The Work Force, 1999 October

CSEA rips state on mental health hypocrisy — See Page 3

New OMRDD beds On the doorstep : Working harder CSEA election:
are CSEA’s win of a forest fire and earning less information
Page 5 Page 8 Page 15 Page 18

Voi. 2/ No. 10 OCTOBER 1999

EWOnra

a
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION QQ Pax Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO

STANDING UP

TO BE
COUNTED!

CSEA takes the battle for fair
| contracts and working families to
__ the State Fair, CSEA Speakouts
and Labor Day parades

See Pages 10 and 11

Your Nassau County Local 830 Express is enclosed

Photo of the month

VOICE OF THE WORK
FORCE — CSEA SUNY
Oneonta Local President Joe
McMullen lends his singing
talent to the 1999 State
Employees Federated Appeal
(SEFA) campaign. Be sure to
look for Joe as one of “The
SEFA Singers” in this year’s
SEFA campaign video,
singing the theme song,
“Caring Means Sharing.”

State contract talks

Some progress made, big issues remain

The state opened its wallet for
the first time in this round of state
contract talks for 77,000 union
members, but the flash of cash
didn’t impress CSEA leaders.

The state’s offer was a product
of CSEA’s relentless public
barrage about the contract
stalemate and hard work at the
negotiating table, union leaders
said.

“The governor and state
legislators handed themselves the
pay raises that they think they
deserve and we will keep fighting
for the pay raises we deserve,”
CSEA President Danny Donohue
said.

“The state’s movement on
wages and funding for dental and
vision coverage is evidence that
our mobilization efforts are really
starting to hit home,” he added.

“Rest assured, however, that
your CSEA leaders and
negotiators know that this offer

Correction
A story in the September issue of
The Work Force misidentified
members of an anti-litter cleanup
crew. They work for the Town of
Clarkstown, not the Rockland
County Highway Department.

Last hurdle cleared in Long Beach Hospital effort

Management's final scheme to block the election of CSEA as the
bargaining unit for 445 service and maintenance employees at Long
Beach Medical Center on Long Island has failed.

The National Labor Relations Board recently dismissed management’s
objections to the union representation election.

The board issued a certificate formally naming CSEA as the bargaining
agent for the large group of private-sector health care employees.

CSEA is gearing up for the first negotiating session.

Talk with your union president at
these locations

CSEA President Danny Donohue meets regularly with members across
the state to discuss important workplace issues affecting workers in local
and state government and in the private sector.

Here is his meeting schedule for the rest of the year.

Metropolitan Region

Nov. 9, Region Office

40 Fulton St., 22nd Floor

New York

For an appt., call (212) 406-2156

Page 2

i Bead

THE WORK FORCE

oie Dania title tA ica

Long Island Region

Dec. 9, Riverhead Ramada
Route 25 at Exit 72

Riverhead

For an appt., call (516) 462-0030

October 1999

psa abomasania eat

falls far short of what CSEA
members expect and deserve,”
Donohue said.

The state’s proposal would also
raise the cost of members’
benefits.

Specifically, the state offered:

@ A four-year agreement from
April 2, 1999 to April 1, 2003;

@ A $500 lump sum payment to
be paid upon contract ratification;

@ Salary increases of 3 percent
to be paid in October each of the
four years;

@ Downstate adjustments of
$848, $873, $899 and $1,200 each
year respectively;

@ Holding funding levels for
labor/management programs at
the 1998-99 amounts.

The state’s health insurance
offer would increase emergency
room co-pay to $35 effective Jan.
1, 2000; increase Basic Medical
deductible to $201 effective Jan. 1,
2000 and increase each year

thereafter based on the Consumer
Price Index.

Increases are also proposed for
office visit, outpatient surgery,
outpatient radiology and
diagnostic/laboratory services
co-pays.

A $5 generic drug and $15
brand name drug co-pay would
start Jan. 1, 2000, according to the
state’s offer.

Benefit fund money

CSEA negotiators also said the
state’s offer to fund the Employee
Benefit Fund is inadequate. The
other proposed health insurance
costs would eat into the salary
increase,

The state has agreed to fund
the Employee Benefit Fund for an
another three months while both
sides continue to negotiate. This
ensures vision and dental benefits
will continue to be protected.

Union fights furlough ploy in Nassau County

NASSAU COUNTY — Union
members working for
financially-strapped Nassau County
are fighting the politicians’ push to
furlough workers one day a month
to plug a budget hemorrhage.

“My members want to see the
county thrive but we surely won’t
allow the county to pull these kind
of tactics,” said CSEA Nassau Local
President Tony Giustino.

“I pledge the support of the
region and the statewide CSEA to
fight for our Nassau County
brothers and sisters and see they

are not sacrificed by the county in
an attempt to fill the budget hole,”
said Long Island Region President
Nick LaMorte

The union has repeatedly
attacked the county’s poor fiscal
management, which created the
current $300 million budget gap,
including the millions of dollars in
unnecessary contracting out.

The CSEA local recently
launched an ad campaign
showcasing the value of the work
the CSEA members perform for
Nassau County.

After three years without

public protests.

members ratified the agreement.

Webster members have a contract

CSEA members in the Village of Webster in Western New York have
a five-year contract, ending almost three years of negotiating and

Fifteen members, most who work in the village’s public works,
water and waste water treatment departments, will receive a one-time,
lump-sum payment and cost-of-living increases every year.

Contract talks deadlocked over the village's insistence to call in
workers on weekends, without paying them for being on call.

This standby policy had stalled previous tentative agreements. The
village pulled that provision from contract language, and union

i be Ne a i

CSEA rips state’s
mental health ,

hypocrisy

ALBANY — In the wake of
the passage of the state
budget, CSEA is blasting the
state’s irresponsible lack of
funding for mental health
services.

Inadequate funding for state
psychiatric centers will
continue the erosion of
patients and staff to provide
long-term care in the centers
without developing alternative
treatment, union leaders said.

“New York's mental health
policies are the height of
obscenity,” CSEA President
Danny Donohue said.

“What’s worse is that New
York's elected officials aren’t
making it any better,” he
added.

The situation is particularly
outrageous, Donohue said,
because of highly publicized
reports in recent months that
thousands of seriously
mentally ill persons are falling
between the system’s cracks,
with many of them creating a
danger to themselves and the
public.

Promotional gimmick?

Under these circumstances,
CSEA officials said they are
stunned by Gov. George Pataki
and other politicians’
promotion of Kendra’s Law as
a quick fix for the state’s
mental health policies.

The law, named for Kendra
Webdale, who was pushed to
her death on a New York City
subway platform by a mentally
ill person last winter, makes it
easier to require mentally ill
individuals to take their
medications.

CSEA questions how the law
can be enforced, considering

ma

rat

2

the inadequacy of available
services.

Local government leaders
have also said they don’t know
if they'll have to assume the
responsibility and cost of
enforcing this new law.

“CSEA’s sympathies are with
Kendra Webdale’s family,”
Donohue said.

“No one should have to go
through what they’ve gone
through. But the law is just
political nonsense without
facilities and staff to provide
necessary care and
supervision,” he added.

The CSEA leader said it is
unclear whether the law would
even have applied to the
person who is charged with
killing Webdale.

Her assailant, Andrew
Goldstein, had been released
from Creedmoor Psychiatric
Center and had repeatedly
sought further treatment, only
to be turned away by the
mental health bureaucracy.

Too little, too late

“Even as the governor is
hailing Kendra's Law, his Office
of Mental Health is continuing
its relentless downsizing of
state services with the
elimination of hundreds of
inpatient beds and a projected
cut of more than 800 jobs,”
said CSEA Statewide Secretary
Barbara Reeves, who has
decades of work experience in
the state mental health system.

CSEA mental health workers
know conditions are dangerous
inside psychiatric centers and
in the community.

“OMH is discharging patients
like crazy, whether it’s
appropriate or not. There’s no
aftercare, no follow-up,” CSEA
Hudson River Psychiatric
Center President Judy Watts-
Devine said.

“There are people being
discharged who need
supervision. Some of them
don’t belong in the
community,” Watts-Devine said.

October 1999

“But the real question is
who’s going to know if a
person isn’t taking medication
until they do something
serious. Who's out there to
monitor them?” she asked.

Dip You Knov ...

(J There are more
individuals with mental
illness in New York's jails
and prisons than there are
in state psychiatric centers.
It is widely recognized that
many of these individuals
are being dumped back
onto the streets without
adequate supervision or
follow-up care.

(J There are currently
fewer than 5,500 inpatients
in state psychiatric centers.
The Pataki administration is
attempting to reduce that
number to 4,000.

THE WORK FORCE

Page 3

ISSN 1522-1091 THE WORK FORCE

Official publication of
CSEA Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
143 Washington Ave.
Albany, NY 12210-2303
Danny Donohue, President
STEPHEN A. MADARASZ
Communications Director & Publisher
STANLEY HORNAK
Asst. Director of Communications
RONALD S. KERMANI, Editor
LOU HMIELESKI, Assistant Editor
CATHLEEN HORTON
Graphic Design & Support Services
RALPH DISTIN, Graphic Artist
JANICE NUSBAUM.
Communications Production Coordinator
BETH McINTYRE
Communications Secretary

The Work Force (USPS 0445-010) is
published monthly by The CSEA Publication Office:
143 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210.
Periodical Mail Postage paid at Post Office,
Albany, New York 12288.

Postmaster: Send address changes to:
CSEA, Attn: Membership Department,
143 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210.
CSEA on-line: The CSEA web site
can be accessed at www.cseainc.org

Readers:
Send any comments, complaints, suggestions or ideas to:
Publisher, The Work Force, 143 Washington Avenue.
Albany, NY 12210-2303.

COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATES

SHERYL C. JENKS: Long Island Region
(516) 462-0030
Metropolitan Region
(212) 406-2156
Southern Region
(914) 831-1000
Capital Region
(518) 785-4400
Central Region
(315) 433-0050
Western Region
(716) 886-0391
Headquarters
(518) 257-1272

ANN CARROLL
ANITA MANLEY
DAN CAMPBELL.
MARK M. KOTZIN
RON WOFFORD
ED MOLITOR

The Committee

LONG ISLAND REGION John C. Shepherd
METROPOLITAN REGION Lamont “Dutch” Wade
SOUTHERN REGION Diane Hewitt
CAPITAL REGION Marguerite Stanley
CENTRAL REGION Bruce Damalt, Chair
WESTERN REGION James V. Kurtz

BOR COMMU,

T+
f CSEA

*oounees sath ot

ere ae THE WORK FORCE

In Touch with the

WorK FORCE
fo eye

CSEA Presi

he strength of CSEA is our ability to fight
for our members no matter who you are
or where you work.

Whether it’s 15 members in the Village of Webster in western
New York who refuse to back down during a long contract fight,
12,000 Nassau County workers staring down the county executive’s
furlough threats, or 77,000 state employees tirelessly dogging the
governor with a demand that he show some respect, we do the job
right.

No other union provides the range of services and benefits that
CSEA members enjoy. No other union has the resources and
experience statewide to get the job done. But none of this should
ever be taken for granted.

Every day, CSEA members confront challenges — challenges on
the job, challenges to our rights and security, challenges to our
dignity. It is never easy but CSEA is prepared in every part of New
York to fight for what’s right if a problem affects one member or
100,000 workers.

CSEA is a leader among labor unions because of our unique
ability to support our members in every possible way.

Look at the pages of The Work Force. Story after story, picture
after picture demonstrate that you, the members, are our greatest
resource. These pages are also proof CSEA makes lives better for
union members and those we serve.

You are not alone and we grow even stronger and more effective
every time you stand up for fairness and respect.

ae

October 1999

Members praise
CSEA’s quest for
new OMRDD beds

Union members across the state lauded
the state’s plan to add 100 new public
sector beds in the state Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
(OMRDD) under the New York Cares
initiative.

“This was a perfect example of CSEA
coordinating a statewide
campaign with real
grassroots involvement to
make a difference,” CSEA
President Danny Donohue
said of the union’s CSEA
Cares response.

The union waged a
statewide public relations
and political action

referring to the greater public
scrutiny state-operated facilities
receive than private-sector
providers.

The 100 new state-funded beds
were included in the second-latest
state budget passed a few months
ago in Albany.

“CSEA is so proud
of the exceptional
care our members
provide to
individuals with
mental retardation
and developmental
disabilities,” said
CSEA Statewide

SEA REPRESENTS

CSEA’s public education campaign on the new
treatment beds for the developmentally disabled
included a brochure which highlighted the vital

r ]
7200 Wonkens ws 7Hs WO work union members perform.

campaign which educated state lawmakers
and the public about the value and quality
of services union members provide in the
mental retardation field.

“This is a great and just victory because
CSEA has all along been doing the difficult
job of providing quality care for those in
need,” said Kathy Button, president of the
CSEA Finger Lakes Developmental
Disabilities Service Office (DDSO) local.

“Our programs are open to scrutiny by
the parents of the clients and patients we
care for, and they can see the high quality
of care their loved ones receive,” she said,

oe

g

Treasurer Maureen Malone, who has long
had an interest in the issue.

“It made no sense that the state was not
initially considering expanding
state-operated facilities,” Donohue added.

“Our campaign not only helped gain
results but also showcased the value of our
members to the public,” the president said.

More work to be done
“It’s a step in the right direction and it
shows our members that their hard work
paid off,” said Sara Bogart, president of the
CSEA Local at Letchworth DDSO.

The 100 new beds are the start of a
larger effort to keep union members in the
forefront of this issue, members said.

“This was a good effort,” said Dawn
Smith, president of the CSEA Local at
Western New York DDSO.

“Members understood what we were
doing and wrote letters and talked to
legislators,” she added.

“We need these beds and we need to
stay united on this issue,” Smith said.

— Ronald Kermani

5) of the Work Force )

66] ve worked here for almost eight years, and I want to know how long you have to work here
before you can be full time. I’ve been part time for almost eight years and getting no
benefits. Benefits are a main concern.??

Len Haynes, certified nursing assistant — Otsego County Adult Care Facility

ae a Page S
: eds aS Page

CSEA beats machines:

Word for word, they have
the edge on reel-to-reel

It’s been said if you put
earmuffs and a blindfold on a
court reporter, you'd have a
tape recorder.

Calling it a victory in the
battle between man and
machine, CSEA-represented
court reporters said they are
glad an experiment allowing the
use of tape recorders in
courtrooms is finally over.

The win caps years of
intense union lobbying and
grassroots activism aimed at
keeping people, and not
machines, working for the state
court system.

In 1992, the Unified Court
System (UCS) got legislative
approval to experiment and use
tape recorders instead of court
reporters in the state Court of
Claims and surrogate’s courts.

For years, CSEA-represented
court reporters have been
transcribing every word in
state courts.

The law was renewed for two
or three years at a time, and
the number of courts
participating in the experiment
was expanded. But the measure
expired earlier this year, a

Page 6

THE WORK FORCE

victim of the state budget
battle and CSEA’s continued
pressure on the state to
abandon the project.

Experiment gone too long

Westchester County Supreme

Court Reporter Mali Petite said

the experiment had gone on for

too long,

“It started out as a test, and
for the past six years they've
allowed the test to continue
even though we presented
quite a bit of evidence to show
the live court reporter is far
superior than the machine,”
she said.

“A lot of the transcripts that
were produced by the tape
recorders had quite a bit of
inaudibles in them, meaning
they were not able to pick up
what was said,” she said. “Now
I've been a court reporter for
over 20 years and I have never
produced a transcript that said
‘inaudible.””

When it comes to
reproducing transcripts, court
reporters have the advantage
over tape recorders as well,
said Albany County Supreme

Court Reporter Dave Mayo.

“We use computers and
they’re improving all the time,”

aid

“Our technology is really on
the cutting edge, whereas the
tape recorder is 30-year-old
technology, and that’s all it will
ever be,” Mayo added.

The human edge

A combination of
construction noises outside the
courtroom and thick accents
inside the courtroom recently
put Petite’s skills to the test.

“| just finished a six-day trial
and they’re doing construction
(outside the courthouse) and
they have loud drills going
constantly to the point
where you have a
headache when you
finish,” she said.

“The litigants were
from Iran,” Petite
continued. “They had
very heavy accents did
most of the witnesses, The
attorneys were having a hard
time hearing and the judge
complained several times. “It
made my job extremely

SEA REPRESENTS

ONS}
fend) [fa

15 an
9 Of ‘)
0 WORKERS IN THIS NO

difficult, but, because of my
skill and training as a court
reporter, I was able to tune out
a lot of the drilling, as annoying
as it was. I don’t think a tape
recorder would have been able
to handle that,” Petite said

Since the law has expired,
UCS claims it does not need
legislative approval to use tape
recorders instead of court
reporters. CSEA believes
otherwise.

The issue. A members
said, may finally wind up where
everyone works — in court.

— Ed Molitor

>

66] do minor building repairs and J like working at Queensboro because | am always going to

have work. There are always going to be jails. | think we don’t get paid enough, and I

would like to be able to do overtime. ??

Mark Weber, maintenance assistant — Queensboro Correctional Facility

October 1999

Civil Service staffers helping

agencies get with the program “tx

ALBANY — Just in time for
Y2K, the state has unveiled its
new and improved health
benefits computer program for
New York State Health
Insurance Program enrollees.
And three CSEA members
helped make sure it hit the
ground running.

CSEA members Steve Nault,
Eileen Lindemann and Lisa
VanValkenburg, all employee
insurance review clerks at the
state Department of Civil
Service, spent most of the
summer training health
benefits administrators (HBAs)
from across the state on the ins

CSEA Department of Civil Service members Steve Nault, Eileen
Lindemann and Lisa VanValkenburg test the new system.

and outs of the department’s
New York State Benefits
Enrollment & Accounting
System (NYBEAS).

Nault said the new system
promises to make enrollment
changes, billing, refunds and
other transactions more timely
and more accurate by
consolidating personnel,
benefits and payroll systems
and reducing paperwork.

A vast improvement for state
agencies, VanValkenburg said
NYBEAS will put participating
agencies such as towns,
villages and school districts
light years ahead of where they
are now.

Before NYBEAS, those
employers were not on any
computer system. They had to
fill out forms and then mail the
forms to Blue Cross for
keypunching.

“It took two, two and a half
weeks for a transaction to even
hit on the computer,”

Van Valkenburg said. “Now
they’re all getting computers
and the HBAs are going to be
able to go right in and do the
transactions themselves which

“Wi. were in a former Montgomery Wards building and the air quality was poor, the
lighting was poor, the noise level was extreme, and there was no consistent
temperature control in the building.
The union put pressure on the Legislature, which I believe moved the construction of our new
building along quicker. Now the temperature is very well controlled, the air quality is excellent,
the noise level has been significantly reduced and the employees feel much safer because
there's more security. 99

[SEA REPRESENTS
Eee ih He

0, soraeas set
200 Workers in TuIs WO

is a huge improvement,” she
added.

One of the biggest challenges
the three faced while training
was dealing with persons with
varying degrees of computer
expertise.

“Some of the people who
came into training were very
computer oriented while others
were not,” Lindemann said. “So
you had different levels of
people in the same class but
you had to keep everybody
together at the same speed and
some of them weren’t quite
ready.”

The trio also had a hand in
designing the system. They
listened to the concerns of
HBA’s throughout the state
about what types of
improvements were needed
and then made sure those
improvements were built in.

“Our computer people knew
how to build the system, but
they needed input from us to
make sure it was working the
way it’s supposed to,”
Lindemann said.

— Ed Molitor

Michael Moschetto, senior social welfare examiner — Herkimer County Department of Social Services

October 1999 T

HE WORK FORCE torrwe

BEAR MOUNTAIN — Dodging careening boulders,
When the heat got turned up, CSEA members exploding bombs and nasty swarms of bees, dozens of union

helped battle the blaze that roared through a members in the mid-Hudson Valley helped stomp a single-

minded forest fire which consumed hundreds of acres during
(Cr pe |) a uk a three-week rampage.
> G ‘al Fueled by a record-setting drought, the blazes drew CSEA
ey \U \ Call Fueled by a recor setting rought, t e blazes drew CSE,
q members from nearby Stewart Air Base, the Palisades Park,
local highway and state transportation department crews.
“This proves CSEA members go the extra mile to get the
job done,” said Tim Ippolito, a full-time firefighter and union
SEA REPRESENTS member at Stewart Air Base in

Photo by Jesse Mobley Newburgh.
Rockland Journal News 2 Driving bulldozers and
clearing fire breaks at the edge
of cliffs, hauling thousands of
gallons of water in tanker

x ey trucks, or wading into knee-

009 WORKERS IN THIS woos deep smoke and flames to
extinguish hot spots, CSEA
members battled a hellish combination of smoke, heat, flame
and exhaustion.

Palisades Parks Local President Dan Corigliano said his
members worked overtime trying to save nearby homes from
flames. Many spent their shifts raking fire lines to keep the
fires under control.

Parts of the densely-forested mountains were a bombing
range before World War II and unexploded ordnance “popped
off” as the flames advanced.

“It was earth-shaking,” said Ippolito about
the explosions around him and his fellow
firefighters.

A four-foot boulder careened down a
mountain side, missing by only a few feet
CSEA members John Bell and Frank Giodano
who were working a fire pumper, Ippolito
added.

The firefighting effort drew raves from local
residents and union leaders.

S Be AAR Nay “When the going gets tough and hot, you
Park employees from the can count on CSEA members being on the front
Palisades Park Local rake the line to help everyone out,” said CSEA Southern
fire line to control the Region President Carmine DiBattista.
underground fires. — Anita Manley

OV: take care of 13,000 trees in Poughkeepsie. Trimming trees is hazardous — the biggest
danger is electrical wires. You have to have a lot of respect for them. We've saved the
city a tremendous amount of money by doing this work so they don’t have to contract it out.
When we're not trimming trees, we do snow removal, leaf removal and in December, the annual
Festival of Lights. 9?

Bruce Dooris, Poughkeepsie Unit, tree climber — Department of Public Works

Pere THE WORK FORCE October 1999

From bureaucrats to books:

Custodial staff
turns state space
into classrooms

RAMAPO — CSEA members in the North Rockland School
District are helping taxpayers expand their school district and
save them money by recycling state offices and dormitories into
classrooms.

When the state scouted for uses of the vacant Letchworth
Developmental Center buildings, a local
school district leader knew those stuffy

SEA REPRESENTS rooms could one day be classrooms.
: = CSEA members rose to the .

” 4 sarees ba : : | i
challenge, converting dingy offices and North Rockland School District employees Mattie Leone, Jeff
dorm rooms which once housed Wamsley and Carl Burakowski move furniture into the model

bureaucrats and clients into sparkling classroom on the old Letchworth campus.
classrooms.

& <a x P oe
%.000 WORKERS IN THIS yous The challenge was here,” said CSEA

2 ‘ i Z information meeting. “I told the guys (on the custodial staff) this
Unit President and Head Custodian would be a showpiece,” said

: i Mattie Leone. F Watkins. “They took the initiative.”
Tt goes to show what can be done when “I told the guys (on the custodial staff) Unlike many school district

everybody steps in.” ° 5 bud the state, North
Higateaal orca grant aie nestor this would be a showpiece. They took See Gales : Be lor’

North Rockland School District the initiative.” members are looking forward to
Superintendent Dodge Watkins knew he Dodge Watkins renovating the rest of the buildings.
could count on the CSEA members on his North Rockland School District Local President Leone said the

oe sei cia ne See d Superintendent district will hire new custodians and
Inve Classrooms ang save North hockiay groundskeepers to maintain the new

school district residents millions of nlasereonie:

dollars. “!'m looking forward to growth in our unit,” said Leone.

Watkins weighed one dilemma: Convince taxpayers to pass a « “al bet ataihermhere = i \dainistratl d
budget to refurbish the buildings which were structurally sound coe VAG ie agh etna heiboard}adininigtralon:an

but in desperate need of ‘elbow grease.’
The answer: Create a model classroom in one of the buildings
and hold an open house there as part of a school budget

e)

x

— Anita Manley

| ie with multiply handicapped and emotionally disturbed kids. They’re very bright and
capable. I love my job. I love the kids. The administration here is very supportive. It's
gratifying when the kids are successful. When they're motivated, it’s wonderful. ”

Peggy Lindstadt, teacher aide — Sullivan County BOCES

At right, a CSEA CSEA members joined their brothers and sisters by the thousands ai
mene from around the state to mark the nation’s Labor Day celebrations. pea Te Seats ca be ee
Western New York But for many CSEA members, taking the fight to the streets is Letchworth Developmental Disabilities Services
Developmental something being done in earnest weekly. Office Local. At right, CSEA President Danny
presen Soar be From Buffalo to Long Island, CSEA’s state workers continue to picket Donohue takes his turn at the podium. Governor
Sani TOE Gate GE Gov, George Pataki for a fair contract. Pataki, an invited guest, did not attend so a
Pataki. A speakout in the Southern Region helped bring the day-today issues cordboardcutout 6at Imlii
N 5 It’s important that the public hear firsthand what

facing CSEA members to the public. it’s like for our members on the job,” said CSEA

Meanwhile, a Labor Day rally Sept. 1 in New York City’s Central Park Executive Vice President Mary Salltvant whois
Below, drew thousands, including AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney, who heading up CSEA mobilization efforts in the state
Metropolitan called for renewed vigilance in the fight for workers’ rights. contract fight. “Getting the word out about the
Region President difficulty and importance our jobs is the bedrock of
George our whole mobilization effort.”

Boncoraglio, left,
and Long Island
Region President
Nick LaMorte,
center, lead the
CSEA contingent
during a march
and rally for labor
in New York City.
The rally featured
AFL-CIO President
John J. Sweeney
(see Page 14).

Southern Region President Carmine DiBattista, who
also participated, agreed. “When the public hears it
from our members, it has lasting impact,” he said.

Labor's future
generations were
represented in
marches across the
state, in Buffalo, at
left, and Rochester,
right.

Labor parades in the
two cities drew strong
representation from
CSEA members and
leaders.

The opening of the New York State Fair gave hundreds of CS!
members a chance to let Goy. Pataki know they’re not going t@ rest
until the state’s contract negotiating team agrees to a fair deal,
Above, CSEA members at the State Fair; at right, Central Region
President Jim Moore with the well-traveled Peanut Man. Moore was
also a featured speaker at the Syracuse Central Labor Council’k Labor
Day rally at the State Fair.

Pee i THE WORK FORCE October 1999 : Octaber i399

November statewide conference
to focus on work place safety

Ergonomics will be among the several important topics covered
at the CSEA statewide conference on occupational safety and
health to be held Novy, 19-21 in Lake Placid.

Registration forms for the weekend session are available from
CSEA Local and Unit presidents or by calling 1-800-342-4146 ext.
1411.

Registration closes Oct. 8.

Richard Trumka, vice president of the AFL-CIO, has been invited
to speak at lunch Nov. 20.

CSEA President Danny Donohue will speak at dinner Nov. 19.

“Safety and health issues are a
very important part of our work
life and it’s important for union
members to get the latest and
best information possible,” said
Carmen Bagnoli, president of
CSEA’s Capital Region, which is

ting the conference.

“There is a tremendous wealth
of information at these
conferences. The skills our
members learn at these programs could save their lives,” he
added.

More than 647,000 Americans suffer serious injuries and
illnesses related to ergonomic or work-related musculoskeletal
disorders every year, according to federal statistics.

Those injures account for more than 34 percent of all
lost-workday injuries and illnesses.

Conducted every two years, this safety and health weekend
features workshops on topics ranging from safe entry into
confined spaces to preventing assaults in health care settings.

More than 25 sessions will be offered, including a workshop for
union members who are first learning about health and safety
issues.

Workshops will emphasize ergonomics in health care, clerical

exo 00k 1000 AFSCME

765.000 mempens StHON™

The Canary is
CSEA’s
Occupational
Safety and
Health
Department's
mascot, chosen
for the bird’s
history as a
low-tech early
warning system
for coal miners
facing danger
from poisonous
natural gases.

Page 12

THE WORK FORCE October

1999

jobs, transportation, and construction and building trades.

Experts from the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME), CSEA’s international affiliate, the
New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, CSEA
and a law firm specializing in workers’ compensation are among
the presenters.

The right to a safe work place

The U.S. Labor Department and the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released the names
of 12,500 employers with the highest occupational injury and
illness rates, and sent a letter to each employer, urging them
“to take action to remove hazards causing the high rates.”

More than 700 of the employers identified by OSHA are in
New York State.

After years of hard fighting, the labor movement has
achieved certain basic legal and contractual health and safety
rights for workers.

You have a legal right:

C1 to a workplace free of recognized health and safety
hazards;

C) to any information that your employer has about any
exposure you may have had to hazards such as toxic
chemicals or noise. You also have a right to any medical
records your employer has concerning you;

() to complain to your employer about dangerous
conditions;

_} to file complaints with OSHA;

_) to respond to questions from an OSHA inspector and
point out hazards to the inspector;

_} not to be discriminated against for exercising your
health and safety rights;

_] to refuse to work or to walk off the job because of
workplace hazards;

_| to refuse work that places you in imminent danger of
death or serious physical harm;

_] to information and training about hazardousmaterials
you work with, including Material Safety Data Sheets;
and

C1] to information about injuries and illnesses
experienced by you and your co-workers.

YOUR UNION
NEWSLETTER

By the time this issue goes to press, we expect

the Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) will be a
reality.

The non-profit,
set to’ take over the Nassau County Medical

quasi-governmental body was

Center, the A. Holly Patterson Geriatric Centet
and units of the Nassau County Health
Department on or about Oct. 1. The change
affects more than 4,000 members of CSEA
Nassau Local 830.

The PBC came
into existence on
Aug, 28 after
more than two
years of unyielding negotiations by CSEA to
protect the jobs and benefits of our members.
Keeping our members under the umbrella of the
Local 830 bargaining unit was one of our most
significant victorie

SEE RELATED
ITEM ON Pace 7

A's message was clear. The change to a PBC

would help our members only if the corporation
was to be operated free of political constraints and
with the greatest respect to our employees. CS
fought any aspect of the plan that could hurt
employees.

unty Executive Tom Gulotta’s plan for a
major change in the structure of Nassau’s health
care delivery system was announced in June 1996.

From the beginning, we fully expected the PBC

would be created, but we wanted to make sure a
wide range of protections for our members were
written into the proposal.

We made it clear that without these
protections, we would oppose the plan with all of
our energy and resources.

Iam proud to say our campaign on behalf of
PBC members has been overwhelmingly
successful. Here are some of the protections we
won for PBC employees:

No change in membership in the NYS
Retirement (pension) System;

* The same civil service protection for all
employees;

¢ Employees will remain in the CSEA;

¢ Il entitlements will remain intact;

y

A Message From Nassau County Local 830
President Anthony Giustino

Employee Safeguards In Place
As PBC Becomes a Reality

* Salary and salary scale of all current employees
will remain the same

* No layoffs as a result of this change;

+ Employees will remain public employees.

Since the start, I endeavored to keep the
membership informed on the progress of the plan,
sought member input and answered questions. We
featured the issue on our radio show, in our
newspaper and in a series of flyers.

It should be noted the PBC could benefit
everyone. The move was designed to make
NCMC and AHPGC more viable institutions in
the highly competitive world of health care and
senior care.

It will allow those operations far more
professional and fiscal flexibility than they could
ever have under the restraints of county
government.

In addition, the PBC will infuse tens of
millions of dollars into the county’s financially
strapped coffers, helping to ease a debilitating
fiscal crisis that could hurt CSEA membe:

CSEA will remain. vigilant as we enter the era of
the PBC. We will be watching carefully to make
sure our members are being well served and that
all agreements are carried out to the letter of the
law.

I urge members to report any violations to their
unit president or to CSEA headquarters at 571-
2919;

Yours in solidarity,

é

‘Tony Giustino, President
CSEA Local 830

Catch Us Online
up-to-date CSEA information and
the latest news from your union, be
sure to visit us online at

vw. nassau-csea830.org

CSEA NASSAU COUNTY LOCAL 830

CSEA Meets to Fight
Givebacks

As this edition of The Express went to press,
the CSEA committee that negotiated our
recent labor agreement was holding an
emergency meeting to discuss County
Executive Thomas §. Gulotta’s threat to
furlough union employees for one day a
month and his demands for other concessions.

Local 830 Union President Tony Giustino
said, “Once again, public employees are beir
asked to bear the brunt of the fiscal morass
into which Nassau County has fallen.
Although we will strive to keep the lines of
communication open with the county
administration, it is our intent to fight any
attempts to correct governmental
mismanagement by hurting union members.”

CSEA is actively seeking alternative money-
saving measures for the county and has come
up with proposals that could save as much as
$2 million without affecting union members.

Long Island Region President Nick
LaMorte said on a recent edition of “CSEA in
Focus,” the union’ s radio show: “I don’t know
of any other county in New York where the
fiscal situation has been allowed to get so bad.
We will help Local 830 in every way possible
in its efforts to fight givebacks.”

CSE
on this issue as events unfold.

will keep the membership updated

Stay Informed. Tune in to

“SEA in Focus’
Thursdays at 7 p.m.
repeated Saturdays at 8:30
a.m. on WGBB, 1240 AM
Sponsors of the show are
Caplin/Goldberg Dental Group
and Davis Vision

26

PRESS

The

CSEA NASSAU COUNTY LOCAL 830 UNION MEMBER NEWS

ee | CGAL UPDATE Ee

Work Fi Wr eas
ore TON! _GESEA Nassau County Local 830, __!

: ERP LLG

October 1999 * Vol. 4 No. 10

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

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

Ronald G. Gurrieri, Chair, 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 Preside
Noreen Lingham, 2nd Vice President
Robert Cauldwell, 3rd Vice President
Raymond Cannella, 4th Vice President
Jewel Weinstein, 5th Vice President
Barbara Jones, 6th Vice President
George Walsh, 7th Vice President
Ron Gurrieri, 8th Vice President
Martin Stamile, 9th Vice President
Mary DelMare, 10th Vice President
Bobby Eisgrau, Secretary
Kathleen Vitan, Treasurer

Unit Presidents/Executive Board:
John Aloisio Ill, Treasurer's Office
Stanley Bergman, Comptroller's Office
Tim Corr, Recreation & Parks Department
Ken Dash, Administrative Unit
James Davis, Assessment Department
Mary Delmare, School Crossing Guards
Les Eason, A. Holly Patterson Geriatric Center
Bobbi Eisgrau, County Clerk
Cynthia Hancock, Nassau Community College
Nancy lanson, Office of Drug & Alcohol
Frank Debobes, Police Department AMTs
Barbara Jones, Department of General Services
Eileen Jones, District Attorney/County Attorney
Louis Minghinelli, Health Department
Lillian Neumar, Police Department Civilian
Richard Russ, Department of Consumer Affairs

Schnurr, Deputy Sheriffs

Paul Simon, Fire & Rescue Services
Martin Stamile, Department of Public Works
Michael Timmons, Social Services Department
George Walsh, Nassau County Medical Center
Joseph Whittaker, Fire Marshal's Office
Peter Wrba, Probation

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.

Listening Tour

Local 830 Executive Vice President Jane D'Amico

talks with Hillary Rodham Clinton during the
first lady’s recent ‘listening’ tour of Long Island.
D’Amico was invited as a labor representative to a
meeting of union leaders called by Clinton to
discuss the problems of working men and women

on Long Island.

Give Us Your Insight and We
Can Set Things Right!

By Nancy E. Hoffman Esq.
CSEA General Counsel

The Nassau County Public Employment Relations
Board ruled in June that Nassau County is the employer of
about 75 caseworkers, their supervisors and related clerical
employees (all these are collectively referred to as
“caseworkers” throughout the rest of this article) and it
certified CSEA as the representative of those employees

They had been working on a “Case Management
Demonstration Project” for several years but had been
receiving much lower pay and fewer benefits than
CSEA-represented county employees in comparable
occupations.

Before negotiations could start, the county notified the
caseworkers it was going to contract out parts of the
demonstration project to four contractors.

The caseworkers would be laid off Aug. 31, county
officials said.

Improper practice charge filed

CSEA quickly filed an improper practice charge under
the state Taylor Law and a conference was held at the public
employment relations board Aug. 3.

At that conference, CSEA asserted the county was not
permitted to change the terms and conditions of
employment of the caseworkers while a representation
question was pending or until a contract was in place.

The county made various arguments to justify its
actions, including it was “going out of the demonstration
project business” and its agreement with CSEA on behalf of
the existing CSEA unit satisfied whatever duty it might
have to negotiate with respect to the caseworkers.

PERB set a hearing for Oct. 13.

Within a few days, there were rumors the county was
aborting its plans to contract out the demonstration project
Those rumors were later confirmed by the proposed

contractors!

Letters to the caseworkers followed on Aug. 18, saying
the demonstration project was being extended and all
project positions had been restored.

The improper practice charge is pending, as CSEA is
investigating to be sure no one has been hurt by the
previously announced layoffs.

Meanwhile, CSEA has demanded negotiations for the

caseworkers start immediately.

Contracting out complaints

Complaints about contracting out may be the most
frequent improper practice charges

The Taylor Law requires public employers and public
employee unions to negotiate in good faith

This requires them to meet, as reasonably needed, to
negotiate the terms and conditions of employment of unit
employees

The law does not require the making of any specific
concessions. Even more importantly, the duty to negotiate
in good faith means a public employer cannot unilaterally
alter the terms and conditions of unit employees either
while a representation question is pending before the board
or thereafter, when those employees are represented by a

union

Know what’ in the contract

Not everything that interests employees is a “term or
condition of employment.”

Some things are management prerogatives. For example,
whether to continue to provide a particular service to its
constituents is something management can decide
unilaterally, as is whether to layoff employees who work on
the curtailed service.

Similarly, a public employer can decide unilaterally how
many employees, if any, it needs to work at any particular
time.

Collective bargaining agreements also give management
and employees certain rights.

If an agreement specifies two 15-minute coffee breaks a
day, yet the employees have been permitted to take
20-minute breaks for some years, the employer is still free
to reinstate the 15-minute breaks at any time.

Its actions are not considered “unilateral” because the
subject of “breaks” has been.negotiated.

Reassignment of work

Contracting out is one of the most bitterly fought issues
involving alleged unilateral changes...

And the issue includes situations where there is no
contract, but the employer assigns unit work either to
non-unit employees who may be unrepresented or in
another negotiating unit, to prison inmates or to volunteers.

Such reassignment oferfi'work is usually a mandatory
subject of negotiation, but if the employer decides to.
change the qualifications needed to perform the work (a
management prerogative to do so), and no unit employees
are so qualified, it may then reassign the work to others,

If the reassignment is a mandatory subject of
negotiation, attention is focused on whether unit employees
have been performing the work exclusively for a long time;
for work that is performed regularly, one year will usually be
sufficient, but a longer time will be required for
intermittent work.

Once a union negotiates these obstacles, the burden will
shift to the public employer to show it had negotiated the
right to reassign the unit work.

EA. It is
important for CSEA members to understand it and be alert

Contracting out is an important issue for ¢

to possible violations

A charge complaining about a violation may only be
brought within four months of the violation.

CSEA depends on the vigilance of its members to call
such violations to the attention of local officers and labor
relations staft

The Nassau County Demonstration Project case is an
example of what CSEA can do if its leaders are made aware
of the problems

NOTE: Both the case legal support and this article have been
ably supplied by Deputy Counsel Jerry Lefkowitz

CSEA NASSAU COUNTY LOCAL 830 UNION MEMBER NEWS:

There's still time

EXPRESS 3

Members Urged to Sign Up For Breast Cancer Walk

ATTENTION CSEA MEN AND WOMEN!
JOIN THE LOCAL 830 FLAGSHIP TEAM

Making Strides
Against

Breast Cancer
WALKATHON

Sunday, October 17, 1999
Jones Beach State Park

Field #5
LOOK FOR CSEA TENT
9:30 a.m. - Rain or Shine

Men & Women Invited
to Participate

DATES TO RETURN PLEDGES
MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

OCTOBER 4-8 — 9A.M. TO 6 P.M.

CSEA Office, 400 County Seat Drive, Mineola

WHEN YOU RETURN YOUR SPONSOR SHEET & MONEY
@ You will receive your FREE long-sleeve shirt with a minimum donation of $35
(T-shirts WILL NOT be distributed on the day of the walk.)
®@ You will be entered into a competition for valuable prizes.

FOR SPONSOR SHEETS AND MORE INFORMATION CALL:
(516) 571-2919, Ext. 13 or 31

CSEA
members are
being urged to
sign up fora
five-mile
charity walk,
“Making
Strides Against
Breast

Cancer,” set —
for Sunday, Oct. 17 at Jones Beach.

Last year’s CSEA team raised more than
$30,000 and has once again been
designated one of the few flagship sponsors
of the event.

CSEA Women’s Committee Chair Jane
D’Amico, executive vice president of Local
830, said she hopes to recruit as many as
300 members, their families and friends for
the walk.

The walk starts and ends at Parking
Field No. 5, proceeding along the Jones
Beach Boardwalk and circling back to the
starting point. Registration starts at 9:30
a.m. at the CSEA tent.

All CSEA team members who submit a
completed sponsor sheet to the CSEA
office before the walk date will receive a
specially-designed commemorative ‘T-shirt

featuring the race logo and CSEA logo.

In addition, the two CSEA members
who 1) raise the most contributions, and
2) sign up the most sponsors will receive
prizes and will be featured in an upcoming
article in The Express.

Members wishing to participate or those
who need more information may call Jewel,

Mary or Kathy at 571-2919.

Sponsorship packets will be available
through your Unit president or at the Local
830 office in Mineola.

4 EXPRESS

CSEA Members Provide Consumer
Help Alt Office of

Consumer /iffairs

Above left, Joanne McQuair is a clerk/typist III but she
performs a wide range of services ranging from personnel
to payroll to office supplies and claims. Above right,
Lauretta Henning (clerk I) goes about her job in the
licensing division.

Below left, Linda Ferrara is a community service assistant
in the licensing division. Below right, Investigator Charlie
Toes assists at front counter where construction company
President Manny Jesus seeks to renew license for his
Farmingyille firm.

... there is more
to Consumer
Affairs than
weights and
measures.

Did you ever get home from grocery shopping only to find you boughtfla
product that was past its expiration date?

Did you ever hold that “pound” of ham you ordered from the deli and
if it wasn’t a bit light?

of Consumer Affairs and its CSEA staffers, such episodes are few and far be

The Office of Consumer Affairs protects the consumer.

For instance, when you fill up the car at the gas station, the consumer
unit was there making sure the pump is calibrated correctly and the octane rei
accurate.

They do similar checks on home heating oil delivery trucks, and with
and deli scales.

criminal matters and with the county attorney’s staff on civil matters.

“Consumer affairs employees are highly skilled men and women who pf
an extremely important service for the people of Nassau County. They are to
commended for the outstanding work they do, often in the face of very tryii
circumstances,” said Nassau CSEA President Tony Giustino.

Consumer Affairs publishes many informative pamphlets to help const
with purchases and educate them about various scams and frauds.

These pamphlets are available at the Office of Consumer Affairs, 160 CBld
Country Road, Mineola:

* What to Know Before You Sign a Contract or Make a Major Purchase

* Know the Facts About Slamming

© The Truth About Y2K

* What You Need to Know About Buying Appliances and Furniture

* Online Shopping

* Frauds and Scams

* Conserve Energy and Conserve Dollars

* Consumer Checklist for Home Improvements and Repairs

For more information about the Office of Consumer Affairs or to file a
consumer complaint, call 571-2600 weekdays during business hours.

CSEA NASSAU ‘COUNTY LOCAL 830'UNION MEMBER NEWS

Clockwise, starting top left, Madalyn Farley

goes over some of the day’s work with her boss,
Commissioner James Picken, In addition to
serving as secretary to the commissioner, Ms.
Farley also heads the licensing division.

Glenn Powell, seated, assistant director of
weights and measures, checks accuracy of
obsolete jewelers scale, which OCA confiscated.
Looking on is OCA Unit President Richard
Russ.

Posing for camera in the investigations office
are, from left, Tracey Eubanks and Jennifer
Pegrem, both investigator I's and Investigations
Supervisor Carol Cusack, seated.

‘A Unit President Richard Russ prepares for

trip to a gas station, where he will take gasoline
samples to check for proper octane rating and
pump accuracy.

A Unit Vice President Marie Catalano is an.”
stigator II at OCA.

|

The ad at right has run in Newsday
and is part of Local 830° fighting back
against attacks on county employees.

EXPRESS 5

Rk The CSEA
Nassau
County
Work Force
Didn't Create
Nassau’s
Fiscal Grisis

In good times and in bad,
you can count on the
CSEA Nassau County

Work Force. Every day, we're
using our experience,

know-how and
resourcefulness to keep
our children, our sick and
elderly and all our residents
safe and healthy.

We provide

the vital services you

ts depend on.

We certainly
do our part.

We won't be made
scapegoats - especially
for political purposes.
We have a stake in
Nassau’s future because
we are residents and
taxpayers too.

Instead of hurting the
people who do the work,
there are many things
the county leaders must
~» do, like stop contracting
gut work that the county
‘ork force can do better
and cheaper.

In these difficult
times for Nassau,

CSEA is doing the job,
"and doing it right!

Gq

a bel
mae
B= cseA/Nossau

LOCAL 830
The Work Force

6 EXPRESS

MAMMOGRAPHY

SCREENING PROGRAM
Fact Sheet

The “Mammography Screening Program” is a benefit negotiated by CSEA for all Nassau
County government employees, regardless of insurance carrier or coverage. This benefit allows
you to go to the Nassau County Medical Center BREAST IMAGING CENTER on your work
time and with no out-of-pocket cost to you. You will stay as long as it takes to get a proper
diagnosis and you will meet personally with the doctor to discuss the results

TO MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE EASY STEPS:

1. Call the NCMC Breast Imaging Center at (516) 572-5000 to schedule an appointment.
Appointments for County employees will be held on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

2. When you call, you will reach the CSEA Mammography Program “Hotline” Voice Mail
System. Please leave your name, daytime phone number and best time to be reached. A
scheduler from the Breast Imaging Center will promptly return your phone call and schedule your
examination.

3. Fill out a departmental time and leave slip; check “other,” and write “mammography
screening.” Submit it to your supervisor.

4, Mammography screening will be given with no out of pocket expense to you. Your insurance
company will be billed. If you have insurance, bring your insurance card with you, and an
employee ID card if you have one. Also bring your prior mammographic films with you, if you
have any.

5. A parking map is available through your department coordinator. The designated parking
spaces on the map will be free of charge or you may park at your own expense in the paid parking
lot. Inside NCMC, follow the rose-colored “Breast Imaging Center” signs,

6. Upon returning to work, you will be required to submit documentation to your Department.
The documentation will be supplied by NCMC at the time of the examination.

7 You will be excused with authorization and will be granted leave without loss of time or pay
for travel and examination.

(CSEA NASSAU COUNTY LOCAL 830 UNION MEMBER NEWS

“Staying Fit While You Sit”
Is Topic of Oct. 7 Workshop

CSEA members whose jobs require sitting
for long periods of time might want to
attend an upcoming Women’s Committee
workshop entitled: “Staying Fit While You
Sit.” The date is Thursday, Oct. 7, starting at
5 p.m. in the training room at CSEA
headquarters, 400 County Seat Drive,
Mineola.

‘The free program will discuss such things
as:

* Tips on how to properly sit.

* Simple exercises you can do at your
desk.

* Avoiding repetitive motion injuries.

Reservations are required by calling Jewel
or Judy at 571-2919.

Refreshments will be prepared for all who
make reservations, Women’s Committee
Chair Jane D'Amico noted that there is a set
agenda and urged attendees to arrive on
time, Both men and women are welcome to
attend.

CLUW Chapter
Meeting Slated for
October 13

Susan Borenstein and Yolanda
Nelson of the AFL-CIO will be the
featured speakers on Wednesday,
Oct. 13 at a meeting of the Long
Island Chapter of the Coalition of
Labor Union Women (CLUW).

The topics of discussion will be
“Why Do Unions Need to
Organize?” and “What is CLUW’s
Role?” according to chapter
president Jane D’Amico, Local 830
executive vice president.

The program is free and will be
held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hofstra
University Student Center
“Greenhouse” on the north campus
off Hempstead Turnpike.

For reservations call Jewel at

571-2919, ext. 20

CSEA NASSAU COUNTY LOCAL 830 UNION MEMBER NEWS

Executive Vice President's Report

by Jane D'Amico
Executive Vice President, Women’s Committee Chair

With the advent of fall, the women’s committee will resume
educational workshops as well as other annual events geared to
women's and family issues. By the time this paper goes to press,
two events will have already passed, including the annual Women in Local Government
Reccenifon Dinner

In October, the committee presents a workshop “Staying Fit While You Sit” on Thursday Oct.
7 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the union office.

On Wednesday, Oct. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. there will be a special CLUW (Coalition of Labor
Union Women) presentation at Hofstra University North Campus. The free program will feature
speakers from the AFL-CIO — all CSEA members are invited.

Another annual highlight in the month of October is the “Making Strides against Breast
Cancer” Walk-a-Thon at Jones Beach. The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 17
commencing at 9:30 a.m. at the CSEA tent in parking field 5. This year Local 830 will again be
a “flagship sponsor” for the event. We hope to top last year’s total by collecting in excess of
$32,000. Please come with your family and friends and join us with this worthwhile cause.

When the legislative session begins in January, the women’s committee, along with the Long
Island Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women and other interested groups, such as
Women on the Job and the Long Island Women’s Agenda, will again join forces to promote the
passage of pay equity/comparable work legislation in New York State. Recently, I had the
privilege of speaking on these issues and other family-related matters at a “Listening Event”
hosted by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. The forum specifically focused on women’s and
family issues; Mrs. Clinton appears to be dedicated to the promotion of these concerns.

As chair of the women’s committee, as well as the president of the Long Island Chapter of
CLUW, I plan to continue to dedicate my energies and the focus of these organizations to issues
which impact upon:the daily lives of our membership; Soon, labor/management committees will
begin to look at the negotiated issues of child care, flexible working schedules, educational
benefits, and diversity training, as stipulated in our new contract. I intend to be involved with
these committees, since they will address relevant issues for women and families. At a recent
CLUW convention, I was elected as an AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees) delegate to the National Executive Board of CLUW. This opportunity
will offer another avenue for promoting these issues on a national level.

Please call 516-571-2919 if you would like details of any of the above-mentioned events. I
would be glad to hear from-you should you have any suggestions. In the meantime, look forward
to the renewed activities in the upcoming months.

WOMEN'S COMMITTEE
We make it happen!

HIP Grant Saves “Healthy Heart” Program

The Health Insurance Plan of New York, better known as HIP, has come to the
rescue of CSEA’s “Healthy Heart” program. HIP has awarded CSEA a $25,000
grant, which will allow the union to continue the program started more than two
years ago under a New York State grant, which expired in June.

Although the term “Healthy Heart” may still be used from time to time, the
program will now be called “CSEA/HIP Worksite Wellness Program.” According to

Susan Kessler, who will remain program coordinator, the new name reflects not only
HIP’s involvement, but the fact that the program will now be more broad based

both in its scope and outreach

‘The program will provide a wide range of workshops dealing with subjects
ranging from Smoking Cessation to exercise and diet, but will also focus more on
health topics that deal with the workplace. In addition, programs will be held at
| various work locations throughout the county, rather than being confined to the
CSEA office.

According to Executive Vice President Jane D'Amico, who serves as program
director, various aspects of the old Healthy Heart program will be continued,
including the Bicycle Program at Cedar Creek and Eisenhower Parks and the
Healthy Heart Haven outside CSEA headquarters in Mineola,

EXPRESS 7

What CSEA Members Should
Know About the
Public Benefit Corporation

Following are answers to the most frequently asked questions
regarding the Public Benefit Corporation.

Q. How will the new PBC affect 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 PBC. In addition, you will still
be in the New York State Retirement System and Civil Service.
CSEA fought hard to ensure that the law creating the Public Benefit
Corporation specifically lists all these protections.

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 is nothing like
privatization. A PBC is still a public entity but it has fewer
restrictions than a county-run department has. So, a PBC can
contract with a managed care company to keep NCMC, AHPGC,
Health Centers and Home Healthcare in business. It can also
borrow money or float bonds independently of the county.
Theoretically, all these things will keep NCMC and AHPGC in
better financial shape than if they remained with the county. In
addition, all employees of all PBCs in New York are public
employees — they are not private employees.

The law says that the PBC’s purpose is to serve “an essential
public and governmental function.”

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

A. No. After the transfer, all NCMC, AHPGC, Health Centers and
CHHA 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 C.

continue to be in effect, just as it is now.

4A contract and the New York State Taylor Law will

Q. Why is the transfer to a PBC happening?

A. The health care industry is quickly changing. Managed care
companies like HMOs are the future of the industry. To remain in
business, government owned and operated hospitals and nursing
homes must be able to compete. A PBC structure allows the
medical center and nursing home to borrow money, form
consortiums and do all the things they need to do to compete with
private hospitals and nursing homes, Most importantly is the fact
that with a PBC structure it can do all these things without harming
the employees.

8 EXPRESS

A Message from
Long Island Region
President
Nick LaMorte

s 1 write this column, Hurricane
Floyd is sweeping up the
Carolina coast and County
Executive Thomas Gulotta is
throwing blows at the Nassau
County work force with threats
of furloughs and extended work
days.

Nassau Local President Tony
Giustino and I pledge you all the
support of CSEA, statewide, to
fight this unfair treatment.

We have repeatedly told Mr.
Gulotta and the mediathe county
must cut private contracts,
reduce political patronage and
yes — as a last resort, raise
taxes.

We have gotten a great
response from the ads we’ve run
in Newsday and on the radio
touting your hard work. We have
reminded the public that you are
taxpayers, too.

CSEA will not allow the county
to fill this budget hole with any
concessions from you.

Continue to do your job with
pride so the public remembers
what great work you do and
CSEA will stand strong against
the winds of threat blown by
Hurricane Gulotta.

Fraternally,

\ LaMorte V

Long Island Region President

CSEA NASSAU COUNTY LOCAL 830 UNION MEMBER NEWS

On the Roa _

CSEA members display their musical talents on a recent CSEA-sponsored trip to Quebec, Canada.
Union members are playing the spoons during a stop at a maple sugar plantation. CSEA plans a wide
range of trips at discounted prices each year as part of its in-house travel program which is directed by
Alice Groody. The program is self-sustaining and is not subsidized by member dues. For more
information on CSEA trips, call Groody at 571-2919, ext. 22.

CSEA Local 830
October 1999 Calendar

* Friday, Oct. 1 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. - Pre-Retirement Seminar, Nassau Community College.
Call Jewell or Judy: 571-2919

* Saturday, Oct. 2 11 a.m.-6 p.m. - CSEA Picnic - Eisenhower Park. Call Beth: 571-2919

* Thursday, Oct. 7 5 p.m. - “Staying Fit While You Sit” workshop, 400 County Seat Drive,
Mineola. Call Jewel or Judy: 571-2919

* Wednesday, Oct. 27 7 p.m. - Annual CSEA Dinner (Halloween theme) Crest Hollow
Country Club, Woodbury. Call Jewel or Judy: 571-2919.

The Social Committee has made some great plans to produce a colorful and fun-filled
annual CSEA dinner this year — a Halloween dinner theme on Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Attendees wearing a Halloween costume will save $10 off the price of a ticket.

Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes.

Nassau Local 830’s 51st Annual Dinner Dance will start at 7 p.m. at the Crest Hollow
Country Club on Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury.

Tickets are $60 for people who don't come in a Halloween costume and $50 for those
who do. Social Committee Chair Beth Luttinger has reminded members that reservations
are on a first-come, first-served basis so early reservations are suggested.

Reservation forms can be obtained at CSEA headquarters in Mineola or by calling
571-2919.

Checks should be made payable to “CSEA Nassau Local 830” and sent to 400 County
Seat Drive, Mineola, N.Y. 11501, Attn. Beth Luttinger.

Little ones learn big

lessons at Safety Tov

Did you know there are 10 reflectors on every bicycle?

What's the proper use of hand
signals?

Students at the Progressive
School of Long Island know those
answers and much more, thanks to
Nassau County Crossing Guard and
union member Ceil Cahill who
taught them about bike, pedestrian
and traffic safety at Safety Town.

Safety Town, a miniature community complete with a
general store, houses, roads, crosswalks, traffic lights, bridges
and tunnels, was established by the county in 1972 as part of
the Police Department.

More than 11,000 children each year are brought in by their
teachers to complete the popular half-day safety training
session.

The training begins in the classroom, where Cahill uses a
bicycle and other props to illustrate the proper use of
equipment.

Cahill asks many questions and the students’ hands shoot
up like arrows.

The guard also requests volunteers to demonstrate safe
biking as she changes the colors on a giant traffic light from
green to yellow to red.

ono ottt

1000 AFSCmE °A
Pe 2 me 0

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765.000 memBens SiRONS

CSEA member Nancy Dougan talks to Travis Compton and the
other students in her group about pedestrian safety.

The classroom walls are covered with thank-you banners
from appreciative classes.

Everyone learns here

As the students step outside into Safety Town, they are
divided into three groups.

One group dons helmets and mounts bikes, another knot of
children takes off on foot.

The remaining kids get behind the wheel of child-sized cars
that have real gas and brake pedals but are surrounded with a
rubber bumper — for those who don’t hit their brake quickly
enough.

“The cars have rubber bumpers but they are not

om |
CSEA member Cecilia Casimano
walks with her bikers.

CSEA member Joan Morris calls
for her group to "stop at the
corner."

bumper cars!” Cahill reminds the children.

Other crossing guards take part in the outdoor
instruction.

“I love working with the kids. It’s really hands
on,” said CSEA member Joan Morris as she handed
out helmets.

Morris has been a crossing guard for 17 years
and has worked in Safety Town the last two.

Nancy Dougan, a crossing guard for 26 years and
Safety Town instructor for four, said, “I really think
it’s a lot of fun and it’s important. The kids love to
come here and we love to teach them.”

Safety Town is open year-round and in addition
to third-graders from public and private schools, the
crossing guards teach safety to Cub Scouts and
Brownies.

“This car is so cool,” said student Susan Fallon as
she buckled up, “I’m having a lot of fun.”

At Safety Town, it’s all about making learning fun.

— Sheryl C. Jenks

5 October 1999 THE WORK FORCE (ete bc)

The CSEA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

covering Workers’ Compensation
and Social Security Disability

If you are injured on the job or sustain a job-related illness,
CSEA’s Workers’ Compensation Legal Assistance Program
can help you navigate the maze known as Workers’
Compensation. If you become disabled, the program can help
you obtain Social Security Disability benefits.

The Pragram Services Are Absolutely Free, And So Is The Call

@ Brochures describing the
program in detail and intake
forms to assist you in compiling
correct and complete information
before making the initial call will
be available from CSEA Region
Offices, CSEA Local and Unit
Presidents and CSEA Labor
Relations Specialists.

@ If you have a possible Workers’
Compensation or Social Security
Disability case, SIMPLY CALL
1-600-342-4146 TOLL-FREE and
select the proper menu options.
Your call will be angwered by the
firm of Fine, Olin and Anderman,
FC., through its statewide
network of offices staffed by
attorneys who specialize in
Workers’ Compensation and
Social Security Disability Law.

@ All calls will be accepted, no
cases will be turned down and
there is no cost to CSEA
Se gms members and their dependents
The CSEA for the program services.
WORKERS’
COMPENSATION
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM

1-800-342-4146

Follow the menu options
for instructions
to access the program

New York health care

CSEA state workers who belong to the Kaiser Permanente
Health Plan should review their health care options carefully in
light of Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan’s “agreement in
principle” to buy Kaiser.

Kaiser enrollees will need to select a new health plan during
the 1999 Option Transfer Period, usually held in November.

Meanwhile, enrollees and their families should continue to
seek care from their current providers as Kaiser Permanente has
given assurance the plan will continue to provide service during
the transition, which should be complete by the end of this year.

Questions or comments should be directed to the health
benefit administrator in the agency personnel office, or call the
bieise Area Permanente Medical shea at (518) 786-2535.

THE WORK FORCE October 1999

Page 141

EY

Ne

CSEA members across ies state
continue to be the backbone of
the labor movement.

Above, Capital Region President

Carmen Bagnoli walks a picket line in Hudson to protest
stalled contract talks for 77,000 state workers.

Bagnoli and hundreds of other union members continue
to dog Gov. George Pataki wherever he speaks in public as
part of a member mobilization campaign.

The strength of the labor movement was also showcased
in New York City, as AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, in
photo above left, leads thousands of union workers in a
labor rally in New York City recently.

State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes, to the right of
Sweeney, led the crowd in several chants.

A large contingent of CSEA members boosted the rally’s
attendance.

Sweeney said the key issue as labor enters a new
century is the right of all workers to choose a union at the
workplace.

“Shine a light of shame on employers who violate
workers’ rights,” Sweeney told the throng.

Prepare for change as Kaiser leaves

1999 Inside Albany (www.insidealbany.com)
INSIDE ALBANY broadcast schedule

Albany-Schenectady-Troy WMHT Saturday
Sunday
Saturday
Friday
Sunday
Tuesday
Saturday
Sunday
Sunday
Saturday
Saturday
Sunday
Saturday

Binghamton
Buffalo
Long Island

New York City
Plattsburgh
Rochester
Syracuse

Watertown

Be informed.
Then vote responsibly.

The 2000 presidential election campaign is already underway.

CSEA encourages all its members to seek information and learn as
| much as possible about all of the major candidates. Here are some

facts you should consider about the two fron-runners:

GeroRGE W. BusH
GOVERNOR OF TEXAS
REPUBLICAN

Says ae first priority is education; Oversaw the
nerease for public education in
| history but he also supports charter schools
| and education vouchers.

| “Supports expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement
| (NAFTA) throughout the Americas.

* Pledged to fulfill the solemn commitment of Social Security with
no reduction in benefits for retirees or near retirees; supports the
Republican “lock box” proposal for social security funds; supports
making personal retirement accounts part of Social Security

reform. &

* Wants more private sector Medicare alternatives for the
elderly.

*Attempted to privatize a number of state jobs including
Medicaid administration in Texas.

*Supports the anti-union “Right to Work Movement;” also supports
enactment of “Paycheck Deception” legislation which would
restrict the ability of unions to participate in the political process.

*Promotes religious training as an alternative form of qualification
for delivery of non-medical social services.

ALBERT GORE
VicE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMER!
DEMOCRAT

* Strong record in support of federal education
funding and opposition to the use of federal funding
for private schools.

* Supports the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in
opposition to labor's position. Many unions are critical that too
little has been done to prevent expanded trade from wiping out
jobs.

* Supports expansion of Medicare coverage for catastrophic and
long term illness.

* Supports the use of 2/3 of the budget surplus for Social Security.

* Supports a worker's right to join a union and opposes “paycheck
deception” legislation which would restrict the ability of unions to
participate in the political process.

* Supports strengthening criminal penalties for health and safety
violations.

* Supports federal money for churches to fight social problems.

| \OCAL 1000 AFSOME 4
nel! Alor,

New York’s rich-poor gap
largest in nation

The incomes of most working
New Yorkers shrank the last
decade relative to the cost of
li as the rich continued to
get richer, a study by a union-
supported think tank shows.

The gap between the rich and
poor in the state is wider in New
York than any other state and is
growing faster, according to a
report by the Fiscal Policy
Institute.

“New Yorkers standing on the
brink of the new millennium

have reason to be concerned for

their economic future,” said
Frank Mauro, director of the
institute.

“The state
has
experienced

job gains, but

766,000 mempens StRON™

only this year recouped the jobs
lost during the last recession,”
he said.

Middle-income fami saw
their earnings decline by 8
percent since the late 1980:
while incomes for the poorest 40
percent of families fell between

3 and 15 percent, the study
shows.

As working families watched
their buying power shrink, the
richest 20 percent of households
enjoyed 30 percent income
growth during the decade,
Mauro said.

New York City saw sharper
income and wage declines than
the rest of the state. Income fell
by almost 20 percent for all
except the richest 40 percent of
families.

The Fiscal Policy Institute study of
family income the last decade found:

(1 Median family income in New York has declined by 1.8
percent since 1989, while the nation’s median family income

increased by 1.1 percent.

(J The number of New Yorkers in poverty has increased by one
|

third since 1989 to 3 million. New York’s poverty rate was 16.5
percent in 1997 compared with the U.S. poverty rate of 13.3

percent.

{4 The number of working poor families in New York has
jumped by 60 percent in the 1990s, much greater than the

U.S. increase of 24 percent.

(4 The median hourly wage of New York workers, which
increased 1.8 percent in the 1980s, fell 6.3 percent in the

1990s.

{4 New York’s economic growth has lagged behind most of the
eight comparable urban, industrial states of the Northeast and

Midwest in the 1990s.

October 1999

THE WORK FORCE

Page 15

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS to be presented for consideration by delegates attending
CSEA’s 89th Annual Delegates Meeting, Oct. 18-22 in Washington, D. C.

Members wishing to
see copies of any
resolution should

contact their
delegate.

1 Continued Health Insurance
for Retirees

Submitted by:
Lee Pound
Delegate - Local 918

The resolution proposes CSEA
continue to lobby state
lawmakers and the governor on a
bill which would prohibit local
government employers from
reducing health insurance
benefits or increasing costs
unless a corresponding change is
negotiated for current employees.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted as amended.

2 Establish a National Screening
" Registry of Nursing Homes

Submitted by:
Lee Pound
Delegate - Local 918

The resolution proposes CSEA
and AFSCME lobby Congress to
make the Health Care Financing
Administration, which j
administers both Medicare and
Medicaid, develop a national
registry of convicted nursing
home workers to be used by all
states,

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted as amended.

3 National Patient’s Bill of Rights
.

Submitted by:
Lee Pound
Delegate - Local 918

The resolution proposes CSEA
and AFSCME support these
additions to a national Patient's
Bill of Rights:

Page 16

THE WORK F
BENTO IIWITOOOT

Therefore, be it resolved:

v Ensure medical decisions are

made by doctor:

v Give patients access to
specialists and emergency
treatments;

V Keep patient’s medical
information private;

v Ensure patients are not
forced to change doctors in the
middle of treatment;

v¥ Ensure HMO accountability
by making it possible for patients
to sue an HMO when they are
harmed.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted as amended.

4 Extend the OAA Through 2002
2

Submitted by:
Lee Pound
Delegate — Local 918

The resolution proposes CSEA
and AFSCME lobby for a bill
reauthorizing the Older
Americans Act through 2002,
using the language of the 1992
Act and including the “New
Family Caregiver Support
Programs” as outlined in Senate
Bill S-10.

Although the law authorizing
the OAA expired in 1995, the
program continues to provide
social and nutritional services to
millions of older Americans with
incomes below the poverty level.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted as amended.

5 Protect Consumers Against
= Telemarketing Fraud

Submitted by:
Lee Pound
Delegate - Local 918

The resolution proposes CSEA
lobby state lawmakers to pass a

bill establishing minimum
standards in the law to register
and bond telemarketers and
prohibit access to consumers’
financial accounts.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted as amended.

6 CSEA, Inc. Rebate
" Reimbursement to Locals

Submitted by:
James Kurtz
Delegate - Local 807

The resolution proposes CSEA,
Inc. will rebate 100 percent of the
Local’s portion of the Unit's
rebate provided that the Local
has filed all the required
paperwork.

CSEA rebates its Locals 25
percent of the total amount paid
by the Unit members of the Local
when the Local files the correct
election and financial paperwork.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
defeated. The committee said
current CSEA policy “is
rational and consistent with
the organization’s ability to
ensure the legal and
constitutional connection
between election reporting
requirements and rebates.
Additionally, each Local that
has units and rebates to them
has to set the percentage of
rebate, between 25-50 percent.
If we took the position of
withholding only the Unit
rebate portion when election of
officers has not been held, it
would be almost impossible to
effectively administer and
hamper the union’s ability to
meet its legal and
constitutional requirements.

7 ‘ SweatFree Schools

Submitted by:
Ken Monahan
Delegate - Local 814
on behalf of the Standing Safety &
Health Committee

This resolution proposes CSEA
strive to educate school boards
about the benefits of buying
equipment and school apparel
that is union made, assuring the
quality of the goods and that
employees were paid fair wages
and worked in safe, healthy
environments.

Schools across the state have
used tax dollars to buy sports
equipment and apparel which
was produced either in sweat
shops or by child labor.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted.

8 Union Support for Pay
" Equity/Comparable Worth

Submitted by:

Jane D'Amico, Delegate, Local 830,
on behalf of Women’s Committee
of Local 830
and
Cathy Barretta, Delegate, Local
014, on behalf of the Standing
Women’s Committee

The resolution proposes CSEA
commit its political action
resources to promote the passage
of pay equity legislation in New
York State.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted.

Please see
Proposed Resolutions
continued on page 17

NoticE OF NOMINATION AND ELECTION
1999 AFSCME Convention Delegates

Delegate nominating meetings to be held Oct. 30

CSEA REGION
NOMINATING MEETINGS
AFSCME Convention
Delegates Election

SATURDAY, OCT. 30, 1999
ALL MEETINGS WILL START AT 11 A.M

LONG ISLAND REGION 1 (40 delegates)
Region Office, 3 Garet Place, Commack

METROPOLITAN REGION 2 (14 delegates)
Region Office, 40 Fulton Street, 21st Floor
Conference Room, New York City

SOUTHERN REGION 3 (39 delegates)
Region Office, 735 State Route 52, Beacon

CAPITAL REGION 4 (38 delegates)
The Desmond, 660 Albany Shaker Road, Albany

CENTRAL REGION 5 (40 delegates)
Region Office, 6595 Kirkville Road, East Syracuse

WESTERN REGION 6 (40 delegates)
Days Inn, 200 Oak St., Batavia

Meetings will be held in all CSEA regions on
Saturday Oct. 30 to nominate candidates for the
position of delegate to the 2000 AFSCME Convention
scheduled for June 26 through 30, 2000 in Philadelphia,
PA. The date, time and location of region nominating
meetings are printed at left.

The region nominating meetings in October kick off
the AFSCME delegate election process, which
continues in accordance with the schedule of election,
printed at right, approved by CSEA’s Board of
Directors.

CSEA delegates will be elected by region. CSEA
members in each CSEA region will elect delegates from
their region, The number of delegates to which each
region is entitled is based on region membership
strength, in accordance with the AFSCME and CSEA
constitutions.

Who is eligible?

Any member in good standing as of Oct. 1, 1999 will
be entitled to be nominated as a delegate to the
AFSCME Convention. Any member in good standing as
of Oct. 30, 1999 will be eligible to nominate delegates.
Any qualified CSEA member will be eligible to
nominate as many candidates for delegates as he or
she desires, not to exceed the total number of
delegates to be elected from that region. Nominees do
not have to be at the nominating meeting.

Nominations may be made by slates of two or more
individuals who will appear on the ballot as running
together under a particular designation. Candidates
nominated as slates will appear on the ballot in the
order they are nominated. The ballot will also allow

AFSCME DELEGATES
ELECTION YEAR 2000

In addition to our own elections, the year 2000
also has an ASFCME Delegates election. The
approved schedule for that election is as follows:

Oct. 30 (Sat:)
Nov. 15 (Mon.)
Nov. 16 (Tue.)

Region Nomination Meetings
Declinations deadline
Local/Unit President mailing labels

available
Campaign Literature deadline
Voter List Inspection period begins
Ballots mailed
Replacement ballots available
Ballots due/8 a.m.; Tally commences
End of protest period
Results published in

The Work Force

Based on the actions of the delegates at the 1998
CSEA Convention, the balloting for the a SCME
Delegates election will take plac i
and as part of the CSEA elections for statewide
officers, region officers and board of directors.
Members are urged to carefully read the election
information contained in The Work Force throughout
the year 2000 election cycle as well as the
instructions which will accompany each mail ballot.

Dec. 3 ri.)
Dec. 13 (Mon.)
Jan. 18 (Tue.)
Jan. 25 (Tue.)
Feb. 8 (Tue.)
Feb. 18 Fri.)
March

slate candidates to be elected individually, separate
from the slate.

Expenses for transportation, room and board at the
AFSCME Convention will be paid by CSEA.

Therefore, be it resolved:

9. Support Staffing Ratios
Legislation

Submitted by:
Les Eason
Delegate - Local 830

The resolution proposes CSEA
continue to lobby and work with
various components of the
health care industry, CSEA
affiliates such as AFSCME and
the United Nurses of America,
community-based organizations
and other unions to support
staffing ratios legislation.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution
be adopted as amended.

0) Resolution in Support of
" Bias-Related Crime
Legislation

Submitted by:
Janet Ventrano-Torres
Delegate - Local 258

The resolution proposes CSEA

work with other groups to
support the passage of
bias-related crime legislation
(A.1573/S.1038) that would
create a new crime “bias-related
violence or intimidation” and
provide increased sentences.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution
be combined with Resolution
No. 11 and adopted as printed
in Resolution No. 12.

Members wishing to
see copies of any
resolution should

contact their delegate.

Support of Bias-Related
11. Crime Laws

Submitted by:
Les Eason
Delegate - Local 830 of behalf of
the Minority Issues Committee

The resolution proposes CSEA
support bias-related crime bill
A.1573.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution
be combined with Resolution
No. 10 and adopted as printed
in Resolution No, 12.

Support of Bias-Related
" Crime Laws

Submitted by:
Janet Ventrano-Torres, Delegate,
Local 258
Les Eason, Delegate, Local 830
on behalf of Minority Issues
Committee

12

The resolution proposes CSEA
work with other groups to
support the passage of bias
crime legislation (A.1573/S.1038)
that would create a new crime
“bias-related violence or
intimidation” and provide for
increased sentences.

The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution
be adopted.

October 1999. THE WORK FORCE [ert UA

CSEA’s notice of nomination and election

Based on the actions of the
delegates at the 1998 CSEA
Convention, our election cycle has
been changed. Elections for
statewide officers and regiorrofficers,
as well as for the Board of Directors,
will be held at the same time. CSEA
members are urged to carefully read
the election information on this page
and related stories in future issues of
The Work Force.

Elections for the following
positions will take place between
Jan. 18 - Feb. 8, 2000.

Statewide Officers:
President, Executive Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer

Region Officers:

Region 1: President, Executive VP,
lst VP, 2nd VP, 3rd VP, Secretary,
Treasurer

Region 2; President, Executive Vice
President, Ist VP, 2nd VP,
Secretary, Treasurer

Region 3: President, Executive VP,
1st VP, 2nd VP, 3rd VP, Secretary,
Treasurer

Region 4: President, Executive Vice
President, Ist VP, 2nd VP, 3rd VP,
Secretary, Treasurer

Region 5: President, Executive VP,
Ist VP, 2nd VP, 3rd VP, Recording
Secretary, Treasurer

Region 6: President, 1st VP, 2nd VP,
3rd VP, Secretary, Treasurer

Statewide Board of Directors:
Representatives of the State
Executive Committee and the Local
Government Executive Committee

CSEA Election Schedule for
Statewide Officers, Region
Officers, Statewide Board of
Directors

Any CSEA member who is
considering the possibility
of running for office may
obtain information about
the election process by
calling the Election
Committee at CSEA
headquarters
1-800-342-4146 ext. 1477

Oct..15: Deadline for nominating
pétitions to be received at CSEA
headquarters'(5 p.m.)

Nov:.16: Ballot.position drawing
Jan. 18: Ballots mailed

Jan. 25: Replacement ballots
available

Feb. 8: Deadline for receipt of
ballots (8 a.m.). Ballots counted.

Election results will be
announced after the ballot count.
Candidates will be notified by mail
of the results. Election results will
be published in the March 2000
edition of The Work Force.

Availability of Petition Request

Forms and Nominating Petitions

Beginning Aug. 23, nominating
petition request forms will be
available from local presidents,
CSEA headquarters and region
offices. Petition request forms may
be filled out and returned to CSEA
headquarters and/or region offices
at any time, but the nominating
petitions will not be released until
Sept. 13, the first day of the
petitioning period.

Individual or Slate Petitions

Persons seeking an office may
petition individually or as part of a
slate to appear on the ballot.

No person may be a candidate
for statewide and region office
during the same election year. No
person may be a candidate for
more than one region office.

In statewide elections, the slate
must contain a candidate for each
of the statewide offices listed
herein.

In region elections, the slate
must contain a candidate for each
of the region offices listed herein
for the particular region.

For the board of directors
elections, slate petitioning is
available in those departments or
political subdivisions which, in
accordance with the CSEA
Constitution and Bylaws, are
entitled to more than one board
seat. In such instances, to
constitute a slate, there must be a

candidate for each of the seats to

which the department or political
subdivision is entitled in that
election.

Voting Eligibility Date

Only CSEA members in good
standing as of Dec. 1, 1999 will be
eligible to vote in the election.

Rules for Running for:
CSEA Statewide President,
Executive Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer

To be eligible to seek office, a
candidate must be at least 18 years
old; a member in good standing
since Jan. 1, 1999; shall not have
been a member of a competing
labor association or union since
Jan. 1, 1999; and shall not currently
be serving a disciplinary penalty
imposed by CSEA’s Judicial Board.

Any CSEA member who meets
the above criteria may become a
candidate and have his or her name
placed on the ballot for a specific
statewide office by obtaining on
official petition forms the signatures
and Social Security numbers of at
least 1,000 CSEA members eligible
to vote in the upcoming election.

Signatures must be of CSEA dues-
paying members who are not
serving a suspension and who have
no delinquent dues.

The statewide president,
executive vice president, secretary
and treasurer terms will start July 1,
2000 and shall be for a single term
of three and three-quarter years,
ending March 1, 2004.

Rules for Running for:
Officers for CSEA’s Six Regions

To be eligible to seek office, a
candidate must be at least 18 years
old; a CSEA member in good
standing of the region since Jan. 1,
1999; shall not have been a member
of a competing labor association or
union since Jan. 1, 1999; and shall
not currently be serving a
disciplinary penalty imposed by
CSEA’s Judicial Board,

Any CSEA member who meets
the above criteria may become a
candidate and have his or her name
placed on the ballot by obtaining
on official petition forms the
signatures and Social Security

Within the next few weeks,
check the CSEA bulletin
boards at your workplace for
more election details.

numbers of at least 500 CSEA
members eligible to vote in the
upcoming election. All signatures
must be from the region where the
person is seeking office.

Signatures must be of CSEA dues-
paying members who are not
serving a suspension and who have
no delinquent dues.

With the election year 2000,
region officers will serve four-year
terms, commencing March 1, 2000.

Rules for Running for:
Statewide Board of Directors

To be eligible to seek office, a
candidate must be at least 18 years
old; a CSEA member in good
standing of the department, county
or educational local he or she seeks
to represent since Jan. 1, 1999; shall
not have been a member of a
competing labor association or
union since Jan. 1, 1999; and shall
not currently be serving a
disciplinary penalty imposed by
CSEA's Judicial Board.

Any CSEA member who meets
the above criteria may become a
candidate for a board seat and have
his or her name placed on the
ballot by obtaining on official
petition forms the required number
of signatures and Social Security
numbers of CSEA members eligible
to vote in the election.

Signatures must be of CSEA dues-
paying members who are not
serving a suspension and who have
no delinquent dues.

The board of directors terms will
begin July 1, 2000 and will run for a
single term of three and three-
quarter years, ending March 1,
2004.

Election Oversight

The election process will be
overseen by the union’s Statewide
Election Committee. The balloting
will be conducted by an
independent election agency
approved by the union’s statewide
Board of Directors.

Perce t-w THE WORK FORCE October 1999

First lady listens,
breaks bread with
CSEA members

LOCKPORT — Guess who’s coming to
lunch?

First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s
“listening tour” across the state landed in
the back yard of CSEA member Dick
McIntyre and his wife, Marie.

“It created a lot of excitement, and there’s
still a buzz about it all,” said McIntyre,
president of the Niagara County Local.

How did the first lady drop in for a recent
chat with the McIntyres?

“About three months ago, I read in The
New York Times that the first lady was
looking for places to go to listen to New
Yorkers about issues important to them,”
Mcintyre said.

“So | e-mailed an invitation to the White
House, asking if she would come by our
home if she was in the area,” he added.

Their answering machine held the answer
a few days later: Hillary was Lockport
bound.

After a mandatory security check cleared
the McIntyres and about 50 of their closest

‘Hillary ‘Clinton visits CSEA member Dick
McIntyre and his wife, Marie, at their
Lockport home recently.

friends, neighbors and co-workers, the
veggie platters were set out and the New
York State wine flowed for an hour and a
half meet and greet session.

“She was very warm and charming,”
McIntyre said about Clinton. “She talked
with a lot of folks informally, one on one. It
was a good mix of people, ordinary working
folks, retirees, and this is a Republican area.
So she heard a wide range of opinions and
issues to listen to. And she won some
converts, because several folks said they
were impressed with her,” he added.

— Ron Wofford

OGAL 1000 AFSCME « gp,

BALLOON

PAYMENTS — More

than 200 CSEA

members in Fulton and
Montgomery counties took
advantage of CSEA Day at the Fonda Fair.
CSEA Greater Amsterdam School Unit
President Robert Minkler said the secret of
the Unit's scholarship fund raising was
convincing Alex Beauchamp, Unit vice
president, to be the target in a water
balloon throwing contest to raise cash for
the scholarship ... NYS FAIR — Volunteers
again were the backbone of CSEA’s
presence at the State Fair in Syracuse this
year. At least 70 members and staff from
the Central Region office staffed the CSEA
booth and explained to thousands of
visitors what the union does and how
union members make a difference in their
communities. CSEA also sponsored two
days at the fair with discounted admission
prices for CSEA members ... PERFECT
PERFECTA — The vital work CSEA
members perform in Saratoga County,
home of the venerable Saratoga
thoroughbred race course, was featured in
a special supplement in the Albany Times
Union newspaper on Labor Day. Union
members who work at the track, in the
local school district, and city and county
governments were featured in the
publication. CSEA was also a sponsor of
union day at the track on Labor Day,
which attracted hundreds of CSEA
members ... ROAD WELL TRAVELED —
Ed Lundgren recently retired after more
than 43 years with the Town of Clarkstown
Highway Department. He began as a
laborer in 1956, earning $1.35 an hour. He’s
been a road inspector the last 20 years.
Lundgren was the second president of the
town’s Unit after it affiliated with CSEA in
1960 ... DPW CREW FINDS LOST GIRLS —
An 8-year-old Troy girl threw a scare into
her parents and city police recently after
deciding to go for a walk with one of her
friends without telling her parents. When
the girl's father returned to their home
that morning to take her mother to work,
he couldn't find the girl. Fearing the worst,

765,000 MEMBERS STRON™

Ley lo

he called the police, who
fanned out in a 10-block
area. For nearly an hour, the
search failed to find the girls.
The word spread to city DPW workers
and soon CSEA member Mark Rose
spotted the two girls ... FORMER
PRESIDENT DIES — John Famelette Sr.,
who served as Poughkeepsie City School
District Unit president and president of
Dutchess education Local, died in August.
Famelette, an electrician, began working
for the district in February 1959. He retired
in 1984. His son John Jr. also works in the
district as an electrician ... PICHER
REMEMBERED — CSEA members are
remembering activist George E. Picher, 46,
who suffered a fatal heart attack earlier
this year. Picher had been a 27-year
employee at SUNY Canton and first vice
president of the Local. In his memory,
CSEA members held a special raffle, with
the proceeds going to local charities, and
established the George E. Picher Jr.
Leadership Award, which will be given as a
scholarship to children of Local members
.. NIAGARA FALLS AGENCY CHOOSES
CSEA — A 54-member private sector unit
of social workers, counselors, therapists,
shelter workers and support staff has
elected CSEA, by a vote of 23 to 19, as
their union after a three-month campaign,
led by organizer Lynn Knoop. The Family
and Children’s Services agency is a
private, not-for-profit company that
provides some services for Niagara County
.. CAPITAL REGION PROGRESS —
Capital Region contracts are coming in —
Schenectady County and Fulton County
CSEA Locals ended their contract
negotiations with solid ratifications. All six
CSEA Albany County contracts recently
were settled. Both Clinton and Essex
Counties are using informational pickets to
send their message of frustration home to
their respective employers. Essex County’s
Vic Putman used helium-filled balloons to
put a little color into his most recent
demo. Joe Musso’s members formed a
gauntlet for the Clinton County officials to
walk through.

October 1999 THE WORK FORCE [mk]

aT * sats

Every day

of every year,

in every kind of job,

in every part of the state,

the CSEA WorkForce provides the vital services

you depend on — getting the job done, and doing the job right.

oe healthcare workers help 2 million people lead healthier lives.

gency w aid to over 5 million people

Mois pales bus drivers transport 840,000 ule to school.

CSEA a drivers clear 73 million tons of snow and ice every winter.

pad ¢ S$ maintain 42,000 miles of road.
CSE
Day in, day out,

in more ways than you can count, The Work Force
the CSEA WorkForce is doing the job right. Local 1000 AFL-CIO

Danny Do ident