Official publication of
CSE
Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO.
| LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS PAGES 1-7 GENERAL NEWS SECTION PAGES 8-17 STATE NEWS SECTION PAGES 18-24
ECONOMIC |
ERRORISM,
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if
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CITIES
LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS
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TOWNS | |VILLAGES DISTRICTS
INDEX
Page 3
Political posturing creates layoff scare
in Erie County while Nassau County
layoffs devastate people, programs.
Page 4
Montgomery County members "Zap
the tax cap." CSEA wins opening
round to overturn Cayuga County lag
payroll. Livingston County members
fighting layoffs.
Page 5
Former CSEA member an Olympian.
Page 6
Anew heart gives a new lease on life
to Cathy Ferrara. Several CSEA units
ok new contracts.
Page 7
CSEA battling for members on several
legal fronts.
Law enforcement
committee pushes
retirement legislation
CSEA’s Ad Hoc Committee to Study
Local Government Law Enforcement is
continuing its work to get a uniform
retirement plan for county corrections
officers and deputy sheriffs.
CSEA represents nearly 2,000 local
government law enforcement employees in
16 counties. Most are corrections officers
and deputy sheriffs who, although their
responsibilities and duties are basically the
same throughout the state, don’t have a
uniform retirement plan.
The state Assembly has a bill which
would keep the two types of workers in a
single retirement plan. The bill, A.8838,
would provide for a 25-year retirement
plan for certain sheriffs, undersheriffs,
deputy sheriffs and corrections officers
whose employers choose to provide it.
The ad hoc committee is asking CSEA-
represented county corrections officers and
deputy sheriffs to write their state
contact their unit presidents for ideas on
how to write the letter.
The ad hoe committee members are:
James Brown of Cortland County, Matt
Flanagan of Rensselaer County, Robert
Outhouse of Cayuga County, Michael
Bogulski of E County and Joseph
Santoro of Schoharie County.
Wayne County members stand tough
LYONS - Wayne County CSEA members
stared down the barrel of a gun in the form
of implied threats of layoffs if they did not
A FAMILY AFFAIR -- Jane Heidenreich,
left, is president of the Wayne County
CSEA Supervisory Unit and the mother of
Cyndy Herman, right, president of the
CSEA County Employee Unit.
agree to reopen their contract for give back.
But they didn't blink, stood their ground
and have received a scheduled wage
increase without any layoffs after all.
"We did look down the barrel of the gun,
but they blinked," said Local 859 President
Ed Williams. "The vote was overwhelmingly
against reopening the contract we had
worked so hard to achieve."
The county wanted the CSEA county
employee unit, the supervisory unit and the
county sheriffs unit to reopen their
contracts.
After rejecting the reopening request,
CSEA members picketed the county
legislature budget meeting to protest any
plans for layoffs. Union officials attribute
their success to the strong unified stand on
the union vote and the spirited picketing.
"We know they'll be shooting for job cuts
in the upcoming negotiations for next year,"
said Supervisory Unit President Jane
Heidenreich. "But we'll be prepared to show
the value of our members' jobs to the
community."
Williams, Heidenreich, Sheriffs Unit
President Norman Bargerstock and
Employees Unit President Cyndy Herman
vowed to present a unified front in
upcoming contract talks.
Southampton concession
demands outrage union
SOUTHAMPTON — CSEA members in the
Town of Southampton are outraged at the
town supervisor's request for contract
concessions barely two months after
negotiating a new two-year pact.
The 250 member unit voted unanimously
against any concessions at a recent
membership meeting with Unit President
Ken Malone and CSEA Labor Relations
Specialist Tony Soucie.
The town claims there is a $3 million
deficit, about 10 percent of the budget.
CSEA members have been asked to make
$1 million in concessions, while town police
have not been asked to make any
concessions.
“If there is a deficit, the town created it
and was aware of it prior to completing
negotiations,” Soucie said. “That was the
time to discuss this, not after the contract
is signed and in place.”
CSEA’s analysis shows the budget with a
tax levy decrease of more than $300,000.
“If there is a deficit, how can the town
afford this decrease?” Soucie asked.
Sabina Kulakowski killer
gets 25-years to life
The convicted murderer of Cayuga
County Social Services Caseworker Sabina
Kulakowski has been sentenced to 25-
years to life.
A Cayuga County jury in February gave
Roy Brown, 31, of Syracuse the maximum
sentence for second degree murder for the
brutal strangulation and mutilation killing
of Kulakowski, a CSEA member, on May
23, 1991. :
The prosecution said Brown randomly
killed Kulakowski because he was angry
at Social Services workers for placing his
daughter in foster care in 1990.
Onondaga Local 834 members ok contract
Onondaga County CSEA Local 834
members have overwhelmingly ratified a
new 3-year contract that provides raises in
1992 and 1993.
Members voted 2,018 to 634 to accept
the agreement retroactive to 1991 without a
raise for last year.
Local 834 members in November had
rejected a similar proposal that would have
phased in raises in 1993.
2 March 1992 gZ :
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
In Erie County
Layoffs hinged on political posturing
Editor's note: Erie County employees
were taken on a roller coaster ride in
February, and it wasn’t fun for any of
them. In what one CSEA union leader
called an act of “economic terrorism"
caused by a handful of Republican
legislators, more than 2,300 county
workers faced layoffs while county
legislators toyed with whether to allow
the county sales tax rate to drop back to
7 percent from 8 percent.
By Ron Wofford
CSEA Communications Associate
BUFFALO — Erie County employees are
breathing a little easier after the county's 8
percent sales tax was extended, averting a
massive reduction of services that would
have included more than 2,300 layoffs.
Hundreds of Erie County CSEA members
and others marched on the county
legislature prior to the crucial vote over
whether to keep the county sales tax at 8
percent or allow it to revert to 7 percent.
CSEA members and leaders urged retaining
the sales tax at 8 percent so normal
services could continue.
The crisis began when a bloc of six
Republican legislators announced they
would withhold casting the needed vote that
would allow the county to retain an 8
percent sales tax, unless their property tax
reforms were aired. The 8 percent sales tax
measure was defeated as hundreds looked
on in horror.
State legislation allowing Erie County to
maintain the 8 percent rate was due to
expire 24 hours after the vote. The county
executive, noting a $91 million shortfall if
the tax was not extended, announced a
“dooms-day” budget plan that would
virtually shut down all non-mandated
county services. But next day, hours from
the deadline, a second vote was held
following a promise of compromise by the
Democratic caucus, which holds a one-vote
majority.
CSEA members said they remain wary of
the so-called tax reform measures, which
will be voted on in May.
“This was totally uncalled for,” said
Stephen Caruana, Erie County Employees
Unit president. “Politics was the reason for
bringing the county so close to the brink of
disaster. Our members and the public
deserve better behavior by our county
legislators. They put a lot of people through
the wringer unnecessarily.”
“Threatening the working lives of county
employees was nothing short of economic
terrorism by the Republicans who were
stalling the budget,” CSEA Region II
President Robert Lattimer said. “We were
not about to stand by and let vital
community services like the libraries be
closed, the health department be gutted or
the sheriffs patrols be reduced.”
The county executive threatened 2,381
layoffs of county employees, the closure of
all libraries and layoff of all 272 library
employees, elimination of $4.8 million in
aid to local arts groups, a possible closure
of one of three community college campuses
and an end to alcohol, burn treatment and
trauma services at three outlets of the Erie
County Medical Center.
“We'll have to constantly monitor all
legislative proposals, so that something
does not get slipped in that would do
essentially the same thing and again bring
the county to the brink of shutdown,”
Caruana said.
He said the unit's political action
committee is working with Region President
Lattimer and PAC Coordinator Roger
Sherrie to be ready for any eventuality.
Layoffs in Nassau County
Devastating lives,destroying services
complete eight weeks of training, including
the use of deadly force, CSEA charges.
CSEA has filed suit in state Supreme
Court asking that the county be forced to
stop the unsafe practice.
Probation employees recently appeared
By Sheryl C. Jenks
CSEA Communications Associate
MINEOLA— The number of CSEA
members in Nassau County who have been
laid off has risen to more than 800 and
continues to climb, destroying lives and
services throughout the county.
Despite demonstrations and impassioned
pleas by employees and the public, the
county has been serving walking papers,
apparently with little or no thought on the
effect the loss of services would have. Based
on planned budget cuts, the county will
layoff between 4,000 to 6,000 employee:
“It's absolutely heartbreaking,
CSEA Nassau County Local 830 President
Rita Wallace. “The county is busy whipping
the axe left and right and most of the
county workforce lives in fear each day that
they will be next,” she said.
The results of indiscriminate layoffs are
beginning to show up everywhere.
A patient in the Nassau County Medical
Center was abducted and sexually
assaulted by a group of men who passed
through hallways and under the eye of the
security came! without being seen. Five
security officers were recently laid off there.
The layoff list has not come through for
the Nassau County jail yet, but in an effort
to save on overtime costs, the sheriff has
ordered non-correctional civilian employees
to do the work of correction officers,
“As corrections officers we are now
responsible for the care, custody and
control of the inmate population, as well as
safeguarding the public and fellow
employe: said CSEA Sheriffs Department
Unit Executive Vice President Tom
Destefano.
The sheriff's order ignores the difference
in the level of training and the fact that
corrections officers must pass a test,
undergo intensive physical and
psychological exams, and in most cases,
before the Board of Supervisors with black
ribbons tied around their badges as a
symbol of the death of the probation system
in Nassau County.
With more than 100 Probation employees
slated for layoff, the county will be ending
programs such as home arrest. That will
end up costing the county thousands of
extra dollars because convicts will now be
incarcerated for approximately $35,000 per
year instead of put on probation, which
costs approximately $1,000 per year.
2A professional staff and employees
activists have been working hard to ensure
civil vice rules and regulations are
followed for the layoff procedure and that
bump and retreat rights are retained.
g March 1992 3
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
In Montgomery County
They zapped the cap
By Daniel X. Campbell
CSEA Communications Associate
AMSTERDAM - Using faces and facts, CSEA
zapped the tax cap in Montgomery County.
“We put hard facts and real people into ads
against layoffs and it worked,” CSEA
Montgomery County Unit President Gary China
said. “Our county had a tax cap and we were
originally facing about 400 layoffs. But with
CSEA's help we zapped the cap and saved the
For several months CSEA staff members have
been working to stop the knee-jerk reaction
among politicians to close their budget gap with
layoffs.
“Politicians were quoting budget figures and
we wanted the people in the community to see
the services and the people — the employees —
those figures represented,” CSEA Labor
Relations Specialist Michael Sheldon explained.
In the middle of the budget battle to increase
the tax cap from 1.5 to 1.75 percent, CSEA
launched a series of advertisements featuring
local county residents facing layoffs. Each
person told his or her own story and asked the
readers to save the services the public
employees provide.
“The ads did generate public comment, and
while no one admitted the union’s campaign
was having an impact on the budget struggle,
the tax cap was increased by a quarter of a
percent,” China said.
“We know the budget battles in Montgomery
County are not over,” Sheldon said. “But we
also know that the taxpayers will respond when
they see the facts: layoffs don’t work, people
do.”
LAYOFFS DON'T WORK ...
... PEOPLE DO
I'm Pat Singer, a licensed practical nurse. I work at the
Montgomery Manor taking care of the needs of county senior
citizens.
I'm a widow with a 16-
year-old. My job is very
important to me. I earn just
enough to get by and not
much more. I pay my bills,
pay my taxes.
Supposedly, my job is
safe. But who will serve you if
my job is cut in the future?
If I'm laid off, who will
take care of the health care
needs of the Manor residents
now, six months from now, a
year from now?
If I'm laid off now how
will I pay my bills.
Please save the services
-- Zap the tax cap.
Talk to your supervisor today so that we can all work
together tomorrow. By
SEs
In the public service
Beginning the win in Cayuga County
AUBURN — CSEA has won an important
victory in the first round of a battle to kill a
lag payroll Cayuga County imposed on its
employees last year without negotiating
with the union.
CSEA won a an grievance filed on behalf
of Cayuga County Unit President Kathy
Johnson. It is one of more than 300 the
union filed for each of the employees whose
pay was lagged.
The arbitrator ruled that the county had
violated its-contract with CSEA when it
lagged Johnson's pay and ordered the
county to repay the money it took from her
pay check. The 10-day lag began last June.
The decision should send a strong
message to the county that they “just can’t
do what they want to; they have to
negotiate first,” Johnson said.
The arbitrator also ordered the county
legislature to rescind the resolution that
originally implemented the lag.
For now, only Johnson will see any
money, because the other grievances have
not been decided.
CSEA is working to be sure the rest of
the workers gets back the money the
county took in the imposed lag.
While the county is expected to
negotiate with CSEA concerning the lag on
the rest of the workforce, Johnson warned
the county may use this opportunity to try
to re-negotiate the lag by using threats of
further layoffs and cutbacks.
“I was very happy to see that the
integrity of our contract was upheld,"
Johnson said.
“Now we have to gear up for the next
round in this fight," she declared.
In Livingston County,
Public employees fight layoffs
GENESEO - Livingston County workers
are struggling to tell the public about the
valuable services they provide and to
return laid-off members to work.
“Our members are very dedicated, and
it’s not fair to blame them for the country’s
fiscal problems,” said Tammy Macomber,
Local 826 president. “We intend to
continue educating the public about how
our members’ jobs provide needed services
for our community. We will also point out
where money is wasted that could be
better used to recall the 21 employees who
were laid off at the beginning of the budget
year.”
Macomber is proud of the support the
employees unit members showed for fellow
4 March 1992 gZ 5
workers who received pink slips.
“More than 200 showed up and picketed
at several county legislature meetings
urging the lawmakers to avoid layoffs,” she
said. “They marched in freezing weather
and showed plenty of fighting CSEA
spirit.”
Region VI President Robert Lattimer
testified at a budget hearing against
layoffs, and CSEA Political Action
Coordinator Roger Sherrie helped plan the
unit's fight against the job cutbacks.
“We were successful in reducing the
number of planned layoffs by more than
half,” Macomber said, “But we don’t think
it's fair that any of our hard-working
members suffer going jobless.”
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
GOING
Former CSEA
member heads
for Olympics
By Anita Manley
CSEA Communications Associate
MIDDLETOWN - CSEA members who work at the
Ramapo Catskill Library have raised money to help a
former co-worker get to the Olympics in Barcelona,
Spain, this summer.
Not only is Donna Miller a tennis champion, she
also plays basketball and is a swimmer. What makes a
aus athlete really outstanding is that she competes i a ‘OLYMPIC CONTENDER
rom a wheelchair. é
The number two U.S. singles tennis champion, 7 : Dae clay
Miller is on the U.S. World Cup team and is one of
four women who will compete in the Paralympics, an
Olympic competition for disabled athletes.
In order to qualify, Miller has travelled all over the
world. Last summer, she was in Japan where she
beat their number one tennis champion.
In 1983, Miller developed multiple sclerosis.
Formerly an employee of the Ramapo Catskill
Library, she is now executive director and program
director of the Western Orange County Center for
Independent Living, a federally-funded advocacy
agency for the disabled. The agency serves about
1,200 disabled people each year.
The goal of the agency is to promote equal access.
“If a service is available to any Orange County r
resident, it should be accessible to everyone,” Miller said. cash prizes, automobiles, etc. Corporations will sponsor the
Miller also serves on the Governor's Committee for Accessible athlete, providing money for travel and other expenses.
Transportation and an Orange County task force for disabled Not so with disable athletes. When Miller began writing to
people. corporations to obtain sponsors, they refused. Miller pays her own
A major bone of contention for Miller is the inequity in the way to tournaments.
treatment of disabled athletes. She does not, however, complain. Friends have been generous,
When an able-bodied athlete wins a tournament, she or he wins among them her former co-workers at the library.
Library Unit President Carol
Cleveland said she read an article in a
local newspaper about Miller.
“My father has MS,” Cleveland said.
“I thought it would be a good project
to raise money for Donna.”
A 50/50 raffle yielded $210 for the
“Keep Donna No, 1” Fund. Library
employees are planning more raffles
and fundraisers to help Miller with
her expe: Local organizations and
schools are also helping. Miller
recently received a $600 check from
the Middletown High School Varsity
Club.
Anyone who wants to help can send
a check to:
“Keep Donna No. 1”
c/o Jessica DeStefano
77 Sprague Ave.
Middletown, NY 10940.
RAMAPO-CATSKILL LIBRARY CSEA
Unit President Carol Cleveland, right,
presents a check for $210 to former
co-worker Donna Miller, who will
compete in the Summer Olympics in
Spain. With them are, from left, Unit
Treasurer Kirsten Hill, Secretary
) Sheryl Carney and Vice President
Randall Enos.
g ‘ March 1992 5
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
SCHOOL DISTRICT AFFAIRS
After heart transplant,
CSEA member starts fresh
WASHINGTONVILLE - Cathy Ferrara
thought it was just heartburn, but she will
never forget the October day “heartburn”
landed her in the hospital with what she
later learned was a major heart attack.
“They didn’t think I was going to make
it,” Ferrara recalled. “Two-thirds of my
heart was destroyed. They had already
called in a counselor to help my youngest
son deal with my death.”
The three-year employee of the
Washingtonville School District in Orange
County was transferred to Albany for more
tests. Her cardiologist then transferred her
to Pittsburgh in critical condition. Her only
hope was a transplant because of the
damage to her heart.
“I had no idea how serious it was,” she
said. “They had to keep my spirits up.”
After a week in Pittsburgh, the doctor
told her they had a heart and were going to _ said.
operate on her immediately.
“Seven and a half hours later, I had a
new heart.” she said.
Four weeks later, Ferrara was home.
“I sometimes think, ‘did this really
happen to me?” she said.
operation.
her priorities.
and is out of work.
physical condition a
‘ Q KA! f
CSEA Babylon Clerical Unit President Helene Johnson and
Custodial Unit President Patrick Chatterton talk with a reporter.
Babylon units want contract
BABYLON - CSEA members and teachers joined two CSEA
school district units in a demonstration at Babylon High School to
protest working without a contract.
The members of the Babylon School District Custodial and
Clerical units of CSEA Suffolk Educational Local 870 have been
working without a contract since June 31.
The employees accepted a mediator'’s proposal but the district
rejected it, CSEA Collective Bargaining Specialist Jim Walters said.
Clerical Unit President Helene Johnson and Custodial Unit
President Patrick Chatterton said their work is being devalued.
6 March 1992 gZ A
Ferrara has been able to return to work
already, working in the library rather than
as a monitor as she had before the
The experience has Ferrara rethinking
“I was so busy crabbing before,” she said.
“Now, I want to go back to school and work
with battered and abused women.”
She is grateful to her co-workers for their
help. Her CSEA unit sponsored a benefit
dance and the teachers collected more
than $1,000 for her. Insurance has covered
much of her expenses, but she still has bills
She was also able to get extra sick leave
thanks to a sick leave bank included in the
contract CSEA negotiated.
Her advice to others?
“Don’t smoke,” the former heavy smoker
Except for smoking, Ferrara was in good
scording to the medical
community's rule of thumb: her cholesterol
and blood pressure were normal and she
exercised regularly. In fact, just last
summer, her physician told her was in
excellent condition.
“Take good care of yourself,” she said,
“and don’t ignore symptoms.”
Pcmaes CO
Two Agreement
units oe
ratify
new contracts
AND
HORSEHEADS - CSEA members in the Horseheads School
District recently ratified new contract.
The contract for the transportation employees unit is now in
effect. The two-year agreement includes a salary adjustment, no
change in health insurance except for a $2 prescription co-pay
increase, improved wage adjustments for leave time and addition
of a vision benefit through CSEA’s Employee Benefit Fund in the
second year.
The contract for the custodial/maintenance/food service
employees unit was ratified by the members and was pending
school board ratification as this edition of The Public Sector went to
press. This three-year agreement calls for salary adjustments, and
no additional health insurance contribution except for a $2
prescription co-pay increase and the continuation of the unit's
successful labor-management committee.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
NEVELLE KELLY
Union wants asbestos
removal investigated
in Saratoga County
ALBANY - CSEA is calling for an
investigation into allegations of illegal
asbestos removal at three Saratoga County
office buildings.
“CSEA is asking the state Department of
Labor Asbestos Control Bureau for a
complete investigation of this situation,” a
union spokesperson said. “The health and
safety of our members at the worksite is of
the highest importance to CSEA.”
The call for an investigation follows a
newspaper story alleging that a county
employee had been directed to remove
asbestos materials bare handed and asked
about the improper removal; the story
alleged that Saratoga County officials
provided information to CSEA about a
different asbestos removal
project, indicating all
materials had been
properly removed.
“If Saratoga County
representatives knowingly
provided incorrect and
inaccurate information to
the Saratoga County CSEA
Unit leadership, the union is
prepared to seek legal action against
the county administration,” a union
spokesperson said.
County officials vehemently deny
the allegations and are trying to
portray the county employee, who is
out on workers compensation and
CSEA fights
retaliation against
member
NEW ROCHELLE - A nine-year
Westchester County employee has charged
the county with retaliating against him.
Nevelle Kelly, an electrician, reported
county officials to the local Affirmative
Action board for passing him over three
times for promotion. Now, he said, he is the
only electrician for the county’s pump
stations working without an assistant.
“I used to have an assistant, until I went
to Affirmative Action,” he said.
Kelly often performs dangerous work, he
said. Recently, he was called early on a
cold, rainy morning to repair a
malfunctioning pump station.
“I had to climb down into this confined
space,” he said. “What if I fell? What if I was
electrocuted? There is no one there to help
me.
Labor Relations Specialist Max Neuberger
told Kelly to document each time he is
expected to work alone.
“It's a case where you have to put
pressure on them,” he said. “He should
document everything he does that requires
an assistant.
“It’s clearly a case of retribution,”
Neuberger said. “It's unproductive to have
this man working alone. It’s a case of safety
and production.”
> unrelated matter, as a “disgruntled
worker.” However, two other county
employees, who want to remain
ys, unidentified, have corroborated the first
“te worker's allegation that asbestos was
removed illegally by county workers.
CSEA smoking over 'no smoking’ at JCC
WATERTOWN - CSEA officials here are
“smoking mad” at Jefferson Community
College officials who recently imposed a
unilateral ban on campus smoking, without
negotiating with the union.
Early last fall, the college board of
trustees passed a resolution banning
smoking in any indoor campus building,
CSEA Labor Relations Specialist Stephen
Ragan III said. The ban applies to both
students and college employees, who are
represented by CSEA Jefferson County
Local 823. There are no designated smoking
areas for employees.
After failed attempts to reverse the
decision through labor-management talks,
CSEA filed an improper practice against the
county and the college for failing to
negotiate the change, which is recognized
as a mandatory subject of negotiations.
Ragan hopes the Public Employment
Relations Board (PERB) will overturn the
ban based on a recent PERB decision in a
similar case involving the unilateral
imposition of a smoking ban at Massena
Memorial Hospital.
The PERB decision rescinded the ban
because the hospital violated the Taylor
Law by failing to negotiate the change with
CSEA.
g March 1992 v3
yale al Since cae eines Wc ic sd conti el ay oa Meaae iain uSe c tes a Aa Fake ce aaa
THE
PUBLIC
GENERAL NEWS
A message from CSEA President Joe McDermott
Privatization? Dumb!
Whenever a dumb idea comes along, you can almost bet
that a politician will hatch it or latch onto it. Take privatization
of public services, for instance.
Privatization is a dumb idea.
like to take credit for the concept
But a lot of politicians would
and a heck of a lot more climb
on the contracting-out bandwagon all the time for political
expediency.
The truth is, privatization is a gimmick. In some cases it
may bail out cash-strapped governments in the short-run but
will inevitably bury them with cost-overruns and disintegrating
services. Privatization simply doesn’t work, except for the
private contractors who reap a quick windfall for themselves
and leave government holding the bag the moment profits dry
up.
Public service provided by public employees is a system
that has stood the test of time. It
remains the most effective and
most efficient system for delivering services the public wants
Ai
State urged
to privatize,
and needs.
The latest, perhaps
dumbest yet, contracting out
idea comes from the state
Senate Advisory Commission
on Privatization, which wants
the state to sell off huge
chunks of public service
sell airports | programs to private industry.
By ELIZABETH EDWARDSEN:
The Associated Press
ANY — New York state and
its iocalies could save about $14 bil-
lion through privatization measures
such as selling the state Thruway. and
-major airports, a report released
Tuesday said. 5
The ene from a Senate advisory
1] headed by businessman Ronald
Lauder, also suggested selling the New
York City Off-Track Betting Corp. and
putting public bus services across the
Among other things, the
committee wants private
industry to be allowed to bid
for all state programs and
services and wants localities
to turn garbage and trash
systems over to private
operators.
And, believe it or not,
Gov. Mario Cuomo was
tate out to bid.
° Such moves could save the cash-
strapped state about $10.5 billion
Peete and generate one-time sales
revenues of more than $3.25 billion,
said Lauder, chairman of the state
Senate Advisory Commission on Pri-
vatization.
Mario Cuomo said later
that
"Gov. hark : :
i all for privatization’ 4 Cyomo.
‘we'll sell anything,
oa me an offer.
eine Son of
Lauder 08)
ess Estee Lauder and an unsuccessful
candidate for the Republican nomi-
nation for mayor of New York City in
quoted by the Associated Press as going
right along for the ride.
“We'll sell anything,” said Cuomo.
“You make me an offer.” Fans ik}
It looks like Cuomo would gladly be (aiaMl
the chief auctioneer of public services to
big business opportunists. “Make me an /
offer,” Governor? Public service and
public employees did not put the state
in the fiscal mess it is today - mismanagement and poor
political decisions did.
Experiences all over the country prove over and over again
that going private is no way for governments to cut costs. The
city of Albany found that out recently when it fired its
mechanics and contracted out vehicle maintenance work.
Albany ended up with higher costs, shoddy work and a red face.
Los Angeles privatized management of its vehicles and wound
up with huge cost overruns and its fleet of vehicles in a state of
disrepair. When Philadelphia contracted for private medical
services for city jails, costs increased by 751 percent in two
years.
Government leaders better think long and hard before
selling the farm to privateers. Politicians can sell the services
but they keep the responsibility. When a privately-run program
or service turns sour, or becomes too costly for the public to
accept, or is simply abandoned by private industry because it is
no longer profitable, taxpayers will demand their elected officials
take action. Unfortunately, they will find it difficult to respond
because when they sold the farm they also sold control.
At CSEA, we will continue to work with governments to
help them deliver public services at the highest level
for the lowest cost,
something that
privateers, driven
by profits, can
never achieve.
ae
Cot. M- CUOMd,
AUCTIONEER,
GOING... GOING...”
8 March 1992 Qocto Pa
GENERAL NEWS
INDEX
Page 10
CSEA/AFSCME delegates aiming for
Democratic National Convention.
Page 11
CSEA is supporting Gov. Bill Clinton in
the Presidential race.
Page 12
Important information The Empire Plan
for CSEA members.
Page 13
CSEA's mortgage program is gearing up
to help home buyers.
Page 14
Important updates on the elections of
CSEA Board of Directors and delegates to
the AFSCME Convention.
Page 15
CSEA retiree news.
Page 16
It's time to plan for Worker Memorial
Day.
Page 17
CSEA benefits in Spanish.
New Region II office opens
NEW YORK -- CSEA Region II has
moved to new offices in New York City.
The new address is:
CSEA Metropolitan Region II office
40 Fulton Street
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10038-1850
Telephone: 212-406-2156
Fax: 212-406-2296
CSEAP offers new booklet
If you use a computer 20 or more hours per
week, you'll want to read a new publication that
provides answers to safety and health questions.
“VDT Health Update,” a new brochure
published by the Clerical and Secretarial
Employee Advancement Program (CSEAP),
addresses concerns about a wide variety of safety
and health issues related to intensive computer
use. Some of the topics covered are:
¢ whether visual symptoms experienced by some
are permanent;
¢ special considerations for eyes after age 40;
© ways to be comfortable at the terminal without
spending money;
¢ computer work and pregnancy; and
* concerns over low-level radiation.
If you want to obtain a copy, call CSEAP at (518)
457-6306 or write to:
CSEAP
Department of Civil Service
Building 1, Room 165
W. Averell Harriman State Office Building
Campus
Albany, NY 12239
VDT
HEALTH UPDATE
Questions & Answers
Applications for the I
Flaumenbaum Memorial Scholarship for
the children of CSEA members are now
available.
CSEA awards 18 Flaumenbaum
scholarships annually, with three awarded
in each of CSEA's six regions, to
graduating high school seniors who are
children of CSEA members.
Applications available for Flaumenbaum scholarships
Applications, including official high
school transcripts and proof of SAT or ACT
scores, are due April 15. Application forms
are available from CSEA local presidents,
region offices and headquarters. The
winners will be selected in June.
For more information, contact Denise
Futia at CSEA Headquarters by calling 1-
800-342-4146 or 518-434-0191.
Summer school for union women scheduled
The Northeastern Summer School for
Union Women will be held July 19 to 24 at
the University of Massachusetts in
Amherst.
For more information, contact Dale
Melcher at the School of Labor Studies at
the University. The cost for the program is
$332 for a double and $352 for a single.
CSEA members who object to the
appropriation of a portion of their dues for
political or ideological purposes unrelated
to collective bargaining can obtain a
rebate,
How to request refund from CSEA
The CSEA political refund amounts to 3
percent of the dues collected in 1991.
Under the union's rebate procedure,
individual refund requests must be
submitted in writing by certified or
registered mail addressed to:
CSEA Treasurer
Civil Service Employees Association
143 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12210
CSEA refund requests will only be
accepted during the month of March.
Individual requests only must be
submitted; lists of members are not
acceptable.
Each request for reimbursement must
be typed or legibly printed and include the
individual's name, home address, Social
Security number and CSEA local number.
The request must be signed by the
member.
How to request refund from AFSCME
Members who object to AFSCME,
CSEA’s international union, expending a
portion of their dues for partisan political
or ideological purposes may also request a
refund from AFSCME.
Under AFSCME's rebate procedure,
reimbursement requests must be made
individually in writing between April 1 and
How to request political, ideological refund on dues
April 16. Requests must be typed or legibly
printed and include the member's name,
Social Security number, home address,
AFSCME local and council number.
The individual request must be signed
by the member and sent by registered or
certified mail by the member to:
International Secretary-Treasurer
AFSCME International Headquarters
1625 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
The International secretary-treasurer
calculates the per capita payment
equivalent that was used for partisan
political or ideological purposes during the
fiscal year and refunds that amount,
Requests to CSEA and /or AFSCME
must be renewed in writing every year.
g 4 March 1992 9
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
SEA/AFSCME
members on
primary ballots
ALBANY — CSEA/AFSCME will have at least 37 candidates on
the Democratic primary ballot on April 7 pledged to support
Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.
If successful in the primaries, the candidates for delegates and
alternates will support Clinton at the Democratic National
Convention in New York City in July.
Another handful of CSEA and AFSCME members are running as
delegates to support Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey and lowa Sen. Tom
‘Bil seen geen
Clinton
FOR PRESIDENT
22nd Congressional District: Robert Leibowitz
23rd Congressional District: Mary E. Sullivan
Rebecca A. Lawson
Richard Stevens
Tim Stewart (alternate)
24th Congressional District: Daniel F. Donohue
Harkin.
In order to vote for CSEA and AFSCME delegates in the primary,
voters must first select Clinton, then vote for the number of
delegates allowed. A formula that allows for distribution of
delegates among the highest vote-getting male and female
candidates will determine who actually attends the convention as a
delegate.
In order to vote in the April 7 primary, voters must be registered
by March 13.
Below is the latest list available, as this issue of The Public
Sector went to press, of the CSEA and AFSCME members who are
on the ballot as Clinton delegates /alternates.
1st Congressional District:
2nd Congressional District:
4th Congressional District:
5th Congressional Dist
6th Congressional District:
7th Congressional District:
8th Congressional District
10th Congressional District:
11th Congressional District:
12th Congressional District:
15th Congressional District:
16th Congressional District:
19th Congressional District:
21st Congressional District:
Kenneth F. Cavanaugh (alternate)
Gene Davis
Marie Ardell
Leslie V. Eason (alternate)
Charles Hughes
Gladys Camacho (alternate)
Michael Ballesteros (alternate)
Louis Albano
Louise Debow (alternate)
Leo Jesse Jackson
Marietta Small
Elizabeth Cruse (alternate)
James Edey
Guido Menta (alternate)
Josephine LeBeau
25th Congressional District:
26th Congressional District:
27th Congressional District:
28th Congressional District:
29th Congressional District:
30th Congressional District:
31st Congressional District:
32nd Congressional District:
33rd Congressional District:
Betty Jo Johnson
Rolland Thomas (alternate)
Francine A. Turner (alternate)
Rick D. Noreault
Ann Bunker
Theron Joseph VanDyke (alternate)
Ann M. Gorman
Keith D. Zulko
Thomas D. McNabb
Aloma Cason (alternate)
John Anthony Paeno
Nancy Hicks
Robert L. Leonard
Mary K. Saxon
Albert Sutera (alternate)
Dorothy Jones
The following CSEA/AFSCME members are running as
delegates for other Democratic candidates:
Harkin delegates:
11th Congressional District:
24th Congressional District:
31st Congressional District:
Kerrey delegate:
7th Congressional District:
28th Congressional District:
Winifred Ross
Ann Marie Polinsky
Jerry Prince
Todd Reisman
Annette Terani
CSEA member to run as Bush delegate
CSEA has at least one member running in the Republican primary.
In the 8th Congressional District, Joseph P. Papillo is running as
a delegate for George Bush.
Don't forget to vote
April 7, 1992
York State Primary
10 March 1992 gZ 4
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Aree Director,
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF ARKANSAS
2020 WEST THIRD STREET/SUITE 600
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72205
e
AFSCME | PHONE: (501) 375-2333/1-800-736-0027
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
January 22, 1992
CSEA supports
gen gee
Clinton
FOR PRESIDENT
NEW YORK STATE
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
A) APRIL 7, 1992
A friend of labor
"Governor Clinton, throughout
his long tenure as governor of
Arkansas, has always received the
support of AFSCME."
“Our Council has always felt
We want him
‘Arkansas AFSCME is proud of Governor Bill Clinton.
to be President of the United States. What began at hone, Cae
positive actions for labor in Arkansas, can end in Washington
a friend of labor io the White Bouse.
Please join us in this effort.
Sincerely.
p! Aeap Moore Brera
Dikecfor, AFSCHE Arkansas
that Bill oe isa friend of labor
with working people .» becoming
a member at large of AFSCME in
U
the early 1980's ... We have a governor who is willing to stand shoulder to
shoulder with working men and women as a member of organized labor."
4
(i ‘BILL CLINTON wants to create 200,000 new jobs right now by spending the first two years of the new highway bill funding
immediately. And create still more jobs by cutting interest rates and providing low-cost mortgages to 500,000 young families.
(‘BILL CLINTON wants to give middle class taxpayers a 10 percent tax cut, and pay for it by raising rates on people earning
more than $200,000 a year.
(88 BILL CLINTON wants to cover every American with health insurance provided by their employer or the government.
W@ BILL CLINTON favors pre-school for every child who needs it; a national examination system to push elementary and
secondary school students to world-class standards in math and science; a nationwide apprenticeship program to build job
skills for high school students not going to college, and a domestic GI bill of college assistance for any student who wants it.
M@® BILL CLINTON proposes cutting $100 billion from the Pentagon budget beyond the Bush cuts for a peace dividend of health
insurance and education improvements while maintaining a strong defense system.
proudly
SER supports
Glinton
FOR PRESIDENT
March 1992
11
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Empire Plan major medical claims
must be submitted before April 1
All 1991 Empire Plan Major Medical _ it. If the claim form is not filled out by the
claims must be submitted before April 1, provider, all bills submitted must include
1992, to: all the information asked for on the claim
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company form. Missing information will delay the
CPO Box 1600 processing of your claim.
Kingston, NY 12402-0600 if you have any questions concerning
Major Medical claim forms may be your claim, you may call the following toll-
obtained from your agency's free number at Metropolitan:
personnel/business office or from (Within New York state)
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. 1-800-942-4640
Please be certain to have your doctor or
other provider fill in all the information (Outside New York state)
asked for on the claim form and sign 1-800-431-4312
ano
Empire Plan's new Mental Health, Substance Abuse Program
What if... How APM Works
¢ Better Benefits When You Use APM
¢ Lower Benefits When You Don't Call APM, You Don't Use A
Recommended Provider
My drinking becomes a problem at work?
My daughter takes an overdose?
My wife has a problem but she won't get help?
The treatment program I've found
costs too much?
For Mental Health & Substanc
American PsychManagement
We can help. Give us a call.
Ask your agency Health Benefts
Administrator if these Empire Plan
= = = benefits are available to you.
Your New Benefits for Mental Health and Substance Abuse
ip of treatment for New Benefits
Mental ealiir et Sup cree Network Coverage Non-Network Coverage
ae
Mental Health Up to 3 visits per crisis None,
Crisis Intervention Paid in full use mental health visits below
Mental Health
: , Plan pays 50% of Network allowance
Copayment/Coinsurance $15 copayment per visit Enrollee pays deductible and
pa Vik Substance Abuse remaining balance.
$5 copayment per visit
Mental Health
Maximum Number Unlimited 30 visits per year
of Visits When medically necessary Substance Abuse
30 visits per year
All benefits apply to treatment determined medically necessary by APM
12 March 1992 g “
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Owning a home gets easier
1CSEA kicks off new
; Home Buyer's Program
“You do not have to run a survey to families may only need 3 percent cash
know that there are thousands of CSEA _ while the remaining 2 percent can be a
workers across New York state that gift (for example, from a family
would take part ...” member) or even an
unsecured loan.
| This is a typical comment among *No minimum loan
more than 1,000 received at CSEA requirement.
headquarters in response to a recent * Borrow up to 95
| Public Sector survey testing member percent of the value of
interest in CSEA establishing a Home the home.
Buyer’s Program, * 30-years’ fixed-
As a result, CSEA President Joe rate mortgage with
be McDermott is going ahead with plans no prepayment
that will immediately make $100 penalty. x
million in mortgage loans available to * Borrow closing
i qualifying CSEA members. costs.
“A special fund is available to help * Flexible ratio of
you buy a home or even refinance your housing expenses
home,” McDermott explained. “What's to monthly
| more, the program is not limited to expenses.
first time home buyers only.” Although the
CSEA was the only labor union to program is limited to
| express interest in the program which CSEA members only,
could make available as much as $500 you do have to meet
million to boost home ownership certain financial eligibility
among the rank and file. standards. And, to better
The money is provided through a prepare you for the
special agreement among CSEA, the responsibilities of owning
Excelsior Capital Corporation and GE a home, interested
Capital Mortgage Insurance. applicants must attend a four-hour responded to
Advantages for CSEA members are Home Ownership Education Program. the CSEA Home Mortgage
many. Times; dates and convenient locations Program Survey, your
* Competitive interest rates. will be announced. name is automatically
| * Qualify for a home loan with only 5 For more details, fill out the form placed on the mailing list
percent down. below and mail it today. for the CSEA Home Buyer's
(Eligible low/moderate income Please note that if you previously Program.
Please send me more information.
(Please Print)
Name Social Security #
Address State
Home phone Annual household income is $
I am employed by
Iam a resident of County
Signed:
MAIL TO:
CSEA/Advantage Home Buyer's Program
143 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12210
g March 1992 1
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Election to start for AFSCME delegates
Ballots for the election of CSEA delegates
to the AFSCME Convention will be mailed
April 1.
The convention will be June 15 to 19 in
Las Vegas, Nev.
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.
Sample ballots will be published in the
April issue of The Public Sector.
Candidates were nominated by region at
regional meetings last month. Nominations
were made both for individuals and by
slates; that is, a number of individuals may
appear on the ballot as running together or
under a particular designation. Candidates
nominated by slate will appear on the ballot
in the order in which they are nominated.
The ballot will allow candidates who are
on a slate to be elected individually,
separate from the slate.
Expenses for delegates for
transportation, room and board at the
AFSCME Convention will be paid by CSEA.
AFSCME delegates election schedule
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 — Publication of election results in
The Public Sector.
May 2 — End of protest period.
MARCH
APRIL
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY) THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY LEN Lael ea [weonesoay’ Ut tay EBIDAY; SATURDAY:
7 a 7 1 2 3 4
, 2 a e AFSCME
ale 9
Ves ‘
8 9 10 i 13 14 5 7 AFSCME 10) 71
Nominating Ballot replacement
petition position for ballots
deadline for 72 |CSEA 4 7] available 7 78
15 16 7 16 Coes bod a Board
election.
MAY
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY| THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY| THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
1 2 2 3 4 3 6
3 4 5 6 7 a 9 13
13 14 15 16 20
20 24 22 23 27
a7 28 29 30 28 29 30
3
CSEA Board elections approaching
ALBANY — The deadline for nominating
petitions for the election of the CSEA
statewide Board of Directors is March 13.
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 leasi 10 percent of
eligible voters in the department or agency
he or she wishes to represent. Not more
1 4 March 1992 g
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:
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 a.m.)
Election results will be announced after
the count. Candidates will be notified by
mail.
July — Publication of election results in
The Public Sector.
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
RETIREES AND RETIREMENT
me
Nolan retires after decades as activist
AUBURN - For the past 24 years, Bruce Nolan
has been a staunch supporter of CSEA, holding
office at nearly every level of the union, giving his
all to the union.
Recently, CSEA members gathered to give
something back and pay tribute to Nolan, who
recently retired after more than 37 years of service.
Nolan, 56, was a service foreman for the City of
Auburn Water Department, and had been
president of CSEA Cayuga County Local 806 for
the past 21 years.
At the time of his retirement Nolan was the most
senior local president in the region, CSEA Central
Region President Jim Moore said.
Before becoming a local president, Nolan was
City of Auburn unit president for three years, and
has also served on the regional executive board
and CSEA’s Board of Directors. He has also served
on several committees, including his recent
position as chair of the statewide Convention
Committee.
At his retirement dinner, CSEA statewide
Officers Irene Carr and Dan Donohue spoke of
Nolan’s commitment to CSEA, and Donohue
a
FOOD DRIVE FOR THE NEEDY -- CSEA Capital District Retiree Local 999 collected food
during the holidays for the needy. Pictured with their collection are local officers and
board representatives. They are from left: Betty Collins, Eileen Salisbury, Marci
Donnini, Sue Graton, Emil Spiak and Bob Foley.
Locals help new CSEA retirees
Following a recommendation made by
South Beach Psychiatric Center Local
presented him with a special CSEA retirement
watch. Nolan's successor, Beverly Centers, then
presented him with a trip for two to Florida as a
retirement gift from the local. Local Treasurer
Thomas McNabb was the toastmaster and emcee
for the evening.
Nolan became active in the union when it first
organized in Auburn in 1968. At the time, city
employees were not making any progress in wages
or benefits, he said.
“If we were going to get anywhere with the City of
Auburn, the union would be the one to get us
there,” he said. Since then, he has never regretted
his choice to support CSEA. “My work in the union
has been very rewarding.”
Moore agreed.
“Over the last 20 years there has not been a
more positive representative of CSEA members
than Bruce Nolan,” he said. “He's always been
there when the union needed him. He will be
missed.”
Nolan loves retirement but says he'll miss his
CSEA involvement. It’s not going to end, however,
because Nolan plans to join as a CSEA retiree.
BRUCE NOLAN
Sol Bendet remembered
Solomon Bendet, active in CSEA for more
than 45 years, died late last year after
decades of union activism.
He began his civil service career in the
state Banking
Department and served
as president of CSEA
New York City State
Employees Local 010.
He later served as
president of the CSEA
Metropolitan New York
Conference, which later
became CSEA Region
Il. Mr. Bendet also
served as statewide
vice president of CSEA
prior to his retirement.
Continuing his
activism in retirement, Mr. Bendet served
as president of CSEA New York Retirees
Local 910. He served for many years as
Region II representative to the CSEA
Retiree Executive Committee.
He is survived by his wife, Sally, who
attended many CSEA retiree activities with
him.
“Sol was always fighting for things he
thought were right and didn’t care if he
made enemies,” Local 910 President Irene
‘Sar
CSEA's delegates in 1990, a number of
locals have offered to pay the first year’s
retiree dues for members who retire.
Many locals have already been
acknowledged for their efforts in previous
issues of The Public Sector. The most
recent additions are:
Sunmount Developmental Center Local
431, President Jamie LaBoy
446, President Joel Schwartz
State Department of Social Services Local
688, President Charles Staats
Capital Region Judiciary Local 694,
President Edward A. Heffernan
Division of Criminal Justice Services
Local 695, President Thomas Moylan
Madison County Local 827, President
Rosalie Tallman
Hills said. “What's good enough for the
higher ups is good enough for the common
people, was Sol’s creed. He thought
everybody should get the same.”
Donations in Sol Bendet’s memory may
be made to the National Jewish Center for
Immunology and Respiratory Medical
Facility, 1400 Jackson St., Box 61269,
Denver, Col., 80206.
g é March 1992 15
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
rte ft) N9/
CSEA is planning its annual observation
of Workers Memorial Day on April 28.
Workers Memorial Day is an opportunity
to focus attention on workplace safety and
health and to honor those who have lost
their lives on the job.
The AFL-CIO chose April 28 for the
observance by the AFL-CIO because it’s the
anniversary of the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA), which
regulates safe working conditions in the
private sector.
In New York, public employees are
protected by the Public Employee Safety
and Health (PESH) Act which is enforced by
the state Labor Department. CSEA was
instrumental in the passage of that act in
CSEA PEOPLE sets
new member record
CSEA President Joe McDermott has
voiced his thanks and confidence in the
increased participation in the PEOPLE
program.
In 1991, PEOPLE set a new record for
membership, with 1,502 members joining
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE is Public Employees Organized
to Promote Legislative Equality, the federal
political action committee of CSEA’s
international union, AFSCME.
McDermott recently announced record-
breaking contributions of $273,877 to
PEOPLE in 1991. In addition to the money
raised by individual contributions, $1,857
came through efforts at statewide CSEA
conferences and $3,386 was raised at the
CSEA Annual Delegates Meeting. Many
local and regional fund-raising efforts
added to the total.
During 1991, more than 5,437 members,
including retirees and staff, contributed to
CSEA's PEOPLE fund-raising drive.
McDermott has expressed his
appreciation to the region and local officers
and member activists for their support.
CSEA Local 1000 PEOPLE hopes to play
a major role in helping AFSCME to amass a
war chest large enough to help elect a U.S.
president who will be sensitive to the needs
of public employees. Other goals include
putting representatives who are sensitive to
public employee issues in the
Senate seats up for election and filling the
House of Representatives with labor's
friends and allies.
PEOPLE funding will help CSEA in its
efforts to be involved in this summer's
Democratic and Republican national
conventions.
1980. There are 27 other states that have
no safety and health protections at all for
public employees.
Public employees perform dangerous
work every day. Even with PESH protection,
many CSEA members have lost their lives
on the job over the years. Sadly, 3 CSEA
were killed in the past 12 months.
Aside from people getting hurt and killed
in the line of duty, CSEA is also concerned
about occupational disease and that will be
the focus of CSEA Workers Memorial Day
activities this year.
The recent controversy surrounding the
evacuation of Building 8 on the State Office
Building Campus in Albany (see page 19) is
a dramatic example of how working
conditions can make people sick.
More often, however, people may not even
be aware of how their work environment
and substances in their workplace are
hurting them.
Since many occupational diseases do not
show up until years after the exposure, it’s
It's Our Right.
WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY
AFL-CIO
often difficult to identify the cause and take
steps to prevent exposure. Although all
employers are required to record all work-
related illnesses and injuries, only a small
proportion of diseases really are reported.
Exposure to toxic chemicals in the
workplace can be a direct cause
occupational disease. All working people
have a right to know what chemicals they
may have to work with or be exposed to in
the workplace. All chemicals entering the
workplace must be clearly labeled and
workers must be trained in their proper
use. Workers must be provided full detail
about the chemicals in their workplace
upon request.
But chemicals are not the only cause of
occupational illness. Infectious disease,
poor job design and stress are also major
hazards for millions of American workers.
CSEA will provide details on how CSEA
locals can participate in Workers Memorial
Day activities in the coming weeks and in
the April edition of The Public Sector.
PORLOWING UP...
Articles published in The Public Sector often generate letters from members and
other interested readers. Some of those letters contain additional information
concerning the original article. The following are excerpts from two such letters.
“I read your article on tuberculosis in
the Public Sector (December 1991). 1am
glad that CSEA is taking this issue
seriously and is actively attempting to
address this problem.
I have been working with the CSEA
local representing county workers here
in Onondaga County ...In my opinion
the county has under-played the risk to
these workers and others and has not
adequately involved employees at the
medical examiner's office or CSEA in
investigating the problem or in
proposing solutions.
Your article leaves out resources
which could be valuable for your
members. These resources are the
councils on occupational safety and
health (COSH groups) and the
Occupational Health clinics in the New
York state network..."
MICHAEL B. LAX, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Director, CNYOHCC
550 Harrison Center - Suite 300
Syracuse, NY 13202
(315) 464-6422
a critical difference
mployment
It is high
ed gnized that
policies not only hurt .
an workers and their f:
Americ:
B : families,
pur are also responsible in large part for
1e continued decay in our nation’s
economy and industrial Capacity."
TED WEISS
Member of Congress
17th District New York
neeeena NEWS SECTION
1
A SU SERVICIO
LOS BENEFICIOS
GUIA DE SERVICIOS Y BENEFICIOS PARA LOS MIEMBROS DE CSEA
DE SU SINDICATO
Numero gratuito de CSEA
El ntimero de teléfono gratuito del sindic:
1-800-342-4146 es la via de comunicaci6n directa
con la oficina principal de CSEA.
Cuando usted llama al numero gratuito, escucha
una grabacién con instrucciones para que pueda
comunicarse con la oficina competente que le puede
prestar la ayuda que usted necesita.
Para hacer la llamada sin ayuda de la operadora,
necesita un teléfono de botones. Si usted no estd
Iamando de un teléfono de botones, una operadora le
contestara y le comunicara con la oficina competente
cuando termine la grabacién.
Si ya conoce el mimero de la linea de extension
de la persona con la que quiere hablar, puede
interrumpir el mensaje grabado apretando "0" y el
ntimero de la linea de extension en su teléfono de
botones, y le conectaran directamente.
Si no conoce el numero de la linea de extension,
la grabacién le ofrecera las siguientes opciones:
* Para hablar con Field Operations o Empire
Plan/Comité de Beneficios de Salud, apriete el
numero 1.
* Para asuntos relativos a sanciones, quejas y
otros asuntos legales, apriete el ntimero 2,
* Para hablar con los Departamentos de
Comunicaciones y de Accion Politica o las Oficinas
de los Ejecutivos, apriete el ntimero 3.
* Si desea hacer alguna pregunta relativa a las
cuotas, inscripcién de miembros, beneficios para
miembros no afiliados 0 al seguro colectivo de
CSEA (con excepcién de los seguros de salud), 0
quiere hablar con el Departamento de Finan:
apriete el ntimero 4.
* Para escuchar noticias de interés para los
miembros de CSEA publicadas en el tiltimo ntimero
del Boletin Informativo de CSEA, apriete el
numero 5.
Zas,
Fondo de Beneficios para Empleados
El Fondo de Beneficios de CS para
Empleados es un fondo de fideicomiso administrado
por CSEA que proporciona ciertos beneficios
complementarios negociados por el sindicato para los
empleados estatales y los empleados participantes del
. Actualmente administra los planes
gobierno loc:
de seguro dental, optalmolog'
plan de beneficios "Package 7".
Para hacer preguntas sobre cualquiera de los.
. recetas médicas y el
beneficios o recibir ayuda en las negociaciones,
Name al:
1-800-323-2732 6 (518) 463-4555 0 escriba a:
CSEA Employee Benefit Fund
14 Corporate Woods Boulevard
Albany, NY 12210
Seguridad
Para denunciar la
condiciones de trabajo malsanas 0 accidentes graves,
‘alta de seguridad en el trabajo,
lame al especialista de relaciones laborales de CSEA
de su localidad, Si desea informacién sobre salud y
seguridad ocupacional, lame a la oficina principal de
CSEA al 1-800-342-4146,
Capacitacion y entrenamiento
CSEA le puede ayudar a prepararse para los
exdmenes a fin de ingresar a puestos del servicio
pliblico, proporcionandoles textos de estudios a bajo
precio y prestandole gratuitamente cintas de video.
CSEA también organiza talleres de instrucci6n
para los activistas sindicales que desean tener un
conocimiento profundo de sus responsabilidades
como tales.
Para solicitar los formularios de pedido de
folletos u obtener informacién sobre los talleres que
ofrece el sindicato, llame a la oficina principal de
CSEA al 1-800-342-4146. Para pedir informacién
sobre las cintas de video, dirijase a la oficina regional
de CSEA de su localidad.
Tarjeta de Crédito Privilegiada de AFSCME
La tarjeta de crédito MasterCard de AFSCME
cobra una de las tasas de interés mas bajas: s6lo 5%
mis sobre la tasa de interés bancaria mas favorable.
No se cobra comisi6n anual.
Para pedir un formulario de solicitud, llame a la
oficina regional de CSEA de su localidad.
El emisor de esta tarjeta es el Banco de Nueva
York. Si usted solicita una tarjeta y no recibe
respuesta en un periodo de cuatro semanas, Ilame al
numero gratuito del banco al 1-800-942-1977.
Programa Privilegiado de Servicios Legales
de AFSCME
El Programa Privilegiado de Servicios Legales de
AFSCME ofrece a los miembros del sindicato la
posibilidad de obtener servicios legales de alta
calidad a precios médicos para muchos asuntos
de cardcter legal. Si desea que le den mas
ion y le envien una lista de los abogados de
su localidad que participan en el Programa, llame a la
oficina regional de CSEA de su localidad.
Seguros
CSEA ofrece varios programas de seguros
colectivos a precios médicos con la comodidad de
los descuentos automiaticos de la planilla de pagos.
Los siguientes planes colectivos y voluntarios
comprenden: Seguro de Vida Basico y Colectivo,
Seguro de Vida Complementario, Programa de
Proteccidn de Ingresos, Plan de Reembolso por
Gastos Hospitalarios y Plan de Proteccién Familiar.
Para obtener mas detalles, lame al 1-800-366-
5273. CSEA ofrece también Seguro de
Automéviles/Seguro para Propietarios e Inquilinos
de Casas. Para obtener mas detalles, llame al
1-800-366-7315.
Seguro de salud
Si desea hacer preguntas relativas a la cobertura
de Empire Plan, lame al ntimero correspondiente de
la siguiente lista:
EMPIRE PLAN
Reclamaciones a Blue Cross: 1-800-342-9815 6
(518) 465-0171
Reclamaciones a Metropol
Profesionales de la salud par’
0010
Plan de Salud Empire: 1-800-992-1213
(Aprobacion para la admisién en el hospital/
revision del diagnéstico del cirujano)
: 1-800-942-4640
ipantes: 1-800-537-
Jubilacion i
Si piensa jubilarse pronto, es importante que elija
la opcién mas apropiada del sistema de Jubilacién
para Empleados.
Si utiliza los servicios del asesor en jubilaciones
de CSEA, usted podré planificar el estilo de vida que
llevara cuando se jubile, tomando en cuenta los
gastos que tiene previsto hacer.
Para obtener mas informacion, Ilame al 1-800-
366-5273.
Para obtener informacion general sobre la
jubilaci6n y la inscripcién a los planes de jubilacién,
dirijase al Departamento de Jubilados ubicado en
la oficina principal de CSEA: 1-800-342-4146 6
(518) 434-0191.
Para hacer preguntas de caracter técnico sobre los
beneficios de jubilacién (por ejemplo, requisitos que
se deben Ilenar para canjear vacaciones por dinero u
otros beneficios, transferir la afiliacion) y pedir
formularios para solicitar la jubilacién y formularios
para calcular el monto de la jubilacién, dirijase a:
New York State and Local Retirement Systems,
lamando al (518) 474-7736.
Los empleados estatales de mas de 50 afios de
edad y sus esposos/as pueden participar en
DIRECTIONS, un seminario de preparacién para la
jubilacion que dura dos dias y medio y cuenta con el
patrocinio de CSEA. Para obtener mas
informacion, lame al (518) 486-1918.
United Buying Service (UBS)
Usted puede obtener grandes ahorros en la
compra de articulos de consumo por medio del
servicio de descuentos del sindicato. UBS utiliza el
poder de millones de miembros para negociar
descuentos en la compra de una amplia gama de
productos de las marcas mas conocidas, desde
automéviles hasta aparatos electrodomésticos,
aparatos de video, muebles y muchos articulos mas
Este programa es gratis para los miembros de CSEA
y no se cobra por servicios. Para hacer un pedido o
solicitar informacién sobre precios, lame al
1-800-877-4UBS. UBS
también ha instalado una linea directa de
informacion sobre un numero limitado de ofertas
especiales al mes. Estas ofertas solo estan a
disposicién de los miembros de CSEA. Para pedir
la lista de los precios especiales, lame a la
directa: 1-203-967-2883
Quejas y sanciones
Si usted desea presentar una queja, dirfjase
inmediatamente al encargado de quejas de su
localidad 0 al dirigente sindical de su trabajo. Si no
logra ponerse en contacto con dichas personas,
dirijase al Presidente de la Unidad de CSEA o de su
Local o al Especialista de Relaciones Laborales en la
correspondiente oficina regional de CSEA. Si cree
tener razones fundadas para presentar una queja,
hagalo cuanto antes.
!
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March 1992 1 We
STATE NEWS SECTION
Court favors CSEA in secretary upgrading case!
ALBANY — CSEA recently won an
important court decision in its challenge to
the state's patchwork implementation of the
secretary I and secretary II reclassifications.
after their application was approved.
But many employees had different
retroactive dates based on their agency's
budget situation.
has wasted time and money by forcing a
court battle instead of doing things right in
the first place.
A state Supreme Court judge upheld
CSEA's claim that the state’s agency-by-
agency reclassification dates were arbitrary
and capricious.
Unfortunately, CSEA members will
probably not see any immediate benefit
because the state is appealing the decision.
When the state announced its secretarial
reclassification process in August 1989, it
said employees who applied for upgrading
prior to Dec. 31, 1989, would be paid at ae
their new level retroactive to Oct. 26, 1989, 4
Your right to union representation
The judge ruled this approach was not
valid because employees doing the same
job are being treated differently based
solely on where they work.
From the start, CSEA has been highly
critical of the state's secretarial
reclassification procedure because it was
too complicated and unfair.
“The procedure was lousy and then the
state made it worse by having a mishmash
of retroactive dates,” CSEA President Joe
McDermott said. “Once again, the state
Arhitrations,
Grievances,
IPs, Lawsuits
If you are a CSEA state employee, and questions bya 4. pes a
managerial representative give you the feeling that you ARTICLE 33 1
might be targeted for discipline, then you are entitled DISCIPLINE
It's
provided
for under
Article 33
of the
\ CSEA/NYS
contract
RE
under Article 33(b) of the CSEA/NYS contract to have a
CSEA representative with you during such questioning.
You may also have private counsel at your own
expense or can decline to be represented. The right to
union representation covers the “interrogation” period
before any disciplinary action is actually taken and
while the employee may be considered only a potential
subject for disciplinary action. The right to union or
private counsel representation does not apply in cases
involving the removal of an employee from a
probationary appointment.
A case in point
When Israel Greenberg was called to a meeting, he
thought it was to provide technical expertise for an
investigation being conducted by the internal affairs
section of the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
He cooperated fully.
But when the emphasis of the meeting changed abruptly
and Greenberg was confronted with questions about his
personal affairs, he stopped the line of questioning, ended
the discussion and eventually filed a grievance.
Greenberg, a tax compliance agent II working out of the
State Office Building in Hempstead, knew his rights.
Management employees at the meeting either did not know
the rules or chose to ignore them.
CSEA filed a grievance on behalf of Greenberg, charging
management violated Article 33 by attempting to question him without a CSEA
representative present. ’
The grievance was settled when the Governor's Office of Employee Relations
(GOER) agreed to send copies of the "interrogation" provisions of Article 33(b) to
all management employees in the Department of Taxation and Finance who
conduct interrogations of CSEA members. The stipulation emphasizes that all
management employees understand their "obligation to comply" with Article 33 of
the CSEA contract.
"People who do interrogations have to get the message that they cannot
question an employee unless they give the individual an opportunity to have a
CSEA representative present," said Robert Dillon, CSEA assistant contract
administrator. "That's why the union insisted that GOER send the stipulation to
the people in Tax and Finance.”
“This settlement not only reinforces the importance of protection afforded
employees under Article 33 but also reminds us of the need to be vigilant of abuse
of these rights,” said CSEA Associate Attorney Paul Bamberger, who handled the
case. “By knowing your rights, as Mr. Greenberg did, you might prevent yourself
from being improperly or illegally entrapped while being denied your right to union
representation.”
$33.1 Eligibility
The following disciplinary procedure for incompetency'
or misconduct shall apply to all employees as provided here-
in in lieu of the procedure specified in the Civil Service Law
Sections 75 and 76. This entire disciplinary procedure shall|
apply to all persons currently subject to Sections 75 and 76'
of the Civil Service Law and, in addition, shall apply to any
permanent non-competitive class employees described in
Section 75(1)(c) and to permanent labor class employees,
who, since last entry into State service, have completed at.
least one year continuous service in the State classified
service, except that approved leaves of absence or rei
statement within one year of resignation shall not consti-
tute an interruption of such service. The disciplinary
procedure provided herein is not applicable to review the
removal of an employee from a probationary appointment.
933.2 Employee Rights
(a) Representation
(1) An employee shall be entitled to representation by
CSEA or by private counsel selected at his or her own ex-
pense at each step of the disciplinary procedure.
(2) CSEA representation may include both a grievance
representative and the CSEA Local President or, where the
Local President is absent from work, his or her designee,
and a CSEA staff representative; however, the absence of
the two additional representatives shall not unreasonably
delay an interrogation and/or the request to sign a state-
ment made pursuant to this section.
(b) Interrogation
(1) The term “interrogation” shall be defined to mean
the questioning of an employee who, at the time of such
questioning, appears to be a likely or potential target or sub-
ject for disciplinary action,
(2) If an employee is improperly subjected to an interro-
gation in violation of the provisions of this subdivision, an
arbitrator appointed pursuant to this Article shall have the
authority to exclude information obtained thereby or oth-
er evidence derived solely through such interrogation. The
State shall have the burden of proof to show that, upon the
preponderance of the evidence, such evidence sought to be
introduced was not derived solely by reason of such inter-
rogation and was obtained independently from the state-
ments or evidence so provided by the employee. —_
(3) No employee shall be required to submit to an inter-
rogation by a department or agency (1) if the information
sought is for use against such employee in a disciplinary
proceeding pursuant to this Article, or (2) after a notice of
discipline has been served on such employee, or (3) after
the employee's resignation has been requested pursuant to
Article 35, unless such employee is notified in advance of
the interrogation that he or she has the right to have CSEA
representation, as defined in Section 33.2(a)(2) —Represen-
tation—or private counsel provided at his or her own ex-
pense present or to decline such representation and that,
if such representation is requested, a reasonable period of
time will be afforded for that purpose. If the employee re-
quests representation and the CSEA or employee fails to
provide such representation within a reasonable time, the
interrogation may proceed. An arbitrator under this Arti-
cle shall have the power to find that a delay in providing
such representation may have been unreasonable.
( 7 ‘ranserints
18 March 1992 Z *
lone NEWS SECTION
' CSEA asks for decision in pay lag suit
ALBANY — CSEA is asking a federal
district court to decide in the union's favor
in its lawsuit against the state over the
executive branch lag payroll imposed more
than a year ago.
“The courts have ruled against the state's
imposed payroll lags,” CSEA President Joe
McDermott said. “Let's get this over with
and get state employees their money back.”
The union filed for summary judgment,
which means CSEA is asking the court to
decide in its favor based on the tacts and
recent court decisions.
Under the lag imposed in December
1990, state employees lost one week's pay,
which they will not get back until they leave
state service.
CSEA has argued the state violated the
contract and the U.S. Constitution and had
no right to impose the pay lag.
Paying back its executive branch
employees represented by CSEA will cost
the state as much as $125 million.
A series of court decisions have gone
against the state in pay lag cases involving
employees of the state’s court system and
employees represented by other unions.
The state has been forced to pay back the
money it took from employees under those
lag payrolls.
“We've said from the beginning the lags
were an illegal scheme to pick our pockets,
and the courts have agreed,” McDermott
said. “This request for summary judgement
is designed to help our members get their
money back, and the sooner, the better.”
(More sickness in Bldg. 8
'Removal of
Ipossible toxic
jamaterials slated
ALBANY— As problems recur at state
Building 8 at the state office complex here,
ithe National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health has agreed to investigate
the situation at the infamous worksite.
Two recent incidents affected dozens of
workers at the building housing state Tax
and Finance Department employees. One
‘incident sent 13 workers to the hospital;
three days later 19 workers went to local
emergency rooms. More than 70 other
workers reported symptoms to the nurses’
Porte.
CSEA Tax and Finance Local 690
President Carm Bagnoli called for the
building to be closed and the workers to be
moved to an alternate worksite. Meanwhile
reports issued by an independent
consultant, C. T. Male, showed that the
feos efforts by a special state Building 8
‘ask Force and representatives of the
Department of Health, OGS Design and
‘onstruction and Tax and Finance were
roducing some positive results.
And the Task Force members and C. T.
Male were willing to accept CSEA’s
JFecommendations on additional areas and
ethods of testing.
A possible source removal program has
een initiated. Materials which could be
dding irritants to the air will be replaced
with non-irritating products, if available.
Several copying machines and microfiche
ffrncess that use liquid chemicals will be
eplaced by machines that use a dry toner
process. This is expected to reduce the
verall levels of hydrocarbons in the
Britaing The decision to begin with these
items was based on the heavy volume of
copying being done, the physical location of
BE: machines on general work floors and
é impracticality of local venting for each of
the various machines.
CSEA is also demanding that Tax and
Brnance tighten its control over materials
rought into the building. Union officials
n the second floor where most of the
orkers who were affected by the latest
relapse were located.
l gZ , March 1992 19
pt a large supply of unlisted ink remover
e
HERE WE GO AGAIN -- Workers in State Building 8 repeat an unwelcome visit to a
nurses' station because of repeated, unexplained illnesses,
Indoor air quality a serious issue
Indoor air quality problems are the most
frequent safety and health complaints
CSEA receives.
It is also one of the most difficult issues
for the union to resolve.
OSHA air quality safety and health
standards are designed for industrial
settings, not offices. While most offices
meet those standards, it doesn’t mean they
are healthy or safe.
How well a worksite's heating, ventilation
and air cooling system is designed,
operated and maintained plays a major role
in worker comfort and well-being. Even
well-designed HVAC systems can cause
problems if not operated properly.
New York's energy code includes
measures such as sealed windows,
operating limits on HVAC systems and
extra insulation. But sealing a building may
have added costs in terms of productivity
losses and worker health problems. “Sick"
or "tight building syndrome” results from
inadequate fresh air in buildings. CSEA has
advocated changes in the energy code to
increase air circulation.
Many office products and materials can
cause workers to get sick. Unhealthy office
products include copier chemicals,
cleaning solutions and synthetic materials
used in construction, office structures and
furniture.
Sickness from poor air quality ranges
from short-term discomfort to chronic
illness. Workers may experience headaches,
eye irritation, scratchy throat, fatigue,
drowsiness, dizziness or congestion. Often
these symptoms may go away as soon as
the worker leaves the building.
More serious illness, such as cancer or
lung disease, may develop from long-term
exposure. Germ-caused illness, such as
Legionaires Disease, can also result from
indoor air pollution.
If you believe there is a problem in your
worksite, take steps to document it in as
much detail as possible.
When you approach management with
this information, you should stress the
importance of working together, It's in labor
and management's interest to get to the
source of the problem.
If management doesn't respond, contact
your CSEA labor relations specialist for help.
STATE NEWS SECTION
HIGHMOUNT - She's the first woman to
be promoted to assistant supervisor of ski
lift operations and Michele Persons said she
wouldn't trade her job in the snowy
outdoors for one inside a warm office.
“No way!” she said. “I'm too fidgety!
An employee of the Belleayre Ski Center,
she began as a lift attendant and was
promoted to a lift operator. She's a member
of CSEA Mid Hudson State Employees
Local 009.
During the summer, Persons works at
the Woodlands Campsite, just down the
a road from Belleayre.
Although she got her recent promotion
because of her experience, she said her
boss had to fight for her to get the job.
“There haven't been any female lift
operators,” she noted.
Persons loves her new job and the
responsibilities that go with it.
“I get along really well with my co-
workers,” she said. “They're good workers. I
can sympathize with them. It’s tough to be
out there when the temperature is sub-
zero.”
Persons’ boss is proud of her, too.
\
March is Women's
History Month
Women have been a driving
force behind the labor movement
from the beginning , and CSEA
women continue that tradition.
3 On the job, in the community
and in their families, CS9EA
women make history every day.
Local 009.
Moving up on the slopes of Belleayre !
Mountain Manager Carl Johnson.
very professional and has a good rapport
with everyone. She's the best of my
IN CHARGE -- Michele
Persons, recently
promoted to assistant
supervisor of ski lift
operations at Belleayre Ski
Center, talks with Vinny
Lord, president of CSEA
“She does a nice job for us,” said
“She's
ORANGEBURG - Finding competent day
care for a child who has special needs is
4 very difficult.
But in Rockland County parents have a
| solution at Kids Corner, a day care center
| at Rockland Psychiatric Center.
Of the 100 children there, 16 have
asthma, requiring special treatment and
MORE THAN DAY CARE -- Nurse Debbie
Giannella, above, holds Jake Ramella and
Kids Corner Director Ann Taylor, in photo at
right, holds Nicholas Pittenger. Both boys
receive treatments for asthma at the day
care center.
i 2 0 March 1992
Special care for special kids in Rockland
:
medication every day.
But thanks to Director Ann Taylor and
full-time nurse Debbie Giannella, parents
know their children are getting good care. |
“We are the only day care center in this
area, maybe in the state, that has a full-
time nurse,” Taylor said. |
Giannella is constantly busy with the
children's care.
“Some day care centers tell parents to
give children their medication before or
after they come,” she said. “These kids get
their medication and their treatments while,
they're here.” a
Other children at the center have special
needs including attention deficit disorders.
“I would like to have a separate
classroom for these kids. And to offset the
cost, I would like to open an after-school
‘latchkey’ program and a summer camp,”
Taylor said. “This would help more
parents.”
The care for children with special needs
is a blessing for parents, said CSEA
Statewide Secretary Irene Carr.
“I was amazed that the day care center
could accommodate children with special
needs,” she said. “Parents don’t have to |
worry about their kids getting the attention
they need.”
Carr said "we're way ahead" of a new law,
which mandates better accessibility for |
children with special nee and the
severely handicapped.
STATE NEWS SECTION
Real people, real pain
The deterioration of the state mental hygiene system is more
than just bad public policy, it has a tremendous cost in dollars
and in human terms.
One cost is the staggering occupational injuries that fuel a
vicious cycle of understaffing and injuries. The situation is
particularly bad in the Office of Mental Health where people are
brutalized on a regular basis.
Yet OMH expects to spend more than $50 million in overtime
because of understaffing and injuries, while failing to address
the problems.
CSEA is collecting and analyzing OMH and OMRDD injury
figures for 1991, but OMH Commissioner Richard Surles recently
gave a preview during legislative hearings. He acknowledged that
the number of lost workdays is up even though the OMH
workforce has been reduced.
These figures represent more than mere poor management.
They represent real people in real pain.
The following stories illustrate the point. CSEA
Communication Associates Sheryl C. Jenks, Lilly Gioia and Anita
Manley contributed the stories.
No stranger to employee abuse
KINGS PARK — CSEA Kings Park
Psychiatric Center Local 411 member Mary
Shaughnessy is a walking testimonial to
the dangers of understaffing at state
psychiatric centers.
Shaughnessy, a 16-year employee,
recently recovered from a patient attack
which left welts on her head and pain in
her neck and back.
“The patient was definitely going for my
eyes,” Shaughnessy said. “She tried to bite
me and when I pulled away she grabbed
my hair.”
The patient's grip was so strong that
other staff members who came to
Shaughnessy's aid couldn't free her. They
finally restrained the client and convinced
her to release Shaughnessy’s hair.
Shaughnessy is no stranger to patient
attacks. In 1987 she suffered a fractured
jaw and sprained neck after a client
crashed his fist into her face twice while
she attempted to restrain him. She and a
nurse were the only ones on duty.
She had her teeth fixed and her jaw
wired shut but that was far from the end of
the misery. She had surgery to repair
fractures and the
dislocation, but is
still plagued by
headaches and pain
in her mouth and
face.
In 1982
Shaughnessy’s nose
was broken when a
client smashed her in
the face as she
blocked the patient's
attempt tojump out MARY
of a car during SHAUGHNESSY
transport from one hospital to another. She
took the weekend to recover and returned
to work with no time lost.
The first six years of Shaughnessy’s state
service were injury free. She believes the
incidence of on-the-job injuries have
increased significantly over the years
because the patients are more dangerous
and there is less staff to handle the work.
“Staff cutbacks are putting us in serious
danger,” she said. “When you're on a ward
with one nurse and the nurse is handing
out medication you're alone.”
Patients, staff in danger at Manhattan PC
MANHATTAN -- CSEA members
protested over the latest outbreak of
violence at Manhattan Psychiatric Center.
CSEA Local 413 members demonstrated
to show their concern over the security of
patients and staff.
In January, a homeless man posed as a
hospital employee and entered a center
building where he assaulted, raped and
robbed a female patient.
“People are scared,” Local 413 President
Mohammed Hussain said. “Does someone
have to be killed before the OMH
bureaucrats in Albany do something about
what's happening here?”
The incident was just the latest in a
string of murders, shootings, attacks and
robberies at the facility, he said.
It has raised renewed concerns about
staffing and security precautions.
The facility has 88 fewer direct care
positions from its authorized fill level.
There are only 15 security positions for the
entire facility which is staffed 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
There is also a longstanding controversy
about the lack of a security fence to
separate the center from an adjacent men’s
homeless center. The project was approved
but never begun.
Attack leads to
miscarriage
MIDDLETOWN — The horror of being
attacked on the job is a nightmare every
therapy aide fears. Debbie Sapio knows
that fear only too well.
A patient attacked her in 1988 when she
E was pregnant. She
suffered a twisted
spine.
But another
attack in January
was more serious.
Once again Sapio
was pregnant and
this time the attack
resulted ina
miscarriage.
The patient had
threatened Sapio
and some co-
workers. Although he was transferred to a
secure ward, his doctors declared him
stable and sent him back.
He soon began acting up. When Sapio
and a co-worker tried to put him into a
quiet room to cool off, he attacked her.
“As I started to unlock the door he came
up behind me and began to choke me,”
Sapio said. “We were on the floor and three
people were trying to get him off me. He
punched me in the back of the head.”
Co-workers finally got the patient off her
but she suffered cuts and marks on her
neck and a bruise on her head.
Two days later she miscarried.
“I'm angry” she said. “It should never
have happened.”
Even worse was management's response
when she complained about the incident.
“I was told I was trained for this sort of
thing and that I should expect these things
to happen,” she said.
Sapio's supervisor never even suggested
that she see a doctor.
“Management has to open their eyes and
consider the threat to safety here,” said
Local 415 President Grace Ortiz.
DEBBIE SAPIO
CSEA member held hostage, released
in prison incident in Western New York
ACSEA civilian prison employee was taken hostage in a western New York maximum
security prison in February. A corrections officer position that would have provided
security to the area was eliminated in budget cuts last year.
Laundry Supervisor Frances King was attacked, tied up and held captive for nearly an
hour before being released at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, Erie County.
An in-depth interview with Mrs. King, who suffered painful injuries in the incident,
STATE NEWS SECTION
NYS's mental hygiene plans:
CSEA is stepping up its effort at all levels
to demand improvements in the state's
mental health and mental retardation
systems.
CSEA's campaign calls the state mental
hygiene policy “The Shame of All New York”
and is aimed at mobilizing CSEA members
and the general public to demand changes.
CSEA is blitzing the state with copies of a
brochure detailing the deterioration of the
system.
The union is running a statewide radio
advertising campaign about the problems
and is prodding state and local officials to
address them.
CSEA is fighting the Governor's proposed
cutbacks for OMH and OMRDD that will
make a bad situation worse.
CSEA is also challenging a recently-
released OMH capital plan to dump nearly
half the current population of state
psychiatric centers within five to 10 years.
It threatens the existence of several
psychiatric centers, particularly Harlem
Valley and Willard,
But the union is concerned about all
CSEA mental hygiene workers. That kind of
patient rundown without plans to develop
state-operated
community-
based care will
lead to the loss
of thousands of
jobs and dump
the clients onto
already
overburdened
communities.
CSEA is also
worried about
the future of
the OMRDD system. There are indications
that OMRDD'’s previously responsible policy
of closing developmental centers while
successfully moving staff and clients into
community-based facilities could become a
victim of budget politics. Cutbacks in the
development of new state-operated
community-based care could limit the
availability of needed services and increase
the state’s temptation to privatize services.
“CSEA will do everything we can to get
improvements, but we also need the
individual efforts of all of our members to
succeed,” CSEA President Joe McDermott
said.
APLOnS
WORKED UP AT WILLARD -- Sub-zero temperatures didn't deter CSEA
members from generating some heat over their facility's uncertain future at a
recent demonstration. CSEA is taking nothing for granted in its effort to
ensure job protection and appropriate use of the facility.
22 March 1992 g P
HARLEM VALLEY --
Nearly 300 CSEA
| recently to protest
plans to close the
psychiatric center.
CSEA will reinforce
the message at a
legislative hearing
this month. At left,
President Danny
Donohue blasts the
state's plans ina
CSEA has three key points:
* Don’t abandon mentally ill and
mentally retarded people;
* Don’t waste the experienced state
workforce; and
and campuses better.
CSEA’s message is getting out. Media
across the state have reported on CSEA
demonstrations and other activities,
including the leafletting of state budget
hearings in a direct challenge to OMH
Commissioner Richard Surles’ testimony to
the Legislature.
“Lives and livelihoods are on the line,”
McDermott said. “We have to keep up the
pressure.”
TAKING A STAND AT
members turned out
CSEA Executive Vice
television interview.
* Use existing mental hygiene facilities
Call the CSEA Mental
Hygiene Hotline for updated
information at
1-800-342-4146
Press 51 on a touchtone phone
STATE NEWS
INDEX
Page 18
CSEA grievances filed and won.
Page 19
CSEA keeps pushing on getting back
members’ lag payroll, and more news
on State Building 8.
Page 20
March is Women's History Month,
and CSEA women make history every
day.
Page 21
Safety on the job is important, and
CSEA is working for you.
Page 22
CSEA is fighting for workers and
clients in the mental health system.
CSEA members aid ailing co-worker
KELLY WEILER
By Mark M. Kotzin
CSEA Communications Associate
ROME — For more than a year, CSEA members Kelly
Weiler and her husband, Randy, fought alone in Kelly's
battle against a rare form of cancer. Now many of their co-
workers at Mohawk Valley Correctional Facility have pitched
in, raising more than $4,000.
Kelly, a 28-year-old senior library clerk, has a form of
cancer so rare doctors say she may be the only living person
with it. This only adds to her uncertainty about her
treatment, she said.
The fundraiser was a joint effort among all the unions
and workers at the facility, CSEA Local 195 President Joan
Hand said. It was coordinated by “The Friends of Randy and
Kelly Weiler Committee” to help defray costs not covered by
insurance.
Kelly has had surgery twice and faces more
chemotherapy. She will soon use up her leave accruals.
Randy, a motor vehicle operator, has used up his leave time
traveling to be with Kelly at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in
Buffalo and Crouse-Irving Hospital.
Despite all their troubles, the Weilers are grateful for
4 their friends and their support.
“We're not the kind of people who like to take charity,
but we had no choice,” Randy said “We appreciate the help
beyond words.”
“To help people out, even when you don't
know them — that's incredible,” Kelly said.
“We could never put into words how we
Day ca re ee said. “Thank you is just not
The CSEA members on the committee
center include Hand, local Vice President Joan
Daley, local Treasurer Debbie Thayer, Dave
LMM CSMLSY AD Cioucis Date and Patty Zatepesi
Hayes
celebrates
expansion
DOL is inspecting
one-person plows
The state Department of Labor (DOL) is
inspecting the state’s one-person
snowplowing program because of CSEA
charges that is unsafe.
The inspection was underway as this
edition of The Public Sector went to press.
There are no specific safety standards
for snowplowing, but CSEA believes the
program endangers both the drivers and
the public.
CSEA asked DOL to inspect the
program during actual storm conditions.
“DOT continues to play fast and loose
with safety,” CSEA President Joe
MeDermott said. “We will continue to
fight this irresponsible program and we -
want to look at all the facts including the
overall weather conditions.
“Right now DOT officials are saying
there's no problem with the program even
and management/confidential employees.
GIVE ME FIVE -- CSEA statewide Secretary Irene Carr is greeted by one of the children
who attends the TLC Day Care Center at Helen Hayes Hospital. Carr presented a plaque
to the chair of the center's board in recognition of the center's recent expansion. In
addition to CSEA, other groups involved in the center are PEF, Council 82, DC 37, UUP
though there have been all kinds of
incidents across the state,” he said. “In
fact, the number of trucks going off the
road and tipping over were above average
for the early winter.”
March 1992 2 3
Official publication of
Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO |
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0