesitate. Immediately
contact your CSEA shop steward or local president or call your CSEA labor relations specialist at your
CSEA region office. For occupational safety and health information, call CSEA headquarters at
1-800-342-4146 and ask for the CSEA Safety and Health Department,
gZ fi January 1992 7
“I personally do not care what ‘The Law’ says,” he wrote.
The mayor attacked CSEA in early 1991, calling Ritchie and
Stevens “a bunch of union vultures,” in a letter about an accident
that seriously injured a city worker.
Stevens and Ritchie called in the DOL to see if the city’s
tendency to ignore proper safety procedures might have
contributed to the accident. DOL did not find the city to be at fault.
Mayor Allerton then called Ritchie a “constant nitpicker” in a
newspaper article. CSEA Region V President Moore refuted her
charges in a letter to the editor, blasting her administration for its
past prac in safety and health matters and for using name-
calling tactics rather than trying to work with the union to solve
problems.
Hope for the future
Despite all the problems, some of which continue, Stevens said
there may be light at the end of the tunnel in the union's
relationship with the city adminjstration. As this issue of The
Public Sector went to press, a new mayor and several new City
Council members were preparing to take office. CSEA political
action efforts helped to elect the new mayor.
“We're optimistic about the future in dealing with the City of
Fulton,” he said. “We hope that the new leaders will recognize the
city’s problems and be willing to sit down with us to work towards
solutions that will benefit us all.”
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
Rabies ‘a very
real threat’ to
outdoor
GOSHEN — When Dave Score’s sister-in-
law and niece attempted to clean off their
dog after he was attacked by a rabid
raccoon, they did not realize they had put
themselves at risk for rabies.
Score, president of the Orange County
CSEA Unit and a senior public health
sanitarian with the Orange County Health
Department, said a person does not have to
be bitten by the rabid animal to contract
the disease.
Touching the animal's saliva is enough to
risk catching it. Score’s sister-in-law and
niece had to have rabies vaccines at a cost
of $2,500 each.
Rabies has become a very real threat to
highway and parks employees in the
Hud Valley and elsewhere in the state,
Score said. Numerous confirmed cases have
been found in raccoons, red foxes, and
bats. Rabies has also been found in horses,
otters, cats, dogs, skunks, gray foxes and
woodchucks, but cases in raccoons have
been most prevalent.
Outdoor workers have been warned that
picking up road-killed animals can also be
risky. Workers should use gloves and
shovels to pick up dead animals. The shovel
should then be cleaned with diluted bleach
to disinfect it
If a person or pet is bitten by a wild
animal, the animal should be killed or
confined for testing. Anyone bitten by an
animal should inform his or her physician
Rabies is almost always fatal to humans,
Score said. Symptoms develop within four
months.
Household pets bitten by a rabid animal
who are not inoculated against rabies must
be confined for four months or destroyed
Pets which have been inoculated will need a
booster shot if they are bitten. Any
household pet that is allowed outside
should be inoculated against rabies.
workers
Rabid animals may display the following
symptoms:
¢ Changes in behavior, especially
extreme aggression or lethargy;
¢ Hind leg paralysis;
¢ Change in voice caused by throat
paralysis, especially in affected
pets; and
* Heavy salivation, foaming at the
mouth.
While each of these symptoms can be
caused by other illnesses, animals
exhibiting these symptoms should be
avoided.
More information may be obtained from
your county health department.
ouching a
rabid animal's
saliva is enough
to risk catching
the disease.
ood ORANGE COUNTY
Unit President Dave Score
points out places where
rabies cases have been most
prevalent in the state.
EAP awareness in
Onondaga County
CSEA Onondaga County Local 824
Treasurer Gail Pederson, left, and
President Dale King, second from
left, join CSEA Employee Assistance
Program (EAP) Director Jim Murphy
and county representative Dorothy
Marge, right, outside the civic
center and county office building to
hand out literature to promote the
CSEA/Onondaga County EAP.
8 January 1992 g
| A message from CSEA President Joe McDermott
I National health care will save NY So's
THE
PUBLIC
STATE EMPLOYEES...
ee SES
GENERAL NEWS
The cost of providing health care for the
uninsured and Medicaid recipients is
putting enormous pressure on state and
local governments as health care costs
outstrip revenues to pay for them.
And it doesn’t have to be that way.
A national single-payer health care
program would have saved New York state
and its localities $3.1 billion to $6.6 billion
this year — the size of the state deficit
legislators tried to fill before settling on a
1991-92 budget.
That's according to a report by AFSCME
which shows that such a program could not
only provide all Americans with health care
coverage, but also stop the upward spiral of
health care costs and save states and
localities billions of dollars.
New York's $6.6 billion budget gap took
months to fill — the Legislature didn’t
approve the budget until 65 days after the
the fiscal year began. Even then, the budget
was grossly unfair to public employees and
other working New Yorkers.
And now, that budget is falling short. The
newest gap, which could be as high as $875
million, is being blamed in part on Medicaid
spending that is higher than anticipated.
How will that gap be filled? Cuts in state
programs, cuts in aid to local governments
and school districts, higher taxes, more
layoffs? Is that what we have to look
forward to as the siate’s hard-working
public employees?
In New York and across the country,
health care cost increases for the state and
local governments have outpaced revenue
increases dramatically, 11 percent versus
6.2 percent. Since those governments must
balance their budgets each year, the money
has to come from somewhere and social
programs, education, jobs and services all
lose out.
We have long said the answers are out
there, and one practical answer is a single-
payer insurance program for all Americans.
Sen. Bob Kerrey has presented a workable
proposal for Congress to consider, “The
Health USA Act of 1991.”
The plan, which includes deductibles and
co-payments, would have
reduced total health care
spending by $11 billion
in 1991, and state and
local governments could ¢gpa PRESIDENT
have saved $27.5 billion. jon McDERMOTT
New York state and its
localities could have saved billions under
the Kerrey plan.
The tragedy of the uninsured whose lives
can be destroyed by trying to recover from
and pay for a catastrophic illness or
accident is reason enough to have a
national health insurance program that
assures adequate health care for all.
The tragedy of governments struggling to
provide vital services and programs only
adds to the clear, desperate need for a
comprehensive, sensible national health
care plan that not only provides coverage
but holds down health care cost
We need a single-payer national health
care plan, and we need it now. CSEA and
AFSCME are already working to make sure
it becomes a reality.
g hs January 1992 9
INDEX
Page 11
The NYS Museum is showing signs of
wear and tear compounded by the budget
crunch.
Page 12
CSEA and AFSCME claim some legislative
victories in Congress.
Page 13
1991: the year in review. CSEA once again
was there for you.
Page 14
A page of scholarship stories about union
investments in the future through young
people.
Page 15
Retirement provides the chance to
volunteer for many members. And not even
a mugging could stop one dedicated retiree
from participating in Solidarity Day
Page 16
Election schedules listed for statewide Board
of Directors and AFSCME Convention.
mortgage program benefit?
Owning your own home has been at the
core of the American dream for a long time.
But for many people that dream has turned
into a nightmare.
Some people who may be able to afford
the monthly mortgage payment are shut
out of home ownership because they do not
have the required downpayment and
closing costs to qualify for a conventional
home mortgage in the first place. High
interest rates also make it impossible for
many working families to afford a home
mortgage. For many more their low to
moderate income level makes it difficult or
impossible to obtain conventional home
mortgages.
CSEA wants to change that by making
home ownership more accessible for our
members. CSEA hopes to implement a
special members-only home mortgage
program especially tailored to your needs.
CSEA envisions a program that would
give CSEA-member home buyers the ability
to borrow up to 95 percent of the value of
the home with a 30-year fixed rate loan at
ee
i
anc
CSEA Home Mortgage Program Survey
YES, I am interested in the member-only home mortgage program being considered
by CSEA. I would be interested in more details as they become available and would
possibly be interested in participating in the program.
Ni
market mortgage rates, requiring only a 5
percent downpayment instead of the
minimum 10 percent required for a
conventional mortgage. And eligible buyers
could borrow the initial closing costs as
part of the mortgage. Other benefits CSEA
wants to make available to CSEA members
would be an expanded debt-to-income ratio
above that allowed for conventional
mortgages; maximum loan amounts equal
to that available through the Federal
National Mortgage Association (Fannie
Mae), and no pre-payment penalties.
What CSEA needs to know right now is
how many union member families would be
interested in such a benefit program. If you
think you might be interested in a program
that would offer more attractive mortgage
options than available in conventional
mortgage programs, please complete the
survey form below and return as soon as
possible. All material will be treated as
confidential information to be used only to
support continued development of the
special member-only benefit program.
Social
Security No. wee Ee
Address
Momeitelephonei. 95 eee
City ~ State
Annual household income is $.
I am employed by
Iam a member of CSEA Local —____
H
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H
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| Send completed survey form to:
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{
January 1992
10
Civil Service Employees Association
Attn: Donald Kelly, Research Department
143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210
Former Labor
Commissioner
Hartnett named
new CSEA
chief lobbyist
ALBANY — The CSEA Political Action
Fund has hired Thomas Hartnett as the
union's chief lobbyist.
Hartnett’s labor background spans a
wide spectrum, from a union representative
for the Communication Workers of America
early in his
career to Director
of the Governor's
Office of
Employee
Relations to state
Commissioner of
Labor, his most
recent post.
“Tom Hartnett
brings to CSEA a
wealth of
experience in
both public and
private sector
labor relations,
He has a working
knowledge of
government
operations and
the legislative
process,” CSEA
President Joe
McDermott said.
“I'm sure he will be a very valuable asset to
the CSEA membership.”
Hartnett will lobby the state Legislature
and executive branch agencies, as well as
local governments. Hartnett will also take
part in the development and
implementation of the CSEA legislative
program.
He will also be involved with CSEA’s
strategic planning and policy development
relating to workforce planning, worker
retraining and alternative service delivery
models for the mental health, mental
retardation and corrections systems.
Hartnett resigned as Commissioner of
Labor in October.
CSEA's new chief
lobbyist Thomas
Hartnett
CSEs
Your union, working for you
= ee ee eee eee ee ee
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Museum workers
struggle with
the budget blues
By Daniel X. Campbell
CSEA Communications Associate
ALBANY -
a new sign pleads in the foy
N
“Help keep these doors open,”
r of one of the
lie on the bottom of a glass donation
container nearby.
“It would be nice if we could get the front
entrance doors to open,” says Joel Cornell,
a museum service representative, pointing
to the outside bay of glass doors criss-
crossed with yellow tape warning,
Do Not Enter.”
Of six doors, only two work, and one
has to be blocked closed at night.
“We've done our job too well,” a museum
management spokespe! rson says “We
tripled our attendance from £ 500, 000 to 1.5
million in just over five years while resin
15 percent of our staff and operating on
York State Museum exhibit halls. A few
crinkled bills and a handful of small change
allowing us to continue to keep the
museum limping along for a little longer.”
“Ironically, we found out that state
management has never included any money
in our budget allocations for depreciation of
equipment and replacement,”
“It's as if museum equipment is supposed
to last forever and never break down.”
The commitment of the museum staff
and leadership to find alternative funding
has been very successful;
exhibit hail workers are building a new
grant-funded display.
“Yes, we can find funding for new exhibits
but there are no grants to clean or maintain
the museum spokesperson
what we have,”
says sadly. “That should be the
responsibility of the state of New York.”
an't do any more with any E
longer,” a passing employee s:
another “Temporarily Out of
another closed exhibit site.
Brown says.
in one part of the
New York >
Works
Because
We Work t/
less than our 1983-84 budget
allocation.”
The tell-tale signs of malevolent
neglect are creeping out of the dark
exhibit hall corners. Sign after sign
giving the same distressing message —
“Temporarily Out of Service” — block
45 percent of the museum's audio-
visual exhibit equipment.
“The hardest thing we have to do is
tell a visitor that we do not know when,
if ever, a favorite exhibit is going to be
repaired,” says CSEA member and
audio visual supervisor Edward W.
Brown.
“We've done everything we can to
extend the life of exhibit films and
audio visual materials and equipment.”
Brown points to one still-operating
exhibit film print.
“We extended the life of that print
supply by several years. But this is the
le print and it’s four and a half y
old,” he explains. “Once it goes, it’s the
last one. Another exhibit goes
completely dark, silent and useless
since the film is the exhibit, the story of
New York City.
CSEA member Steve Shashok is busy
cannibalizing equipment to keep the
remaining units going a little longer.
“We're now responsible for cleaning
the exhibits as well as repairing the
A/V equipment. When the budget cuts
took away our one remaining cleaner,
management attempted to put one of
the A/V staff into the position full
time,” Shashok says. “That would have
cut our equipme air ability, so the
cleaning responsibility is rotated,
CONSTANT REPAIR is the only thing that keeps
the State Museum running, CSEA member Steve
Shashok says, noting that once a unit is beyond
repair, another exhibit loses its sound or
pictures. He worries that "Temporarily Out of
Order" will become permanent for many
exhibits.
CSEA MEMBER Edward W. Brown shows
one worn-out copy of an exhibit, “The
Story of New York City.” Once the final
copy goes, the exhibit will he “Temporarily
Out of Service” for a long time.
“Once the film
goes, it’s the last
one. Another
exhibit goes
completely dark,
silent and useless
since the film is
the exhibit, the
story of New York
City.”
gZ tor January 1992 11
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
CSEA/AFSCME seared
victories in Congress:
When Congress adjourned this session, it
left CSEA/AFSCME with some important
legislative victories at the federal level.
“We worked hard to convince Congress we
were serious about a number of issues, and
we were successful,” CSEA President Joe
McDermott said. “Our federal PALs (political
action liaisons) and members worked hard
to write, phone and even lobby in person.
We worked as a team and we won.”
Here's a round-up of the federal legislative
victories.
A Federal Highway Law: The legislation
earmarks 5.35 percent of the funding,
or $6.1 billion, for highway and
infrastructure repairs in New York
state. The money should mean jobs in
the public sector as well as the private
sector.
A Civil Rights Act: President Bush signed
the civil rights law that overturns a
number of Supreme Court decisions
that made it harder for employees to
sue their employers over
discrimination; it also gives women and
minorities the right to sue for
monetary damages over an employer's
intentional discrimination.
A Emergency Unemployment
Compensation Act: This law extends
unemployment benefits for 13
additional weeks for New Yorkers who
have exhausted their benefits since
March. The program ends July 1, 1992.
A Unemployment Compensation for
School Employees: The law gives states
the option of offering non-teaching
school employees unemployment
compensation. Now CSEA will have to
CSEA helps pass NYS
barge canal ammendment
CSEA’s support has once more made an
important difference for the state Barge
Canal.
Voters in November passed two CSEA-
endorsed constitutional amendments which
allows the state to lease canal land; repeal a
prohibition against charging fees for canal
use; update competitive bidding language for
capital projects; and requires that all canal-
generated revenues be placed in a dedicated
fund for canal uses only.
“CSEA endorsed these changes because
we believe they will allow this valuable
resource to remain open and will encourage
increased usage in future years,” CSEA
President Joe McDermott said.
Leasing the land along the banks of the
canal will generate commercial activity and
tourism.
CSEA has promoted the Barge Canal as a
great asset for the state and has lobbied
extensively at both the state and federal
level.
1 2 January 1992
lobby the state Legislature to take
advantage of this legislation and offer
unemployment compensation to school
employees.
Looking ahead
A big goal for CSEA/AFSCME for the next
session will be the Workplace Fairness Act
which will prevent employers from hiring
permanent replacement workers when their
employees are on strike.
Employers have been hiring replacement
workers over the last decade to destroy the
right to strike and the ability for workers to
stand up for their rights without fear of
losing their livelihood.
“All working people have the right to
strike, and whether we're in the private or
public sector, we cannot allow management
to undermine that right through eS .
replacements,” McDermott said. “CSEA and
AFSCME are committed to working for the
passage of the Workplace Fairness Act.”
The future looks bright for tax exemptions
for employer-provided educational
assistance and personal legal plans, CSEA
Federal Issues Coordinator Joe Conway
said.
House Ways and Means Chairman Dan
Rostenkowski (D-IL) has voiced support for
permanent exemptions for the benefits. In
recent years, Congress has repeatedly
passed temporary exemptions, which are |
now in effect. |
CSEA strongly favors the exemptions
which help working people improve their
lives and their earning power in ways they
might not otherwise be able to afford.
Call your Senators today.
Urgethemtovoteyeson S.55.
Then just to make sure, write
them a short follow-up letter
explaining how important the
Workplace Fairness bill is to you
and your family.
That's what we did in the U.S.
TAL Pye”
FOR THE WORKPLACE FAIRNESS BILL
*® Five minutes is all it will take
for one of the most important
phone calls you'll ever make...for the
future of your family and your job.
House of Representatives last
July. And we won by an over-
whelming vote!
On Solidarity Day, we marched
325,000 strong in the streets of
Washington. Let’s keep the march
going back home with our calls
and letters.
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
199] The year in review
CSEA was there for you
The new year began where the old one left off, with some hope
hnd plenty of concerns for the welfare of public employees.
But as 1991 wore on hope gave way to no chance that acceptable
i: contracts could be reached by the time the old ones expired on
larch 31. Last January there was hope against hope that the fiscal
leeding in local governments could be stopped in time to prevent
large scale layoffs and program slashings. But as the year drew to a
lose, county after county, citing serious reductions in state aid,
roposed budgets leading to mass layoffs and severe program cuts.
Throughout a year of great turmoil for public employees at every
level, CSEA was there to fight for employee rights. And the union
ffecorsea many, many success stories throughout the year. Here's a
ook back at just a few of the events affecting CSEA-represented
public employees during 1991.
JANUARY
CSEA files a federal lawsuit, a contract grievance and an improper
ractice charge against the state for a state-im)osed lag payroll
xtension. CSEA members picket and propose alternatives as Madison
‘ounty becomes one of the first local governments to lay off workers in
response to reduced state aid. Within the month CSEA members are on
he picket lines protesting threatened layoffs and the lag payroll scheme
ll across the state.
FEBRUARY
0,000 public employees march on Albany to protest budget cuts. CSEA
ins coalition of labor, religious, community and social activists groups
concerned about the state's tax policy to form the Fiscal Policy Institute
‘0 promote tax fairness. CSEA flatly rejects state’s OMH five-year plan
i: irresponsible to patients and staff. CSEA Ichabod Crane School Unit
esident Lucretia “Bunny” Altomer wins National Association for Pupil
Transportation's Heroism Award. CSEA wins $19,000 back pay and
romotion for St. Lawrence County highway department employee.
MARCH
State declares impasse in contract talks, setting in motion a procedure
at results in deadlocked negotiations throughout the remainder of
991. CSEA white paper slams OMH indifference in its determination to
‘lose facilities while failing to provide community care. Proving again
that it's a tough union for tough times, CSEA gains exemptions from
nancial disclosure requirements for many OCA titles. CSEA part of
operative effort creating pre-apprenticeship training programs for
school district employees. CSEA wins civil service status for Sullivan
a deputy sheriffs.
APRIL
State budget adoption late again, huge deficit creates fiscal nightmare at
fk: levels of government. CSEA files grievance, calls Nassau County
edical Center “a supermarket for contracting out.” CSEA lawsuit wipes
fut a “good ol’ boy system” that flourished for years in Schoharie
County. CSEA unveils Workers Memorial Day bronze plaque in memory
E the thousands of workers permanently disabled or killed each year in
e US.
MAY
ke: by CSEA shows injuries are up as staffing goes down in the state
ental hygiene system. Hundreds march in budget protests in Rockland
County, Onondaga County, Cayuga County and Elmira, among others.
FE: Offer Binding Arbitration works in Syracuse where CSEA succeeds
lowering parking fee increases at SUNY Upstate Medical Center.
aseworker Sabina Kulakowski brutally murdered in Cayuga County
after murder suspect made death threats against social service workers.
i JUNE
CSEA files lawsuit objecting to Nassau County hiring private contractors
i public work. CSEA nails five municipalities for illegally imposing
nancial disclosure requirements on union-represented employees.
CSEA fights plans to cut school retirees’ health insurance. Union
fists: force management to remove hazardous chemicals from
hworth Developmental Center. CSEA negotiates $6.1 million
easure to keep EBF prescription drug benefit stable.
> ;
CSEA. HAMBURG SHOP DOT LOCAL 514 members set up this sign
wherever they did roadwork to express their sentiment about
state contract impasse.
JULY
State Supreme Court orders state court system to return 10 days of lag
pay to CSEA-represented court workers; state appeals but will lose
appeal later in year. Outrage grows among mental hygiene workers over
job and program cuts; protests conducted at facilities across state. Joe
McDermott, Danny Donohue, Mary Sullivan and Irene Carr re-elected
CSEA statewide officers. Employees in state Department of Labor
unempoyment offices across state facing heaviest workloads in memory
as more New Yorkers lose jobs.
AUGUST
CSEA successfully lobbies for early retirement incentive program for
local government employees. Rockland County members Helen Zinza,
Frankel Joseph and Bob Leibowitz lauded for response to an emergency
situation at area nursing home. CSEA pressure forces removal of
asbestos at Bronx Psychiatric Center. CSEA announces strong
opposition to state DOT plan to use one-person snowplows this coming
winter; union opposition campaign continued throughout rest of year.
More than 5,000 CSEA members among 325,000 people marching in
Solidarity Day II in Washington, D.C.
SEPTEMBER
CSEA files grievance over state withholding increments and longevity
pay since April 1. CSEA negotiates to relieve MHTAs of responsibility for
dispensing medication at Manhattan Psychiatric Center. CSEA
Binghamton Psychiatric Center Local 441 achieves 100 percent
membership. Union salvages several essential budget restorations and a
number of legislative items during past legislative s
OCTOBER
CSEA-state contract dispute goes to fact finding after state refusal to
compromise dooms mediation efforts. Union launches “Stop Employee
Abuse” program to draw attention to public employees’ plight under
budget crisis situations. CSEA statewide Secretary Irene Carr elected a
vice president of NYS AFL-CIO. Union wins arbitration restoring job and
$6,000 back pay to falsely accused member at Kingsboro Psychiatric
Center. Noxious fumes force evacuation of state Taxation and Finance
building in Albany for fifth time this year; CSEA labels facility “sic
NOVEMBER
CSEA hammers Nassau County with IPs for tactics seeking contract
concessions. Members continue to protest contract disputes in several
places, including Cattauragus County, Schoharie County, Onondaga
County and Riverhead. Meanwhile Judiciary Local employees march in
Buffalo and Orange County to protest job cuts. Union wins arbitration
award granting reinstatement and back pay of nearly $14,000 for Bronx
Psychiatric Center member,
DECEMBER
Deadly strain of TB poses threat to public employees. Gov. Cuomo calls
for still deeper cuts in school, local government aid; threatens
thousands of more layoffs as state budget crisis deepens. CSEA in state
Supreme Court trying to overturn a furlough scheme by Nassau County.
CSEA wins job back for Village of New Paltz member fired because of
union activities,
January 1992 1 3
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Six named winners
of McDonough
Memorial
Scholarships
Six sons and daughters of CSEA
memb: one from each of the union's
six regions, have been named recipients
of $500 CSEA Thomas H. McDonough
Memorial Scholarships for Continuing
Studies.
The scholarship is named in memory of
the late Thomas H. McDonough, a past
CSEA executive vice president and union
activist. The scholarships are designed to
help with the continuing higher education
of previous CSEA scholarship winners.
The winners were announced by CSEA
President Joe McDermott and Diane
Lucchesi, chairperson of the union's
Memorial Scholarship Committee. Other
committee members are Willie Allen,
Nevada Solano, E am” Rockefeller,
Helen Fischedick and Sandra Delia.
Scholarship winners are:
Region I
Robert Milazzo of Mattituck, a student at
Duke Univ y. His mother, Marie
Milazzo, is a guidance secretary in the
Mattituck-Cutchogue School District and
member of CSEA Local 870.
psa
$20,000 scholarship
AFSCME JERRY CLARK
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
winner David Holland, right,
accepts his award from CSEA
Nassau County Local 830
President Rita Wallace.
Holland will receive $10,000 a
year for his junior and senior
years studying political
science at SUNY Binghamton.
The award, named after the
late director of AFSCME's
political action program, also
includes an internship at
AFSCME International
Headquarters in Washington.
Nassau County Corrections
Officer Daniel Holland, a
member of Local 830, stands
wq next to his son. At left is CSEA
Region I President Gloria
Moran.
CSEA Employee Retirement System
Local 652 recently established a
scholarship program for local members
who are continuing their education.
Initial awards were presented to Barbara
Johnson, Jim Henchey, Joyce Williams
and Kevin Mack by Local 652 President
Four Local 652 members win scholarships
Cornell University woman's studies
program. Henchey is studying computer
operations at Hudson Valley Community
College and working toward a degree in
business administration. Williams is
working toward a degree in psychology
and business administration at the College
Karen Jazvinski and members of the local’s
Scholrship Committee.
Johnson is a second-year student in the
of St. Rose. Mack is studying economics of
labor and precalculus math and working
toward a degree at SUNY Albany.
Region II
Jennifer Hikelin of Brooklyn, a student
at Brooklyn College. She is the daughter
of Laura Hikelin, a clerk with the State
Insurance Fund and member of Local
351.
Region III
Michael Malarski of Slate Hill, who is
attending the University of Delaware. His
mother, Mae Malarski, is a teacher's aide
with the Minisink Valley Schools and a
member of Local 836.
Region IV
Barbara Russell of Mechanicville, a
student at Cornell University. She is the
daughter of Judith Russell, a school bus
driver for Stillwater Central School and
member of Local 864.
Region V
Kelly Garrett of Liverpool, who is
attending SUNY Buffalo. Her mother is
Sally Garrett, an Onondaga County clerk
and member of Local 834.
Region VI
Robert J. Falgiano of North Tonawanda,
also a student at SUNY Buffalo. His
mother is Carol Falgiano, a special
education teacher aide and member of
Local 872.
CSEA JARDINE SCHOLARSHIP
_
JOHN BESEMER, second from right, accepts a $2,500 CSEA Jardine Charles Foster
Scholarship from CSEA President Joe McDermott, third from left, and Jardine Chief
Operation Officer Thomas McDonough. Looking on at right is John Besemer's father,
Richard Besemer, a CSEA member in the Copiaque Schooi District. At left are CSEA
Suffolk Educational Local 870 President Tom Corridan and CSEA Region I President
Gloria Moran. The scholarship is sponsored by Jardine Group Services Corporation and
Travelers Insurance Company and is given in memory of Charles Foster, a longtime
CSEA activist who served as the first business officer of the SUNY system.
TWO SULLIVAN COUNTY high school graduates
have won $500 scholarships sponsored by CSEA
Region III. Teresa Rowdycz, center, daughter of
Eldred School District custodian Jerry Rowdycz,
received the James Lennon Scholarship named
for the late CSEA Region III president. Matthew
Smith, second from left, son of Village of
Woodridge wastewater treatment plant operator
Thomas Smith, won the Pat Mascioli
Scholarship, named for the current Region III
president, second from right. At left is CSEA
Sullivan County Local 853 President Tom
Schmidt and at right is Region III Scholarship
Committee Chairperson Diane Luchessi.
14 January 1992 g :
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Volunteering: a way Of life and a Nay to live
MIDDLETOWN - Otti Brewer may have
retired from her job at Middletown
Psychiatric Center, but she can still be
found at the facility at least a few days a
week.
The recipient of a number of community
volunteer awards and president of Orange-
Ulster-Sullivan County Retiree Local 917,
Brewer spends much of her time taking
psychiatric center clients shopping, to
church, to play bingo and out for dinner.
She even opened a boutique for patients
where for small change they can buy
clothing and accessories donated by the
local community.
Retired after 23 years, Brewer began
volunteering more than 20 years ago.
“I decided that my patients needed an
outside life,” she said. “I would take them
shopping, take them home for dinner. I saw
“There's so much to do
in this world. It's a
shame more people
don't volunteer.”
them, to give them a hug.”
Brewer's schedule is full and varied.
While she might spend one day driving
patients to e in a van, she could spend
another dressed in a clown outfit
entertaining patients in a nursing home.
She has also served as a member of the
Orange County Mental Health Association,
sings with the Sweet Adelines, a barbershop
group that has won numerous awards in
contests all over the country, belongs to a
German American Club, writes to penpals
in Ohio and Chicago, sings for a group of
nuns in a local convent, works for animal
rights, brings her extensive doll collection to
nursing homes, volunteers for the American
Cancer Society, sews and babysits. She has
even played Santa Claus.
Brewer said she constantly urges her
penpals to voluntee!
“There’s so much to do in this world,”
said. “It's a shame more people don't
volunteer.
Mugging didn't keep this
retiree from Solidarity Day
NEW PALTZ - Nothing was going to keep Florence Schoenherr
from attending Solidarity Day in Washington, D.C., not even a
robbery.
The SUNY at New Paltz retiree arrived in the parking lot of a
Kingston shopping center early on Aug. 31 to wait for the bus to
Washington, she said, She stopped at a 24-hour supermarket.
“When I went to my car, a man came over to me and asked
me for directions to Howard Johnson she said. “He was very
soft- spoken and I was not frightened. I told him I didn't know
where it was and suggested he go into the store to ask
directions,
As Schoenherr opened the door to her car to get in and wait
for the bus, the man saw her pocketbook on the seat, leapt
around her and into the car to grab it. Schoenherr was angry.
“L yelled, ‘Oh, no you don't’ and grabbed him by the back of
the shirt and I wouldn't let go,” she said.
The man, who was much larger than Schoenherr, was able to
shake loose and ran away with her pocketbook containing $300,
credit cards and keys to her house and car.
Schoenherr went into the store where employees called the police.
After giving her report to the police, Schoenherr told them she had to catch her bus to
how much good it did.
“It not only helps them, it helps me!” she
said. “I have fun with them. They appreciate
me and they laugh at my jokes.”
Brewer said more retirees should
volunteer their services to needy people.
“A lot of retirees are glad to be out of
their jobs and don’t want to go back,” she
said. “I can’t abandon these people.
“They just need someone to listen to
VOLUNTEER EXTRAORDINAIRE -- Otti
Brewer, president of Orange-Ulster-Sullivan .
Retiree Local 917, has received many awards
for her volunteer work. She urges everyone,
especially retirees, to volunteer.
Locals help new retirees
Following a recommendation made by
CSEA's delegates in 1990, a number of
locals have offered to pay the first year's
dues for local members who retire.
Many locals have already been
acknowledged for their efforts in previous
editions of The Public Sector. The most
recent additions are:
Rochester State Employees Local 012,
President Doris B. Cota.
State Insurance Fund Local 351,
President Harriet Hart
Syracuse Developmental Center Local
424, President David Berry.
SUNY at Old Westbury Local 618,
President Donna B. Smith.
Empire State College Local 641,
President Judy Remington
Metor Vehicles Local 674, President
Anna S. Dellarocco,
Division of Criminal Justice Local 965, :
President Lyle A. Hartog.
Fulton County Department of Social
Services Unit, President Thomas Reccio.
Ren er County Local 842, President
she
CSEA Retiree erates
Schoenherr
Washington. Marianne Herkenham
“You're not going now, are you?” they said. “You have no money.” Hyde Park School Unit, President Lillian
“I told them ‘Don’t worry, I have a buck in my pocket. I won't get arrested for vagrancy! Gilmo
Besides, | made a commitment to go and I'm going!""
Asked if she was upset or shaken, she replied, n't upset, I was just plain mad. |
couldn't believe this had happened to me. I felt deceived.”
But Schoenherr said she was determined to join the Solidarity
“I was obliged to go,” she said. “The robbery didn’t faze me.
rights."
Retired from her 18-year job as a cleaner with SUNY at New Paltz, Schoenherr keeps
busy with volunteer work, shopping for senior citizens and transporting them to doctor
appointments,
BOCES Rockland County Unit,
President Robert E. Smith.
Westchester County Local 860,
President Edward F. Ca
Saratoga County Education Employ:
Local 864, President Lester Cole,
Rensselaer County Educational
Employees Local 871, President Richard
Sheffer.
gZ é January 1992 15
SUR AP ae Sera ee a SCS aN ec ret me Nt Es Eee)
March anyway.
1 wanted to fight for our
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Elections announcements
CSEA to begin
AFSCME delegates
election process at
region meetings
set for February
CSEA delegates to the 1992 AFSCME
Convention, to be held June 15 to 19 in
Las Vegas, Nev., will be nominated at
meetings to be conducted in each of
CSEA’s six regions on Saturday Feb. 29.
Delegates will be elected on a regional
basis. Each CSEA region will elect the
number of delegates to which it is entitled
on the basis of membership strength in
accordance with AFSCME and CSEA
Constitutions.
Expenses for delegates for
transportation, room and board at the
AFSCME Convention will be paid by CSEA.
The delegate election schedule is below.
More information on nominating
procedures will be published in the
February issue of The Public Sector.
AFSCME DELEGATES ELECTION
SCHEDULE
Feb. 29 — Nominating Meeting in
all regions.
April 1 — Ballots mailed.
April 9 — Replacement ballots may
be requested if original is not received.
April 22 — Deadline for receipt of
ballots (8 a.m:
May — Publ
The Public Sector.
May 2 — End of protest period.
tion of election results in
Schedule set for statewide Board of Directors election
ALBANY — Nominations open Feb. 10 for
all seats on CSEA’s statewide Board of
Directors.
Under the union's open election
procedures, any member in good standing
can have his or her name placed on a ballot
by obtaining the required number of CSEA
member signatures on an official petition
form,
In order to be eligible, a candidate must
have been a member in good standing of
CSEA since June 1, 1991, and have
continuously paid membership dues since
then. In addition, he or she cannot be a
member of a competing labor organization
and cannot be serving a penalty imposed by
the CSEA Judicial Board.
In the State Division, a candidate needs
petitions signed by at least 10 percent of
eligible voters in the department or agency
he or she wishes to represent. Not more
than 450 signatures are required.
In the Local Government Division, a
candidate needs petitions signed by at least
10 percent of eligible voters in the local he
or she wishes to represent. Not more than
450 signatures are required.
Educational locals which share a
representative require valid signatures
calculated on the combined number of
eligible voters in all educational locals in
their particular CSEA region. Not more
than 450 signatures are required.
CSEA’s Board of Directors has adopted
the following election schedule:
Jan. 27 — Nominating petition request
forms available from Local and Unit
Election Committees, CSEA region offices
and CSEA headquarters.
Feb. 10 — Start of Petitioning Period:
nominating petitions available from
CSEA region offices and CSEA
headquarters.
March 13 — Deadline for nominating
petitions to be received at CSEA
headquarters (5 p.m.).
April 7 — Deadline for declinations (8
a.m.); deadline for confirmation of name
as it will appear on the ballot (8 a.m.);
drawing for positions on the ballot
(noon), CSEA headquarters. Candidates
or proxies may attend as observers;
address labels available for mailing
campaign literature.
April 20 — Deadline for receipt of
campaign articles for The Public Sector;
deadline for campaign literature to be
submitted to CSEA headquarters for
distribution (5 p.m.).
May — Publication of campaign articles
in The Public Sector.
May 18 — Ballots delivered to post office
for mailing.
May 26 — Replacement ballot may be
requested if original is not received.
June 8 — Deadline for return of ballots
(8 2.m.)
Election results will be announced after
the count. Candidates will be notified by
mail.
July — Publication of election results in
The Public Sector.
The Empire Plan's new mental health and
substance abuse program will change
beginning Feb. 10.
It’s very important for all enrollees who use
the program to be aware of the changes and
their responsibilities before they use the
program. More information is being mailed
to enrollees, but if you haven't received it,
check with your personnel office for the
January 1992 Certificate Addendum Empire
Plan Report.
The American PsychManagement (APM)
benefits and responsibilities apply to you, your
enrolled spouse and other enrolled dependents.
You and your family must follow the
requirements for the mental health or
substance abuse program whenever you seek
Empire Plan coverage for these services.
Before you seek care for mental health and
substance abuse programs, you must call APM.
If you do not call, you will receive a
significantly lower level of benefits.
Any time you or covered family members
need help for a mental health or substance
abuse problem, 24 hours a day, call APM at
1-800-466-3995.
When you call, a mental health professional
will help you decide on the best steps to take
for treatment.
In an emergency situation, APM will arrange
for a network provider to call you within 30
minutes or direct you to an appropriate facility.
In a life-threatening situation, go to the nearest
emergency room. You must call APM within
48 hours.
You, a member of your family or ho!
your doctor, a member of your doctor’
your Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
representative may place the call to APM. In an
emergency or urgent admission, the hospital
admitting office may call for you, But it is your
responsibility to see that the call is made.
What APM offers
APM gives you and your family: reduced out-
substance abuse benefits when you call APM;
up to three outpatient visits without a co-
payment for intervention following a significant
life crisis when you use APM; access to an
extensive network of practitioners in your area;
and help in choosing the right provider.
Your new Empire Plan mental health and
substance abuse programs has two levels of
network coverage and non-network
By calling APM before you receive
services and by going to a provider to whom
APM has referred you, you will qualify for the
network coverage, the highest level of benefits.
APM's network of providers gives you access
to a wide range of specialists and facilities.
Whenever possible, you will be referred to a
provider close to your home.
The providers are available nationwide, and
there are more than 3,500 in New York state,
Important changes in Empire Plan mental health benefits
including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists,
psychiatric nurses/clinic lists and
certified social workers. Fa ‘s include
hospitals, rehabilitation centers and alternative
inpatient facilities.
Lower benefits if you don't use APM
If you don't call APM or use an APM
recommended provider for medically necessary
care, you will receive non-network benefits, a
lower level of benefits.
If the APM decides the care you receive
outside the APM network is medically
necessary, you will receive non-network
coverage. You will be responsible for a large
deductible and you will pay a major part of the
provider's charges.
If your inpatient or outpatient care is not
found to be medically necessary, you will not
receive any Empire Plan benefits, and you will
be responsible for the full cost of care. To be
sure the care is medically necessary, when you
choose a non-network provider, you must call
APM before inpatient admission; or for
outpatient care beyond 10 visits, you must call
APM before the sixth visit.
If you are currently in treatment, during
the Feb. 1 to April 30 transition period you may
complete your treatment with providers who
are not in the APM netowrk. After April 30, you
must call APM and seek care from a
recommended provider to receive network
coverage.
16 January 1992 ~g s
STATE NEWS SECTION
CSEA slams
state's
shameful {+
indifference |:
Cuomo's mental
hygiene policies are
government without
a heart or a head
begins amid growing reports that the Office
CSEA is acting i ediately and forcefully -
FOU aN Ce Seam ea tea ere eny of Mental Health (OMH) may close another
to pel ent reports that state mental
hygiene services will continue to take the
brunt of the state’s mindless budget
cutting.
The continuing crisis in the mental
hygiene system has sparked a renewed
CSEA effort to focus public attention on the
situation,
CSEA’s public awareness campaign,
centered on the theme that state mental
hygiene policy is The Shame of All New York,
while the Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) is
considering privatizing more state services.
“It’s an outr — once again the
governor and minions are moving to
close facilities, c roy lives and devastate
whole communities without any public
input, let alone debate. They're even
shutting the legislature out of the process,”
said CSEA President Joe McDermott. “The
three psychiatric centers in the near future,
Willard Psychiatric
Center employees
confront Cuomo
Willard Psychiatric Center CSEA Local
428 members recently picketed Gov..
Cuomo during a trip to Central New York.
Cuomo promised he would return and
visit the facility to see first-hand the
effect state budget cuts have had on
patients, staff and services. Shortly
afterward, employees learried the facility
is being targeted for closure.
every one of our eee in OMH and
OMRDD at risk.”
There has been no official word, but
reportedly Willard, Harlem Valley and
Middletown Psychiatric Centers have been
targeted to be closed, possibly within the
year, OMH'’s continued ient dumping,
coupled with more potential cutbacks also
put other facilities at risk
“We need to build up as much
community resistance as we can, as quickly
as we can, and it still won't be easy to stop
OMH,” McDermott said. “The closing of
Gowanda Psychiatric Center within a
matter of months last year demonstrated
what we're up against. OMH is moving
forward with their plans before anyone can
question them and saying let everyone be
damned with the consequences.”
is also acting to head off dangerous
uncertainty in OMRDD. While far from
perfect, OMRDD has, until now, closed
developmental centers and moved to the
development of community based facilities
while preserving the jobs of the state
workforce. But state commitments to the
continuation of this approach are now
unclear,
CSEA's campaign which includes print
and radio advertising across the state,
began with the distribution of a brochure
alerting the taxpaying public about the
negative impact the state’s mental hygiene
polic on them and their
communities, The brochure also includes a
coupon supporting CS rts for
change. People are urged to ¢ complete the
coupon and return it to CSEA
headquarters.
As this edition of The Public Sector went
to press, supplies of the brochure and other
materials were being prepared for
distribution to CSEA locals.
gZ hs January 1992 17
STATE NEWS SECTION
"The danger
potential is
tremendous. |
advise my wife
and mother to
stay home
when it's
snowing."
-Archie Galloway,
President
SEA DOT Local 514
IF YOU SEE
ME COMING.
BETTER STEP
ASIDE
Storm experiences justify union concerns
going to make the job any safer,”
McDermott said. “CSEA believes the lives of
our members and the lives of others are
worth more than DOT's blood money.”
CSEA's campaign against the state
Department of Transportation’s (DOT)
reckless and irresponsible one-person snow
plow plan continues to generate an
avalanche of public attention and
controversy. And now the first early winter
storms have proved the union's concern is
justified.
The union distributed thousands of
copies of its informational brochure, A Real
Snow Job, to the media, elected officials
and the general public to get the message
across that the state needs a safer
approach than DOT's plan.
DOT officials red-faced
The union ‘s campaign generated dozens
of news stories and many irate letters to
DOT. Red-faced DOT officials have been
forced on the defensive and have been
hard-pressed to refute CSEA’s claims that
one-person plowing is dangerous and not
economical in the long haul.
DOT unilaterally instituted the one-
person plowing program in August despite
strenuous objections of CSEA. The snow
plowing equipment is difficult and
cumbersome to operate in the best
circumstances, but operators work in the
worst conditions, working long shifts in the
middle of blizzards.
Long-standing practice ignored
The long-standing practice is to have two
operators. The second operator helps
operate the equipment and provides an
extra set of eyes to look out for cars and
other hazards.
“It's a joke that DOT is saying this plan
poses no additional safety risk. Now that
they have the experience of winter storms,
DOT operators are telling us how
dangerous it really is out there,” CSEA
President Joe McDermott said. “We also
question whether they'll save any money at
all.”
DOT officials initially said they expected
to save $2.4 million from the change.
However, that estimate was based on using
one- person plowing on 90 percent of the
state roads, DOT has since scaled that
coverage back to 50 percent.
CSEA proposed money saver
CSEA had offered DOT a proposal to
eliminate the winter shift differential to
save an immediate $1.2 million. The union
also made other suggestions on workforce
deployment and boosting productivity that
could save more’ money. DOT rejected the
ideas.
Meanwhile, DOT has offered a pay boost
to one-person plow operators in a scheme
that CSEA says is a cheap attempt to buy
the operators’ silence. The difference in pay
means a few extra bucks for grade 6 or 7
employees and even less for grade 8
employees.
Blood money doesn't make it safer
“Paying operators a few extra bucks is
not going to save DOT money, nor is it
Why it's so dangerous
One-person plowing is very dangerous in
part because the plows are designed for two
people and CSEA questions whether they
can be safely operated by one person, even
with the modifications that DOT has made.
DOT claims that other snow-belt states
have one-person plowing without problems.
But what DOT doesn’t say is that many of
these other places have different equipment
especially designed for one-person
operation. Other states also use hydraulic
equipment, which DOT operators say is
safer and easier to use than the cable
system used on state DOT trucks.
CSEA also points out that the minimal
training and testing in ideal conditions was
totally inadequate and no indicator of
operators’ ability to plow alone in blizzard
conditions. Results from early winter
storms show the one-person system is
much slower, far less efficient and
tremendously dangerous to DOT operators
and the motoring public.
What do the people who
drive the plows say about
DOT's one-person plowing
scheme? srr PAGE 19
1 8 January 1992 g :
STATE NEWS SECTION
# "| don't approve of it.
There's more stress
and pressure on the
drivers. | don't think
safetywise that it's a
good way to plow
| snow. A lot of the time
|| you can't move the
levers fast enough
"| because you don't have
enough hands."
--Don Jerrett, Heavy Equipment Operator,
CSEA Local 516 member, top driver in 1990
(ne was hard the first
storm. You can't really
see the wing in the
mirror, which covers over
with snow, and the extra
light they added for the
wing doesn't work -- you
can't see five feet in front
of you. It used to be
‘safety first'; it's not
safety anything anymore,
it's just saving money."
--Anonymous, Heavy Equipment Operator, Camillus
Residency, fears retaliation if name used
Ne / |
(“It's tense and
dangerous out there,
even for the veterans
with a lot more years
=
THE PEOPLE WHO DRIVE THE PLOWS AGREE...
'It's dangerous, it's stupid’
ai
DOT statewide snowplow competition ay,
_ | snowstorm, when the
| driver is trying to handle
@ lever for the main plow, the
--Archie Galloway, Heavy Equipment Operator, President of CSEA Local 514 op
i
"It's no good out there
alone. You can't plow the
way you're supposed to;
you end up leaving thick
piles of snow and slush.
You're really making it
more of a mess and more
dangerous to the average
driver."
--Ken Bailey, CSEA member with a dozen years of
experience plowing in snow country north of
Ney ey.
|"Without that extra pair of >
eyes that the wingman
| provides, we just can't see.
It's not difficult to imagine
the accident potential
during a driving
handle for the wing,
shifting through nine gears
and maintaining radio
1 The danger potential is
tremendous."
(oeiee os EI
under their belts than
me. It's confusing in
the cab, especially
after dark. And those
tractor-trailers, they
don't slow down, they
don't give you an
inch."
~ Anonymous Heavy Equipment Operator who
plows the {-87 Northway in the Chestertown
area
"It's stupid,
totally stupid!"
~-Anonymous long-time
DOT snowplowing veteran
who works the northern
snowbelt territory
(“If we end up with more
damaged property and
equipment, not to
mention personal injury
lawsuits, where are the
savings they're talking
about. Morale is low
because of the policy."
--Duane Wilcox, President of CSEA Local 506
<i os
¢g , January 1992 19
ag
STATE NEWS SECTION
CSEA stops SUNY contracting out
ALBANY — Even when members are laid
off, CSEA is watching out for their rights.
Recently, SUNY at Albany was hiring
contract workers to do routine jobs on
campus even as it was planning to lay off
its own employees who were qualified to do
the work. Worse, the state had preferred
lists of laid-off painters, carpenters and
other workers also equally qualified to do
the work they contracted out.
When CSEA learned about it, the union
went to work. Now laid-off state employees
will have the option of accepting temporary
work at SUNY at Albany without affecting
their status on preferred lists, which will
save the state money. And the SUNY
employees who were to be laid off Dec. 31
still have their jobs.
CSEA members at SUNY at Albany first
brought the issue to the union’s attention,
CSEA Local 691 Shop Steward Nancy
McFadden said.
Some of those contract workers had been
at SUNY at Albany for years doing work
state employees could do, and do for less
money. The whole maintenance staff got
involved in the issue, she said, since they
had to dig just to find out who the contract
workers were.
“The entire staff worked on th:
McFadden said. “We were fighting for our
jobs and for our rights.”
“We have workers from OGS (Office of
General Services) who have been laid off
who could easily have done the work,”
CSEA Assistant Contract Administrator
Robert Dillon said. “Why should SUNY
Albany spend more money on outside
workers when the state has capable
employees on preferred lists who would love
to come back to work?”
SUNY at Albany was able to hire the
contract workers under Special Fund
Estimates (SFE), which allows SUNY
campuses to temporarily hire workers for
capital projects when its own employees
don’t have the expertise.
However, the university had been using
SFE to hire carpenters and painters
because it didn’t have the staff to complete
certain jobs. Contract people were hired at
prevailing wages to do work laid-off CSEA
members could easily have done, and at
lower pay scales, Dillon said.
Dillon went to officials at SUNY at
Albany, SUNY Central and the Governor's
Office of Employee Relations and received
assurances that SUNY at Albany will now
go to preferred hiring lists of laid-off state
employees. They will have the option of
accepting the temporary jobs; even if they
refuse temporary work, their status on the
preferred list for permanent re-hiring will
not be affected, Dillon said.
The contract workers have been let go,
and the SUNY layoffs have been halted, but
so far none of the OGS workers have been
offered temporary work. CSEA is also
pursuing a grievance over the issue.
GENERAL NEWS
CSEA Board of Directors summary report
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Public Sector regularly publishes a summary of actions
taken by CSEA’s Board of Directors at the Board's official meetings. The summary is
prepared by CSEA statewide Secretary Irene Carr for the information of union
members.
The CSEA Board of Directors met on December 12. In official actions,
the board:
*Initiated plans for a Steward Recognition Day;
*Entered into settlement discussions regarding agency shop fees;
*Changed the name of Craig Developmental Center Local 405 to Craig
DDSO Local 405;
*Changed the name of State University Ag & Tech College at
Farmingdale Local 606 to SUNY College of Technology at Farmingdale
Local 606,
*Deleted the phrase “or retired employee of” from any state, local
government or private sector local charter membership clause;
*Transferred membership of Mid-Hudson State Employees
Local 009 as follows:
Employed By
NYS Dept. of
Law
Transferred to
Helen Hayes
Hospital Local 302
Employed At
Helen Hayes
Hospital
Hudson River
Psyc. Center
Office of Mental
Retardation
Hudson River Psyc.
Center Local 410
Letchworth
Village D.C.
Office of Mental
Retardation
Letchworth Village
D.C. Local 412
NYS DOT
Poughkeepsie
Office of
General
Services
*Granted a CSEA local charter to Annsville Residential Center;
*Created 16 separate locals for those private sector bargaining units
currently assigned to local government locals such as Suffolk Cooperative
Library, Mid-Hudson Library System, Ramapo-C ill Library System,
Metcalf & Eddy Services, Inc. (Newburgh Sewage 1
& Eddy Services, Inc, (Chadwick Lake Water Filtration Plant), Peekskill
feteria Unit-ARA Services Inc., Hudson Valley Community College
Faculty Student Association, Mohawk Valley Library Association, Watkins
Glen Transportation Laidlaw Transit, Inc., Zoological Society of Buffalo,
Inc., Hopevale, Inc., Geneva B. Scruggs Health Care Facility; Helmuth Day
Care, Ine., Niagara County Head Start, Lockport Memorial Hospital and
Nioga Library System;
*Amended Article V, Section 5 of the region/local/unit constitutions to
provide that “no member or group of members or other person or persons
shall have the power to act on or behalf of or otherwise bind the
Association except to the extent specifically authorized in writing by the
Association President or by the CSEA Board of Directors”;
*Amended Article VIII, Section 3 (Region Constitution), Article IX,
Section 3 (Local Constitution) and Article VIII, Section 3 (Unit
Constitution) to provide that auditing committees “shall con
than three (3) members, none of whom shall be officers of the
Region/Local/Unit or Executive Board members of the
Region/Local/Unit";
DOT, Region 8
Local 507
st of not less
atment Plant), Metcalf
*Amended Article VI, Section 2 (Region Constitution), Article VI, Section
2 (Local Constitution) and Article VI, Section 2 (Unit Constitution) to
clarify that the authority to transact business rests with voting members
of the respective executive board whose members “must be present at the
Executive Board meeting to exercise their vote";
*Amended Article IV and Article V (Local Constitution)
and Article IV and Article V (Unit Constitution) to allow locals/units
with 75 or less members to combine the position of Secretary and
Treasurer into that of Secretary-Treasurer upon recommendation of
the appropriate executive board, by amendment of the local or unit
By-laws by Feb. 1 in the year of the election of officers and by vote of
the membership;
*Amended Article IX, Section 14 (Region Constitution), Article X Section
15 (Local Constitution) and Article IX, Section 15 (Unit Constitution) to
read that “all leases, contracts or other agreements shall be submitted in
advance of signing for review by the Statewide Counsel”;
“Amended Article IV, Section 7 of the Local Constitution so that when a
new local is created the acting president of that local shall serve as a non-
voting delegate to the CSEA Convention until such time as an election is
held for local officers;
*Amended Article IV of the Local Constitution to provide that vacant
delegate positions be filled by appointment of the local president upon.
approval of the local executive board,
“Amended Article IV of the Local Constitution to specify that persons
elected as delegates should serve in that position for the same period of
time as persons elecied as officers who also serve as delegates,
*Amended Article IV of the Retiree Di on Constitution to include a
succession policy that “if the office of Chairperson becomes vacant, the
Vice-Chairperson shall succeed to the office of Chairperson. A new Vice-
Chairperson will be elected by the retiree Executive Committee at its next
scheduled meeting, Failure to assume the higher office as outlined in th
article will result in the automatic removal from the office currently held”;
*Amended Article V of the Retiree Division Constitution
so that responsibility for amendments rests with the Constitution and By-
Laws Committee;
*Amended Article IV of the Retiree Local Constitution to specify a
succession policy that states “failure to assume the higher office as
outlined in the article will result in automatic removal from the office
currently held;”
*Approved election schedules for the CSEA Board of Directors and
AFSCME Delegates;
“Reconsidered then let stand a vote made at the previous meeting
regarding slate voting procedures;
“Authorized the president to enter into negotiations with Beltrone
Construction Company to acquire a site to house a new Region IV office;
“Authorized a new three-year lease for the Plattsburgh Satellite Office;
and
*Concurred with a request from the Standing Women’s Committee to
allow the 1993 Annual Women’s Conference to be held in either
September or early October.
Questions concerning this summary of actions taken by CSEA's Board of Directors
should be directed to CSEA statewide Secretary Irene Carr, CSEA Headquarters, 143
Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210, 1-800-342-4146 or 518-434-0191,
20 January 1992 Z ‘
STATE NEWS SECTION
CSEA blasts state for dangerous conditions in White Plains
, City closes crumbling
' Motor Vehicles office
WHITE PLAINS - The White Plains Department of Motor Vehicle Office
could literally have crumbled around the ears of the people who work
there.
That's according to Local 009 President Vinny Lord, who made the
observation after a city building inspector recently closed the office
indefinitely.
The city inspector was called after the landlord hired a water-proofing
company to repair leaks in the building. When workers began to look for
the source of the leaks, they discovered the walls of the building were
literally crumbling away.
“The building inspector closed it, saying it was structurally unsound,”
Lord said. “It’s amazing that the building didn’t literally fall on top of the
employee:
Lord is even more concerned that no one from the state Office of
General Services had ever inspected the building.
“They apparently are not concerned about the safety of the buildings
they rent,” he said. “This building has been deteriorating for a long time.”
While most of the 62 employees were temporarily transferred to other
DMV offices, some were assigned to work in a trailer set up in front of the
property for informational purposes. On a recent chilly afternoon,
employees bundled up in winter coats were distributing fliers and maps to
frustrated city residents who had come to the office to do business.
The employees, who have now been transferred, spent a month working
in the trailer with no heat or electricity and workers were directed to a
portable toilet in front of the building if necessary.
“Supposedly, the trailer is just a short-term, temporary measure,” Lord
said. He was told that the OGS was searching for a new building. “They're
looking for something on a bus line with parking that’s inexpensive. Good
luck finding something that fills those qualifications in the City of White
Plains.
“One consolation is I don’t think it can get any worse than this.”
“This has all been so disruptive,” Region III Labor Relations Specialist
Annette Raetz pointed out, “not just for the White Plains employees, but
for all the other DMV offices that are now handling the people who would
normally use the White Plains office.”
IT'S A WRECK -- The White Plains
Department of Motor Vehicles Office is
literally falling apart. The walls are crumbling
in the photo at left. Above, DMV employee
Rose Ruscitti stands outside the trailer some
employees worked in for a month in without
heat or electricity. Below is the "restroom"
those employees had to use. Other DMV
employees have been tranferred to other
offices until a new office can be found.
STATE NEWS SECTION
Fact-finding process in motion
Arrangements were underway as this
edition of The Public Sector went to press to
bring both parties together with the neutral
three-member fact-finding panel appointed
in an effort to resolve the contract dispute
between CSEA and the state.
“CSEA is prepared to present the union's
case to the fact-finding panel for a fair and
equitable settlement,” CSEA President Joe
McDermott said. “We respect the process
and hope that it is successful in resolving
this dispute.”
“But,” McDermott added, “based on the
state’s unwillingness to compromise and
negotiate in any meaningful way over the
past year, I am not too optimistic the state
can bring the proper attitude to the
process.”
The neutral fact-finding panel, appointed
by the state Public Employment Relations
Board, is comprised of veteran mediators
and arbitrators. The panel consists of Eva
Robins of New York City, chair, Susan T.
Mackenzie of New York City and Martin F.
Scheinman of Manhasset.
The earliest the panel is expected to get
together with both sides is some time next
month, The complex fact-finding process is
compounded by the busy schedules of three
professional mediators and arbitrators that
comprise the panel.
The panel will conduct a series of
hearings to determine the causes and
circumstances of the contract dispute and
arrive at a recommendation for settling the
impasse. The panel's recommendations are
non-binding and can be rejected in whole or
part by either party.
Should the fact-finding pro
dispute will go to the state Legislature.
Under the state's Taylor Law, the
Legislature may impose a one-year
settlement.
At impasse are contracts involving CSEA
state employee members in the Operational
's, Institutional Services,
Administrative Serv: and Division of
Military and Naval Affairs bargaining units.
Those contracts expired March 31, 1991.
The impasse was declared after months
of unsuccessful negotiations between CSEA
and the state. A subsequent mediation
process broke down, leading to
appointment of the fact-finding panel.
8 fail, the
CSEA OCA
members
voting on
no layoff
agreement
So
ALBANY — CSEA has negotiated an
agreement with the state court system to
prevent layoffs for the rest of the fiscal year.
The agreement is contingent on the court
system’s current budget surviving without
any further cuts by March 31, the end of
the fiscal year.
The 3,650 court employees represented
by CSEA were voting on the negotiated
agreement as this edition of The Public
Sector went to press. A majority of the
affected members must approve the
negotiated agreement before it takes effect.
Under the negotiated agreement, Office of
Court Administration (OCA) employees
hired after April 1, 1983, would defer two
weeks’ pay by March 31, 1992. The deferral
would take effect over the course of several
pay periods at a rate of no more than two
work days a pay period.
s
The deferred pay will be returned to the
employees when they leave state service.
“This agreement is a model of
cooperation,” CSEA President Joe
McDermott said. “It took a lot of work, but
CSEA and the court system sat down and
negotiated some significant cost savings for
the court system in return for job security.”
CSEA has taken the state to court over
imposed lag payrolls. The union has already
won two cases involving pay lags imposed
on court employees. The suit over the lag
imposed on executive branch employees is
still in court.
“We have told the state over and over we
are willing to work with them to save money
as long as we are assured of job security,”
McDermott said. “This proves our
willingness to work with the state, if the
state will work with us.”
y
GENERAL NEWS
CSEA backs Bill Clinton candidacy
ALBANY- This city seemed frozen the week before Christmas. Not by the
frigid weather, but by Gov. Cuomo’s indecision about running for the
presidency.
News media from around the world crowded the state Capitol ...
Democratic and Republican political prof
speculated ... and waited.
But one man did not wait.
CSEA President Joe McDermott made news
around the state on the morning before Cuomo's decision not to run for
THe TIMES GRION
CSEA leader backs
and waited.
ionals around the country
Albany, N.Y... briday, Dec. 20. 1991
President by announcing that CSEA would push for Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's
candidacy.
The executive board of CSEA’s international union, AFSCME, was scheduled
to meet on Jan. 6 to finalize an endorsement in the presidential race.
McDermott told the pri that CSEA’s three vice presidents who sit on
AFSCME board would be backing Clinton.
“The AFSCME board has had the opportunity to meet with the three leading
Democratic candidates, Bill Clinton, Tom Harkin and Bob Kerrey,” McDermott
said. “All three are quality candidates, but I believe that Clinton has the most
comprehensive message and the best chance to beat George Bush.”
The CSEA President was asked why he came out for Clinton before Gov.
Cuomo made his announcement.
“That was important for two reasons,” McDermott said. “First, we need to find
CSEA activists willing to run as Clinton delegates by mid-January. So it was
important to get that process going.
“Second, our members have made it very clear that they would not support a
Cuomo candidacy. It was important to make clear that we would be with Bill
Clinton no matter what Gov. Cuomo did.”
“CSEA members and all working Americans are suffering under George Bush's
recession. It is important that we elect a President in November who cares about.
working Americans. | believe that Bill Clinton is that candidate.” McDermott said.
Clinton, not Cuomo
By Tom Precious
Capito! bureey:
ALBANY ~ On the day betore the
deadline for Gov. Mario M. Cuome to
enter the New Hampshire primary,
the president of New York's largest
public employees union sald hus
group would not support the gover-
for inaWhite House run
ad, Civit Service Employ
ne President Joseph ‘Mc-
Dermott said Thursday be ts backing
Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, who
{would be one of Cuomo’s rivals in a
campaign for the Democratic nomi-
nation. The backing comes one day
alter Clinton aides came to Albany
{o meet with severat unions, includ
sre como, who has 9 nationnie
‘yomo, who has
ae asa friend of organized
labor, the CSEA move is potentially
MW Budget toike break off.
2-10,
ssing. It would provide Clin
terearth ther oeeded foal soldiers to
el his name on the batlot in the New
Fork primary in April — a require:
ment Clinton aides were afraid
‘Cuomo's power could block,
‘Our members in every manner,
shape or form made me aw
Tene Stutude toward this whole
thing,” said McDermott, whose union
represents 28,000 state and local
government workers, “They arc
Very, very voral that we had better
not be on any bandwagon (for) the
governor”
7
ott said he will push for
"It is important that we elect a
President in November who cares
about working Americans"
22 January 1992 gZ , |
F
STATE NEWS
INDEX
Page 17
CSEA is launching a public
information campaign to save for the
state's mental health system.
Pages 18 & 19
CSEA was right -- the one-person
snowplow plan is dangerous. And
just listen to what the snowplow
operators have to say!
Page 20
CSEA fights contracting work at
SUNY at Albany, and a CSEA Board
of Directors report.
Page 21
DMV employees in White Plains
could have had the walls tumbling
down around them at work.
Page 22
Clinton for president! Plus an update
on the CSEA/NYS contract fact-
finding.
Direct care staff
working alone
should file
special form
CSEA reminds all direct care staff
members who work without back up to
complete and file a special "When working
alone" form available from CSEA.
The form acknowledges the direct care
staff member works alone and informs
management the employee is not
responsible for the lack of security. The
form is available from CSEA local offices.
Employees should obtain the form,
complete the requested information as
completely as possible and ask the
supervisor to sign the form. One copy
should be given the supervisor, one copy
should be given to the CSEA local office and
one copy should be retained by the
employee.
Employees should also call the facility
security office and have them log that the
employee is working alone, where the
employee is working and how many
patients are involved.
Two day care centers open
PEOPLE
i
KEEP INFORMED!
Call CSEA's
Current Issues Update
for the latest news.
1-800-342-4146
(Then hit 5 on your touch-tone phone)
in Binghamton
CSEA STATEWIDE SECRETARY Irene Carr, in photo above, visits with
children following the dedication of the new day care center at SUNY
Binghamton. Carr is CSEA's representative to the CSEA/NYS Labor-
Management Child Care Advisory Committee. In the photo at left, Jim
Hennerty, CSEA deputy director for contract administration and CSEA
Broome County Developmental Center Local 449 Executive Vice President
Kathy Roma and her son Adam attend the opening of the Great
Beginnings II center in downtown Binghamton. The center was a joint
project of the Broome County Urban League, the CSEA/NYS Child Care
Advisory Committee and Broome County Developmental Center. Roma is
a member of the center's board of directors.
g . January 1992 23
UR Ns eee RPI NRO ee ON ESA IN VS ont GN ahs leat ree ee ge
Official publication of
CSE |
S| THE PUBLIC VOL. 14,NO.16 JANUARY 1992
