The Public Sector, 1997 May

Your Nassau County Lacat $50 Express

Publication of |

Photo by Ed Molitor

A sculpture by Yates County CSEA-
Board of Directors repre sntative 4
Carol Thornton, a-

CSEA members murder
job in Schuyler County in 1992,

btands symbolically on the Steps of

Albany. on-the.eve.of
forkers. Memorial. Day,..
ppg 28,.See. page 3.

“for better workplace |

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It’s Wheel of Fortune's AFL-ClO week! FI VEIPOR TANT
bad To celebrate the American working family, these shows will feature teams
made up of two family members* (immediate family only, please!) One family
member must be an active member of a union affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
Special auditions for union members will be held in June in these cities only:
Chicago on June 3, Boston on June 7 and Los Angeles on June 11.

= =
If you plan to be in or near one of these cities on the dates listed and would MV. 7 5 d di
like to audition, submit your name for consideration by filling out the a Is ea ne
» application below. Send to: Wheel of Fortune

P.O. Box 4386 for submitting

The sacs el Be tae at the Oho State alee een will air Pp ro posed Reso | ut i Ce] n Ss
es and
Adress Amendments to CSEA’s

ory sate 2 Constitution & By-Laws

Home Phone Number May 15, 1997 is the deadline for submitting both proposed
i resolutions and proposed amendments to the CSEA Constitution &
Age (optional) By-Laws for consideration by CSEA delegates to the union’s 1997

Annual Delegates Meeting.

My Union is:
PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS
Local Number Address

Proposed resolutions may be submitted only by a delegate

City State Zip and must be submitted on the proper forms. Forms for
submitting resolutions are available from your CSEA local
My employer is president or CSEA headquarters and region offices.
Proposed resolutions must be submitted no later than
City State May 15 to Statewide Secretary Barbara Reeves, CSEA

Headquarters, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210-2303.

My job is 5
CONSTITUTION & BY-LAWS AMENDMENTS
Name of family member

fe who will attend with you Proposed amendments (accompanied by the rationale for

same) to the CSEA Constitution & By-Laws must be submitted
Their age (optional) no latex than May 15 to Statewide Secretary Barbara Reeves,
CSEA Headquarters, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY
The relationship to you 12210-2303.
*Both you and your family member must be at least 18 years old to play. The 1997 CSEA Annual Delegates Meeting will be held

Sept. 22 through Sept. 26 in Buffalo.

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Page 2 « The Public Sector e May 1997 — — —
CSEA to DOL’ —’"put safety’ first”

Workers are dying on the job, and
workplace violence is the second
leading cause of those deaths in the
United States.

That stark statistic fueled CSEA’s
harsh criticism of the state
Department of Labor’s failure to
protect working people. Director of
Occupational Safety and Health
James Corcoran gave testimony at a
legislative hearing on enforcement of
the Public Employee Health
Standards (PESH) Act.

“What is PESH doing to protect
public employees?” he asked.
“Issuing memos to do nothing.”

Corcoran gave a litany of DOL
deficiencies, from the failure to
enforce standards to failure to collect
fines for safety violations, from
ignoring the growing threat of
ergonomic injuries to neglecting the
problem of workplace violence.

He referred to a department
memorandum that directed the
PESH division to stay away from any
activities involving ergonomics or
workplace violence because no
official OSHA standards or
guidelines exist.

Yet ergonomic injuries, such as
carpal tunnel and back and neck

problems, are the fastest growing
category of occupational injury. In
1993, the most recent year statistics
are available, these injuries cost
employers more than $20 billion in
workers compensation claims.

“Obviously the circumstances
causing these injuries must be
addressed,” Corcoran said. “If the
standards don’t exist, maybe we
should create them.”

Ignoring workplace violence is
equally mind boggling, he said.

“People are dying, but DOL can’t
address the issue because they don't
have standards? That's not only
irresponsible, it's insulting to the
dignity of the workers.”

Last summer, DOL dismissed the
CSEA-proposed workplace security
and safety standard, which offered
just such a standard, Corcoran said.
It would require employers to
periodically evaluate the security of
their worksites and make
appropriate improvements. DOL’s
rejected the well-researched
proposal, claiming it “would place a
great strain upon the department
from a financial and manpower point
of view, irrespective of the issue of
whether or not the proposal would

Triangle fire victims remembered

STATEN ISLAND — On

actually work if adopted.”

Blasting the department for what
he called “a pattern of indifference,”
in handling safety violations,
Corcoran testified about numerous
workplace accidents for which the
department failed to appropriately
penalize the employers. Many of
those accidents were fatal, and many
more could have been avoided with
proper training, he said.

Because DOL fails to fine
employers, the PESH Act is more
difficult to enforce. Public employers
don’t worry about complying if they
know they are not going to be fined.

“The department is shifting from
an employee advocate to employer
consultant,” Corcoran warned the
lawmakers. “The department must
once again return to its role as an
advocate for worker protection and
become vigilant in its enforcement of
health and safety laws, standards
and rules and regulations. The
system falls apart when enforcers
abandon enforcement to become
handholders.”

The hearing was conducted by the
state Assembly Committees on
Labor, Governmental Operations and
Governmental Employees. Corcoran

was joined by CSEA members from
New York City, Long Island and
Westchester County who gave
firsthand accounts of safety
problems in their workplaces.

— Ed Molitor

MORE HEALTH AND
SAFETY STORIES
ON PAGES 14 & 19

March 25, 1911, the smashed
and burned corpses of 146
young New Yorkers lay in heaps
on a sidewalk outside the
Triangle factory.

They were victims of a
tragedy that occurred because
worker safety had been
completely ignored.

This March 25 CSEA New
York City Local 010 officer Alan
Teitler joined the Staten Island
Religion and Labor Coalition to
remember those innocent fire
victims and call for redoubled
safety efforts at all CSEA
worksites.

At a Staten Island cemetery,
Rabbi Gerald Sussman led
prayers for the Triangle
employees buried there, reciting
the names of those who had
either jumped to their deaths or
been burned alive. He was
joined by union members of the
Labor and Religion Coalition,
members of the New York City
Occupational Safety and Health

ion, NYCOSH, and
esentatives of the Staten
Island Coalition of Jewish
Organizations.

At the same time prayers
were offered in New York City,
CSEA Safety and Health
Director Jim Corcoran testified
at an Albany legislative hearing
to condemn lax safety
enforcement practices of the
state Labor Department.

While Corcoran recited a
litany of neglected and
mishandled statewide safety
problems, 200 miles away on a
cold gray morning, a group of
weathered tombstones stood as
grim reminders that too many
workers’ lives still remain
needlessly endangered at work.

Rabbi Sussman stressed the
words of Rabbi Stephen Wise
who spoke in 1911 to
devastated mourners at a
Metropolitan Opera House
memorial service for Triangle
victim:

“The lesson of the hour is
that while property is good, life
is better, that while possessions
are valuable, life is priceless,”
Rabbi Wise told a grieving city.

“The meaning of the hour is
that the life of the lowliest
worker in the nation is sacred
and inviolable, and, if that

sacred human right be violated,
we shall stand adjudged and
condemned before the tribunal
of God and history.”

— Lilly Gioia

CSEA successfully lobbied the State
Legislature to extend for another year Early
Retirement Incentives for state employees and
employees who work for local governments and
school districts.

Provisions of the early retirement incentive
remain the same. Eligible employees age 50 and
older with at least 10 years of service will be
offered one month of additional pension credit
for each month of service up to a maximum of
36 months. There are penalties involved,
however, for Tier 1 members who retire before
age 55 and for Tier 2, 3, and 4 members who
retire before age 62.

To be eligible, employees must work in a
position that is targeted for elimination or, in
the case of state employees, in a position that
can be back-filled by transfer of an employee
whose position is targeted.

The extension for state employees is
retroactive to April 1, 1997, and stays in effect
until March 31, 1998. Local governments will
have until Dec. 31, 1997, to decide whether or
not to offer the option. School districts must
make that decision by Aug. 31, 1997.

Still no state budget at presstime

But its not too late to make a difference. Call
the Governor and your state lawmakers at
1-800-SOS-6336 and tell them to get down to
serious work for the good of all New Yorkers.

COVER STORY

The Public Sector * May 1997 * Page 3

OLEAN/MACHIAS — Time off is elusive,
overtime is mandatory, and a private
contractor is profiting from the struggles of
Cattaraugus County Nursing Home
employees who are trying to care for their
patients.

Morale sank even lower recently when
the county legislature awarded Complete
Care Services (CCS) a new three-year
contract to continue running the county's
two nursing homes. The original one-year
contract came despite a vigorous CSEA
campaign opposing it.

Employees are frustrated. As many as
20 employees have been laid off and those
remaining face mandatory overtime and
scheduling nightmares that include
working extra days if they chose to use a
vacation day.

“The only thing they (CCS) have
accomplished since being here are the
layoffs,” said Delores Nenno, a 20-year
nursing home employee and steward for
the CSEA Cattaraugus County Employees
Unit of Local 805.

Nenno, who works at the Olean county
home, and Machias county home employee
Donna Vickman, also a unit steward, have
long been stalwart and active supporters of
the nursing homes, often attending
meetings of the county legislature’s senior
services committee and speaking out against
subcontracting and other threats to care for
home residents.

They have also been vocal in their opposition
to unfair CCS management practices.

“They (CCS) don’t believe they have to abide by
our union contract,” said Vickman, “They even
re-wrote our contract with reduced sick leave,
vacation and personal leave time that they tried
to have us accept in impact negotiations, which
we refused,”

Cattaraugus County Nursing Home stewards Donna
Vickman, left, and Delores Nenno say their members
are very unhappy with the private contractor now
running the county’s two homes.

mandatory overtime, because it would affect their
profits, the activists say.

CCS's original contract called for payment of
$8,000 a month to operate both homes, but they
asked for increases in the new contract and a
percentage of the dollar amount of Medicare
claims, amounting to a substantial boost in costs
to the county.

“We've gone from being a deficit to the county
to making someone a profit,” said Nenno and
Vickman. “If that’s the case, why can’t they bring
back the staff that was released last year? It's
obvious that we need them to provide the care we

CCS refuses to deal with the underst iffing

problem, evident in the continuous need for

have traditionally provided our residents.”

— Ron Wofford

New DGS workers stay with CSEA

ALBANY — When Albany
County created the Department
of General Services to
streamline county services, a
number of CSEA-represented
workers were worried they
would lose union protection in
the new, supposedly
unrepresented bargaining unit.

But CSEA acted quickly to
protect the rights of its
members, and the union now
represents the workers in the
new unit.

“Our research showed that
the majority of workers being
transferred into the new
department came from existing
CSEA bargaining units," CSEA
Capital Region 4 President

Page 4 * May 1997 « The Public Sector

@ oped * Veer y

Carmen Bagnoli said. “We
notified the county of our
majority status and sought
immediate recognition so that
there would be no loss of
representation status or
contract benefits.”

CSEA staff has been busy
informing the involved county
workers of their membership in
the new CSEA bargaining unit.

“This will give these members
the right to negotiate their own
contract with the employer by
drawing on the best of the
various CSEA unit contracts
they are currently working
under,” CSEA Capital Region
Director Joseph Reedy
explained.

“In the interim, the employees
leaving their former CSEA units
will continue to enjoy their
benefits and other terms and
conditions of employment until
the new contract is ratified.”

Temporary officers of the new
unit are: Bill Meneghan,
president; Charles Smith vice
president; Marlene Halloway,
secretary; Gregg Baldowski,
treasurer. Section
representatives are: Antonio
Carangelo, custodial; Anthony
Huneau, security; George
Sheffield, maintenance and
John Springer, administrative,

These officers will serve until
an election is conducted.

— Daniel X. Campbell

LOCAL BRIEFS
‘ounties keep renewal function

The Governor's plan to consolidate mail
renewal at the state DMV facility in Albany has
been put on hold and county DMV offices will
keep doing the work and collecting the revenue.

CSEA Saratoga County General Unit
President and DMV employee Corrine Daly
credited the victory to the joint efforts of the
state Association of Counties, which represents
the 51 county clerks who were facing the loss of
hundreds of thousands of dollars of income
generated through the mail renewal of car
registration and CSEA, which represents both
the involved county workers and the state DMV
employees.

“But the battle isn’t over yet. Now the
Governor is going to let the legislature decide
this issue,” Daly said. “That means a lot of
lobbying by CSEA and the Association of
Counties to influence the state Legislature on
this important issue.”

Big gains in Central Islip pact

CENTRAL ISLIP — CSEA members in the
Central Islip School District Unit of Suffolk
Educational Local 870 overwhelmingly approved
a five-year pact, loaded with improvements.

Highlights include: two new steps, increases
totaling 20 percent, fully-paid dental, optical
and life insurance, leave and health insurance
buy backs, up to $6,000 tuition
reimbursement, bedside care days, increased
vacation, snow days, double time for holidays,
more terminal leave, longevity improvements,
retirement protections and more.

“I feel this contract is one of the best on Long
Island,” Unit President Candy Miller said. “We
hope we are setting the pace for the rest.”

The negotiating team, led by CSEA Labor
Relations Specialist Kenneth Brotherton,
included Miller, Dottie Burke, Joe Bobb, Tom
Scharfswerdt and Mike McMaster.

CSEA helps win important race

HAPPAUGUE — CSEA won a political stroke
when Democrat William Holst was elected to
the Suffolk County Legislature in the 12th
Legislative District representing Smithtown.

“CSEA made a major commitment to this
race because we wanted to send a clear
message to the Republican Party and to the
Brookhaven Chair that we will fight politically if
we continue to see privatization and downsizing
of our work force,” said CSEA Political Action
Coordinator Tom Kilmartin, referring to layoffs
in the Town of Brookhaven.

The special election win was especially
important to CSEA because the seat was held
by the Republican majority since the legislature
was created in 1969.

CSEA provided Holst with mailings,
telephone banks, volunteers, political
advisement and direct campaign supervision.

“The Republicans no longer have a veto-proof
majority and must now work with the
Democrats in the legislature,” said CSEA Long
Island Region 1 President Nick LaMorte.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS

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Port Byron students protest school bus privatization

PORT BYRON — When the Port Byron School
Board was looking at privatizing their school
busing, they heard from nearly everyone in the
community who was against privatization —
CSEA, the drivers, the parents and others in the
community. The one group they didn’t hear from,
until it was unfortunately too late, was the
students themselves.

The students were understandably upset when
they found that the school board recently voted to
privatize their school busing, despite the
overwhelming public opposition and with no input
from the students on the
decision. In fact, says 14-
year-old Jennilee
Glimpse, the majority of
students didn't know
about the vote until it
was over.

“I didn’t even know
about it,” Glimpse said.
“They didn’t even talk
about it in school.”

Glimpse was one of several Port Byron Middle
School students who organized two “sit-in”
protests of the board’s decision to hire the Birnie
Bus Company. Other organizers were 15-year-old
Jeanette Vanderstine and 13-year-old Rob Clark,
all eighth graders.

“We were trying to show that we wanted our
bus drivers back,” Glimpse said.

“When we found out about it, we did everything

“We’ve known
these people for years
and we trust them with
our lives.”

we could,” Vanderstine said. “We tried to
change their minds ... make them
reconsider it. We don’t want to lose all
our drivers.”

Vanderstine, who was informally
elected as a student representative of
the protesters, and met with the district
superintendent, said that more than 75
students participated in the protests.
She said they were concerned for their
safety and for the drivers who they have
come to know over the years

“We've
known these
people for
years and we
trust them
with our lives,”
she said.
“When I met
with the
superintendent
I asked him whether he cared more

about the money or our safety. All they care about

is the money.”

If the students had been given more time to
organize on the issue, they might have been able
to make a difference Clark said.

“We would have tried to convince everyone to
vote against this,” he said.

As an example to show why their district
drivers are better, Vanderstine told the story of

School district info days get high marks

School was out, but CSEA members who work in the Yonkers and
Troy City School Districts spent the day in the classroom recently at
two CSEA-sponsored information days.

Besides learning about the many CSEA benefits available to them,
attendees at both events heard CSEA Executive Vice President Mary
Sullivan speak about the impact of the state welfare reform
proposals on public employees. Sullivan praised the CSEA members
for the integral role they play in the educational process but warned
that current welfare reform proposals could jeopardize that.

“No one who currently has a job will be safe from being replaced
by a welfare recipient working off a grant unless the current welfare
reforms proposals are strengthened to protect the current workers
and those workfare recipients who want a chance at a real job,” she
said.

The Troy program was so well received that plans are already in
the works for a second CSEA Info Day next year, Unit President
Linda Hillje said. The Yonkers Unit has had an annual Education
Day since 1987, It includes a wide variety of educational programs.

Capital Region 4 Activists
Committee Chair Bob
Calhoun, above, discussing
welfare reform at the City of
Troy School District Info
Day. At left are activist and
staff participants in the
Yonkers School District’s
Education Day. From left are
Westchester Local 860 Vice
President Grace Ann Aloisi,
Southern Region 3 President
Carmine DiBattista Yonkers
School District Unit
President Mae Tyropolis,
CSEA Executive Vice
President Mary Sullivan,
Yonkers School District First
Vice President Jerry Jones,
Special Assistant to the
President Irwin Scharfeld
and CSEA Labor Relations

Specialist Shawn McCollister.

Port Byron students are, left to right, Rob Clark, 13;
Jeanette Vanderstine, 15 and Jennilee Glimpse, 14.

how, when her sister was hospitalized, her bus
driver Sharon Church visited her and brought her
balloons and a gift. “Where else are you going to
find someone who cares like that?” she asked.

For their roles in the protests, more than 75
students received out-of-school suspension, but
they say the real punishment will come when they
don’t have their familiar bus drivers behind the
wheel next fall.

— Mark M. Kotzin

Attack may signal
escalating danger in DSS

FONDA — A man seeking benefits attempted to
assault a Montgomery County Department of
Social Services worker, according to a
Montgomery County Sheriffs Department report.

The client allegedly swung his fist at the
employee's head, missed and struck a cubicle
with such force that he broke his arm. He was
reacting to being told he had to wait 90 days to
become eligible to collect benefits due to recent
changes in social services laws. The employee,
who declined to discuss the incident, later filed a
complaint. The client was charged with
obstructing governmental administration.

CSEA warns that such incidents are likely to
multiply once welfare reforms that will deny
benefits to thousands of additional people are
enacted. Welfare reform is expected to be passed
this year by the state Legislature. Public
employees in front line social service jobs
throughout New York state will be at greater risk
from irate clients upset over welfare reform
restrictions on benefits.

The Montgomery County incident is a perfect
example of why CSEA continues to pressure the
state Department of Labor to adopt a Worksite
Security Standard to guide security improvements
in public worksites statewide. A task force
appointed by the Social Services commissioner is
looking at the issue, but CSEA is demanding
immediate action,

— Daniel X. Campbell

LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS

The Public Sector * May 1997 « Page 5

Employees share’$T million overtime settlement’

THIELLS — Nearly 2,000 employees and retirees of
Letchworth Developmental Disabilities Service Office are
sharing more than $1 million in a Fair Labor
Standards Act

time off to use the compensatory time, Natoli said.

In a related grievance, employees who worked 8.5
hour days but were not
allowed to take meal
breaks away from their

settlement for |

unpaid overtime.

CSEA filed a
grievance with the
Department of
Labor because
employees working
more than 40
hours a week were
only receiving
compensatory time
at the straight
time rate, CSEA
Labor Relations
Specialist Larry
Natoli said.

“There was no
paid overtime,”
Local 412 Executive
Vice President Ken
Dougherty said.
“Management said
employees had to
cover their worksites
but no overtime
would be paid.”

To make matters
worse, employees
were then refused

CSEA Letch’

employees .
review the list of Sea Cckaine from top left are:

bor
n Dougherty, CSEA Lal
eeu eal Grievance Representative

d Local President Sara Bogart.

million overtime se
Executive Vice Presi

Relations Specialist Larry Ni

Jimmy Schultz an‘

woAmerica

worth Village DDSO Local 412 representatives

who will share the $1

worksites were also
awarded back pay.

“I really want to
give Ken Dougherty
credit for this win,”
Local 412 President
Sara Bogart said.
“He's the one who
took the ball and ran
with it.”

Bogart also
credited local
grievance
representatives
Joseph Giardina
and Jimmy Schultz,
Southern Region 3
third vice president,
for their research
and investigation.

“This settlement
has ramifications
for all state
workers,” she said.

“I'm proud that we

led the way.”

— Anita Manley

Apply now for fall ’97
LEAP tuition benefits

It's time to apply to the Labor
Education Action Program (LEAP)
for fall '97 tuition benefits.

Catalogs and application forms
were mailed on April 28 to all
eligible employees who applied for
a LEAP tuition benefit during the
fall ‘96 or winter/spring '97
semester. New York state agency
personnel and training offices also
have a small supply of catalogs. If
you did not receive a catalog and
are unable to obtain one in your
agency call the LEAPline at
1-800-253-4332.

June 13, 1997, (5 p.m.) is the
application deadline for fall '97.
LEAP funds for the fall semester
are committed on June 13 so
applications cannot be considered
after that date.

New child/elder care benefit
for many NYC members

Balancing work and family is never
easy. But help is now available for

CSEA says “snow way” to ski center sale

HIGHMOUNT — CSEA wants the state to improve
Belleayre Ski Center, not sell it.

When rumblings began about privatizing the ski
center, CSEA Local 009 members who work there, Local
President Vinny Lord and CSEA Southern Region 3
President Carmine DiBattista began to fight.

State Executive Branch employees
working in New York City who care
for children, a dependent adult or
older relative.

The Child & Elder Care Resource
and Referral Service, sponsored by
the New York State
Labor/Management Child Care
Advisory Committee, can help
employees locate programs and
services that meet their specific needs
and deal with the challenges of being
a parent or elder caregiver.

Child care services include
assistance finding day care, summer
camps and services for children with
special needs; and information on
selecting the right school or college,
managing as a single parent and
much more,

Employees with elder care needs
can get assistance with hiring in-
home caregivers; understanding
Medicare and Medicaid; finding a
retirement community, nursing home
or other assisted living facility; and
other resources such as senior
centers, adult dé re, home-
delivered meals, hospice and respite
services,

For more information about this
service call the CSEA Metropolitan
Region 2 office at 212-406-2156,

The ski center, located in a state park, is protected
from privatization by the state Constitution, but an
increasing buzz about privatization has CSEA on alert.

First, a state Assemblymember mentioned
privatization, then some local businesses started
lobbying the Governor to sell the ski center and
editorials in area newspapers supported privatization.

Workers, along with a local grassroots coalition, are
lobbying the state for funds to make improvements, not
sell the facility.

“Belleayre is paying for itself,” Lord said. “Belleayre
actually made money last year which is a tribute to
employees who have maintained this site with care and
concern.”

“It is rather simplistic,” DiBattista said, “to suggest
that privatizing Belleayre will solve the myriad of
environmental, legal and economic questions and
concerns that must be addressed.”

He urged lawmakers to consider the
recommendations for improvements that have been
made in a recent report.

“These are real solutions,” he pointed out. “Why aren't
they under review?”

There are ideas that lawmakers should be pursuing to
make improvements at Belleayre now, agreed DiBattista
and Lord, both of who offered the union’s help.

“If the state and elected officials are serious about
attracting more people to Belleayre, I will commit CSEA
resources and work with them to improve Relleayre and
the surrounding economy,” DiBattista said.

From left, CSEA Southern Region 3 President
Carmine DiBattista, Mid-Hudson State Employees
Local 009 President Vinny Lord, Local 009 Vice
President Ron Hull and CSEA Political Action
Coordinator Stan Merritt on a recent visit to

Belleayre Ski Center. — Anita Manley

Page's + May-1987"s The PUbiie’Séctor SO Gey cane OE

Dental hygienists petition for upgrades *:

BRONX — Keeping an urban park spruced
up and shining in a tough west Bronx
neighborhood near the Harlem River is no
easy job, but award-winning CSEA members
do it with style, team work and skill.

CSEA members Victor Gonzolez and Angel
Cortijo have earned special awards for their
outstanding efforts.

Gonzolez, a 23-year veteran, was chosen
New York State Parks Employee of the Year,
and he proudly displays a plaque presented
by Clemente Park Director Richard Ortiz.

A member of CSEA New York City
Local 010, Gonzolez's dedication to Roberto
Clemente State Park and his community are
legendary. In 1990 he received a special
commendation from the Police Department for
saving a four-year-old boy's life from a
reckless driver. Gonzolez and his wife have
been foster parents to six-year-old twin girls
and their seven-year-old sister since infancy.
Their own son is in college.

General Mechanic Cortijo's skills have
saved the state more than $50,000 in repairs
of ruptured pipes and other problems over his 12 years
at Clemente. His efforts earned him a Special
Achievement Award.

He recalls the 16-hour shifts everyone worked when
the gymnasium was flooded.

“We used to have 35 guys to run this park,” Cortijo
said. “Now we have only 12,” with thousands of people
using the park.

CSEA Labor Relations Specialist Barbara Moore and
CSEA Steward Luis Lugo joined in saluting the high
caliber of state parks workers who perform exceptionally
under often difficult and dangerous conditions (see
adjacent story).

“It's obvious why Victor Gonzolez was selected from
across the state for this high honor,” Moore said. “He
shows what it really means to be the best.”

— Lilly Gioia

ALDEN — CSEA activists in Western New York
correctional facilities are spearheading a campaign to
upgrade the jobs of dental hygienists.

“We want our just due,” said Maureen Keller, a
10-year state dental hygienist, now at the maximum-
security Wende Correctional Facility and member of
CSEA Local 175. “We feel Civil Service, starting out,
didn’t categorize our jobs correctly, We should be on the
same level as registered nurses because we're required
to have similar degrees and we must be licensed and
re-certified every three years.”

“Dental hygienists work in an atmosphere of daily
exposure to needle pricks, blood and body fluids, facing
health risks that most workers do not,” Keller said, “Add
that to possible occurrence of behavioral problems that
come with a maximum security prison, and sometimes
being left alone with inmate patients, and we are in a
high risk job category. Most people don’t realize how
risky.

“We're very serious about getting our justified pay,”
Keller said. “And we're prepared to appeal if our position
is not upheld.”

— Ron Wofford

From left, Angel Cortijo, CSEA Labor Relations Specialist
Barbara Moore, Victor Gonzolez and CSEA Local 010 Steward
Luis Lugo.

Park jobs are no picnic

Working and playing in Roberto Clemente Park can
be an exercise in bravery.

Employees fear that they or children visiting the
park will be injured from falling objects and trash
rained down on them by residents of an adjacent
high-rise apartment building.

River Park Tower residents heave everything from
dirty diapers to car batteries and even TV sets out
their windows directly onto park property where
children and park employees walk.

“It's really dangerous, and we don't have enough
staff up here,” said CSEA Steward Luis Lugo. “You
never know what could hit one of the little kids who
play here,” he said. He hopes legal action will be
taken against those responsible.

Sh FRAN SAME

Joint Committee ON

Health

See page 16
for instructions on
how to access
THE EMPIRE PLAN
Participating Provider
Directory website
on the Internet

Attorney General
bars private prison

ALBANY — Just one week after
CSEA came out against the
construction of the state's first
private prison, Attorney General
Dennis Vacco issued a ruling that
could sound the death knell for
private prisons in New York.

Vacco ruled that “except for a
limited and specific authorization
under federal law for private entities
to house United States prisoners,
private operation in New York of any
correctional facility is
unauthorized.”

The ruling came after Corrections
Corporation of America (CCA), a
Tennessee-based firm, purchased
185 acres in South Fallsburg,
Sullivan County, for $470,000 with
the intent of constructing a 1,000
bed minimum to medium security
substance abuse treatment prison.

While concerned about the
potential loophole that may allow
private prisons to contract with the
federal government to house federal
prisoners, CSEA hopes the ruling
will kill the plan.

“This community needs jobs that
pay a living wage,” CSEA President
Danny Donohue said. “Private
prisons make their profits by paying
low wages and few if any benefits.”

Security has also been an issue
in areas where private prisons are
located, CSEA Southern Region 3
President Carmine DiBattista said.
He pointed out CCA has come
under criticism for not meeting
accreditation standards,
inadequately trained staff and high
turnover resulting in poor security
and abuse of prisoners, according to
a study published by the AFL-CIO.

Gov. Pataki, his commissioner of
Corrections and Council 82, which
represents correction officers in
state prisons, have also come out
against private prisons. But CSEA is
concerned that the presence of a
private prison would make a
tempting option to state officials to
address the state's prison space
shortage. — Anita Manley

Th buble Facto ent ° May 199% 7 Page Zq

A menate from CSEA President Danny Donohue
- Tell lawmakers to do their jobs!

May is here, and there is no end in sight to the
state budget stalemate at the Capitol in Albany.
This is bad news for all New Yorkers.

We all lose when the Governor and state
lawmakers don’t do their job.

There are a number of ways that the failure to
enact an on-time budget hits all of us in the
wallet. For one thing, school districts across the
state will have to enact budgets this month
without really knowing how much state aid they
can expect — raising once again the possible
need for costly, short-term borrowing to meet
expenses.

It must also be remembered that years of state
cutbacks have dumped responsibilities and costs
on to counties, cities, towns and villages across
the state, leading to a heavy burden on taxpayers
— including all of us — through higher property
taxes.

mi
“ated
a

Call 1-800-SOS-6336
Tell the Governor and
your state legislators:

DONT LET IT TAKE Your JOB!

As CSEA has said over and over and over
again in recent years, it doesn’t help to get
pocket change income tax cuts if we end up
taking it in the neck on school and property tax
increases.

The lack of state budget resolution also causes
anxiety and uncertainty for state employees as
year after year New York “manages” by simply
careening from crisis to crisis.

But New Yorkers lose in other ways, too, as
the budget politics dominate the entire legislative
session. By tying up all issues into one
“Christmas tree” legislative package to be
wrapped up by early summer, important and
substantive debate on critical issues gets lost.

For example, the whole subject of welfare
reform, a sweeping measure that demands
serious review and public input, has been
reduced to a game of political football. We need to

see thoughtful

consideration about

the impact these

reforms will have on

thousands of lives,

especially children;

instead the issue has

been reduced to partisan bickering.

And that’s just one issue in which the public
is getting shortchanged.

But it's not too late to make a difference.
Whether you've done it before or not, please call
the Governor and your state lawmakers at
1-800-SOS-6336 and tell them to get down to
serious work for the good of all New Yorkers.

Li LTTTT

aH

l
SA =
ee ,, pt ¥

i

; BY

“ALACEME

Page 8 » May 1997 » The Public Sector

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Political Action:

Bulldozing for ch

f you've ever wondered what CSEA
Jens by being involved in political
action, then you're asking the wrong
question.
The real question is what do YOU gain
when CSEA gets involved in political

campaigns and legislative issues.

The answer is change. With its
statewide and national influence, CSEA
works like a bulldozer pushing through
the bureaucracy and politics to achieve
change for you, the members.

But remember YOU are the union.

The stories on these pages show just
how important it is for CSEA members
to work for change and lead powerful
grassroots political efforts.

In Troy, the whole city government
turned around when CSEA members
started fighting an anti-union
administration. In Cicero, CSEA
members knocked an elected official out
of office after he harassed employees
repeatedly. In Wappingers School
District, CSEA members led a campaign
to oust board members who wanted to
privatize.

In short, CSEA’s political action efforts
directly benefit CSEA members.

Continued on page 10

May 1997

CSEA activist Joe Messano on the job in the Town of Cicero.

Photo by Mark M. Kotzin

SEAL ULAEIESEDDP SeOOeee ete e thee
sSSOSELITETENN VEDI SSCS IEESES

ee ebay

| ASW URESESRIOSESI ESTATES TEPER SSDS TTIT ALTE ESD MYTiiritrtanerni Tiree eriirer tt ka rae eV ee VN ARs pitiieieri CBE EARS Ee Lt : : et
aint i e )
CSEA campaign urnaround in Lroy =. ————
CSEA settlement was j

e 7 e battle of the City of Troy is a The union made voter registration In October 1904, 47 Troy CSEA members Duri as just
portrait of political activism at its a priority. Manager ‘omminated by then-GOP City he tried ¢ to brask tie Caen ee terror
most effective. “The union must have hit a cord brought a lawsuit aeons CSEA er firings and the daily intimidation of city
CSEA stood up for its members against because there was a marked upswing cr edinee iy eens 2y vei orn ie union fought vigorously against
CICERO — If you want proof of the success of “We all worked together. We went door to an anti-union city manager and council fens sistas GUNS ETD thus avoiding costly and insacecay, itn me city manager, certain union officers
a ; Fi and, in the process, the whole registered,” CSEA Political Action tion. ‘urned their backs on the CSEA and the
CSEA’s political action, just ask four workers in door, handed out brochures and fliers, did Z P 2 Coordinator Adam Acduario said We as members of the CSEA setti employees they represented. The most egre-
ee Uae eae eee phone Deuecnewery cane We could.s Be eae Eien be pee hired David “Many of the new registrations came to: apes eee this agreement was fait fect, a pase cee aoe me Me Misch
Ray Dempsey, Michael See, Joseph Carella Rego got knocked out in the primary by the ee t, ; eel in with a CSEA filer still attached.” Cantal fikieding concern ee light of abandoned his fellow employees Agra
and Jim DeVaul, all motor equipment operators, CSEA-endorsed candidate. He was out of office’ randeau as city manager, he fires Galwieclign pae1ods (mG cole ing this settlement, we would like fom ine aanacne priginal October 1994 termina.
owe their jobs to CSEA and the political action at the end of his highway superintendent term. ie eae Se ante 4 threw out the anion ant She AT ereployees were termi Grandeau included the nage cof bot Mie
that ousted their tyrannical boss from office. Dempsey, active in CSEA political efforts er ie citys GRouizest ebiployees: worker elty coun and lelesled the Grandeau so he could hire his genie; However, due to a political deal, his name
After Highway Superintendent Frank Rego before, said this campaign was different. ak tee Seer “ ie i CSE, na painless a Genii the union. While these Mickareine cues evrnile sot
laid off the four in 1994, CSEA filed an improper “This was much more personal. The union COREE UD EG) Se EE EP Te GRRE AHO Gallo xine feed oes Gane ee being on the very people he was supposed pee
practice charge accusing Rego of retaliation for _ really went out on a line for us,” he said. “I serie wate Wan Venous: ; (Geena ee, is of Grandeau were walking in the other dese Mian acne eventually suspended Mr,
union activities. All four were union activists. think we would have been lost without political Even if we won every case, we 'd have te P ene pone jobs in part included a rating with Grande mina ee
Dempsey, then CSEA unit president, had action.” to face the council's anti-union bias and —_- Grandeau’s terror tactics, every udget director, a $59,000 planning the union, We forts to break
psey, the unit pre: 5 action. Z ene bli n hi commissioner and a $65,000 public safe ; fe were disappointed when Bob
DeVaul, now unit vice president, agreed Grandeau’s attacks,” said Ed LaPlante, [Sela] eC a ole MCLE IN commissioner. The budget director eve rd Mien but himself ahead of the 47 individu-
y z : CSEA’s director of political operations. have been subjected to the same ally became the GOP candidate for mayor of Ta Were his friends and colleagues,
intolerable treatment,” LaPlante yy ajehe Pier esiipenieg too is something that none
Mr. Grandéau cared so little about Troy he bev tie Gegra ret MOF should any mem-

challenged Rego repeatedly over his abusive

behavior and contract violations.
“We had to change the players.”
said. “But what the politicians saw refused to move to the city fr
‘om Albany Ona more Positive note, we
» We are confident

The first victory came when Troy voters a
ounty, even though he was required to do the city will overcome the chaos left behind

“I've been involved in political campaigns
was CSEA standing up, taking eve
euP B EVETY J so under the lav. However he hares by the Grandeau administration and

ion and its anti-

before, but I've never seen so much involvement

CSEA won the case, and the four men went
back to work with full back pay and benefits. by so many people on a local level like that,” he ; z
But the workers knew the victory wouldn't said. “The union provided the catalyst.” did away with the city manager form of Pee cae Sites u

change Rego, and by then, he was running for Since Rego left, the workers say, morale has government, voting for a strong mayor. pee ae Trews about collecting his $80,000 salary union activities, Th
town supervisor. gone up, and they have a much better CSEA immediately started working on _ partisan, internal and external, and Deol eee aD the CSEA agreement was a major step in one
: iy v3 an against G: izing:
The union went all out to support Rego’s relationship with management. In fact, they elections ee tolete fon ouine vent: eo eee a aay ee fosarding his residency, he immediaici es eal en a ee ie Ais Heed to
primary opponent, said CSEA activist Joe haven't had to file any grievances since they got Political action was looked at as the © ae ey eee ese 2 ee es mae court hearing, — Some individuals have sugeeneg th i
equalizer in this ongoing battle,” CSEA popular opinion. GOP-conttolied cat been allowed by the settiement was no more that's acta
Capital Region 4 Director Joe Reedy said. — Daniel X. Campbell Tesideney law for over a year aol oats the eae oie one must only ook at

‘is union- i hi of the Norma Fato.

ae dissuaded from ths ype of loge. Ms: Fatone

rid of Rego.
The Grandeau legacy is one of. dismal fail- was aCSEA member wrongfully terminated

Messano, who became unit president when
ure. He attempted to blame the unions for by Grandeau wheee coe went to trial, A fed-

— Mark Kotzin

Dempsey was laid off.
. . eee se
evel
W. ; : p litica | acti on Member has change of heart | Srvusiccryauims tuvaize pees ey lt cmon st pe
ecessary expertise . Fatone $112,000 ii
a in ers SD members oust boar d t I 10 0 “I used to tell my co-workers that they should get their to run a city. In just wen Hp gptplereny this Sue OF Oy in CEA legal fees.
political action money back from CSEA,” said Jackie crab {axes 16 percent, hid a $12000000 to avoid any eostiy appectee eo Cou
Lippitt, a CSEA Department of Motor Vehicles Local 674 Ia er aeuslt, Bave ‘away $2,000,000 We would like to thank

: ppitt, P annually in sales tax revenue tothe GOP advan e to thank the current city
Editor's note: When three Wappingers board members who were up for re-election. member. county government, and cost taxpayers large and eq airite and city council for a fair
Central School District Board of Education We needed help, and called on the (CSEA “But then I saw the CSEA commercials, and my fousetety eae to numerous viola- appreciate (pete, tous ere
members supported Educational Southern) Region 3 Political Action Committee. outlook changed,” she said. “CSEA wasn’t using political Furthermore, he trled to aell city hall and ae attorney Bill Herbert, friends. nad

Alternatives Inc. (EAI) last year, the unions “Political Action Coordinator Stan Merritt 8 action money to line the pockets of some fat cats. My we Freer rae golf course to his friends at a sad TAY
union is using PAC money to show the public what to abolish the Troy Police Berane empeted DEBBIE BERLING
Teduce public safety simply because of his fees

representing district employees were wasted no time in addressing our needs. Stan

steamed. After they fought the board over was quick to set up meetings to get our

hiring EAI, they took on the board members membership working on this campaign. John AFS ( ME
Phillips (labor relations associate) attended

directly. When the three ran for re-election,
lout as New @
lest public G 9 >
nion, but its S V 1 a

public employees really do,” Lippitt said. Gliese ir
“Now when people approach me about the PAC rebate als for the pollce union,

I tell them why I won't be sending in a request for my
political action money back.”
— Daniel X. Campbell

CSEA and the other unions successfully every board meeting. Together we helped to
campaigned against them. form an alliance of unions and concerned ad as

Barbara Crosson, president of CSEA parents in the district to fight privatization.
Wappingers Central School District Unit, Phone banking, posting signs, distributing

Dutchess Educational Local 867, talks handouts, etc., all helped to oust the three C SEA has

board members who were in favor of EAI. York’s larg

| about the role political action played:
| “EAI was a threat to the basic foundation of “I applaud the actions of the Political Action employee
| education and was totally supported by three © Committee, CSEA, and all our members.” AFSCME affiliatillon doubles its
strength in New York and gives
“SEA Long Island Region 1 Political Action Committee Chair Cathy

Barbara

|
| Crosson
| : prominence in Cf™ongress.
AFSCME's lobbyists work Green, a CSEA member for 21 years, has been politically active for
oe closely with CSEMMA in the state 19.
CSEA powers political change Capitol St dint take lang for mo tate fe naportance polls actin
AFSCME also fi monitors issues plays,” Green said. “It is vital for us to talk the politicians’ language
Continued from page 9 enforce that CSEA members programs and aid to school All the grassroots work E ~
Wnlanettace pcb a provide valuable services and to districts and local governments. communicates strongly to us Weshneny a as Job pies ier Ga ae item cautoae PSHE On ei peace
their lobbying, but look at build public support for its By far the most powerful part _ politicians and elected officials Wor! ne a ip ae ieee fo Congress
CSEA: it ee $1.1 million on ana d, CSEA fought - eases oenen oe ae Gate power vocal federal aad Fae fate on “We Arore Saale to get her elected,” Green said. “CSEA was
lobbying over the state budget Males for the ae Hon poeta ae ee sae H nie mae fen Pet SBUBE IDE, AFSCME to lobHiy and lead on the front lines of that congressional race.” CSEA Long Island Region 1 Political Action Committee Chair
last year, but $800,000 of that £$1.6 ante srithelniate Pe sari aes calle rar ‘And you mente mower grassroots campi™aigns across the Green, also president of the Town of Babylon Unit of Suffolk Local Cathy Green with state lawmakers, from left, Sen. James
went to advertising to re- e i : t ee mm na oe cealaie Bae eee e behind that. measa a country. 852, urges more members to get involved. Lack and Assemblymembers Bob Sweeney and Harvey
udget which restored jobs, Pp 5 ge. — Sheryl Jenks Weisenberg.
Page 10 * May 1997 « The Public Sector THE CSEA ORK FORCE The Public Sector * May 1997 * Page 11
a
St a! tis

wn fill you while away another summer Of finally spend a
wwmer worthwhile one? If you have what it takes, send your - CSEA
e 5 application in today! If you are selected, you'll
experience a summer you'll never forget! bs e
ani You can join the AFL-CIO’s Union Summer ’97. It’s a nationwide movement to protect workers’ Ameri ican Labor Link
rights and fight for economic justice. If selected, you will spend three weeks organizing for workers’ rights and hepa Pa cay "

social justice with others as committed as you are to the labor movement and fairness for all working people.
Standing together we can show greedy corporations and their political allies that workers will fight for their right to organize.

Together we will fight and win!

The AFL-CIO’s Union Summer is an educational 3-1/2 week internship, not a job. It is a highly selective program because many more people apply than can be
accommodated. In selecting participants, we look for pro-union people who are committed to social and economic justice and can work well in a diverse group —
the profile of a union organizer and activist. We encourage women and people of color to apply. Those who did Union Summer '96 are not eligible to apply.

Please provide the information listed below in full. Print clearly using black ink.

Will you be 18 as of
FIRST NAME NICKNAME (IF ANY) LAST NAME SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER 5/31/97 YES. NO

CURRENT ADDRESS STREET Let us know!

PERMANENT ADDRESS If you know anyone
who is taking part in
Union Summer '97,

CURRENT PHONE WORK PHONE PERMANENT PHONE send us a note. The
Public Sector would

Circle the month(s) you are available to participate in the program: AUGUST like to do a story on
all those Union

Are you a union member? YES NO Summer activists
with CSEA ties.
Write to:
The Public Sector
CSEA
143 Washington Ave.

If so, which one (give union name and local number)?

Have any family members been union members? YES NO If so, who?

Which union (give union name and local number if possible)? Albany, NY 12210

If you are currently a student, please list school Grad date

If you are fluent in any languages other than English, please list it/them here:
(Be prepared to be interviewed in the language/s you list above)

Briefly answer the questions listed below on separate sheets of paper (no more than three pages). Use a word processor or typewriter if possible. Staple your
resume and your answers to the questions below to this application.

1) What experience in you own life makes you want to participate in Union Summer and work for social justice?

2) What do you hope to achieve by participating in Union Summer?

3) What types of community-based, political, union or other social justice groups have you been involved in?

4) Does the labor movement have a role to play in achieving social and economic justice in society? Explain.

5) Union Summer involves living in close quarters with a diverse group of people and erratic hours on a sometimes unpredictable schedule. Have you gone
through a similar experience? Are you ready for this one?

Please list two references (relatives excluded). Include name, address, telephone number(s), and how you know them.

DEADLINE: Application package MUST be received by May 10, 1997. Mai Union Summer, 815 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, fax 202-408-0303;
tel. 1-800-952-2550 (in DC call 408-0300); e-mail unionsmr@aol.com; website: www.unionsmr.org

Sites located nationwide e $210 per week stipend e Housing provided

We would appreciate your answering the following questions regarding your race, ethnicity and gender. However, you are not required to do so, This
information is for record-keeping purposes in compliance with Federal law. It will be kept separately from your application and will not be a basis for any
employment decisions.

NAME:

GENDER: Female RACE OR ETHNICITY: African-American ——— Asian Pacific lslander ——_—— Latina/o ——_——

Male Native American —____ White —_— Other (describe if you wish)

See page 18 for information on the AFL-CIO’s “Senior Summer”

Page 12 * May 1997 * The Public Sector GENERAL NEWS

Private sector news Prvvate sector mews Pervate sector news Private Sector
Newsletter provides food for thought

POTSDAM — A newsletter has
become the glue holding together
the members of CSEA Potsdam
Auxiliary and College Educational
Services (PACES) Local 625.

The food service workers at

Local 625 member Sue

SUNY Potsdam have about 100
members in six work locations, and

anew monthly newsletter is pulling

those members together, Local 625
President Penny Bond said.

“We've only had good responses,”
she said. “People actually look
forward to reading it every month.”

A committee puts together the
six- or eight page newsletter,
including stories and information
from CSEA which are important to
members, said June Wilkins, local
secretary and newsletter committee
member.

“It gives us a chance to let each
building know what's going on,”
Wilkins said.

Cashier Sally Arquiett feels more
involved because of the newsletter.

“It makes you think about union
issues,” she said.

Cashier Sue Blackburn agreed.
“This is helping us get to know
one another and makes us feel like
CSEA is a group,” Blackburn said.
“Now you see people talking more

about the union.”

Newsletter Editor Aaron Hoyt

relies on resources from the CSEA
Communications Department. He
wants the newsletter to spur
activism, he said.

“I want to get people more
involved in what's going on, and by
knowing what's going on, they have
a better ability to get involved.”

Blackburn

— Mark Kotzin

Unionized bus drivers safe, caring

EDITORS’ NOTE: Non-unionized, for-profit private sector bus companies
try to cut costs at the expense of the employees and of safety. Low wages,
few benefits, no training and high turnover all lead to poorer safety
records. But CSEA-represented drivers in private companies have good
track records because the union helps employees fight for better
conditions and training.

WATKINS GLEN — CSEA Local 709 Steward Sheila
Cody is a driver for the safety-award-winning Laidlaw
Transportation in the Watkins Glen School District.

Labor and management here work together to run a
top-notch transportation system, she said.

“Not all private sector busing is nonchalant about
their children or second rate,” she said. “We're first
rate, and we really care about our kids.”

CSEA has
represented the
workers since
1981, when the
district contracted
with Laidlaw.
They've had two
managers who
work well with
CSEA and the
workers, Cody
said.

“If (the current
manager) has a
problem, he asks
for union input on

Local 709 member Linda Barber !8Sues that effect

our drivers,” she said.

Driver Annabell Yaw
said teamwork is key.

For example, labor
and management
formed a committee to Y
improve student Pa
discipline problems, Local 709 Vice President
and the problems Norm Deraiche
have decreased, said
Yaw, a committee member.

The drivers also have an excellent driving safety
record, with no avoidable accidents over the last 10
years, CSEA Local 709 President John Lutomske said.

In 1992-93, Laidlaw gave the district an award for
the best safety record in the Northeast Region, It’s an
honor the drivers are proud of. a

“I think our safety record is fantastic,” Cody said.

Local Vice President Norm Deraiche, who is also a
safety trainer, says that the good record comes from
working together.

“I think safety is everybody's job,” he said, “and I
think management is very aware of the union because
we do work closely with them.”

— Mark Kotzin

Workers lead
libraries to
the future

POUGHKEEPSIE — Think of it
as a library for libraries.

The Mid Hudson Library
System, one of 23 statewide
funded by the state Education.
Department,
provides
services and
resources to
65 libraries
and
branches in
five counties
in the
Hudson
Valley.

The 15
CSEA
members
who work for
the library
system help
patrons keep
up with the
newest
technologies
in the most
cost-effective
manner — by sharing services.

The system provides everything
from inter-library loan services to
computer consulting and
technical support for member
libraries, said CSEA Private Sector
Local 702 President Lisa Kochik.

Other services include
providing materials for summer
reading and special theme
programs, audio visual
equipment, computers, movies
and videotapes and grant writing.

Kochik, who works in the
Children’s Services Department,
said she believes that keeping up
with the latest technology is an
investment in the future of this
country.

“This is how we are making a
contribution to our future,” she
said. “Not every family can afford
to buy a computer, and we can
provide one at the library.”

It is a fact of life that libraries
are facing financial restraints,
said Kochik.

“Shared services is a good way
to get these resources to the
public at a lower cost.”

— Anita Manley

CSEA Private
Sector Local 702
President Lisa
Kochik

GENERAL NEWS

The Public Sector * May 1997 » Page 13

SUNY B

Local 640 awards scholarship

CSEA Buffalo State College
Local 640 awarded scholarships
to members Kathy Babcock, a
library employee, and Karen
Press, a registration office
employee.

The awards, in memory of
CSEA member Robert Emles Jr.,
were presented by Local President
Dale Swain.

Babcock received the award for
the fall 1996 semester, and Press
for the spring 1997 semester.

SUNY Fredonia member honored

FREDONIA —
Wilfredo Montanez
received the first
President's Award
for SUNY Fredonia
employees in the
operational and
administrative
divisions. The
award was
established
through Local 607
CSEA labor-
management

Wilfredo
Montanez

efforts.

Martinez, a 13-year custodian
received a certificate from the
college president, Dr. Dennis
Hefner, and Local 607 President
Paul McDonald.

Fellowship available

The Center for Women in
Government at SUNY Albany is
offering a fellowship on Women
and Public Policy.

The program combines
experience with graduate
seminars. All placements are in
Albany.

The fellowship carries a $9,000
stipend.

Applications for the 1998
fellowships must be submitted to
the Center for Women in
Government by May 30.

For more information, contact
Dorothy Hogan at 518-442-3383.

Library assistants to meet

The 19th annual conference of
the state Library Assistants
Association will be held June 11 to
14 at Cornell University, Ithaca.

The conference will include
workshops, a roundtable lunch,
an open forum and a keynote
speech, “New Horizons, New
Challenges,” by Ed Gillen, a
former member of the
association's executive council
and an advocate for library
assistants.

For more information, contact
Susan Frey at 607-273-9106,

; BA gBM 2 NAY (ORT si, EunlR gente”

Fumes and spills
threaten workers

STONY BROOK — CSEA members
blame sore throats, bloody noses,
rashes and respiratory problems on
the conditions they face working in
the offset print shop at SUNY Stony
Brook University Hospital.

Ever since the shop was moved to
a basement, members have
complained about fumes and illness.

They believe a crack in an
overhead pipe releases fumes from
the floor above where autopsies are
performed.

CSEA Shop Steward Debbie
Nappi-Gonzalez was one day nearly
overcome by fumes.

“I suddenly got tunnel vision and
my nose began to bleed,” she said.
The fire marshal told the workers to
leave because of formaldehyde
fumes. Later, she learned a
formaldehyde spill had occurred
upstairs.

“We had every symptom listed for
exposure to formaldehyde except
death,” Nappi-Gonzalez said.

Soon after that, CSEA member
Mike Ulrich was splashed on his

clothes and in his
mouth with a liquid
dripping from the
ceiling.

“They gave me a
glass of water and
told me to rinse my
mouth out,” he
said. “I was offered
a blood test for
Hepatitis B and AIDS. That was it.”

The spill occurred when the
dedicated infected waste line broke.
It was not tested for disease.

“I have a wife and two small
children,” Ulrich said. “I have to
worry for the rest of my life what
diseases I caught from the blood and
if | am going to give anything to my
family.”

Out of work for four months after
the spill and diagnosed with acute
stress disorder, he suffers from
panic attacks and insomnia.

“It is extremely disconcerting that
these pipes were not maintained
even after all the health-related
complaints,” said CSEA Stony Brook

SUNY Purchase members

lead state budget protest

From left, Debbie Nappi-Gonzalez, Mike Ulrich
and Patricia Ortiz-Rios in the print shop.

Local 614 President Grace Roy.

“This incident could have been
avoided,” added CSEA Occupational
Safety and Health Specialist Dan
Morra.

Offset printer Patricia Ortiz-Rios is
expecting a baby and is extremely
concerned about how her worksite
may affect her unborn child.

The administration seems more
concerned about the machines than
the people.

“They want to move the machines
and put on splash guards.
Meanwhile, what kind of protection
are we given?” Nappi-Gonzalez said.

CSEA continues the fight to have
the members moved to a safe area.

— Sheryl C. Jenks

Program

PURCHASE — More
than 200 students and
staff of SUNY Purchase
rallied to protest proposed
cuts to the SUNY budget.

Participants were urged
to register to vote and write
their legislators to let them
know that funding
reductions would
jeopardize SUNY colleges
and hurt students.

CSEA Southern Region 3
President Carmine
DiBattista said the
Governor's proposed
budget “fails to provide
adequate funding to
maintain essential
services.”

Tuition hikes could
reduce enrollment, he said.

“Tuition increases
combined with proposed
cuts in tuition assistance
may very well force
children of the state's less
fortunate families right out
of SUNY’s doors,” he said.

CSEA also opposes a
proposal to allow each
SUNY campus to set its
own tuition because it
would jeopardize the
quality of educational
programs and physical
plants on many campuses.

For years, campuses
have had to cut back on
essential services,
especially those provided
by CSEA members,
DiBattista said.

“For years, our members
have been trying to hold
these campuses together
with spit and glue. The
proposed budget would
continue that trend,” he
said.

“CSEA members, like the
vast majority of New
Yorkers, consider SUNY
one of the major assets of
our state and we urge the
Governor and legislators to
invest in that asset.”

— Anita Manley

results in
promotions

FREDONIA — Dennis
Newcomb is now a grade 12
carpenter and Steve
Peterson is a grade 12
plumber, thanks to a joint
CSEA-NYS apprenticeship
program at SUNY College at
Fredonia.

The two men, members of
CSEA Local 607,
successfully completed the
three-year program in two
years. They had been grade
9 assistants in the
operational services
department.

“This program allowed
two employees who were
already very skilled in their
areas of expertise to show
... that they can do the job,”
Local 607 President Paul
McDonald said.

Dennis Newcomb

Steve
Peterson

GENERAL NEWS

ewan JAAANAD

Statements of sense sep:

CSEA STATEWIDE PRESIDENT

All candidates for CSEA statewide office were given an opportunity to submit 500-word statements and photographs for publication in this edition of
The Public Sector. Remarks are the personal statement and responsibility of the candidates themselves. The Public Sector is under no legal obligation
to print or verify the accuracy of candidate statements. The opportunity to present views is extended as a courtesy to the candidates.

Danny Donohue

Once again it is time for you, the members of
CSEA, to choose your Union leadership and
support the many changes and openness
established the past three years. It’s been a
tough three years at every level — state, local

_} government, school district or private sector,
but I am proud of the job that our Team has
J done fighting for every single member.

We have had to fight layoffs, givebacks
privatization and job transfers. We are fighting
attempts to close Roswell Park and Helen
Hayes Hospital, fighting to save psychiatric

centers, fighting attempts to privatize health care facilities and nursing
homes in local government across the state. We have fought the good
fight and we will keep doing it by pulling together and working as one
Union.

Now it’s your turn to send a message to the Governor and all the
political leaders we deal with throughout the state. This Union stands
together for its members and behind its leaders. The next three years will
not be any easier. You need to vote in this election and let your voice be
heard.

Now, let me share with you my vision of the future. This Union has
made a solid commitment not just to fight for every member but to
ensure that wherever workers need the best damn union in the country,
CSEA will be there. We will be there with better contracts, with the best
staff and services, and the best benefits we can negotiate. CSEA has and
will continue to forge the way in the labor movement in New York State.

We are moving quickly into the 21st Century. CSEA is on the internet
giving members direct access, communicating important issues via our
phone bank system, using teleconferencing to assist in training as many
activists as possible.

But technology is no substitute for direct contact. As a Team, your
officers have met with members around this state giving open access to
many areas more than ever before. Through our Member Benefits
Department, the “In Touch With You” program has traveled to Locals and
Units across the state, giving you a direct line of communication.

But, all we can ever do — Mary, Barbara, Mo and myself — is try to
give you the information and try to get you involved. Only by being
involved can you make this Union what you want it to be.

I am proud of the honor you gave me three years ago by electing me
your President. I am asking for your vote for the 4 For the Future slate to
keep CSEA the best damn Union in the entire country.

is Danny Douchue

Ballots will be mailed May 15 to CSEA members
eligible to vote in secret ballot mail elections of

CSEA statewide officers. The deadline for receipt of

Pat Ellis

If anybody can honestly say that they are
better off after three years of Danny Donahue,
then I urge them to vote for him. For the rest of
us, Donahue has been a disaster. Not only is
morale the lowest it has ever been, but so is our
image. Every member is walking around with a
bull’s eye on their back. They’re worried about
Privatization and Workfare, but what worries
them most is that CSEA is not giving us
answers.

When my job was threatened a few years ago,
CSEA said “Let’s be realistic. We can’t save
your job.” Since then I’ve seen lives ruined as people lost their jobs while
CSEA did nothing. No one will hear “ Let’s be realistic..” while I’m
president; nobody’s job will be lost without a fight. Donahue has no fight
left in him. Step aside Donahue.

How about our state contract ? The inflation rate has been almost 6%
the last two years; while we haven’t had a raise. We had a CSEA dues
increase, plus an AFSCME dues increase. That makes us about 8% worse
off than we were before Donahue started negotiating for us. We can’t
afford three more years of Donahue.

Are you aware that CSEA is under investigation for racketeering ?
When the investigators came to visit, Donahue had an obligation to tell
you about it. Did he ? Maybe he could have said that there was nothing to
worry about, but when he decided not to tell us anything he violated his
responsibility to us, to keep us informed.

I could tell you what I feel the investigators are looking at, but it’s
really Donahue’s responsibility to tell you. From what I know, laws were
routinely disregarded. In ninety years, I believe this is the first
racketeering investigation of CSEA. The fact that Donahue decided not to
tell you about it speaks for itself.

We all know that Donahue’s destroyed CSEA’s reputation, he’s refused
to support other unions. He prefers scabs, he shrugs at AFL-CIO boycotts.
He endorses the very people who hurt us the most. CSEA members need
court orders just to verify Donahue’s expense accounts. (I went broke
finding out.) He enforces AFSCME discrimination against his CSEA
members. He has turned CSEA into a private party for his friends; an anti-
union. He’s lost 10,000 CSEA jobs, so far. And he wants another chance ?

Donahue has been an officer so long that he’s forgotten CSEA’s a
member’s Union, not an officer’s club. Together Dan, Peter, Terry, and I
have over 60 years experience as members, That’s a long time to watch a
bunch of corrupt incompetent officers drive our Union into the ground.

Fighting Privatization and Workfare, better contracts, cutting costs,
increasing the professionalism at headquarters, and opening the lines of
communication with you are our main priorities. VOTE RICO SLATE.

Pat Ellis

ay

completed ballots is 8 a.m., June 5, at the address on the return envelope (I.C.E., P.O. Box 9164,
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9164). The counting of ballots will begin on June 5 at Interactive
Computerized Elections (I.C.E.), 1111 Broadhollow Road, Suite 202, Farmingdale, NY 11735.

1997 C&EA STATEWIDE OFFICERS ELECTION INSERT

@ Page 1

Statements of  camdedaces gar

CSEA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

All candidates for CSEA statewide office were given an opportunity to submit 500-word statements and photographs for publication in this edition of
The Public Sector. Remarks are the personal statement and responsibility of the candidates themselves. The Public Sector is under no legal obligation
to print or verify the accuracy of candidate statements. The opportunity to present views is extended as a courtesy to the candidates.

Mary E. Sullivan

The most important concern in a CSEA
member’s life has to be that he or she has a job
to go to every day. It matters to you that you’re
paid a decent salary, that you have good
benefits and that you have a safe and healthy
place in which to work. All of those things
matter to me as well.

For 26 years, I’ve worked with my CSEA
brothers and sisters to ensure that we have those
things. But it doesn’t get easier as time goes by.
Employers and politicians are always trying to
find ways to make us do more with less, accept

fewer dollars for more responsibilities.

They discovered privatization and have been trying to sell our jobs to
companies whose bottom line is profit, not service. Now they’re
attempting to give our work to welfare recipients instead of creating real
jobs and providing opportunities for a paycheck instead of a welfare
check.

Despite the barriers they invent to make your life more difficult,
Danny, Barbara, Maureen and I have been working together since our
election in 1994 to protect your job, to fight for good contracts, to
maintain the benefits you’ve earned for you and your family. We'll
continue to do that. It’s important to us that CSEA is always there for
you.

We’ ve been communicating with you about the federal welfare reform
law and how it will affect you. We’re lobbying the legislature and the
Governor and urging you to do the same thing so that New York State
implements legislation that protects your job. We'll continue to do that.
It’s important to us that CSEA is a force to prevent a workfare recipient
from displacing you.

We’ ve been out there talking with you, listening to your suggestions
and making the changes to CSEA that were necessary to address your
concerns. We’ll continue to do that. It’s important to us that CSEA is
accessible to you.

We’ ve been looking ahead at the issues that you may face in the future
and working on ways to prepare for them. We’ll continue to do that. It’s
important to us that CSEA is ready for the challenges of the 21st century
that could affect you.

We’ ve spent the past 3 years working as a team to address the issues
that concern you, to ensure that your voice is heard, to demand the
dignity and respect you deserve. We’ll continue to do that with your
support.

Your CSEA election ballot will be mailed on May 15th. Please use it
to send a message to every employer and politician that you care who
your CSEA officers are, that you’re an active member of a strong and
united CSEA and that YOU support the progressive leadership of the
4 FOR THE FUTURE SLATE.

Please use your ballot to vote for the experienced candidates who have
clearly demonstrated their ability to lead CSEA and their strong
commitment to represent YOU. Elect the 4 FOR THE FUTURE SLATE.

Thank you for your support.

e Mary E. Sullivan

Terry Dickson =

I’ve been a member over 15 years. Like most
members, I assumed that those we elected were
fighting for us. It wasn’t until our jobs were first
threatened, that we learned otherwise. We
thought that CSEA would fight for us, or let us
fight. But we were wrong!

Danny wouldn’t take our calls. He only talks
to presidents! His office is a half a block away;
he wouldn’t walk over. CSEA decided not to
fight for our jobs. Our local president was told
that she had to obey what CSEA staff wanted to
do, which was nothing. Mary Sullivan laughed

when we phoned to ask for help.

So we (the members, not our officers) called our Congressmen, and
Senators. The point is WE SAVED OUR JOBS. Not Donahue or Sullivan.
They didn’t care. (Until they were embarrassed into caring by the
newspaper.) Not our own officers. They were too intimidated to act.

Ever since then members of my local have known that Donahue and
Sullivan don’t give a damn about us. That was our wake up call. Now we
know better when Donahue promises the Roswell Park employees, that
he’ll fight for them. It’s all lies. There’s no media campaign going on to
save your jobs. Last year’s $800,000 media campaign only promoted
Danny Donahue. The only job he cares about seems to be his own.

Mary Sullivan. She could have been president. When she was first
elected Treasurer and she saw the nonsense at headquarters, the way they
throw money around on themselves, the disregard for laws, she could
have spoken up and been a hero. I wouldn’t be running against her today.
But, no, she went along with it instead of showing some leadership by
exposing it.

She’s missed her chance. It’s time to go home Mary.

We don’t have minor little differences over policy. Our differences are
major. We want to fight for our jobs. Intelligently. We want professional
contract negotiators. We want staff that actually gives a damn about us.
We want the last dues increase repealed, officer salaries cut in half, and
multiple pensions eliminated. My current CSEA negotiated health plan
and pension will be my pension and health plan as an officer. Does that
sound fair?

Privatization and workfare are the two big threats to our jobs. That and
Incompetent Corrupt officers. We will surrender no job to privatization or
workfare without a fight. VOTE RICO SLATE

cc Terry Dickson

IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR
BALLOT BY MAY 23, CONTACT
INTERACTIVE COMPUTERIZED
ELECTIONS (I.C.E.) at 1-888-691-8683
TOLL FREE FOR A REPLACEMENT
BALLOT

1997 C&EA STATEWIDE OFFICERS ELECTION INSERT @ Dage 2

PAR EERER REDS EEENESTS SN NNRED

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The Public

May 1997 ¢ Vol. 2, No. 5

Nassau

County Local 330

ML LEL IS |

A LIL SET

EA’s “Spring Fling”’

A Fun Nicut Out!

CSEA’s Country-Western Spring Fling, a highlight
of last year’s spring season, is
returning by popular demand.

It’s set for Tuesday May 13 at
the Sandcastle in Franklin
Square.

“Last year’s affair was such a
tremendous success that we've
decided to make it an annual event,” Social
Committee Chair Beth Luttinger said. “We're also
trying a new location to better accommodate a
large turnout.”

This year’s Spring Fling will once again have a
country western theme. Free line dancing lessons
will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a buffet
dinner and dancing, including both country and
traditional music. The admission price is the same as
last year, $25 for bargaining unit members and $30
for guests of members.

The buffet will include hot dishes, cold
smorgasbord items, carving station, pasta station,
dessert and beverages.

No reservations will be confirmed without
payment in full. Reservations will be accepted on a
first-come, first-served basis. Checks should be
made payable to CSEA Nassau Local 830.

The Sandcastle is located at 519 Franklin Ave.,
Franklin Square, across from Pathmark. Valet
parking is available at the front door, For more
information, call Beth at 571-2919, Ext. 11

Building a Strong Union

CSEA Deputy Director of Local Government Steve
Alviene has been meeting with Nassau Local 830 officers
and staff to work on union building. Pictured with
Alviene from left are Labor Relations Specialists Claude
Ferrara and Cynthia Smalls, Executive Vice President
Jane D'Amico, Local 830 President Tony Giustino,
Collective Bargaining Specialist Harold Krangle and
SEA Communications Associate Sheryl Jenks.

Your CSEA Union Newsletter

Message from CSEA Nassau County Local 830 President Anthony P. Giustino

CSEA Set to Launch
“Healthy Heart’? Program

CSEA Nassau Local 830 has
been awarded a modest grant
from the New York State
Department of Health to

conduct a health promotion program for the county
work force. The Nassau County Health Department
and Cornell Cooperative Extension are
participating sponsors with Local 830.

According to Local 830 Vice President Jane
D’Amico, who will coordinate the program, the
program will attempt to influence the daily living
habits of employees in areas that effect health,
including nutrition, exercise and smoking.

This will be done in several ways, including
educational programs, the development of health
profiles and through screening programs that
evaluate blood pressure and other health-related
factors.

The program is not designed to intimidate, it is

designed to create a high degree of self-awareness
and to give people daily choices that could help
them live healthier lives.

CSEA will try to reach all of its 12,000 members
with an outreach program in each county
department over the next two years. The program
is expected to begin by late spring.

Local 830 has taken a leadership role in health-
related issues that affect our members, such as the
screening programs for breast and prostate cancer.
It is my great hope that all of our members take
advantage of these programs for the sake of
themselves and their families.

Yours in unionis!

é

Tony Giustino

President CS! lassau Local 830

Above, a nurse explains health guidelines and operation of monitoring equipment to members of the
Healthy Heart Committee. They are, from left, CSEA Nassau Local 830 Executive Vice President Jane
D'Amico, Cathy Sefchek from the Office of Labor Relations, and Carol Busketta and Linda Peterson

from the Board of Elections.

2 Nissdit Aner!

The Public

May 1997
Vol, 2 No. 5

Your CSEA Local 630 Newsletter

Counsel’s Corner

CSEA Legal Action Successfully
Challenges NCMC Job Reassignment

A Monthly Publication of CSEA Nassau County Local 830
ANTHONY P. GIUSTINO, President

Tony Panzarella, Editor
(516) 571-2919 Ext. 15

Ronald G., Gurrierl, Chatr, Communications Committee

Sheryl C. Jenks, Communications Associate
CSEA Long Island Region Office, (516) 462-0030

NASSAU LOCAL 830
Executive Officers:
Jane D'Amico, Executive Vice President
Les Eason, Ist Vice President
Dan Murphy, 2nd Vice President
Noreen Ross, 3rd Vice President
Robert Cauldwell, 4th Vice President
Raymond Cannella, 5th Vice President
Jewel Weinstein, 6th Vice President
Bobby Eisgrau, Secretary
Kathleen Vitan, Treasurer

Unit Presidents/Executive Board:
John Aloisio Ill, Treasurer's Qffice
Michael Cathers, Probation Department
Robert Cauldwell, Social Services Department
Tim Corr, Recreation & Parks Department
Kenneth Dash, Administrative Unit
James Davis, Assessment Department
Mary Delmare, School Crossing Guards
Les Eason, 4. Holly Patterson Geriatric Center
Bobbi Eisgrau, County Clerk
Salvatore Gemelli, Sheriff's Department
Cynthia Hancock, Nassau Community College
Nancy Ianson, Office of Drug & Alcohol
‘Timothy Jaceard, Police Department AMTs
Barbara Jones, Department of General Services
Joan Kleila, Police Department Civilian
Bruce Kubart, Comptroller's Office
Richard Russ, Department of Consumer Affairs
Joseph Schickler, Health Department
Paul Simon, Fire & Rescue Services
Martin Stamile, Department of Public Works
George Walsh, Nassau County Medical Center
Joseph Whittaker, Fire Marshal's Office

We welcome reader suggestions: Please address your
comments to Tony Panzarella, Editor, Nassau
County EXPRESS at CSEA Nassau Co. Local 830,
400 County Seat Dr., Mineola, NY 11501-4137

Deadline is May 15
For By-Law Changes

CSEA Nassau Local 830 members who wish to
suggest changes to CSEA’s constitution and bylaws
must submit them to their unit president
immediately.

Local 830 President Tony stino said that
changes must be submitted in resolution form to

iA headquarters in Albany no later than May 15
This means they must be in the hands of the unit
president in time to put them in proper form and
get them to Albany before the deadline. (F:
will not be accepted.) Resolutions can be
submitted only by a delegate to the Annual
Delegates Meeting to be held Sept. 22-26 in Buffalo.
All unit presidents are delegates.

To be eligible for consideration, resolutions must
be typed or printed legibly on official A
“resolution submittal forn The Constitution and
By-Laws Committee will publish all properly
proposed amendments in The Public Sector, C
official newspaper, at least 15 days prior to the
Annual Delegates Meeting.

x copies

By: Louis D. Stober, Esq.
CSEA REGIONAL ATTORNEY

employees, I recently successfully arbitrated a

case at the NCMC involving the reassignment
of an employee who the county claimed had to be
moved to a different floor based on allegations of
patient abuse.

The county claimed that under Section 4 of
the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) they
had the absolute right to reassign this employee.
I argued that the county had abused their rights
under Section 4 and had violated the employee's
Section 12 seniority rights as well.

The facts were that this long term employee
with no prior record was accused by a doctor of
having used excessive force on a patient.
However, all the other employees who witnessed
the incident stated that this was false and that
the doctor could not have seen what was going
on. Further proof of this was in the doctor’s own
notes of the incident which he prepared at the
time of the incident. Those notes made no
mention of excessive force or any improper action
by anyone. It was only after this employee made
known the facts of the doctor’s inaction that all
of a sudden allegations of excessive force were
brought.

I: a case of importance to all county

The arbitrator ruled that the reassignment of
the employee violated the contract because:
“Management had no legitimate reason to
reassign the grievant under Section 4 or even
Section 12 of the CBA ... there exists no
legitimate, sustainable reason for management's
reassigning of the grievant and because its action
was based entirely on unfounded allegations, the
union's grievance, in this case, must be
sustained.”

The employee was ordered returned to his old
assignment and to be compensated for the loss
of any special pay, etc., that he would have been
entitled to.

The lesson to be learned is that you have the
right to challenge a job reassignment if you
believe it was done based on unfounded
allegations against you. Even the management's
rights clause of the CBA can be used agtainst
management when they abuse their authority
and take punitive action against employees for
no legitimate reason. So, if you believe you have
been victimized like the employee in this article,
contact your union representative and file a
grievance. Job reassignments can be overturned.

Women’s Committee Sponsors
Domestic Violence Workshop

Domestic Violence will be the topic of the next
in a series of free informational workshops
sponsored by CSEA Nassau Local 830 Women’s
Committee. It is set for Thursday May 15 in the
second floor conference room at 400 County Seat
Drive, Mineola (Board of Elections Building).
Starting tim is 5 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

According to Women’s Committee Chair Jane
D'Amico, the seminar will feature speakers from
the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic
Violence and the Nassau County Police
Department

Long I

County Medical Center, don’t fret. You can still
catch the International Festival that Long Island
Region 1 will hold on Saturday May 17. And it’s
free!

The Long Island Region Human Rights
Committee is the sponsor of the event, which will
feature international foods, multi-cultural
entertainment and more.

“Our members are all welcome to attend along
with their family and friends,” Committee Chair
Barbara Jones said.

Topics to be covered include:

+ signs of domestic violence

+ what to do if you suspect abuse

+ the legal (court) system

+ police policies

Because seating is limited, early reservations are
suggested by calling Jewel or Judy at 571-2919. The
second floor conference room is accessible via the
elevator in the glass-enclosed lobby in front of the
building on County Seat Drive.

land Region | to Celebrate Ethnic Heritage

If you missed the International Fair at Nassau

Participants need to confirm their attendance
by calling Long Island Region office at 462-0030
by May 12.

The International Festival will run from noon to
4:30 p.m. at the Long Island Region office at 3

ret Place, Commack. For directions and
additional information, call the above number.

See
NCMC International Fair
photos ————j>

Your CSEA Local 830 Newsletter

International Fair Celebrates
CSEA’s Multi- Cultural Richness

_ he wide range of ethnic backgrounds —_ understanding of foreign cultures through food, song that these cultures bring to our community,” he

that comprise the employee and dance. Over a dozen nationalities were added.
population at the sau County represented. Giustino thanked NCMC Unit President George
Medical Center was in evidence at the “Our union represents a cross-section of ethnic Walsh and Education Committee Chairperson Alona
recent International Fair sponsored culture ll working in harmony for the common Irby, along with their committees, for making the
by the NCMC Unit in conjunction good,” CSE au Local 830 President Tony event the success that it was.
with the C: Education Committee. _ Giustino said. “Events such as this show the richness

‘The all-day event was designed to foster a greater

Artist
Rhonda
Fleshman
displays
her
paintings
at the
African
booth.

PEOPLE Program Chairperson
Kathy Walsh jokes with Long
Island Region President Nick
India was well LaMorte over a tray of
fepresented by Lithuanian sausage. Yes, Kathy is
Radha Raman, part Lithuanian.
Vijay Kumbar,
Nina Shah,
Sanjay Kumbar, » Gary Goldberg and Lisa
Devangi Shah, Rosenthal serve some
Girija Kumbar i tempting Jewish
and Vinay 4 i delicacies at the
Kumbar. |! a Israclidgooth.

Stopping by the Italian booth are,
from left, CSEA Long Island Region
President Nick LaMorte, CSEA
Nassau Local 830 President Tony
Giustino and CSEA Statewide
President Danny Donohue.

ithia Hussein gets a se:
of Portuguese food from Joe
Cunha and Candy Antonio.

!

CSEA member Martin Schneider
1s a slice of apple strudel to
Roger Haddad at the German Irish soda bread and corned beef were the
booth, menu at the Irish booth. Serving a slice to
CSEA President Danny Donohue is Sheila
Slezak while Jack Geraghty looks on.

“Good Parks Don’t Just Happen”
CSEA Members Prepare Parks for Summer Season

Park workers George DiPoto, left, and Melvin
Thompson scrape and paint picnic tables at
one of Eisenhower Park’s many picnic groves.

Smoothing out a sand
trap prior to spring
opening of one of the
county’s golf courses
is Laborer Anselmo
Tornato.

Recreation.
Superviser DI Paul
Giordano measures
the width of a
playground with
an eye toward
possible
improvements.

Your .CSEA Local 830 Newsletter

hat does it take to get Nassau County’s 17 parks ready for a busy
summer season? Just ask the people who do the job. They're all CSEA
members. Recreation & Parks Unit President Tim Corr took us on a tour
of several parks to show us a sampling of the dozens of jobs that must
be done during the spring in preparation for an influx of millions of
park patrons. (During summers with good weather, attendance has
topped the 12 million mark.)

“Getting the parks ready for summer is a huge job. People should
know that good parks don’t just happen. They are the result of hard
work by dedicated CSEA members,” Local 830 President Tony Giustino
said.

So when you're swimming this summer at a county park, or picnicking, playing golf or tennis or
baseball, — or even ice skating — keep in mind that it is CSEA members who made it all possible.
“Tim is justly proud of the job his department does. So are we at CSEA,” Giustino said.

Groundskeeper
Dave O’Connor and
Laborer Matt Eison
put down foul lines
for softball field in
preparation for
league play.

Florist If Paula Kenny prepares flowers in greenhouse for transfer to the many
flower beds that will beautify county parks this summer.

Your CSEA Local 830 Newsletter s1ss1mmmsmnssqmmm EE as Cassa AALS

Rink Guard
Bill Rourke
brushes up on
his skating
skills in
preparation
for the
summer ice
skating season
at Cantiague
Park.

Equipment
Operator II
Gene Hilinski
gets lawn
mowers ready
to groom acres
and acres of
ballfields and
lawns.

Ice skating? In the
summer? Absolutely!
Pool & Rink
Maintenance Supervisor
Il Ron Beale skillfully
operates the Zamboni
outside the Cantiague
Park Ice Rink, which will
open for the summer
season the first week of

Unit President Tim Corr takes a look at Cantiague
Park pool area, which is being completely
renovated for the 1997 season.

etting the parks ready for summer is a
huge job. People should know that good
parks don’t just happen. They are the

result of har
members.

Recreation & Parks
Unit President Tim
Corr gives
instructions in
ballfield grooming
to Laborer I Randy
Rover, Tens of
thousands of
ballplayers will use
county fields this
summer,

d work by dedicated CSEA

— CSEA Nassau Local 830 President
Tony Giustino

6 Nassau SEPREGS

It’s your contract!
Give us your ideas.

CSE RO Nassau Local 830
Pe, Tony Giustino, President

it’s Contract Negotiation Time Again?

AND WE’RE LOOKING FOR YOUR IDEAS FOR THE 1998 CONTRACT

In anticipation of upcoming
negotiations, we are requesting your
input. This is your opportunity to tell
us what you want in your contract.
Every proposal will be given serious
consideration and its acceptance will
be subject to negotiation.

Please return this questionnaire
as soon as possible to your Unit
President and a copy to the Local
830 office at 400 County Seat
Drive, Mineola, Attention: Beth
Luttinger, negotiations recorder.

1, What benefits in your current contract do you absolutely not want changed? (Please be specific.)

2. Are there any sections of the current contract that you especially want changed or the language
clarified? (Please explain.)

3. What additional benefits do you want to see included in your next contract? Why? Please explain

in as much detail as possible.

Name Phone (W)

Address

Agency Employed By

If you need assistance completing this form, please see your Unit President.

tRilisisacaas

Your CSEA Local 830 Newsletter

A Message From Long Island
Region President Nick LaMorte

An
Inspiration
To Us All

iger Woods recently
stroked his way into
history as the youngest
winner of the Masters golf
tournament.

At 21, Mr. Woods has
the distinction of being
the first person of color
to earn the prestigious
title.

While most of us don’t
possess the golfing talent

it took for Mr. Woods to be the best at his game, all
of us should be inspired by this man’s drive and try
to be the best at our own game.

While we may not be hitting the links as Mr.
Woods does, we instead tackle our jobs.

Work consumes a large portion of our lives. It
makes good sense to spend the time there
perfecting our skill:

As your union, C wants to hold each of us up
as shining stars in the work force. We need to
prove our worth so we can fight to have it fairly
compensated by management.

We need to take pride in the jobs we do and in
the services we deliver so we will be appreciated
by the publ:

Having achieved an unprecedented level of
excellence, Tiger Woods will be a millionaire,
probably even a billionaire in the years to come.

Most of us will make enough to feed and clothe
our famili ay our bills and take sporadic
vacations.

That's fine. Life's worth should not be measured
by net worth.

It's not the dollars and cents we make, it’s the
sense our lives make.

We may not swing through the rough like Tiger
Woods but we all come up against our own rough
spots and we can all share his voracious appetite
for success.

Fraternally yours,

Nick LaMo:
President Long Island Region
“We need to take pride
in the jobs we do
and in the services we deliver
so we will be appreciated
by the public.”

gor. £120)

Family Fun is the Focus
of Proposed CSEA Trips

CSEA Nassau Local 830 is looking to add a whole new dimension to its travel program ... outdoor fun
and sports for the entire family. But we need your input.

Can you picture yourself canoeing down the Delaware River? Or riding horseback on wooded mountain
trails? Maybe skiing is the sport you prefer. Every youngster’s delight is a trip to Hershey Park. Or Great
Adventure. Or, for the little ones, Sesame Place. And we're sure there are not just 2 few Yankees, Mets,
Islanders, Rangers and Knicks fans out there!

CSEA wants to put some of these trips together, and we've been speaking to a company that will give us
some great prices. Once we find out which of these trips would be popular with our members, we will
plan them.

Please check below the trips you might enjoy. Or write in something we might have overlooked. Then
clip out the form and send to:

CSEA Family Travel Program
400 County Seat Drive
Mineola, NY 11501
Mail it back or drop it in the inter-departmental mail at your county work location.

NY Knicks Basketball __

Great Adventure __

Hershey Park __

Sesame Place ___

Canoeing: Novice ___ Advanced ___
Giants Football __

Circlismeas

Dude Ranch: Day ___ Overnight __
Downhill Skiing __

Yankee Baseball __

Mets Baseball _____

Islanders Hockey ___

Rangers Hockey ___

Jets Football ___

Other suggestions:

Name

Department Work Phone

Important

Information for CSEA members

Below, members of the CSEA Nassau Local 830 Women’s Committee were on
hand at A. Holly Patterson Geriatric Center for a member benefits information
fair. Displaying literature on subjects important to women, such a breast
cancer, are, (from left) CSEA Nassau Local 830 and AHPGC Treasurer Kathleen
Vitan, Third Vice President Noreen Lingham, Drug and Alcohol U:
Nancy Ianson and Executive Vice President Jane’ D’Amico, who also serves as
Women’s Committee chair. Several hundred membe:
about the wide range of benefits available to them as CSEA members.

SUTIN be eee eee

Nassau ZEPHESS 7

Space is Going fa:

Most of this year’s scheduled CSEA trips have
already sold out, but there’s still room on four very
exciting ones. Seats are going quickly, so members
should make their reservations right away. The
following trips are still available.

+ May 6 — Little Italy — Arthur
Avenue, The Bronx; includes tour of
area, lunch at Mario’s, more — $48.

+ July 31 — Spirit of New York
cruise around lower Manhattan;
includes lunch, dancing, show and visit
to UN Building — $52.

+ Sept. 7-9 — Niagara Falls; includes
3 nights lodging (heated pool, sauna),
three breakfasts, two lunches, two
dinners, dinner show, tour of Niagara
area, aero ride above falls, more — $350
(double), $420 (Single), $315 (triple).

+ Oct. 23-26 — Oktoberfest &
Country Western Night, Mt. Snow, Vt.;
includes three nights at Snow Lake
Lodge, three breakfasts, two lunches,
three dinners, boat cruise,
entertainment, German Festival and
Country Western Dance — $345
(double), $440 (single).

All trips include round trip transportation via
deluxe motorcoach. Departures are from Municipal
Parking Field #6 in Mineola.

CSEA members, family and friends who need
more details or reservation forms, call Alice Groody
at 571-2919, ext. 22.

it President

owed up to learn

CSEK
A. HOLLY pa TTERSON GERiarpRic
‘B NASSAU LOCAL 830 :

CEN

Above, taking time out at the information fair recently to show the
new A. Holly Patterson GC Unit banner are, from left: Les Eason,
Marion McCrary, Cynthia Smalls, Thelma Campbell, Executive Vice
President Jane D’Amico, LeRoy Ladson, Eloise McRae, CSEA Nassau
Local 830 President Tony Giustino and Treasurer Kathy Vitan.

CsEa

Nassou
Local 830

CSEA LocaL re
3
COMMITY

Cast Your Vote to Name
New CSEA Radio Show

CSEA Nassau Local 830 will soon launch its own
radio program and we're asking our members to
help us with the name. The half-hour show will
run on WGBB 1240 AM — Long Island’s first radio
station — twice a week with days and time slots yet
to be determined.

The host of the show will be Local 830 President
Tony Giustino, who will attempt to bring the union
message to the public as well as to communicate
with the Local’s 12,000 members. It will be a talk
show format with special guests each week
discussing a wide range of union-related issues and
activities.

“We've come up with several names for the
show that have possibilities,” Giustino said. “I
thought it would be appropriate to give our
members a chance to make the final
determination.”

Names under consideration are:

+ CSEA on the Air

+ CSEA in Focus

CSEA Report
CSEA Today
CSEA Edition
Inside CSEA
CSEA Spotlight

+ CSEA Forum

Members who wish to cast a vote can do so by
circling the name of their choice and sending this
article to:

CSEA Nassau Local 830
400 County Seat Drive
Mineola 11501
attn: Tony Panzarella

If you have an idea of your own, please share it
with us and send it to the above address on a
separate piece of paper.

The winning name will be announced in next
month's Nassau County Express as will the latest
details on the show.

eerreeane wreenaye

poesia

Your CSEA Local’830 Newsletter

CSEA Answers Members’ Questions
on Public Benefit Corporation

CSEA continues to receive many questions
regarding the pending changeover to a public
benefit corporation at the Nassau County Medical
Center and the A. Holly Patterson Geriatric
Center. We've compiled a list of the questions most
Srequently asked by our members. The answers
are as complete as we can give in the context of a
newspaper column. Members wishing additional
information can call their unit president or the
CSEA Nassau Local 830 office at 571-2919,

Q. How will the new public benefit
corporation impact on me?

A. As a CSEA-represented employee you will
continue to have your salary schedule, contract,
union representation and all your current accruals
even after a transfer to the public benefit
corporation. In addition, you will still be in the
New York State Retirement System and Civil
Service. CSEA fought hard to ensure that the law
that created the public benefit corporation includes
these protections for you.

Q. Have we been privatized? What’s the
difference between a public benefit
corporation and a private company?

A. The transfer to a public benefit corporation
(PBC) is nothing like privatization. A PBC is still a
public entity but it has less restrictions than a
county run department does. So, a PBC can
contract with a managed care company to keep
NCMC and AHP in business. It can also borrow
money or float bonds independently of the county.
All these things will allow NCMC and AHP to stay
in better financial shape than if they continued as a
county department, In addition, all employees of all
PBCs in New York are public employees; they are
not private sector employees.

Q. When will the PBC take over the medical
center?

A. Many things have to happen before the public
benefit corporation starts to run things. First the
Board of Directors has to be appointed then the

county has to negotiate a number of issues with the
new Board of Directors. It’s estimated that the
transfer will take place in about six or seven
months.

Q. If we are public employees will we still be
county employees?

A. No. After the transfer all NCMC and AHPGC
employees will be working for the public benefit
corporation. It will be called the Nassau County
Health Care Corporation. But all the employee
rights that you have now will continue.

Q. Will the transfer to a PBC make it easier to
privatize departments?

A. No. Your CSEA contract and the New York
State Taylor Law will continue to be in effect just as
it is now.

Q. Who will be managing the facility after the
transfer?

A. The Board of Directors will appoint someone
to run the facility. It doesn’t have to be the same
person who is running it now. We are monitoring
the situation and arguing that those appointed to
the Board of Directors should be expert in the area
of health care.

Q. Why is this transfer to a PBC happening?

A. The health care industry is quickly changing.
Managed care companies like HMOs are the future
of the industry. In order to stay in business
government-owned and -operated hospitals and
nursing homes have to be able to compete. A PBC
structure allows the medical center to contract,
borrow money, form consortiums, and do all the
things they need to do to compete with private
hospitals and nursing homes.

Q. What happens if the new PBC does poorly?

A. The law says that the facility can’t be closed as
long as there is debt. All companies have debt, as
will the new PBC. If things get so bad that the PBC
can’t go on the law says the facility and its
ownership returns to the county.

CSEA Nassau Local 830 Crossing Guards Unit

Annual Awards Dinner Dance
CSEA Nassau Local 830 Crossing Guards Unit will hold its Annual Awards
Dinner-Dance on Friday May 2 from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Knights of
ford. Tickets are $30 per person.
Awards for dedicated service will be presented to 31 members, according to

Columbus Hall on Ja on Avenue in S

Crossing Guards Unit President Mary Delmare

Guests at the dinner will include Police Commissioner Donald Kane, County
Executive Tom Gulotta, Local 830 President Tony Giustino and many other

dignitaries.

“The dinner was very successful last year and we are hoping that this year

we will have as much succes,” Ms. Delmare said.

chose Nassau Count
“The hidden heroi
childre:

Scout Council.

fely on a daily b:
also show a genuine concern for the children’s well-being,” according the Girl

Girl Scouts Honor “Hidden Heroines”

To mark the 85th anniversary of girl scouting, the Nassau County Girl Scout
Council wanted to honor hidden heroines — “women admired for great
courage, special achievements or noble character.” For their honorees, they
School Crossing Guards. All of them!

are the crossing guards. They not only cross our

to and from school in all kinds of weather, they

“It is wonderful to see these dedicated CSEA members receive recognition for
the outstanding job they do every day, I join with the Girl Scouts in saluting the

crossing guards of our county,” Local 830 President Tony Giustino said.

The Girl Scouts presented each crossing guard with a Certificate of
Appreciation, 85th anniversary pin, bookmark and ribbon. Membership in the
Girl Scouts was also bestowed for the remainder of the year.

Statements of candidates go

CSEA STATEWIDE SECRETARY

All candidates for CSEA statewide office were given an opportunity to submit 500-word statements and photographs for publication in this edition of
The Public Sector. Remarks are the personal statement and responsibility of the candidates themselves. The Public Sector is under no legal obligation
to print or verify the accuracy of candidate statements. The opportunity to present views is extended as a courtesy to the candidates.

Barbara Reeves »

I care deeply about working people and my
greatest satisfaction comes from having a
positive impact on the lives of our members and
their families. I cherish the opportunity you
have given me to work hard for more than two
decades at the local, region and statewide levels
of CSEA to make a difference in your lives, on
and off the job.
Three years ago you elected me your CSEA
statewide Secretary on my platform of “a
member for the members.” That platform plank
served as the sturdy foundation of my first term
and today I stand on it as as firmly as ever. ACSEA member first and
foremost, I always try to look at situations from your point-of-view to
provide the perspective that strengthens my resolve and guides my
efforts.

Danny, Mary, Maureen and I share the vision, courage and abilities
that enabled us to revitalize our union, restore effectiveness, replenish
member enthusiasm and regain our position as a leader among labor
unions during our first term. We work well together, and as the 4 For
The Future slate, we pledge to continue the dynamic improvements and
progress that have been the hallmarks of our first term.

“Tn Touch With You” is more than our motto, it is our commitment to
making CSEA accessible by involving you in every aspect of your union.
I and my fellow officers have crisscrossed the state to bring CSEA closer
to you. We have visited more worksites and personally met with more
CSEA members than any leadership team in our union’s history. And
each contact I have with a member inspires me to work even harder, to
do even more. I keep you informed by publishing a summary of every
statewide Board of Directors meetings in CSEA’s official newspaper.
Maureen and I also conduct specialized training for local and unit
treasurers and secretaries to help them perform their vital functions
properly and effectively.

We insist on the right to have a safe and healthy work place and
dignity in the work we do, something we will never compromise on. We
continue to pressure the state Department of Labor to adopt our
Worksite Security Standard statewide.

Protecting our members’ jobs will continue to be our top priority. Only
a unified CSEA with tough, experienced leadership will be strong
enough to protect our members jobs from the growing threats of
privatization that swirl around us everywhere. We support welfare reform
but will never allow it to displace the jobs of our members. We must be
stronger at the bargaining tables than those who would strip away hard
earned benefits, job security and other social and economic items. Health
care and other family issues must be properly implemented. The 4 For
The Future team is forged by the fire of experience and fueled by a
deep determination that CSEA members receive the respect they have
worked so hard to deserve. We are committed to leading CSEA proudly
and powerfully into the 21st Century.

ce Peter Jellett i

I’m running for secretary because I feel that
Barbara has not kept us adequately informed.
The Secretary has the responsibility of getting
information to the members. This is his or her
primary rersponsibility. If Ms. Reeves has done
her job well, then we should all know what’s
going on in our union. Do we?

When Racketeering investigators visited
CSEA headquarters to question our officers did
Barbara tell us? Do Racketeering investigators
come to CSEA so often that this is not news? Or
is this the first time? Has Barbara told us exactly

what they’re looking for?

When CSEA spent $1.5 million for our region 3 office building, more
than twice what it’s worth, did Barbara ever tell us?

When our former president, Joe McDermott retired in June 1994,
CSEA either gave him a boat or money for a boat. Did Barbara tell us?

When Danny Donahue went to court to fight a CSEA member who
wanted to get CSEA members full membership rights in our international
union, AFSCME, did Barbara tell us?

When Donahue went to court to prevent CSEA members from voting
on the last dues increase, did Barbara tell us?

Has Barbara ever told us what AFSCME actually does with the $15
million in annual dues we give them each year? Or even that we give
them $15 million a year?

How come virtually no financial information of any kind is ever
disclosed by Barbara to the members? Has Barbara ever told any
members what her salary is? I’m running for secretary, but I don’t know
what the salary is. Has Barbara said why she gets two pensions, and why
Donahue and Sullivan get three pensions, each?

Why is Barbara making a CSEA member sue her to get answers to the
same questions l’m asking now? These unanswered questions are just a
portion of the news that Barbara hasn’t told us. I think you get my point
by now. There’s been a lot of important news that we missed because of
Barbara. When our jobs are on the line, we need all the facts.

As your secretary, Ill give you the facts, good, bad, always. When
CSEA screws up, we’ll acknowledge it, so we can fix it.

As secretary, I’ll assume control of the Public Sector, and insist that the
stories in it are truthful and accurate, not a bunch of “Rah, Rah, aren’t we
great ? CSEA saves the day.” stories.

My primary job will be information — making sure you get it. Period.
My loyalty will be to the members, only. Not to any officers, stafi or
board members. You will be informed. Period.

I expect to have input into policy and I am in general agreement with
my running mates positions, but I have plenty of ideas of my own, too.
VOTE RICO SLATE!

< Barbara Reeves ea

Peter Jellett

a

BALLOTS MUST BE RETURNED BY 8 A.M. JUNE 5
AT THE ADDRESS ON THE RETURN ENVELOPE.

1997 C&EA STATEWIDE OFFICERS ELECTION INSERT

@ Dage 3

622%

CSEA STATEWIDE TREASURER

All candidates for CSEA statewide office were given an opportunity to submit 500-word statements and photographs for publication in this edition of
The Public Sector. Remarks are the personal statement and responsibility of the candidates themselves. The Public Sector is under no legal obligation
to print or verify the accuracy of candidate statements. The opportunity to present views is extended as a courtesy to the candidates.

Maureen S. Malone

Three years ago I had the opportunity to seek
and win election as your CSEA Statewide
Treasurer. What a fantastic continuation of a
twenty plus year career in CSEA.

Are things the same today as they were then?

No way, shape or form. With the changing of
the guard in the Governor’s mansion, so has the
attitude and trends of New York State changed.
Welfare reform, privatization and government
down-sizing have become the buzz words in
today's working environment.

Changes have also been reflected in your
union and we are working to make CSEA stronger. The election of
Danny, Mary, Barbara and myself brought a change in attitude to your
statewide leadership. The best words to describe the changes are being in
touch with you.

We have traveled throughout this state, listening to your concerns,
facing your work-site problems with you and using the political influence
of over a quarter of a million members to save jobs, address worker
safety issues and continue aggressive representation at every level.

Each Officer has many years of service at all levels of the union. By
bringing our diverse backgrounds together, we have been able to grow,
change and lead CSEA. Don’t be fooled by those who seek to divide us
without the knowledge or experience to lead us. We have too many real
changes to face at the work-site to allow this division to destroy us from
within.

The 4 for the Future slate, — Danny, Mary,
have much more work to do. As we look to the future, you deserve to
have the leadership with a vision and the knowledge to achieve it.

Don’t waste your vote or your chance to vote. It is more important
than ever that our unity be shown in numbers. Vote “4 for the Future”
slate so that CSEA members can have a future.

e Maureen 5. Watone

BALLOTS WILL BE MAILED MAY 15 TO CSEA
MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDING AS OF APRIL 1,
1997, TO VOTE IN SECRET BALLOT MAIL
ELECTIONS OF CSEA STATEWIDE OFFICERS.

COMPLETED BALLOTS SHOULD BE PLACED
INSIDE THE “SECRET BALLOT ENVELOPE” AND
SEALED. THE “SECRET BALLOT ENVELOPE”
SHOULD BE PLACED IN THE SELF-ADDRESSED,
POSTAGE-PAID RETURN ENVELOPE. BE SURE TO
SIGN THE MEMBER VALIDATION CERTIFICATE
AND ENCLOSE IT IN THE POSTAGE-PAID
RETURN ENVELOPE ACCORDING TO THE
INSTRUCTIONS. FAILURE TO SIGN YOUR NAME
ON THE VALIDATION CERTIFICATE WILL VOID
THE BALLOT.

Dan Sullivan Co

Maureen Malone had 3 years to establish
herself as a competent treasurer; three years to
give us a thorough accounting of our money. Yet
when I asked for an accounting she refused.
When I ask why she refuses, she questions my
loyalty. When I ask her about the racketeering
investigation by the feds, who also have some
questions about our finances, she won’t answer
me at all, It’s called coverup.

When I ask why she won’t give members any
financial information about CSEA, such as our
new staff contracts, or construction costs, or

previous contracts with vendors, she acts like members are too stupid to
understand. What we might not understand is why she gives staff big
raises while the rest of us are falling behind. State workers are 8% worse
off just in the last two years because of 6% inflation and 2 dues increases
while our state salaries have remained unchanged. This is not leadership.
Maureen has demonstrated her incompetence repeatedly every time she’s
been asked a question. She’s just along for the ride, like Barbara.

That’s why I’m running. I’m tired of these officers treating my dues
money like it was their own, and then refusing to explain what happens to
it. | was outraged these past 2 years when Donahue, Sullivan, Malone, and
Reeves tried to shove this dues increase down our throats (plus an
AFSCME increase) without any effort to belt tighten.

Two years ago, when we were broke, Donahue and Malone spent over a
quarter million sprucing up their offices. Don’t forget, Malone signs the
checks too. In 1994 CSEA overspent by more than $850,000 on the
Region 3 headquarters. That’s a lot of money when the finished building is
only worth $870,000. It’s the treasurer’s job to provide some oversight.
Not coverup somebody’s incompetence. That’s corruption!

If someone was ripping us off it’s her job to stop it. But she didn’t. To
make matters worse, she covered it up. Officers have a duty to account for
the money they’re entrusted with. As treasurer, I'll cooperate fully with
Racketeering investigators to get to the bottom of this mess. The results of
the investigation will be published in the Public Sector.

As treasurer, I’Il insist on cost-cutting at headquarters, insist on an
efficiency audit so we can see where to cut costs best. Not only will I
never increase dues, I'll insist they be reduced, I guarantee we’ll cut our
salaries immediately. The regional officers too, whether they like it or not.
We won’t live like these fatcats. We'll only use union facilities, and put
contracts out to union bid. All financial information will be available to
members, and in the newspaper. These aren’t goals. These are promises.
You have my word on it. Our word on it. VOTE RICO SLATE

S Dau Sullivan

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF COMPLETED
BALLOTS IS 8 A.M., JUNE 5 AT THE
ADDRESS ON THE RETURN ENVELOPE

1997 C&EA STATEWIDE OFFICERS ELECTION INSERT

@ Page 4

Local protests contractor’s failings

AMHERST — A contractor is
cleaning up on fees but failing to
clean buildings at SUNY Buffalo.

The contractor is being paid more
than $160,000 to clean, yet
employees in one building wait
months for clean floors and even
buy their own cleaning materials
because the contractor doesn’t
provide them as required.

Yet jobs for cleaners employed by
and accountable to the state are
disappearing, CSEA SUNY Buffalo
Local 602 activists say.

“The contractor must be lying to
the university or not being properly
monitored,” said Terry Menkiena,
Local 602 president. “But the
negligence is obvious.

“We've complained at labor-
management meetings for the last
six months about the condition of
this (Nature and Sciences) building,
but they didn’t believe us. We
showed them a stack of cleaning
requests going back to last July.”

A tour of the building showed a
lack of attention to cleaning details,
including garbage in a stairwell that
the activists say has been there for
weeks,

“Why aren’t these private
contractors held to the same
standards as state-employed
cleaners?” Menkiena asked. “The
university could save money and

Vice
President
Rick
Noreault
talks with a
reporter.

GENERAL NEWS

have this building kept in
top-notch condition if they
took the $120,000 in labor
costs the contractor says
he needs to keep this
building clean and hired a
few cleaners who would be
directly responsible to the
university.

Although the contract
calls for a cleaning staff of
10 plus two supervisory
employees, it is difficult to
find any cleaning staff
during the day, said Local
602 secretary Maureen
Marfoglia, who works in
the building.

“On weekends, there's
hardly ever any toilet
paper or paper towels in
the bathrooms, in addition

to being unclean,” Local 602 President Terry Menkiena and
Marfoglia said. “I had to Local Secretary Maureen Marfoglia are
buy a rug myself to cover frustrated over a cleaning contractor.

up the dirty floor in my

office because it took so long for
them to get around to doing the
floors in the department where I
work.”

Employees purchase their own
bathroom and cleaning supplies, she
said, even though the contractor is
responsible for providing them.

“It's a travesty that we are steadily
losing state cleaner jobs while

contractors are getting fat on
taxpayer money and still not doing
the job,” Menkiena said.

The local will continuing pushing
through labor-management efforts,
for the university to dismiss the
contractor and hire more state
cleaners, she said.

— Ron Wofford

Syracuse Health Science Center local
fights for new law allowing flexibility

SYRACUSE — Determined to swim
— not sink — in today’s managed
care environment, CSEA members
working in the SUNY Health Science
Center in Syracuse are fighting for
laws that will allow the facility to
compete.

The key is flexibility legislation — a
bill that was drafted and passed in
the state Assembly — which would
allow New York's three Health Science
Centers to participate in managed
care and other cooperative
arrangements, accumulate reserve
funds, contract with low-cost
providers of goods and services and
get low-cost loans to buy equipment.

If it became law, it would enable
the hospital to become more
competitive, said SUNY Syracuse HSC
Local 615 President Ken Burwell,

“We want to be in the position to
compete, but we also want to make
sure that competition doesn’t threaten

the jobs of our members,” he said.

Local members have been lobbying
legislators pass the flexibility bill so
the Governor can sign it into law,

Recently, a group of CSEA Local
615 activists picketed Gov. Pataki as
he gave a speech in Syracuse.

“We told him that as the largest
employer in Central New York, we
need to keep the jobs at the hospital,
and that means passing the flexibility
legislation,” Local 615 Vice President
Rick Noreault said.

The legislation includes important
employee protection language,
Noreault said.

“With the changes in health care
and the onslaught of managed care,
public hospitals are having a hard
time competing against private
hospitals. We need that flexibility — if
we can't compete, we're going to go
under,”

— Mark Kotzin

Tpebieveeve TT

“CSEA calls

for caution on
consolidation

ALBANY — A draft plan to
restructure the State University
of New York's central
administration needs more
study, according to CSEA
President Danny Donohue.

The proposal, which
recommends that most
functions of SUNY Central be
either transferred to individual
campuses or contracted out to
the private sector is “too
vague,” he said.

“The report is full of
sweeping recommendations for
changing SUNY Central, but
short on the specifics of
implementing such changes.”

Donohue
raised his
objections ‘There are

in a letter ‘
eSNG innumerable

Trustees questions

and also raised by

complained A

inane this draft
report was proposal’

released to

the media prior to discussions
with union officials.

“SUNY representatives gave
us a briefing on March 18,
days after a local newspaper
reported that massive layoffs
were planned at central
administration,” he said.

Donohue fears that the plan
is a first step toward turning
SUNY into a “loose
confederation of colleges” which
he believes would “lessen
accountability to the people of
New York.” Centralized
operations “keeps costs down
and avoids an inefficient
duplication of services,” he
said.

Any downsizing which
replaces union workers with
minimum wage privatized
employees “would reflect poorly
on SUNY’s mission which is to
raise people up, not push them
down,” Donohue said,

“There are innumerable
questions raised by this draft
proposal,” he said. “The SUNY
trustees should take a long,
careful look at its suggestions.
Such a fundamental

change in SUNY should not
even be contemplated without
careful study.”

‘The Publi’ Sector May 1997 * Page 15

Retired CSEA staffer Bob Guild, 65, dies

Latham — Robert C. Guild, 65, a | CSEA President William L.

retired 25-year CSEA staff member, | McGowan. He was a US Marine
died April 10 after | Corps veteran and served in the
being stricken at Korean War.
his Stuart, FL Survivors include his wife, Nancy
winter residence. Burdick Guild; two daughters, a

Bob served son, a sister and four

many years as a grandchildren.
CSEA collective Contributions in Bob’s memory
bargaining may be made to the Memorial Fund
specialist. He also _ of the Niskayuna Reformed Church,
served in several 3041 Troy-Schenectady Road,

other capacities and retired in 1987 Niskayuna, NY 12309 or the

as executive assistant to the late American Heart Association.

Local, unit secretary/treasurer training

Training will continue for local and unit secretaries and treasurers during
May, according to CSEA Statewide Treasurer Maureen Malone and CSEA
Statewide Secretary Barbara Reeves. Training was held in April for officers
in Central Region 5, Metropolitan Region 2 and Southern Region 3.

The remaining secretary-treasurer training dates are as follows:

Western Region — May 6 — Marriott Buffalo
May 7 — Marriott Rochester

Capital Region — May 12 — Best Western, Wolf Road, Albany
Long Island Region — May 28 — Plainview Plaza

Local and unit secretaries and treasurers will receive notices of the
training schedule and related information. Secretaries and treasurers who
do not receive a notice should call 1-800-342-4146 ext. 253 or 254.

LAP NNN Vea eRe ete XY Ka
freee:

Empire Plan Participating Provider
information now available on the Internet

MetraHealth, the medical/surgical carrier for the Empire Plan, is now offering

Empire Plan Participating Provider
information on the Internet. To properly
view the site, you need Netscape
Navigator 2.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer
3.0 or CompuServe 3.0 or later versions.
The cover page below is similar to
what you will actually see when you dial
into the provider web page. A zip code is
required to search the directory and you

Information you can use from the

CSER

Joint COMMITTEE ON

can narrow the search by providing any additional information on a particular
provider. If you do not have a particular provider in mind, you can view all the
providers in the zip code, all of the ancillary providers such as labs, or search by
specialty. The instructions below are similar to the ones that will walk you through
all of the steps to find the provider you are looking for.

If you do not find the information you are looking for, or you do not have access
to the Internet, you can contact your health benefits administrator located in your
agency personnel office, or contact MetraHealth at. 1-800-942-4640 for assistance in
locating a provider.

The Empire Plan Provider address is:
http://uhcdb.hosting.ibm.com /cgi-bin/db2www/epzmain.d2w/input

Information you should know about
CSEA’s Group Whole Life Insurance

As part of the CSEA-sponsored insurance program, we offer a Group
Whole Life Insurance Plan. You can use this plan to provide “stand
alone” coverage for your family or it can be purchased in addition to any
coverage which you currently have. It can provide an excellent
supplement to CSEA's Security Life Insurance Plan.

Some features members have been enjoying with this new plan are:
affordable unisex rates; coverage for members, spouse and children; and
non-smoker discounts. Plus:

@ Whole Life premiums will never increase

@ Five insurance plans to choose from

@ Convenient option of payroll deduction or automatic checking

withdrawal

@ Optional Accidental Death Benefit is also available

@ Builds up cash values

Plus there’s also an accelerated death benefit. It can provide you with
up to 50 percent of your whole life insurance amount for a diagnosed
terminal illness.

Now is the right time to take advantage of this insurance coverage.

For complete plan information,
call Jardine Group Services Corp.,
CSEA’s insurance programs administrator, at

1-800-929-6656

For information about CSEA’s
Union Members Only Benefits Programs

1-800-342-4146 or (518) 434-0191

Page 16 « The Public Sector * May 1997

THE EMPIRE PLAN

New York State Health Insurance Program
Participating Provider Directory

To properly view our site, you will need Netscape Navigator 2.0,
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or CompuServe 3.0 or later versions

The Empire Plan is part of the New York State Health Insurance Program. For an
introduction to the Empire Plan's Participating Providers and Managed Physical Network,
click here.

To search our directory you must provide a 5 digit zip code. You can narrow your search
by providing additional information from the criteria below.

Click on the Find Providers button to begin your search.
For help in selecting a zip code first, please enter a State and County and click on Find

Zip Codes.
(Note: If you already know the zip code, please proceed to the next section.)

Find 2p Codes]
Pee

@In this zip code only ()5 mile radius

State (2 characters):|___| County: [

5 Digit Zip/Postal Code
Display Providers:
© 10 mile sadius* O15 mile radius*

“Selecting a radius in a heavily populated area will result in long search times (due to
more providers being available)

Type of Providers:
@ All Providers
© Ancillaries (e.g. Labs, Ambulatory Surgical Centers)
Working on it MPN (Chiropractors, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapis'
© Specialists... | SELECT ALL SPECIALTIES |
To select an individual specialty, simply click on the down arrow to
choose from the list.
For a description of specialties listed, click here. Please note, this is not
a list of all specialties.

Please call 800-942-4640 with any questions you may have.

Provider's na ati

Last Name: | _ ]
If you are looking for a specific provider, enter the full or partial last
name here,

[ Find Providers _ ]
Providers change. Always check with your provider before you receive services.

Return Home

Information contained herein is provided for informational purposes only, United
HealthCare makes no watranties, guarantees, or representations of any kind to the
information contained in this website.

Copyright 1997 - United HealthCare

GENERAL NEWS

PART 4 IN A SERIES in conjunction
with the 20th anniversary of The Public
Sector, exploring, through the eyes of
CSEA members, significant events in
CSEA's history.

1910"

1929 1931 ae

; 1962. “1997 * 7000

CSEA flexes
political muscles
representing members

In 1910 a handful of angry, exploited public employees got together in Albany to start a
fledgling organization that became the Civil Service Employees Association. In their wildest
dreams they could not have known that their small “association” was destined to become one

of the most potent political forces in the nation.

Without benefit of formal negotiating rights, CSEA officers, staff and activists for years were
forced to lobby the state Legislature to win raises and civil service improvements for its

members. Eventually professional lobbyists and attorneys
were hired to help achieve better contracts and safer working
conditions through legislation, leading to the establishment
of the union’s highly effective Legislation and Political Action
Department in 1975.

The Public Employees Fair Employment Act, known as
the Taylor Law, was enacted in 1967, dramatically changing
labor relations for public employees in New York. With the
right of public workers to be represented by unions
established by law, CSEA membership exploded. But the law
prevented public employees from striking, while forcing
CSEA to represent all public employees in our bargaining
units whether they paid dues or not

After a nearly 10-year campaign of CSEA pressure, Gov.
Hugh Carey signed an “agency shop” bill on Aug. 3, 1977,
and finally relieved CSEA dues-paying members from paying
the freight for co-workers receiving grievance representation
and collective bargaining for free.

That same year CSEA established a Political Action Fund
(PAF) to become even more involved in the democratic process.

“We did everything including cake sales in schools to collect
money for political action” before CSEA started the PAF, said
retired activist Marty Langer, who served as the first chair of
CSEA's statewide Political Action Committee. “But with the
Fund we had enough money to support candidates based on
their performance ... It gave CSEA the money to be a player and
pick and choose our friends.” And earn the respect of our enemies as well.

CSEA for the first time endorsed statewide political candidates, except for
Governor, in September 1978.

In 1982 the Triborough amendment was enacted, halting management's
ability to end all health and other benefits when a contract expired. “Just
imagine the pressure it placed on us when bargaining that, at midnight
when the contract expired, any employer could pull the plug on all your
benefits,” Marty Langer said. “Triborough leveled the playing field.”

Today CSEA’s political effectiveness is recognized throughout the labor
movement and by politicians at every level. Supported by thousands of rank-
and-file CSEA members, the union actively pursues legislation in
Washington, Albany and at the local level to benefit all active and retired
members.

In a hostile downsizing climate, retired CSEA political activist Joe Conway
often stressed “it's as important to prevent passage of some laws as it is to
pass others.” CSEA has been successful with either tactic.

Thousands of CSEA members voluntarily contribute to Public Employees
Organized to Promote Legislative Equality (PEOPLE), the CSEA/AFSCME
lobbying program that operates at the federal level, each payday to protect
their families’ futures.

As public jobs are increasingly threatened by welfare reform bills, political

action remains the key to protecting our job security, said CSEA Political Action Chair Dorothy Breen.

GENERAL NEWS

Marty Langer 20

years ago

addressing a

CSEA political

action meeting, : er.
above, and right,
as he appears
today.

“CSEA’s

TOSS
fwn lobbyist, attor-

few York's Largest Public Employee Union
is Reshaping its Political Operation.

Jim Featherstonhaugh, who is
iady considered one of the most
verful in the state, The union is
ely credited with playing a key
in electing Mario Cuomo gov-
or, through hundreds of phone
ks across the state and a massive
on-run get-out-the-vote drive on
nary day (a fact which cannot
tthe access of Featherstonhaugh),
ing this past legislative session,
CSEA claimed 17 victories in
‘any, including a bill vigorously
vosed by New York Mayor Koch

tt Tallmer is. a New York City based

Harry Drayton

CSEA Local 406

Bernard Fineson Developmental Center
Chair, Local Political Action Committee,
Queens

“I like going out and helping
political action, working the
telephones encouraging people to
vote. I know we have the power in
numbers and our votes mean
something no matter what. State
employees need to be aware of
what’s going on, and I like bringing
back information to them on
political action.”

by Matt Tallmer

New Political Look

which adds to the supplemental pen-
sions collected by state and munici-
pal employees. The CSEA might be
able to sit back and rely on its repw
tation to get it through the next few
years—after all itis the largest pub-
lic employee union in the state, and
has only been involved in day-to-day
politics for less than a decade. But
the union is not resting on its past
reputation. Inste: CSEA is
expanding its political action office,
in a move which Norman Adler,
political director for District Coun:
cil 37 of the American Federation
of State, County and Municipal Em-
ployees, admits could well make the
CSEA “the preeminent pub

ployee union

the union
mie Ryan to become its

director of political action. The CSEA_
000

started to put its resources—250,
employees, all with the ability to
write or call state legislators—into
lobbying activity, “Political actio

has been concentrated in Albany,

said Tom Haley, current director of
the union's legislative and political
action office.

At the same time, the union's six
regional offices across the state es-
tablished local political action com-
mittees, made up of CSEA members
elected by their locals, which have
“some degree of autonomy”
dorse and contribute to local candi-
dates, according to Haley.
regional political action committees
have been active for more than a
decade at the local level.

In 1978, CSEA became part of
the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees,

tional union which represents

EMPIRE STATE REPORT September, 1984

The Public Sector * May 1997 * Page 17

af\i * Of 9p6

‘Jerry Clark Memorial Scholarship. |
provides $10,000 annually
plus internship with AFSCME

Applications are being
accepted for the 1997 Jerry Clark
Memorial Scholarship for children of
AFSCME members. The scholarship was
established in 1990 in honor of the former
AFSCME political action director.
Applications must be postmarked by July 1.
The winner will be announced by Aug. 1.
One scholarship will be awarded to a student who is
currently a sophomore majoring in political science. The winner will

be selected by lottery from the applicants who meet the eligibility

requirements and will receive $10,000 per year for the junior and

senior years of study, as well as an opportunity to intern with the
international union's Political Action Department.

The student must be a child of an active member of an AFSCME local
union; must have a grade point average of 3.0 or better, must be in
his/her sophomore year of study and must be a
political science major at an accredited college or university.

Mail requests for applications to:
Jerry Clark Memorial Scholarship
AFSCME Education Department

1625 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036

email: education@afscme.org
The application is also available on the
Internet at AFSCME’s web site:
http: //www.afscme.org/afscme/about/scholarj.htm

Applications must be

postmarked no later
than July 1

The CSEA Advantage

Cellular Phone

Discount Programs

Some restrictions apply
Must credit qualify

FRONTIER CELLULAR
(Special Plan Features Available)
County Service Areas: Erie, Niagara,
Chautauqua, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming,
Cattaraugus, Allegany, Monroe, Livingston,

Onondaga, Broome, Oneida, Madison, St.
Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis and Herkimer.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL
1-800-440-1894

CELLULAR ONE
Service Areas: Ulster, Sullivan,
Dutchess and Orange
Monthly access charge: $15.95
Per minute charge: 100 bonus minutes
upon activation, $.35 peak, $.25 off peak,
$.55 NYS roam
Activation fee: Waived
Contract term: 2 years
Discounted equipment

Steuben, Wayne, Ontario, Chemung, Tioga,

CELLULAR ONE
Service Areas: Tompkins, Cortland,
Chenango, Seneca, Cayuga, Yates,
Schuyler and *Oswego
Monthly access charge: $12.00
Per minute charge: $.21 peak/off
peak
Activation fee: Waived
Contract term: 12 months
Discounted equipment

For more information, call:
Stephanie Togni
1-800-524-2351
607-273-0400 or 607-280-0606
*For Oswego County, call
Carol Haynes
1-800-541-8890 ext. 5130
315-439-5130 or 315-447-4004

CELLULAR ONE
Service Areas: Columbia, Greene,
Otsego, Schoharie and Delaware
Monthly access charge: $8.95
Per minute charge: 100 bonus minutes
upon activation, $.19 peak,
$.16 off peak, $.45 NYS roam
Activation fee: Waived
Contract term: 2 years
Discounted equipment

For more information, call:
TIM POWERS 607-434-0027 or 914-389-9000

RON BROWN 914-389-9000

Page 18 * May 1997 * The Public Sector

Tired of the same old boring routine?
This summer try something excitin

SUMMER SCHOOL

1997 Cornell Labor Summer School
July 13-16, Cornell University, Ithaca

The 1997 Cornell Labor Summer School sponsored by the School of
Industrial and Labor Relations will be held July 13-16 at Cornell
University, Ithaca.

Participants may enroll in one of three courses: “Representing Workers
While Organizing for Growth and Power;” “Meeting the Political Challenges
of the '90s;” or the state AFL-CIO education program “Rank-and-File
Volunteer Organizer Training.”

Registration fees are $225, except for the “Rank-and-File” organizing
course, which is $70 because it is underwritten by the NYS AFL-CIO.
Students who wish to earn two credits from Cornell Labor Studies will pay
an additional $75. Registration fees do not include housing and most meal
costs.

For applications, summer school brochure and additional information,
contact Cathy Mooney, conference coordinator, at NYSSILR, Cornell
University, Garden Avenue, Ithaca, NY 14853-3901, (607) 255-4423,
E-mail: cjm15@cornell.edu

Northeast Regional Summer Institute for
Union Women Aug. 3-8, Silver Spring, MD

The 22nd Annual Northeast Regional Summer Institute for Union
Women, sponsored by the AFL-CIO and the University and College Labor
Education Association, will be held Aug. 3-8 at the George Meany Center
for Labor Studies in Silver Spring, MD.

The institute is open to all union women from New England and the Mid-
Atlantic states.

Total cost for the five-day residential school is $425 for a double and
$500 for a single in addition to a $10 student fee. Lodging, meals,
materials and parking are included in the total. Registration deadline is
July 8.

For a brochure, registration form and other information, call Francine
Moccio (212) 340-2836, Marion O'Connor (212) 340-2823 or Lee Clarke
(212) 815-1685.

Seniors can join fight for justice

Join the fight! The AFL-CIO is asking retired and older workers to stand side
by side with the young people in Union Summer organizing the unorganized
and fighting for justice.

Senior Summer is reaching out to older and retired union workers to work
in organizing campaigns in their communities. The Retirees Rapid Response
Team for Organizing members commit to working two days a week for six to
eight weeks, working in six to eight pilot sites.

They will also agree to be on call for major organizing actions for six
months in fall 1997 and winter and spring 1998.

The Rapid Response Team in each pilot site will represent the diversity of
union retirees in that community.

Even if you've never been an activist but are committed to the labor
movement, you might be selected. For more information about the
application process, call toll-free 1-888-8AFL-CIO.

SENIOR SUMMER — 1-888-8AFL-CIO

See For information on the
page AFL-CIO-sponsored
12 Union Summer program

GENERAL NEWS

AAA AAAAR RAR Pee ee

www"

UT]

AAR RY prtete

BADIA Y RE WXKMAGGOOS O01 ¥

(6SEA leaders stand united ‘demanding |
that works!

welfare reform

Seven CSEA
statewide and
region officers are
shown signing a
letter calling on
state legislators to
adopt CSEA's
agenda for a fair
and equitable
welfare reform
package at the
recent CSEA State
Division Workshop.
A statewide
campaign urging
members to write
Gov. Pataki and
members of the
Legislature was
kicked off at the
workshop. From
left are Capital
Region 4 President
Carmen Bagnoli,
statewide
Secretary Barbara Reeves, statewide
Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan,
CSEA President Danny Donohue, CSEA
statewide Treasurer Maureen S. Malone,
Central Region 5 President Jim Moore and

Metropolitan Region 1 President George
Boncoraglio. Top center, CSEA Southern
Region 3 President Carmine DiBattista
discusses welfare reform with his region
task force. Top right, Western Region 6

President Bob Lattimer outlines CSEA’s
welfare reform proposal with a news
reporter, and, bottom right, Long Island
Region 2 President Nick LaMorte does the
same thing with a television news reporter.

Local 834 first to offer LEAP

SYRACUSE — Onondaga County Local 834 has become the
first local government CSEA Local to offer CSEA LEAP (Labor
Education Action Program) services to its members.

Anyone in the 5,000-member local can now take advantage of
the CSEA-sponsored LEAPLINE telephone advisement program
offering academic, career, basic skills and financial aid assistance,
Local 834 President Frank Forte said.

LEAPLINE is a service of CSEA LEAP, a joint labor-management
project operated through negotiated funds in the CSEA-NYS

contracts, LEAP previously was
available only to
employee members.

Local 834 is contributing the
funds to allow LEAPLINE
services to be used by
Onondaga County members as
part of a pilot project, Forte
said.

“I encourage Local 834
members to use these vices
to get the most out of thei
CSEA membe:
their own caree!
goals,” he said.

Local 834 members with
questions about the new
should call the Local 834 office
at (315,

Tor

and academic

members should
call 1-800-253-4332.

ship and advance

service

~ LRS position available

CSEA is seeking to fill a
vacant Labor Relations
Specialist position, grade
15/18/20, located in the Western
Region 6 office.

Initial assignments will be
with state and local government
stops in Genesee, Wyoming
and Orleans counties. The
position requires a residency
within the region at a location
acceptable to the region
director.

Interested candidates should
notify the CSEA Human
Resources Department, CSEA
Headquarters, 143 Washington
Avenue, Albany, NY 12210 no
later than May 15.

Letchworth DC developmental aide
stabbed by group home client

CORNWALL — A Letchworth Developmental
Center developmental aide was stabbed while
working at a group home in Cornwall, Orange
County.

Anne Carmand, a five-year employee, was on
duty alone with five clients at 8 a.m. when a client
attacked her, broke a flower pot and used a sharp
shard to stab her in the shoulder and neck, barely
missing her jugular vein. The client also bit her.

Another client dialed the police and Carmand was
able to yell into the phone for police and an
ambulance.

Carmand pressed charges, and the client was
arrested and sent back to Letchworth Developmental
Center to a special unit for clients with disabled and
psychiatric problems. Carmand was out for some
time recovering and is now back at work.

Staffing on the night shift at the group home still
consists of one person, but minimum staffing for the
day shift has increased since the incident.

Carmand said some program staff is available
during the day to keep clients busy, but they rarely
go out unless they're enrolled in day programs such
as sheltered workshops.

“Group homes should be better staffed,” said
Local 412 President Sara Bogart.

“The staff is working with minimums of one (staff
person) where they have extreme behavior problems.
It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

—Anita Manley

GENERAL NEWS

Lelia Hoskins top
PEOPLE recruiter
for March; double
points during May

Lelia Hoskins of CSEA
Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
Local 406 earned PEOPLE
Recruiter of the Month honors
for March by recruiting 50 new
members.

PEOPLE (Public Employees
Organized to Promote Legislative
Equality) is the CSEA/AFSCME
lobbying program that operates
at the federal level.

May will be double points
month for the PEOPLE program.
Members who recruit other
members earn points that are
redeemable for gifts in the
PEOPLE Recruiter Gift Catalog,
and all points earned during
May will be doubled, Double
point months also will be held
during July and November this
year.

For more information about
PEOPLE, call the CSEA Political
Action Department at
1-800-342-4146 Ext. 404 or
(518) 436-8622.

— The Public Sector * May 1997 * Page 19

The AFL-CIO
13 MILLION

| MEMBERS
CSEA is the largest) ; Ss € S TRON G

local union in

AFSCME, which in

turn is the largest

international union in the ®
AFL-CIO. Under the new

leadership of John J.

Sweeney, the revitalized Le
AFL-CIO, a federation of 76 international pet
labor unions, is once again growing in :

strength and is committed to organizing

working people everywhere. CSEA and Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO

AFSCME are among the AFL-CIO’s strongest
and healthiest unions. We’re proud to be major contributors to organized
labor’s commitment to improving the lives of America’s families.

Official publication of
The Civil Service Employees Association, Inc.

Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
143 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12210-2303
QO
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INSIDE THIS EDITION

® CSEA CRITICIZES LAX SAFETY ENFORCEMENT - Page 3
@ LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS - Pages 4 and 5

® STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS - Pages 6 and 7

@ THE CSEA WORK FORCE - PAGES 9, 10 and 11