The Public Sector, 1981 September 2

Official Publication of
The Civil Service Employees

Wednesday, September 2, 1981

Association

Vol. 3, No. 46 Due to the Labor Day weekend there will be

| no issue of The Public Sector next week. The
(ISSN 0164 9949) | next issue will be dated September 16, 1981.

_ Become a part of -
labor history —_
join thousands

of fellow union
members in giant
Solidarity Day
demonstration on
September 19 in
Washington, D.C.
Contact CSEA

LSE AEDT
ff

ALBANY — The Reagan Administration’s budget axe is about to fall on
state workers in the Department of Labor (DOL) as the first of what will
probably be many federal funding reductions takes its toll on public
employees,

CSEA and other public employee unions have been meeting with state
officials over the past few months to gauge the impact on New York’s public
employees of the Reagan meat-axe approach to reducing federal expen-
ditures. But if anyone was looking for the first signs of impact, they didn’t
have to look far.

The Department of Labor some weeks ago began issuing statements
warning of job reductions at DOL where federal funds play an enormous
role in the Department’s total operating budget. Last week DOL said 600
jobs would be disappearing at the end of September as a result of the
Reagan budget. Layoff notices were expected to be issued immediately.

While most of the job cuts will affect temporary and provisional
employees and state workers in the Professional, Scientific and Technical
(PS&T) bargaining unit, the jobs of many CSEA members will also be
affected.

Just how drastically the CSEA members will be affected is hard to
determine since there is much confusion in Washington concerning the exact
| extent of the reductions and the outcome of employee “bumping” is difficult
\, to precisely determine. _

President McGowan’s Labor Day message

CSEA PRESIDENT WILLIAM L. McGOWAN, right, and CSEA
leaders from the downstate area review union plans for
participation in the AFL-CIO Solidarity Day demonstration during
a meeting with representatives from AFSCME District Council
37. To McGowan’s immediate right are CSEA Region I President
Danny Donohue, Region III President Ray O’Connor, Region II
President George Caloumeno, and Region II Director George
Bispham. President McGowan is chairman of the AFSCME
participation in Solidarity Day from New York State.

“CSEA has been warning its members for a year that the end result of
Ronald Reagan’s approach to the federal budget would be layoffs and
hardship for public employees,’ commented CSEA President William L.
McGowan. “Unfortunately, what is about to happen at the Department of
Labor will only be the beginning.”’

“In view of the approval of the Reagan budget over the protests of
organized labor, there probably isn’t very much that we can do about the job
reductions,”’ said President McGowan,” but we will be monitoring the
reduction in force to ensure that all provisions of our contracts with the
state relative to reductions are enforced and that every opportunity for con-
tinued employment in other state agencies can be afforded to any of our
members affected.’

CSEA, through the labor-management Committee on Work En-
vironment and Productivity (CWEP), sponsors the’ Continuity of
Employment Committee which works with state agencies and the Civil Ser-
vice Department to provide continuing employment opportunities to state
workers displaced by job reductions.

Potential mechanisms for continued employment include the
maintenance of job opportunities in other agencies, retraining for jobs that
are available in state service and, in some cases, relocation to continued
employment opportunities. "

More details on the Labor Department job reductions are expected soon and
will appear in a future edition of The Public Sector.

‘The mission of organized labor is far from complete’

in addition to marking the 100th anniversary of
the creation of the organized labor movement in
America, this Labor Day should stand as an
example to us all that the mission of organized
labor is far from complete.

Even while those of us fortynate enough to
have September 7th off are. enjoying this annual
monument to working men and women, the
government of the United States of America is
| systematically moving to erush an AFL-CIO

union, the Professional Air Traffic Controller’s
Organization (PATCO). Not only is the Reagan
Administration refusing to move on its final
bargaining offer, it’s even refusing to meet with
PATCO at all. :

For more than a century the workers that have
made America what it is today have known that
there are times when standing shoulder to
shoulder against oppression is the only way to
win justice. That is as true in 1981 as it was in

1881 when the American Federation of Labor
was founded.

In observing Labor Day 1981, it would be a
good idea for all of us to count, the blessings that
organized labor has bestowed upon this country
and to remember that the forces that have
ruthlessly sought to crush our movement in the
past still do exist today. :

Ly bliion Mel owame

Jd \

JACKIE KLIMA, left, a nurse’s aide and
vice president of the Columbia County Unit |.

CSEA and nurse’s aide Jill Owens look on ey

as typist Ann Blinn reviews a patients Ls

records at the Pine Haven Home.

Dedicated
Pine Haven
employees
echoes familiar
union theme

Page 2

THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, September 2, 198)

S Satie. d
PAUSING FOR A MOMENT in the 7
midst of preparing lunch plates for’
residents at Pine Haven are dietary,
aides Peggy Baumfeld, left and Rose —
Anna Gregory, right.

By Deborah Cassidy

PHILMONT — “Public Employees — where
would you be without them?’’ The theme of the
Civil Service Employees Assn.’s three year
statewide advertising campaign aimed at
enhancing the image of public employees is
familiar to most of the union’s members.

The refrain especially comes to mind when one
actually visits the worksite and witnesses the
contribution of public employees as this writer
had the opportunity to do recently.

The setting was the Pine Haven Home, an 80
bed skilled nursing and health-related facility
located in the rural Columbia County village of
Philmont. Here a staff of approximately 100
provides the county’s elderly residents a wide
range of services that includes nursing, food
preparation and meal planning, social services,
activity guidance, as well as maintenance and
housekeeping.

The kind of dedication and caring it takes to do
this work is evident in the way the employees
treat one another and the patients. An easy
friendliness and familiarity pervade the at-
mosphere. Leading this impromptu tour was
Jackie Klima, a nurse’s aide and vice president
of the Columbia County Unit CSEA who stopped
to personally introduce me to each employee we
met. Each responded with a warm greeting and
smile. When Klima or one of the other workers
approached a patient the frequently asked

* question ‘“‘How are you doing?” was a sincere

one.

We came upon an especially touching scene in
the physical therapy room where therapy aide
Shirley Kammerer was teaching a patient with
an artificial leg to use a walking board. The in-
structions were quietly and clearly given. There
was a patience in Kammer’s voice and manner.
And gentle encouragement and praise was given
as the women accomplished the enormous task
of mounting the board for the first time.

“I’m here because I like to help others. There
is nothing like the reward of seeing weeks or

PINE HAVEN RESIDENT Mabel Atkins, on
ramp, is learning to walk with an artificial leg
thanks to the skillful assistance of Physical
Therapy Aide Shirley Kammerer.

months of physical therapy help an elderly
person to become independent once again,”’ said
Kammerer.

Other employees, no matter what their tasks
are, seem to be equally enthusiastic about their
work. “This is depressing work only if you let it
be. In our own way we each help the elderly to
live out their final years in comfort,” said a
housekeeping aide known simply as Debbie.

Situated on six sprawling acres of land, Pine
Haven was built between 1975 and 1978.
Residents and staff moved in February of 1978.
Describing the former facility as run down,
drafty and poorly lit, Klima said the workforce is
grateful tor the pleasant atmosphere in which
they now work. The former building, she said,
was becoming a safety hazard. ‘They tore it
down about two weeks after we moved out.”’

In its prime, however, the old infirmary had a
more homey atmosphere; something the
residents missed upon first moving into Pine
Haven. Displaying that extra concern, typical of
public employees, the staff immediately set
about making the place less institutional. “By
decorating with the arts and crafts done by our
residents and encouraging them to bring per-
sonal articles and furniture from their former
homes we've managed to make Pine Haven
much more like a home,” Klima said.

The union plays a vital role in the lives of the
workers here. One of its major accomplishments
has been to open lines of communication
between labor and management, Klima said. |
“Though we have our share of problems, like
anyone else, we find we are able to settle many
of them through discussions with managment.’

The most prevalent complaint, she noted, is |
that of performing out of title work because of |
staff shortages. ‘We are a rather small facility |
and it’s common to find yourself doing extra
work. When it becomes a serious problem the un-
ion steps in,”

Pine Haven is currently filled to capacity with
a waiting list going back a year. The CSEA has
recently joined management in petitioning the
Columbia County Board of Directors to have a
new 40 bed wing constructed. The CSEA, Klima
said, will also push for increased statfing to
cover the new wing.

Orange County
members ratify
a new contract
overwhelmingly

GOSHEN — A three-year contract for 1,700 Orange County employees has
been overwhelmingly ratified by the rank and file, according to Unit President

Kay Cayton.

The agreement provides wage hikes as follows:

1981—$550, plus 1.48 percent of 1980 salary (retroactive to January 1);

1982—$550, plus 1.95 percent of previous year’s pay;
1983—$550, plus 2.0 percent of 1982 salary.

In addition, the county agrees to continue paying the employees’ share of
the Social Security (FICA) tax, which increased .52 percent this year and will
go up .05 percent next year. Moreover, in 1983 the time lag between salary
steps 8 and 9 is reduced from four to two years.

Collective Bargaining Specialist Manny Vitale describes the settlement as
significant because it did not include any givebacks. Other feature include in-

Local 868 officers sworn in

ANGOLA — Erie Education
Local 868 has elected and installed
its leadership for a new term of
service.

Maintaining the helm of the 1,-
600: member Local will be
President Jack Schlenker first
Vice President Brownie Walter,
Second Vice President June

Ferner, Third Vice President
Frank Ratkovich, Treasurer
Dorothy Eiseman, Secretary
James Burgoyne, Financial
Secretary Patricia Przepiora,
Board member, Dominic Spacone
and County Delegate june Ferner.

Local 868 comprises employees
in 14 public schools in Erie County.

Additional Treasurer
sessions announced

CSEA Supervisor of General Accounts Cathy Bruno has announced that the
Region V Treasurer Training Seminar scheduled for September 26 has been
cancelled

In Region VI, the sessions will be held October 3 in Rochester. The exact
location and time will be announced at a later date.

The Treasurer Training sessions, a new directive from the CSEA Statewide
Board of Directors, must take place within 60 days of Local and Unit
Treasurer’s elections. Ms. Bruno has been conducting the day-long sessions.

In preparation for these seminars, a Financial Standards Code booklet
was compiled outlining such areas as the treasurer's duties, accounting forms,
the financial aspects of the Constitution and tax returns.

Newly-elected Treasurers in Region V and VI are asked to contact their
regional offices for further details.

AFSCME DISTRICT COUNCIL 37 Executive Director Victor Gotbaum, left, installs the officers of
New York Metropolitan Retirees Local 910, including, from left, President Sam Emmett, First Vice
President Solomon Bendet, Second Vice President Eugenie Chester, Recording Secretary Helen Ra-

jkovich and Corresponding Secretary Ceil Malkin.

PREPARING FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY UNIT ratification vote are, from
left, Second Vice President Dawn Gambino, Collective Bargaining Specialist
Manny Vitale and Unit President Kay Cayton.

creasing mileage payments and clothing allowances, extending bereavement
leave, boosting shift differentials, granting employees access to their per-
sonnel files, and guaranteeing that health benefits will not be reduced.

Bill Harris chaired the union’s negotiating team, assisted by Gert Mc-
Nally, Jane Lewis, Dawn Gambino, John Score, Rosemarie Claflin, Dolores
Dudley, Gene Andryshak, Joe Bemish, Terry Wickham and Kay Cayton.

~

DEDICATED EMPLOYEE — Hempstead Town Presiding Supervisor
Thomas S. Gulotta, left, presents a citation for meritorious service to Marge
Conroy of West Hempstead, retiring from her position as Telephone Super-
visor at the Town Hall complex in Hempstead. Also attending the presen-
tation ceremony is Hempstead Town Civil Service Employees Association
\ President Gus Nielsen, Jr. y

Gotbaum blasts Reagan
for social security cuts
at Local 910 installation

NEW YORK CITY — “‘It is almost criminal that
retirees face economic and social insecurity. This is a
reprehensible discrimination by government,’ AFSCME.
District Council 37 Executive Director Victor Gotbaurn
said at the installation meeting of CSEA New York
Metropolitan Retirees Local 910 here recently.
Outgoing Local 910 President John Chesslin, a spry
82-year old, told the audience: ‘‘Ronald Reagan is a
mean and cruel man with a winning smile. He is trying to
give to the rich at the expense of others.’
Gotbaum installed the new officers and executive
council of the almost 3,000-member local.
The officers are: Sam Emmett, president; Solomon
Bendet, first vice president; Eugenie Chester, second
vice president; Caleb Rakow, third vice president;
r Mickey Cisek, treasurer; Helen Rajkovich, recording
secretary; and Ceil Malkin, corresponding secretary.
The members of the executive council are: Amelia
Crichlow, Henry Gerstman, Lester Marks, Edith Perota,
Edward Powers, Alfred Robinson and Israel Silverberg.

UBLIC SECTOR, Wed

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33 Elk Street, Albany, New York 12224
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7 T

World War I: Victory and defeat

It was a time of change in America. The United States fought a world war
and voted in Prohibition. Women got the vote and Lindbergh flew the Atlantic

When the nation entered World War I in 1917, the AFL cooperated with
President Wilson to ensure industrial peace and a steady flow of military
equipment and armaments. A wartime disputes board helped avoid strikes and
maintain production, with the support and cooperation of the labor movement.

With the vast expansion of production, unions grew rapidly during the war-
time years.

Symbolic recognition of labor’s new status was President Wilson’s visit to
Butfalo in 1917 to address the annual AFL convention. This was the first time a
President had made such an appearance. Since that time, almost every
President, Republican and Democrat alike, has address major labor meetings.

During the War, AFL President Samuel Gompers worked hard and
successfully tor creation of the International Labor Organization, an inter-
governmental body headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The ILO was
designed to discuss international problems affecting workers and to seek the
elevation of work standards and the rights of workers in every country.

The ILO was established under the Treaty of Versailles that followed
World War I. Although the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty (which also
established the League of Nations), the American labor movement played an
important role in ILO affairs beginning in 1934. The American role increased
after World War IJ, when the ILO became a specialized international agency of
the United Nations.

During the years following World War I, the labor movement suffered set-
backs and difficulties.

While AFL membership had reached almost 4 million by 1919, postwar
reaction from .employers was strong. The AFL supported a strike of.
steelworkers committed to such goals as collective bargaining, wage in-
creases, and the end of the 12-hour workday. The head of U.S. Steel refused to
meet with striking workers. Instead, the company instituted a massive
propaganda campaign, and utilized strikebreakers, spies, armed guards, and
cooperative police departments. The strike failed.

Postwar depression brought wages down sharply, and unions lost about.a
million members from 1920 to 1923. Anti-union movements grew. The Russian
Revolution in 1918 had caused a fear of ‘‘Bolsheviks,’’ which was gleefully used
by the anti-union forces. During this period, the president of the National
Association of Manufacturers termed the trade union movement ‘‘an un-
American, illegal and infamous conspiracy.”’

The ‘yellow dog contract,” which workers had to sign in order to get a
job, bound them never to join a union. At the same time, corporations
promoted employee representation plans or company unions — generally
useless imitations of the real thing.

The 1920s were a downhill decade for the labor movement, marked by
virulent anti-unionism, growing unemployment, and the complacency of the
Hoover administration.

Gompers legend lives on

was born in Coshocton, Ohio, in 1873. He
left school to become a coal miner and
served as Mine Workers secretary/-
treasurer for a dozen years before being
elected AFL president. He guided the
Federation until his death in 1952.

In 1924, long-time AF'L President Samuel
Gompers died, leaving a heritage of
respect and a philosophy of trade unionism
that still endures.

His successor was William Green, who

AFL-CIO Centennial

... To the Union Men and Women
Who Mine and Harvest . . . Construct
Our Buildings and Highways .

LABOR DAY

Ww Qn Honor We Earned *&
THE AMERICAN LABOR MOVEMENT

Make Our Manufactured Goods. . .
Provide Services in Both the Public

and Private Sectors... And
Who Stand Up for Their Rights as
Free Citizens.

We Salute You.

.c CEN7,
Sarco
One hundred years of progress $ ve
is ie
= =
= = =
As the American labor movement celebrates its we're going. These articles, sixth in a series, are con- cA =
Centennial in 1981, it is appropriate to look back at the densed from the AFL-CIO publication ‘‘A Short History a +
history of the trade union movement in the United States of American Labor,” prepared for the 1981 Centennial. Te MENS
to see where we’ve been, how far we've come, and where 7891-192

Page 4 THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, September 2, 1981

DAKA IN THE PARK — While most vendor
operations are independent, this fruit salad, pop-
corn wagon combo is run by DAKA, the food ser-
vice that operates the cafeterias inside the Em-

, pire State Mall. DAKA employee, Sue, right, fills
a cup of fruit salad for CSEA Court Local
member Cindy Campisi. Both Sue and Cindy find
the noon hour in the Park a break from the nor-
mal routine.

Sunny lunch hours
draw a dizzy array

_ of vendors, tourists,
_workers-in what

¢ | has become tradition

By Daniel X. Campbell

ALBANY — At first glance, it looks like a
country fair midway. Multi-colored umbrellas
shade gaudy painted booths and vans trom the
glaring summer sun. Vendors assault the ears
with shouts of ‘come on in, give us a try.”
Aromas of pizza, hot buttered popcorn, fried
fish, and tresh ground coffee fill the air.

e But the riotous mixture of sights, sounds and
smells is in fact an everyday occurrence of an
Albany summer. It’s lunchtime in Capitol Park,
a grassy square tucked between the Alfred E.
Smith Office Building and the Capitol.

Crowding the scene to enjoy sun, food, and
perhaps even a performance by a strolling
musicians are hundreds of people ranging from
lunching public employees to out-of-state
visitors, from high-ranking state officials to
neighborhood children.

@ As lunchtime approaches, public employees
pour out of surrounding state office buildings and

OGS CREW ENJOYS PARK LUNCH — Morton Zaretsky, and Randy Ross, left, order another hot dog
from U.S. HOTDOG vendor Berry Wixson as John Adams and Rich Willey, right, enjoy the visual
pleasures of luncheon in the Capitol Park.

soon sit, lie or jog on every available surface
from the sunny grass to the ledge of a fountain.
“You gotta get out of the office,’ one state
worker explained. ‘‘The windows in those
modern offices don’t open to let fresh air in, so
you gotta go out and get some fresh air.”’
“It’s glorious,”’ one secretary explained. ‘‘I’ve
worked in a lot of agencies in the Albany area.

ee age

But this is the only place where this could ever
happen. It’s a real treat to come out and see
what's available for lunch.’’

“What’s available’ ranges trom hot dogs to
fresh fruit, from barbecue to Greek salads,
from pastry to popcorn, from Italian sandwiches
to Chinese concoctions.

Vendors line the streets alongside the park

VENDORS line up for noontime rush,

tA wae

with their vans, carts, camper coaches and
stationwagons. Knowing that man does not live
by bread alone, some enterprising vendors offer
fresh cut flowers and hand-crafted jewelry.
Catering to patrons who'd rather spend their
lunchtimes working off pounds instead of putting
them on, one van rents roller skates to those who
want to whirl around the smooth stone expanses
of the adjacent-Empire State Mall.

One threat to the daily ritual is the City of
Albany policy of ticketing vehicles after a 90-
minute free parking period. Under the policy,
many of the park’s vendors are faced with daily
tickets and fines.

Randy Ross, a CSEA member from Office of
General Services, suggested, ‘‘Why can’t the
City issue both vending permits and leased park-
ing space permits so that the vendors don’t get
ticketed into leaving the park? Then we get the
option to eat outside, and the City could make
some money from the leases.”’

What happens when the vendors leave the park
after the ‘‘season’’ ends in late September?
CSEA member Rich Wiley explained, ‘We eat
junk food, carry brown bag lunches, and wait for
the park to come alive again in the spring.”

‘Two state workers — one male and one female
— perhaps best summed up the major pasttime
ot the lunchtime-in-the-park enthusiasts.

“I like the girl-watching, the food and the fresh
air, in any order,”’ he said. And she replied, ‘The
guy-watching is pretty good, too.’

remanent ethic ncnsicrec mt meaRenCtR Sens ANA ele EAA ROT OA NAN ER PT CNT ARNE )
THI ECTOR; Wednesday, September 2,198) Page 5
iiedy ‘ ge Ded Dr HONG onber B ba} SfGY) ‘3 ant Ni #794

ART CIPPERLEY, above, stands with logs in his sawmill, and right, he uses a
saw to shape a log into a barn beam for use in an old-fashioned barn raising for a
friend.

Articles by Tina Lincer First, CSEA Communications Associate

Political action plans
discussed in Syracuse

CENTRAL NEW YORK MEMBERS of the
Region V PACC met recently in Syracuse to dis-
cuss plans for upcoming elections. The coalition
of State, County, City and Retiree represen-
tatives, seated left to right, include: John
Ciciarelli, Syracuse Unit 7801-Local 834; Claire
McGrath, Syracuse Local 013; James J. Moore,
Region V President; Bob Vincent, Local 615 Up-
state Medical Center; Lois Isaacs, Unit 9-Local
834. Standing, left to right, Mary McCarthy,
Retirees Local 913; Suzanne Smith, Onondaga
County Local 834; Jim Powers, PAC Vice-
Chairperson, Local 424 Syracuse Developmental
Center; Ken Bailey, Judicial Local 334; Jim
Bishop, Tom Murphy, Dave Kennedy, Local 834;
Betty Knickerbocker, Local 435 Hutchings
Psychiatric Center, The coalition represents
more than 10,000 CSEA members in the Central
New York area of Region V.

EAST GREENBUSH — When an old friend’s barn burned down several
months ago, CSEA member Art Cipperley helped comfort his friend, clean out the
debris and bury the horses that had died in the fire.

That was only the beginning.

Cipperley is now the overseer and driving force behind a regular, good old-
fashioned community barn-raising to help rebuild the destroyed barn.

“I think it’s fun, and there’s a lot of community spirit,’”’ said Cipperley, a
sandy-haired, blue-eyed man. ‘‘All the neighborhood kids who used to hang out at
the barn are now helping. We're hoping it will be ready for the annual square
dance in October.” e@

Cipperley, a resident of East Greenbush, puts in three-and-a-half hours a day
as a school bus driver. He is a member of the Rensselaer County Educational
Employees CSEA Local 871 and recently ran, unsuccessfully, for vice president of
the Averill Park Non-Instructional Unit.

He is also a fireman, and heard about the fully-involved fire on his fire
monitor late one night. He immediately recognized it as his friend Ken Martin’s
property — a barn dating to the early 1800s, set on a historic site in the nearby
town of Sand Lake.

“Ken called the next morning. He was in tears, really broke up. He said he
lost five ponies and couldn’t bear to look at the barn. So I went up later that mor-
ning, right after my bus run,” said Cipperley.

“As we were cleaning up, Ken’s brother and I joked about having a bar
raising. The neighbors though it was a great idea, so we stopped joking and went
to work on it. That first Saturday we had 40 people working, and succeeded in
framing the whole first floor.’”’

Page 6 THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, September 2, 1981

An old-fashioned barn rdising for a

friend

All of the beams and other materials for the barn — which will be three
stories, including the loft — are being made in Cipperley’s sawmill. The mill is
located on his lush, 120-acre farm, Sunrise Hill, which he runs with his wife,

Carole Quinn, also a CSEA member and school bus driver.

The barn is being put up with post and beam construction, using mortise and
tenon joints, a way of interlocking wooden grooves and projections.

“There won't be any nails. It was that way originally and we want to make it
exactly that way again,”’ said Cipperley.

“Every one of these pins has to be handmade — cut of oak, split into eight
sigs and tapered with a drawknife,’’ he explained.

The new barn will be 52 feet long by 27 feet wide.

“The day we put the second floor up, we expect to have a team of horses, with
ropes and so forth, to be pulling the beams into place,’’ the CSEA member said.

by-hand way.”

EAST GREENBUSH — By day you'll find CSEA’s Carole Quinn behind the
wheel of a school bus, carefully driving children along rural roads to schools in
Averill Park.

But come Saturday night, you'll find this spunky, 38-year-old mother of two
behind the wheel of a blue Chevrolet, doing speeds of up to 90 miles an hour.

Carole is an avid stock car racer.

___“‘Treally like to drive fast, and you can’t do it on the highway,”’ she says. “‘It’s
gua cuiferent and totally relaxing. You have to be very skillful and totally
comtentrate on what you’re doing.”’

To CSEA members, Carole is best known as Treasurer of the Averill Park
Non-Instructional Unit of CSEA Local 871, Rensselaer County Educational
Employees. She is an outspoken union activist who recently helped stall the ex-
tension of a plan to contract out management of the school district’s trans-
portation department.

It was last year that Carole took that same ‘‘go-get-’em’’ attitude to the stock
car course at Lebanon Valley Speedway, one of the biggest and most popular
speedways in the Northeast.

“There are only three women on the track. It’s considered very much a man’s
spgt,” she said. Then, with a throaty giggle, she added: ‘‘That’s a good reason to
be in it, right? I’m that kind of person — if I’m not supposed to be somewhere, I’ll
be there.”

For Carole, the sport is also very much a family affair.

She races in the medium block category (there are small, medium and large
blocks, according to the car’s engine size), along with her two sons, Mark 17, and
Matthew, 15.

PAAR AT NR EN TI LAL NS OR SE

Westchester Local readies
pplitical action programs

WHITE PLAINS — Westchester County CSEA
Local 860 Legislative and Political Action Com-
mittees met recently to organize the union’s
program for the upcoming elections.

Plans were formulated to hold Candidate Night
programs to interview candidates in local races
throughout the county, as well as county executive,
board of legislators and judicial races.

lans were also made to utilize a computerized
listing of CSEA and AFSCME members living in
Westchester County to work on behalf of endorsed
candidates.

CONDUCTING Local 860’s political action meeting
were, from left, Pug Lanza, Local 860 Legislative
Commiitee chairperson, and Eleanor McDonald,
@airperson of Local 860’s Political Action Com-
mittee.

“And I imagine some of the other beams will just be done by the old lift-’em-

ae

PORTRAIT OF A RACER —
Carole Quinn is a school bus
Deuriver weekdays, but on

| weekends she races stock cars.

Driving a bus, racing a car, showing horses:
‘H’s the ultimate in keeping yourself crazy’

Husband Art Cipperley, also a CS9EA member and a school bus driver, built
Carole’s car, and serves as mechanic and chauffeur to the races.

Carole’s ex-husband is also a racer, and he and his wife paint the cars and act
as ‘‘general support people.”’

“We've involved a lot of nice people, and that’s almost as much fun as the rac-
ing itself,’’ Carole says.

“It gives my sons exposure to different people and a chance to work with
grownups. We’ve always had a lot of kids involved, and that’s important, too. My
boys aren’t lonely and someone else’s kids are occupied.”

Carole, an attractive woman with dark hair, dimples and piercing blue eyes,
says neither she nor her kids have ever been injured from stock car racing.

The safety precautions are many. Drivers must wear special seat: belts,
helmets and a fire retardant suit. A protective bar called a roll cage is also built
into the car.

Carole, who has placed as well as eighth out of some 25 racers, says she
doesn’t find any contradiction in her driving a school bus and racing cars.

“They're more similar than dissimilar,"’ she says. “‘If you’re not a good
driver, if you’re not safe and you're not cautious, then you don’t survive on the
track.

“Safety is probably more important on the track than on the school bus,”’ she
says. ‘‘If you ever forgot to fasten your seat belt and got hit, you'd be thrown out
on the trackand run over. It would be instant death.”

Aside from driving the bus five hours a day and racing weekends, Carole
spends her time running her Sunrise Hill Farm, raising and showing horses, giv-
ing riding classes and running a summer riding camp.

“We race cars on Saturday night and show horses on Sunday. It’s the ultimate
in keeping yourself crazy,’’ she says.

MP

THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, September 2, 1981

Page 7

From Hell’s Kitchen to union presidency

By Richard Chernela

NEW YORK CITY — Can a man who once beat
Dodgers star pitcher Johnny Podres also win
major victories over management?

The question brings a smile to the face of
George Caloumeno, newly-elected president of
Metropolitan Region IJ, but it is a smile that
quickly changes to a frown as he turns the con-
versation to the problems of the membership. It
is the membership, the rank and file of CSEA,
for whom Caloumeno has been fighting since
joining CSEA in 1973; and it is the rank and file
that Caloumeno believes will be facing greater
problems than ever in the next few years.

“Public employees everywhere are going to
have to get together to fight the man who it is
clear is our number one enemy — Ronald
Reagan,”’ Caloumeno says. ‘‘His budget cuts
alone have the potential to devastate our
membership. We're going to have to tight as
never before not only to get decent raises for our
people, but also just to save jobs.’’

Caloumeno pledges that he will put all the
Region’s resources, particularly political action,
to work to deal with the problems public
employees will have to face up to under
Reagan’s administration.

“Reagan’s message to public employees is
clear,” Caloumeno says. ‘‘ ‘Public employees,
go to hell!’ ””

The animosity Caloumeno feels toward
Reagan is a sharp contrast to his attitude toward
the rank and file of CSEA.

“Our members are overworked, underpaid and
unappreciated by management and the general
public,”’ he says. “I am deeply grateful to our
members in Region II who have chosen me as
their president. I pledge to each and every
member that I will help them deal with the
callous disregard management consistently dis-
plays for their problems.”’

Caloumeno brings to the office of regional

i

GETTING TOGETHER WITH THE
Metropolitan Region II staff is new Region II
President George Caloumeno, second left.
With Caloumeno are, from left, Field Represen-

CALL US toll-free

1-800°-342-

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A referal service when you need CSEA’s help but don’t know how to

A star athlete, a brawler;
now he fights for workers

president a variety of experiences that he feels
have prepared him for the tasks ahead.

A native New Yorker, Caloumeno grew up in
Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen.

‘Everyday after school I would get into a fight
with a leader of a rival gang,’’ he says recalling
life in Hell’s Kitchen. ‘It wasn’t like today’s
gang wars, though. I would fight the leader of the
other gang until one of us cried ‘uncle.’ If that
wasn’t bad enough for me, I would come home
and my parents would beat me up for fighting.”’

Caloumeno graduated from Bryant High
School where he excelled in baseball and basket-
ball. He attended Long Island University on a
basketball scholarship and received a bachelor’s
degree in engineering from New York Univer-
sity. He attended St. John’s School of Law.

Caloumeno’s ability and his love for sports
lead him to baseball’s minor leagues and semi-
pro basketball. He played for the Gothams, of
the Eastern Basketball League and he played
minor ieague baseball in the New York Giants’
farm system.

It was while he was with the Greensboro Mud-

cats that Caloumeno squared off against Johnny

Podres.

“T beat him, but you could tell he was going to
be a great pitcher,’ Caloumeno says barely able
to conceal his pride. ‘‘Playing ball was a lot of
fun, but I knew I'd never break into the big
leagues.”

Abandoning his athletic career, Caloumeno
went to work for the Atomic Energy Com-
mission, the forerunner of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.

“This was in the mid-fifties, way before the
days of OSHA,” he says. ‘‘Lord knows the
dangers of the things we were working with.”

Caloumeno, though, learned as well as anyone
could just how dangerous were those materials
he was working with: an explosion of radioactive
materials gave Caloumeno third degree burns
over 80 per cent of his body.

“T was in the hospital for three years, six

ig

tative Bart Brier, Communications Associate
Richard Chernela and Field Representatives
Charles Bell and Al Sundmark.

on the job,

CSEA SAFETY HOTLINE ...........
The number to call when you encounter a safety or health problem

CSEA EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ..
A confidential source of help in dealing with personal, family or

George Caloumeno
months fiat on my back,”’ he says without any
trace of bitterness.

That close a brush with death made
Caloumeno “‘appreciate every day that I’m
alive. I also developed a tremendous empathy
for people.”

Perhaps it was this empathy for people that
motivated Caloumeno to throw himself full force
into CSEA. While still a probationary employee,
he became shop eee for the Department of
Labor Local 350.

“Everyone said that I was crazy, that I would
get fired,’’ Caloumeno says. ‘‘Well, maybe I was
crazy, but I didn’t get fired. In fact, I have to say
that I earned management's respect.”’

He also earned the respect of the membership
of the local. He was appointed grievance
chairman in 1976 and in 1979 Caloumeno was
elected president of the local.

“I believe my own career in CSEA shows how
democratic we are,’’ Caloumeno says. ‘I rose
from shop steward to the president of the region
in eight years. I don’t think that there’s a union
more democratic than CSEA.”’

Caloumeno sees the participation of the
membership as the key to continuing CSEA’s
democratic traditions and the key to the union’s
strength.

He believes that CSEA “‘is only as good as its
rank and file; the rank and file are the union. As
a regional president I can’t do anything unless
the rank and file stands up with me.”

Caloumeno intends to use labor/management
meetings as the starting point in dealing with the
everyday problems of CS9EA members in Region
II. He has offered to join the officer so every
local in the region in their labor/management
meetings, but he believes that the responsibility
for solving problems starts with the
membership.

“If members in the locals don’t take respon-
sibility, management will take it and our
members will suffer,” he says. ‘‘No field
representative, grievance chairman or local
president can see everything that goes on.
Members have to stand up for themselves, bring
their problems to their representatives, get in-
volved in the union. That’s what will make us
stronger.”

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Ti BIC SEGIGR. goannas September 2 Wahi;

OC EE Sa ee CREAT

CSEA DATA CENTER is buzz of activity. From left are
Senior Data Entry Machine Operator Olive Rourke,
Manager of Computer Services David \Sparks, Data
Entry Machine Operator Leona Terry, Computer Input-
Output Clerk Leo Fisher, and Data Entry Machine
Operators Minnie Brown and Jackie Perez.

yl Wh
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Lies

STAFF PROFILE

COMPUTER SERVICES

The Civil Service Employees Assn. is an extremely diverse
organization. Its membership of upwards of a quarter of a million
workers perform thousands of different jobs at hundreds of work
locations throughout New York State. The needs of those members
can vary as much as the members themselves, and it takes a
sophisticated staff organization to meet those needs. CSEA employs

a professional staff of more than 200 people to provide services to the
membership. Slightly more than one-half of that total are assigned to
statewide headquarters at 33 Elk Street, Albany, with the remainder
assigned to the six regional headquarters maintained by CSEA
throughout the state. ‘Staff Profiles’ is an informational series
designed to acquaint members with staff departments and personnel.

Helping Locals better perform duties

David Sparks’ department
updates data; ensures accuracy

CSEA’s Computer Services Department may not be as visible or have as
much personal contact with members as some of the other departments at
Headquarters, but that doesn’t lessen its importance in helping the union
service some 220,000 members from day to day, month to month and year to
year

‘Almost all of CSEA’s recordkeeping is done on a computer,”’ points out
David Sparks, Manager of Computer Services. ‘‘If we didn’t have computers
to do the recordkeeping, due to the phenomenal size of CSEA you wouldn’t
be able to do it in as timely and accurate a manner as we're able to do it
now.

“Unfortunately,”’ adds Sparks, ‘‘I think we’re most visible when there’s
a problem or a mistake.”

Sparks and his staff of six — data entry machine operators and an in-
put/output control clerk — are responsible for all the data processing at
Headquarters. Among their many jobs is handling requests from Locals
and Regions for computer-generated information, such as membership lists
and mailing labels.

“These are things that will help the Locals better perform their duties,
whether it be conducting an election or doing an informal mailing regarding
a political issue,” said Sparks. ‘‘We provide these things at cost, so we don’t
make any money on them.”

Sparks’ department also provides support services for other Head-
quarters departments. He works closely with Finance, which uses video dis-
play terminals for processing data for the general ledger and accounts
payable. And there’s a close relationship with Membership Records, where
all membership and insurance data are kept on computer. Video display ter-
minals are used for retrieving and updating various membership data by
Headquarters personnel.

“We have a host of master files, as well as many, many hundreds of
computer programs which operate against the data contained on the files,”
says Sparks. ‘We closely monitor the interaction between files and con-
stantly validate the files, to help ensure their integrity and accuracy.”

For the past two years, Sparks has been involved in establishing an
“integrated data base system’’ for CSEA, bringing together all CSEA data
files under computer system control.

“Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds,” says Sparks. “‘By tak-
ing advantage of technology and applying it to our recordkeeping operations,
we can provide more timely reports to the membership as well as to inter-
nal staff.”

The Department is also involved in constant computer system
improvements, in cooperation with the computer service bureau with which
the union contracts for data processing services.

Computer output microfilm is also produced extensively for many
Headquarters reports. ‘This is significant due to the large membership and
recordkeeping needs of CSEA — especially when these reports must be
stored for a period of time for future reference,’’ said Sparks.

The department is always active providing support during statewide and
local election periods. ‘‘There’s a lot of auditing to be done to ensure that
only those people’ who are eligible to vote can cast a vote,’ explained
Sparks.

DAVID SPARKS, Manager of Computer Services, watches as Senior Data
Entry Machine Operator Olive Rourke checks an entry.

-- Sa gi |

The Computer Services Department also has been instrumental in

providing mailing materials for such projects as challenges by competing
unions, Recently, for example, it worked closely with the Communications
and Member Services departments during a challenge by an independent
employees group.

“We were able to obtain a personnel list of the people affected by the

challenge,” said Sparks, ‘‘and we converted that information to ‘computer
readable’ material and sorted it to help zero in on geographical areas
affected. My department was part of an overall effort in what amounted to a
crisis-type situation.”

The department has also compiled data for the Retirees, Education,

Political Action and Legal departments. ‘‘A while back I sat down with Tony
Campione (administrator for CSEA’s Legal Assistance Program), and we
were able to computerize material, which then showed a breakdown of
where legal services are concentrated,” said Sparks. This data can help
Legal Assistance keep track of expenditures and highlight trends in legal
assistance.

STATEWIDE CSEA SECRETARY
IRENE CARR talks about the role of
secretaries as Regional President
Ray O’Connor listens. Special
workshops were recently held in
Fishkill and White Plains for local
and unit secretaries in the Southern
Region. Mrs. Carr emphasized that
their role goes beyond organizing
meetings and taking minutes, but
also includes active participation in
proceedings.

i“

Donna Sherry attending S.U.

CSEA scholarship winner

OGDENSBURG — Donna Catherige Sherry, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas Sherry, 611 Patterson Street, Ogdensburg, has been named one of
the 18 memorial scholarship winners by the Civil Service Employees
Association (CSEA), New York State’s largest public employee union.

The financial awards, named in honor of Irving Flaumenbaum, a former
CSEA Regional President with a distinguished service career, are made to
three outstanding students in each of six Statewide Regions, with a parent or
guardian who is a member of the union.

Thomas Sherry is a stationary engineer at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric
Center, and a member of CSEA Local 423.

Donna plans to attend Syracuse University with hope of eventually
entering medical school.

George McCarthy, President of CSEA Local 423, recently presented Ms.
Sherry with a check and merit certificate at an informal ceremony in
Ogdensburg.

CSEA SCHOLARSHIP WINNER Donna Sherry, second from left, accepts
her check and merit certificate from George McCarthy, President of CSEA
Local 423 St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, while her parents, Joan and
Tom Sherry, look on with pride.

AMONG THOSE PRESENT WERE, Regional Treasurer Grace Woods, left,
and Jeanette Dellolio of Helen Hayes Hospital Local 302.

, i
; * :
ALSO PARTICIPATING WERE, from left, Darlene Cramer of

Otisville Correctional Facility Local 169, and both Marian Bolack and Agnes
Schmoll of Rockland County Local 844.

LITTLE VALLEY — The Cat-
taraugus Board of Cooperative
Educational Services (BOCES)
Unit of Cattaraugus County CSEA
Local 805 has agreed to terms of a
one-year contract that increases
wages by eight percent.

The new pact also includes a
salary plan and two additional
holidays for teacher aides; in-

BOCES Unit of
Local 805 oks
one-year pact;
hikes included

Page 10

Hempstead bargaining starts

HEMPSTEAD — The Town of Hempstead Unit of Nassau County CSEA
Local 830 is about to enter negotiations, and Unit President Gus Nielsen says
the union will be asking for a hefty wage hike and a return of the increment
system for its 3,000 members.

“We will demand raises that surpass double digit inflation and will try to at
least negotiate an increment system for all employees hired after 1975."’

The first negotiations session is tentatively scheduled for the first week in
‘September, with Nielsen and CSEA Field Representative Rigo Predonzas
heading the negotiating team.

Other members of the unit’s negotiating committee are Ben Bentivegna,
Pat Caturano, John Aloisio, Ken Brotherton, Jeanne Cooke, Ted O’Rourke, Joe
Maniscalco and Vinnie Palmere

The current two-year contract expires December 31

Calendar
of EVENTS

SEPTEMBER
8 — Creedmoor Local 406 membership meeting, 5:30 p.m., Bldg. 71 basement.
11—Region Ill Officer Training Seminar, 7 p.m., Bear Mountain Inn, Bear Mountain
14—Region | Meet the Democratic Candidates Night, 7-10 p.m., Holiday inn, Haup
pauge.
15—Region Ill Executive Board meeting, 7:45 p.m., Holiday Inn, Fishkill
15—Region | Meet the Republican Candidates Night, 7-10 p.m., Holiday Inn, Haup-
pauge
15 — Broome County Local 804 membership drive kickoff, 5:30 p.m., St. Patrick's Hall,
Leroy Street, Binghamton. Open to all members and non-members.
16 — Creedmoor Local 406 membership meeting, 3:30 p.m., Auditorium, Howard Park
23—Region | EAP Update Meeting, 1 p.m., Region Headquarters, Hauppauge.
25-26 — Region VI meeting, Holiday Inn, Jamestown
26—Treasurers’ Final Training Session, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Musicaro’s Restaurant, Melville.

creases in meal and mileage

all the prime concerns of the

allowances; an educational members.”
allowance and recall pay ‘for Unit President Don Leiper
maintenance workers and agreed, describing the

cleaners, membership as ‘‘pretty happy”
with the contract. ‘There were a
lot of improvements -for the
teacher aides that were long over-
due. The ratification vote was

about 25 to two,”’ he said.

CSEA Field Representative
Michael Painter said, ‘‘All kinds of
inequities in contract language
were rectified. I think we covered

s om .

a BOHEMIA — More than 150 CSEA members from Long Island state,
county and school district units recently demonstrated their solidarity with
PATCO, the air flight tratfic controllers union, by marching in a PATCO
picket line at Islip-MacArthur Airport.

The CSEA members joined in the rally with about 700 other union
members'supporting the picket line in front of the New York Air Route Trat-
fie Control Center near the main entrance to the airport.

CSEA Region J President Danny Donohue addressed the crowd, saying
“Our combined presence here today signals what is to come on Solidarity
Day, September 19, when we all go down to Washington to put up the biggest
picket line this nation has ever seen.”

Other unions marching with CSEA members in support of PATCO in-
cluded The American Federation of Government Employees, the United
Aviation Professionals, and several teachers’ unions.

Dudley Kinsley on the line daily;
vows to march until strike is over

MINEOLA — Dudley Kinsley, the former president of the General
Services unit of Mineola Local 830 has vowed to walk the PATCO
picket line until the dispute between the Government and the Air Traf-
fic Controllers is settled.

“Dll stay with it until the strike ends, or I retire, or die: whichever
comes first,’’ he said.

Mr. Kinsley, who is administrative assistant to Local 830 president
Jerry Donahue, said he plans to walk the PATCO picket line between 7
and 8 a.m. every morning at the Air Traffic Control Center, Carle Place,
which is near the CSEA office.

Il members march with PATC

SPORE ETT STENT

O |

DUDLEY KINSLEY, right, newly named administrative assistant to |

Nassau County Local 830 President Jerry Donohue, left, is shown working |
with Secretary Anne Habeeb in the CSEA office in Nassau County. Aformer |
CSEA unit president, Dudley is walking the PATCO picket line every day
and has pledged to continue to do so daily until the labor dispute ends.

———————————— oe Ra

nGedery eles 42

Rochester Local urges

ROCHESTER — It was pleasure with a little business mixed in when
the members of Rochester Local 012 called their annual summer party
dinner to order so that their recently elected officers could be sworn in.

The occasion also gave the 110 in attendance the opportunity to hear of
union activities in support of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers
Organization (PATCO) strike and the planned Labor. Solidarity Day,
September 19 in Washington D.C.

Local President Sylvia Ebersold urged her members to “‘support our
fellow public employees, because the union-busting tactics being used by the
federal administration against PATCO may be soon staring us in the face.”’

She told of herself and other Region members walking the picket lines
with the striking air controllers.

Ha Wont
| REGION VI TREASURER Barbara Fauser, left, swears in Loca! 012

e eile

2m

P|

Officers Sylvia Ebersold, Patrick O’Connor, Ann Cotter, Richard t4
Jackson, Josephine Giangregorio and Delores Carbone.

ER a RA Wet

support for controllers

Statewide CSEA Treasurer Jack Gallagher urged the members to plan
for being in Washington for Solidarity Day.

He gave an outline of the planned number of buses and accommodations
that will be in effect, to be contirmed later by Region President Robert Lat-
timer.

The newly elected officers of Rochester Local 012 are President Eber-
sold, Executive Vice President Patrick O’Connor, Treasurer Richard
Jackson, Secretary Ann M. Cotter, and Delegates Delores Carbone and
Josephine Giangregorio.

The Local's Nominating Committee was chaired by Red Mercer and in-
cluded Steve Dapcic, Clara Foster and Juanita Wilson.

The Election Committee included Rosa Arena and Joan Schneider and

was chaired by Bertha King. y

NYC field job available

The Civil Service Employees Assn. is accepting resumes for the position of
Field Representative in New York City. The Field Representative serves the
union membership and local officers in various areas of labor, greivance han-
dling, writing of work contracts and the administration of same, development
of membership program activities and assisting to promote the labor
organization in its endeavors.

The position requires occasional travel. Excellent compensation package.

Minimum qualifications include graduation from a recognized college or
university, two years of responsible business or investigative experience in-
volving public contact, preferably in a labor environment. Must possess a valid
New York State drivers license.

Send resume by September 11, 1981, to Personnel Director, Civil Service
Employees Association, P.O. Box 125, Capitol Station, Albany, N.Y, 12224,

Congdon endorsement sought

BALLSTON SPA — At Public
Sector presstime, the Political
Action Committee of the Saratoga
County Local of the Civil Service
Employees Association was seek-
ing the approval of the Capital
Region PAC of its recommendation
for an endorsement of R. Gardner
Congdon in the September 10th
Republican Primary contest for

THE PUBLIC SECTOR,

Supervisor from the Town of
Moreau, Saratoga County.

Congdon was recommended by
the Saratoga CSEA/PAC based on
his record of support for fair
treatment of public employees and
his stand on important issues fac-
ing both the public and the public
work force in Saratoga County.

av CePA BAL
inesday, September 2, 1981

“Page 11

‘and then it
all came
out — the
whole story

he had been
unable to
tell anyone

a

By Hugh O’Haire

CSEA Communications Associate
HAUPPAUGE — It was him again. The same voice choked with pain
‘The same first name and a few digits of his phone number mumbled into the
phone before he hung up. And each night he called, he was more drunk than
before.

Maureen Duggan Employee Assistance Program representative on
Long Island, listened to the rest of her message on the 24-hour phone in the
Employees Assistance Office in CSEA’s Region I, wondering all the time
how long the caller would allow his fear to smother his cry for help. It had
been going on for 10 days.

Finally, a breakthrough. One morning, the employee called from a pay
phone. Maureen answered. This time, instead of mumbling into a recording
device, the caller was talking to another human being, sharing his pain.

“So he wouldn’t feel ashamed, I said I had been unable to call back
because my recording device was not working properly and I didn’t get his
| full number. That broke the ice. He started to cry. And then it all came out

— the whole story he had been unable to tell anyone before,” she said.

Contact with another human being having been made, the employee had
taken the first and key step on the path to recovery. In contacting Maureen
Duggan, the employee reached a trained specialist in helping others over-
come a variety of problems from alcoholism to mental depression.

After listening to the employee’s symptoms, Maureen, a Licensed Prac-
tical Nurse, carefully explained what treatment she recommended and what
it would be like. The employee finally agreed to enter a hospital that
specialized in care for alcoholic and chemically-dependent patients.

In the meantime, but with his permission, Maureen called his employer
and advised them that he was seeking help. She discovered that the employee
was about to be fired for calling in sick for more than a month. After some
hard bargaining by Maureen, the employer agreed to drop the charges
against the employee and place him on disability with half-pay while he
recuperated.

The employee is now at his job and considered well on the way to
recovery. Maureen still carefully checks the employee’s progress in the
hospital aftercare program and with Alcoholics Anonymous. Follow-up is
also part of the EAP routine.

The fortunate employee is part of the estimated 15 percent of the Civil
Service workforce suffering from alcoholism, drug abuse, family stress and
mental or emotional problems that the CSEA Employee Assistance Program is
trying to help. Established last year by CSEA President William McGowan and

! Governor Hugh Carey, the CSEA/EAP program is funded by a three-year grant
from the State Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse.

As regional EAP coordinator for Long Island, Maureen has met with

aaa

Page 12 THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, September 2, 1981

MAUREEN DUGGAN discusses an
employee’s personal problem in an ef-
| fort to help the employee correct the
f situation.

‘(Buy union products and services
as you would have union wages
paid unto you.!))) UnionLabelWeek

chapter presidents and management in each government agency on Long
Island to set-up joint labor-management committees which oversee the
EAP program,

The basic concept is to aid employees to get help before their problems
jeopardize their jobs and to overcome the natural fear and embarrassment
employees feel revealing their problems, especially to management. The EAP
reps are union members and the hope is that employees in trouble will be able to
turn to a concerned co-worker for help.

There were several EAP programs funded by the State that pre-date the
CSEA program. Betty Duffy, former Pilgrim Local 418 president served as
an EAP coordinator at Pilgrim before her retirement, and Ray Decker,
Region 10 Department of Transportation, ran the DOT’s EAP program for 5 e
years. Maureen is training several CSEA/EAP reps including Juanita Mc- |
Calvin of the Suffolk Developmental Center, and Patricia Yohaus, and Joan |
Johnson of Pilgrim Local 418, and she has also set up EAP committees in |)

a
Kings Park, Central Islip, Pilgrim Psychiatric Centers and the State |
e
®
'

University at Stony Brook. While she is training EAP reps, Maureen is runn-
7-12,1981  °
" uv

ing the referral program by herself.

EAP reps are taught by Maureen to analyze an employee's problem and
refer it to an appropriate hospital, public agency or service groups like AA
for treatment. All EAP reps observe total contidence, only breaking an
employee's anonymity with their permission — usually to save their jobs.

While many employees think that EAP is primarily concerned with
alcoholism and drug abuse, there are many other problems that atfect
private lives and job performance that can be treated under the program,
Maureen says. _

In one case, an employee and his wife lost their baby to sudden infant
death and then lost a second child in the same manner. The employee was so
emotionally crushed by the experience that he was unable to concentrate on
his work. He would drive to his job, ‘‘like a zombie,’’ Maureen recalled, and
then not remember how he got there.

Maureen referred the employee and his wife to a group of other people
who had similar experiences. They were able to share the couple’s anguish
and help them readjust to life. The couple has since been able to return to a
normal life,

A Huntington resident, Maureen operated the adolescent alcohol abuse
program there before joining the CSEA/EAP program in 1981. In addition to
her LPN degree, she holds an AA degree in business, has studied alcohol
treatment at Rutgers University and is completing her masters degree in
social work at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She can be
reached, 24-hours a day, at a special Hot-line at CSEA Region Headquarters
in Hauppauge at 516 435-0967.