_ Photo {jj of the Month
Caleb Smith State Park Preserve worker Hank Buenten
shovels stone dust for a handicap access park trail.
Parks workers across Long Island have been working
hard to get the parks ready for the summer season after
devastating damage from Hurricane Sandy. See story,
page 12.
CSEA seeks state ethics probe
over appearance of impropriety
at state Lottery
SEA has formally requested the state Joint Commission
on Public Ethics to investigate the appearance of
impropriety at the New York State Lottery.
Former Lottery Director Gordon Medenica is now a
consultant at GTech. Last year, while still Lottery director,
he negotiated a $25 million deal with GTech that essentially
privatizes the public jobs long held by Lottery employees.
This move is just another way Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s
policies are eroding middle-class jobs.
“This has the appearance of impropriety on the face
of it and the governor knows it,” CSEA President Danny
Donohue said. “We will only see more of this if the Cuomo
administration continues its path of eroding public jobs
while playing fast and loose with private contractors at
public expense.”
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— THe Work FORCE
Cuomo’s ‘fellows’
smell of patronage
ALBANY — As he continues his assault
on middle-class, front-line workers,
CSEA has learned Gov. Andrew Cuomo is
attempting to create a whole new level
of political patronage jobs that he can
hand out to his friends and supporters.
“Governor Cuomo’s claims about
attracting the best and the brightest
to state service hold very little water,
while he undermines merit and fitness
and drives qualified and talented people
away from public service careers,” said
CSEA President Danny Donohue. “Now
we know that when the governor talks
about creating jobs, he means making
sure his friends have damn good ones to
do his bidding on the taxpayers’ tab.”
Just two weeks after the governor
laid off hundreds of workers at the state
Thruway Authority and Canal Corp.,
CSEA obtained a copy of a request by
the state Office of General Services
asking the Civil Service Department to
authorize the creation of 120 exempt-
class positions in a new job title called
“Empire State Fellow.”
Exactly why the need for new
positions, and so many of them,
is unclear. According to the job
description, these “Fellows” would
“work on the most pressing policy
issues facing the state and advance the
administration’s strategic objectives and
programmatic initiatives.”
As exempt-class positions, the jobs
would not have to be filled according to
competitive civil service rules. Instead,
the governor would have the power to
appoint whomever he chooses.
A recent investigation by The New
York Times into hiring practices at the
Empire State Development Corp. found
that nearly a third of the 49 people
hired at the agency since Cuomo took
office were “the governor's political
associates, donors and friends, or their
relatives,” some with no economic
development experience.
— Ed Molitor
Despite layoffs, Canal Corp. wants more
espite having achieved the savings it said were needed to balance its budget
through layoffs, the state Canal Corp. is still demanding concessions at the
bargaining table.
“This proves the Canal Corp. was using the threat of layoffs to try to influence
negotiations and is further evidence of the Cuomo administration's strategy of
negotiation through intimidation,” said CSEA President Danny Donohue.
Meanwhile, a recent report by the state Comptroller exposed gross
mismanagement at the state Thruway Authority. The report found the authority was
unable to prove that it took immediate action to repair 22 bridges discovered to
have serious safety problems such as cracked or deteriorating girders.
The report also found the Authority failed to conduct more than a dozen bridge
inspections on time.
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Contact Us
June 2013
Coalition tells Cuomo:
Don’t sell out Downstate!
BROOKLYN — CSEA joined a broad coalition
of faith, labor and community leaders to
call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to save vital
health care services for the people and
communities of Central Brooklyn at SUNY
Downstate Medical Hospital.
Members of the coalition blasted Cuomo
for placing the lives of millions of New
Yorkers at risk by
failing to commit
funding for SUNY
Downstate. The
institution is the
borough’s fourth
largest employer and
serves as a safety
net facility, accepting
patients regardless
of their ability to
pay. A large number of its students are also
people of color who go on to professional
careers in the health professions.
Vital health care necessary
“The people of Central Brooklyn cannot
do without the vital health care services
provided at SUNY Downstate,” said the Rev.
Al Sharpton, who joined the demonstration.
“We cannot stand idle and watch yet another
Brooklyn hospital close its door to the
mostly poor, people of color living in this
community. Our lives matter.”
The enacted state budget provides no
additional state funding for SUNY Downstate.
It also calls on the SUNY chancellor to
submit a sustainability plan by June 1. There
has been no outreach from SUNY officials to
the community.
“Clearly, it’s SUNY senior administrators
and the Cuomo administration who now
need to be held accountable for good,
fiscally responsible management while
maintaining the hospital's mission. SUNY
hospitals were created for the purpose
of serving the public good,” said CSEA
President Danny Donohue. “That purpose
has not gone away. The Governor and
SUNY must reach out its workers and the
community to develop a sustainability
dune 2013
6 e cannot stand idle and
watch yet another Brooklyn
hospital close its door to the mo
poor, people of color living in this
community. Our lives matter.??
— The Rev. Al Sharp’
plan that ensures that it will continue to be
a public hospital that provides essential
services.”
“The community is coming together
to stand up against the attack on SUNY
Downstate Medical Center,” said Bishop
Orlando Findlayter, senior pastor, New
Hope Christian Fellowship and Chairman,
Churches United
to Save and Heal
(CUSH). “We don’t
understand why the
governor refuses
to do the right
thing. Downstate is
a vital part of this
community and
therefore we call
on the governor to
provide the necessary funding to keep it
open.”
“It is time for us, as a people, to unite
all our forces together to put an end to
the constant injustice that is taking place
in Central Brooklyn, as it relates to health
care for our people,” said Pastor Shane P.
Vidal. “It is imperative for Governor Cuomo
to understand that he was placed in the
position as governor to work for the people,
not against the people.”
Closing the facility will hit Central
Brooklyn
Justine? =
Facts
Metropolitan Region President Lester
Crocket, left, and SUNY Downstate Medical
Center Local President Althea Green-Pruitt
take part in a demonstration demanding Gov.
Andrew Cuomo keep the teaching hospital
open.
since more than a quarter of its residents
live in poverty. While no one doubts that the
hospital has been mismanaged for a long
time, the coalition insists that workers and
patients are not to blame for poor choices
made by the administration.
Top leaders of UUP, CSEA and PEF have all
expressed their support for the community
coalition’s efforts and have spoken out
publicly about the administration’s lack of
commitment to the facility’s future.
— David Galarza
SUNY Downstate serves an area with more than 2.5 million
residents, in one of Brooklyn’s more impoverished areas.
Death rates from diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure,
~Aia-
¥
fry
cancer and HIV/AIDS are especially high in neighborhoods
surrounding the hospital.
Downstate is on of the area’s only full-service health care
providers, and served as a refuge when other hospitals were
evacuated during Hurricane Sandy.
W Downstate offers unique health care services, including its
nationally recognized kidney transplant center, dialysis for
children and Sickle Cell Anemia treatment.
THe Work FORCE
ISSN 1522-1091
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
Deputy Director of Communications
LOU HMIELESKI
Executive Editor
JANICE GAVIN
Associate Editor
CATHLEEN FEBRAIO
Graphic Production Specialist
JANICE M. KUCSKAR
Graphic Production Specialist
BETH McINTYRE
Communications Assistant
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, and additional mailing offices.
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
CSEA, Attn: Membership Department,
143 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210.
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can be accessed at www.cseany.org
Readers:
Send any comments, complaints, suggestions or ideas to:
Publisher, The Work Force, 143 Washington Avenue,
Albany, NY 12210-2303.
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P=
a ° ea al
4 ; 1220M “Ne.
ARCOICLE
scheme at your expense
Gx Andrew Cuomo has a new corporate welfare scheme and
it’s a bad idea. “Tax-free NY” would allow new businesses to
lease land on SUNY campuses, private colleges and universities,
and pay no taxes for 10 years — no sales, property or business
taxes! Even employees of the new businesses would pay no state
income taxes.
This is yet another tax giveaway to business at the
expense of local communities and middle class jobs. It’s also extremely
disturbing that state legislative leaders seem ready to give the governor a blank check
on this latest misguided venture.
More corporate welfare is no answer to New York’s economic challenges.
No amount of TV ads spinning the governor’s record can change the reality that his
so-called job creation policies have failed. They have mostly benefitted the super-
wealthy and big corporations, and repeatedly failed to deliver real growth and middle
class jobs.
Recent state budgets have repeatedly shortchanged localities without providing
any meaningful relief. This has resulted in the loss of nearly 60,000 public service jobs
since the 2010, eroding needed services and taking paychecks out of the economy.
There’s no money to help distressed localities, and we have to cut funding
from services for people with developmental disabilities, but we can send tax rebates
to people who don't need it in an election year? It’s even more outrageous that the
governor and legislative leaders think we can give away even more to businesses
without any guarantee of benefit to taxpayers.
This latest proposal comes shortly after the governor trumpeted a new
municipal finance restructuring board, which highlights the administration’s failure
to provide real help to struggling localities while creating a new entity to point fingers
and lay blame elsewhere.
The governor has the money for the things that help his political agenda and
his millionaire friends, but he just doesn’t give a fig about working people. He truly
deserves the nickname ‘Governor 1 Percent’. ay
4 | THe Work FORCE
May 2013
Right Fight Knight
Working Families Flexibility Act another attack on workers
epublicans in the House of
Representatives recently
passed a bill that would
eliminate the 40-hour workweek,
calling it a move to give working
families “more flexibility.”
Called the Working Families
Flexibility Act, the legislation
is intended to “help” working
families by cheating them out
of overtime, give employers
more ability to refuse paid
vacation leave requests, and
allow employers to issue
compensatory time rather than
pay for overtime.
The GOP plan turns back the
calendar 75 years to 1938, when
the Fair Labor Standards Act
was passed. That federal statute
introduced a maximum 44-hour
seven-day workweek, established
a national minimum wage,
June 2013
guaranteed “time-and-a-half” for
overtime in certain jobs and put
limitations on child labor. The
statute has been amended many
times over the years, and now
requires that overtime, at a rate
of one and a half times regular
pay, be paid after 40 hours.
“Instead of giving workers
more flexibility, this bill would
effectively provide an interest
free loan to an employer, since
unused comp time would be
paid back at the end of the year.
It also gave employers the ability
to refuse to allow a worker time
off - making it seem as though
it was about flexibility but in
reality was pulling the rug out
from under the feet of working
families. Congress should be
standing up for our workers, not
standing in the way,” said U.S.
Rep. Paul Tonko, who represents
parts of the Capital Region.
Other provisions in the bill:
¢ Workers will not get paid for
hours that exceed 40 hours per
week. That pay will instead go
into an employer-controlled pot
to be paid later.
e An employer can refuse to
allow a worker to take time off
to deal with a family member
or attend a parent-teacher
conference.
e Employers could schedule
excessive overtime hours and
only offer overtime work to
workers who agree to take comp
time instead of overtime wages.
What this also means is that it
will be cheaper for employers to
employ two people at 30 hours a
week, rather than one at 40.
If a company has one worker
who works their regular 40
hours, plus two hours overtime
on Tuesday, and works eight
hours on Saturday and their
normal rate of pay is $20 per
hour, their gross pay will be
$1,100 for that week, plus health
insurance, estimated at $200, for
a total of $1,300.
If the employer hires two
workers to cover that time and
pays them each $20 per hour,
each work 25 hours, and each
earns $500, the total cost to
the employer is $1,000. The
company saves $300, and there
is no health insurance involved;
however, the government
can then report that the
unemployment rate went down.
The only flexibility this statute
provides is to the employer.
THe Work FORCE
Awash in cash,
county still cuts jobs
LYONS — “They should be
ashamed of themselves.”
That’s what Wayne County
Local President Paul Peters
said about the county’s Board
of Supervisors following
the release of an audit of
county finances by the state
comptroller.
“They are swimming in
money,” Peters said. “They
have twice as much in reserve
as they let on. No one had to
lose their jobs.”
An audit by state
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s
staff found that from 2007 to
2011, the county overestimated
spending by $28 million while
underestimating revenue by $9
million. As a result, the county
accumulated $59.1 million in
surplus funding.
“We were told when the
layoffs
started that
the county
was in
the hole,”
Peters said.
“They’re
laying off
people left
and right like
it’s a sporting
event but they’re sitting on
cash. The supervisors are
going to hear about it from
me.”
The supervisors recently
voted to outsource some
departments at the Wayne
County Nursing Home,
resulting in the elimination
of as many as 74 county
nursing home jobs, many in
the food service, laundry and
housekeeping departments.
Peters
Sandy Ruffalo, a household assistant at the Wayne County
Nursing Home, stacks dishes in preparation for lunch.
Roislyn Smith, a food service worker at the Wayne County
Nursing Home, prepares fruit for the daily lunch service.
The outsourcing takes effect
July 1.
Earlier this year, layoffs
took place in other county
departments.
“They should be ashamed of
themselves for what they did
to those people,” Peters said. “I
am disgusted.”
The Wayne County Unit
contract expires at the end
of 2013. Peters expects
negotiations to begin this
summer.
— Lynn Miller
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6 | THe Work FORCE
Warnings
ignored o
. . t . t .
ALBANY — In the wake of an explosive expose
by the New York Daily News about the abysmal
failure of the state Close to Home juvenile justice
reform program, CSEA can only say repeated
warnings about the initiative were ignored.
The newspaper reported about repeated
failures with the governor’s initiative to move
juvenile offenders from state run facilities into
New York City programs that are obviously
unequipped to handle the dangerous offenders.
Warnings about safety
As Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s initiative was being
fast tracked last year, CSEA repeatedly warned
about the potential dangers of the program.
“There are real public safety concerns that
need to be addressed here,” CSEA President
Danny Donohue said at the time. “It makes no
sense whatsoever to put violent, repeat offenders
back into the very neighborhoods where they got
in trouble in the first place, without any evidence
that they will be properly supervised.”
CSEA-OCFS Statewide Labor-Management
Committee Chair Michael Geraghty said the
governor and state Office of Children and Family
Services Commissioner Gladys Carrion were
less than honest about the intentions of the
Close to Home initative. Under the initative,
the state transferred youths to the care of
New York City facilities,
which in turn, contracted it
out to ill-prepared private
providers, leaving youths and
communities at risk.
“Youths are not being
served when they are under-
adjudicated just to push them
through the system and into
private settings,” Geraghty
said. “They are not being
served when they are allowed Geraghty
to accumulate “rap sheets”
instead of being held accountable for their
actions, and are being placed into the very system
that they have previously failed in.”
Injuries, fines mount as juvenile justice wo!
Disrupted lives
While he was diverting
offenders from upstate
juvenile detention facilities,
Cuomo also closed down all
of the New York City based
OCFS facilities, undermining
any claim that the program was
really about moving juveniles
closer to their homes.
Despite the governor’s claims
that no workers would be laid
off from these moves, many
dedicated state workers were
displaced or lost their jobs.
While a Cuomo aide attempted
to lay the blame on city officials, Donohue pointed
the finger elsewhere.
“This is vintage Cuomo administration to
blame others after the fact for disasters when his
administration ignored all of the warnings that
were raised,” Donohue said.
Geraghty said CSEA had offered to work with
the state to find a solution.
“At every step in this initiative, CSEA has
offered to partner with OCFS to work together
to develop programs that serve all of the state’s
youths and address New York's needs, but the
state refuses to see us as knowledgeable and
valuable shareholders in this process,” he said.
Failure to protect community
CSEA pointed to the murder of Buffalo-area
direct care worker Renee Greco by a youth who
had been inappropriately released by the state
into community care, as well as the shootings
of Rochester and New York City police officers
Anthony DiPonzio and Kevin Brennan as grim
reminders of the tragic consequences that result
from moving troubled youths into the community
without adequate resources and supervision.
CSEA has repeatedly
expressed concern
with OCFS policies,
including in Work
Force cover stories
on the agency and its
misguided policies
putting staff, youths
and the public at
risk.
Last spring,
CSEA also released
figures the union obtained in
response to a Freedom of Information request,
showing that 33 percent of residents at limited
secure facilities and 20 percent at non-secure
facilities operated by OCFS had committed violent
felony offenses.
Donohue called the Close to Home program’s
failure “further evidence of the failure of the
governor's public policy by news release that
puts people at risk.”
Geraghty also questioned how the program
serves the victims of the youths’ crimes.
“How is the Close to Home initiative serving
the communities where these kids are placed
into when there are no ways of ensuring they
stay in the program and not go AWOL?” he
said. “AWOL back into the same communities
and neighborhoods where they were removed?
CSEA believes the youths, juvenile justice workers
and the communities deserve better.”
— Ed Molitor
June 2013
THe Work FORCE 7 |
Huerta, Kennedy join
lobby for farmworkers
ALBANY — Legendary labor leader
Dolores Huerta joined human rights
activist Kerry Kennedy, scores of
farmworkers, supporters and CSEA
and other union allies at the state
Capitol recently to demand passage
of the Farmworkers Fair
Labor Practices Act.
The event was
organized by the
Rural and Migrant
Ministry, the NYS Labor
Religion Coalition and
the AFL-CIO, among
others. CSEA has long
supported the cause,
and the union strongly
believes that all workers
should be treated fairly,
safely and with dignity.
Long overdue legislation
“It’s a shame that in this day and
age, that in a state like New York,
farmworkers still don’t have the
same rights and protections as other
workers,” said Huerta. “Come on,
now! We need to come into the 21*
century.”
Huerta, who co-founded the
United Farm Workers with Cesar
Chavez, joined Kennedy and
dozens of religious leaders, labor
activists and youths at a spirited
rally in front of the legislative office
building before visiting and lobbying
legislators for passage of the bill.
“It’s a shame
that in this day
and age, that in
a state like New
York, farmworkers
still don’t have the
same rights and
protections as
other workers.”
“We want these legislators to
ask themselves when they are old
and gray and looking back at their
legacies, ‘what did I do to improve
the lives of people like workers?”
said Kennedy, president of the
Robert F. Kennedy Center
for Justice & Human
Crow practices or did |
do everything I could to
insure that all workers
are treated fairly and
justly.”
The Farmworkers
Fair Labor Practices Act
(A.1792-A) would grant
farmworkers collective
bargaining rights,
workers compensation, disability
and unemployment benefits and
allow a day of rest once a week.
It would also require employers
to allow for 24 consecutive hours of
rest a week, provide an eight-hour
workday, overtime pay of one-and-
a-half times the normal pay, provide
unemployment insurance, provide
sanitary codes to all farm and food
processing labor camps for farm
workers, regardless of the number
of occupants and compensation
benefits.
Still fighting
“Farmworkers are not farm
animals,” said Assembly Speaker
Rights. “Did I support Jim
in Albany urging state legislators to support justice for farm workers.
Sheldon Silver.
But while the bill has been passed
in the Assembly, advocates continue
to press for support in the Senate,
where a handful of votes would make
a difference.
“It is reprehensible that in a
state that has long been a leader
in instituting civil rights and
equality for all that we continue
to deny farmworkers basic labor
protections,” Silver said.
Having Kennedy and Huerta
fighting together in the state’s capitol
was reminiscent of the historic
campaign Kennedy’s father, Robert
F. Kennedy, and Chavez waged for
Learn more at www.rural
farmworker rights decades earlier.
“My father, Robert Kennedy, cared
deeply for the people who grow and
harvest our food,” said Kennedy.
“But more than four decades since
he and Cesar Chavez broke bread
together, the basic civil rights they
fought for remain a dream deferred
for millions of farmworkers in
America. Our state legislators came
to Albany to be leaders, to help build
a brighter future for our state. This
is the time to lead, to finally allow
farmworkers to enjoy the same basic
rights as the rest of us.”
— David Galarza
GOSHEN — Supporters of the
Orange County-owned Valley View
nursing home scored a major
victory in late March when a state
Supreme Court justice returned
decisions on two issues crucial to
maintaining the nursing home as a
public entity.
Responding to a lawsuit from
county legislators, Judge Robert
Onofry ruled County Executive
fully funds Valley View. Onofry also
ruled Diana lacks the authority
to unilaterally close Valley View,
something the county executive has
vowed to do if legislators continue
to rebuff his aggressive push to sell
off the facility.
Orange County Unit President
William Oliphant applauded the
ruling.
“The decision clearly admonishes
Court ruling protects Valley View nursing home funding for 2013
in county government, affirming
our position that Orange County
is entitled to a county-run elder
care facility,” Oliphant said. “This
preserves a safety net in Orange
County for the elderly residents
and preserves the livelihood of 420
dedicated workers at Valley View.”
Late last year, legislators voted
to override Diana’s budget vetoes
and restore full funding for Valley
the budget process.
Meanwhile, CSEA’s attempts to
reach a successor contract with
Orange County are on hold following
Diana's decision to declare impasse.
The union was forced to file a
bad faith bargaining charge with
the Public Employment Relations
Board due to the county’s repeated
cancellation of negotiations.
Ed Diana must honor legislators’ Diana's dictatorial stance and his View. Diana ignored the override, — Jessica Ladlee
amended 2013 county budget, which disrespect for the balance of power claiming legislators made errors in
8 | Tue Work Force June 2013
CSEA files IP over
ambulance billing plan
LOCKPORT — CSEA is calling on
Lockport Mayor Michael Tucker
and the City Council to scrap
their misguided plan to send
taxpayer money out of town and
outsource the city’s ambulance
billing.
The union has filed an
improper practice charge against
the city with the state Public
Jeopardized services
“Ambulance billing in Lockport
is not broken, and it does not
need to be fixed,” said CSEA
Lockport City Unit President
Vicki Haenle. “We already have
a highly qualified, dedicated city
employee and resident, Barb
Parker, working hard every day
on taxpayers’ behalf. A private
Employment
company 140 miles
Relations Board, “We already away will not care
stating work have a highly about Lockport
perormedby | qualified, |) Ray
administrative dedicated city say the private
coordinator has
been exclusive
bargaining unit
work for close to
employee and
resident, Barb
Parker, working
company will not
be able to obtain
ambulance billing
reimbursements more
three decades. As_| hard every day quickly or at a higher
The Work Force on taxpayers’ rate than Lockport’s
went to press, a behalf.” administrative
conference date
coordinator, Parker.
on the case was
expected to be scheduled.
The council voted recently to
contract with a Syracuse-area
company for ambulance billing at
a cost of 10 percent of the total
annual billings. That could be as
much as $70,000 per year leaving
Lockport, union leaders said.
Reimbursement rates
are established by the federal
government for Medicare. Delays
in reimbursements are often
due to holding periods imposed
by the federal government and
Medicare. A changeover last
year from paper to an electronic
system also caused a temporary
eet TN
2 4ai
Barb Parker, above, does ambulance billing work that is being
outsourced by the City of Lockport. CSEA is fighting that action.
Medicaid delay that has since
been rectified.
Dedicated worker
“Barb Parker has worked
tirelessly to keep her skills
current, adapt to changes,
and to troubleshoot and solve
problems,” Haenle said. “There
have been cases where Barb’s
attention to detail has caught
insurance company errors.
Her knowledge, research and
perseverance have resulted in
increased reimbursement and
interest for the city. An out-of-
town company will not have
the same local knowledge and
attention to detail.”
And like so many other CSEA
members, Parker provides high
quality service despite increasing
job challenges.
“For years now, Barb has
been doing more with less, as
the number of ambulance trips
has increased and the number
of claims has risen,” Haenle
said. “She works diligently to
thoroughly complete her billing
duties and to bring in revenue
for the city. Outsourcing her job
to an out-of-town company is a
big mistake.”
— Lynn Miller
re you thinking about
Nein’ Ask your CSEA
local president to pay the
first year of CSEA Retiree dues,
which is only $24.
Our efforts, through the
years, have protected — that is,
guaranteed — public pensions
and Social Security against
assaults by shortsighted
politicians who want to
Almost time to retire?
dismantle the system that
protects your standard of living.
These days, you can’t take
anything for granted. You need
your union to protect what you
have and likewise, we need you
to maintain strength in numbers.
Dues are only $2 per month can
be deducted directly from your
pension check.
Here is what you get in return:
¢ Lobbyists at the federal,
state and local government
levels to protect your interests;
¢ Membership in a CSEA
Retiree Local, as well as AFSCME
Retiree Local 1000;
¢ Local retiree meetings to
socialize and get updates on
retirement benefits;
¢ Subscriptions to informative
publications, including the CSEA
Retiree News; and
¢ Member-only benefits that
can save you money on many
consumer needs.
Visit www.cseany.org and
select “Retiree Members” from
the “For Members” menu.
dune 2013
THe Work FORCE 9 |
Unions, social justice advocates raising awareness
The bloody cost of cheap clothing
ast November, a factory fire in Tazreen,
Bangladesh, killed 112 workers who had been
barred from leaving after the first fire alarm
sounded.
Sumi Abedin, one of the garment workers
trapped inside, survived by jumping from the
third story of the burning building.
Abedin, along with longtime Bangladeshi
labor activist Kalpona Akter, came to Albany
recently to speak out, asking New York state
to adopt a Sweatshop-Free Procurement Policy
that includes fire safety measures. The activists
also met with local labor leaders, including
CSEA Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan,
Statewide Treasurer Joe McMullen and Statewide
Secretary Denise Berkley, to discuss how labor
unions can help.
The meeting was arranged by the New York
State Labor-Religion Coalition.
On April 24 — two days after the activists’
visit to Albany — Rana Plaza, a building housing
garment factories and a shopping center in
Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed. More than 1,000
people were killed.
Tazreen factory horror
“My co-workers began to yell, ‘Fire! Fire!’
We ran to the doors to escape,” Abedin said,
speaking of the Bangladesh fire. “They were
locked. Many people were screaming and
banging on the doors, begging managers to come
open them but, no one was coming to open
them.”
Abedin said this was routinely done so the
garment workers couldn’t get out without
permission during our working hours to take
breaks. Abedin ran away from the door and
began feeling around for another way out. The
smoke was filling the room and the fire getting
oe Fees I thought, I must jump too; not
because I expected to survive but because I
wanted my family to have my body to identify. I
expected to die.?
— Sumi Abedin
Watch Sumi Abedin tell her horrific story
at www.cseany.org
10 | Tue Work Force
Bangladeshi labor activist Kalpona Akter translates Sumi Abedin’s horrific story to New York
state labor leaders, the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition, and other social justice activists
seeking a sweat-free New York. They seek adoption of a sweat-free policy and help to put pressure
on the major retailers who refuse to pay compensation for lost and unpaid wages for those injured
or lost in Tazreen Fire.
closer.
“I made my way to the windows. A co-worker
opened the window and jumped out. Then
another jumped. I thought, | must jump too;
not because I expected to survive but because |
wanted my family to have my body to identify. I
expected to die. If | stayed it would be burnt and
they wouldn’t know it was me.”
Abedin jumped. She fell three stories to the
pavement below.
When she awoke, she was in a hospital. She
had a broken leg and arm. Her co-workers were
not as fortunate. Most of them —112 — perished.
Many were found charred and piled up behind
the locked door.
“It is very hard for me, but I am here today
to talk about this because | think by telling my
story, me, my co-workers and my co-workers
families can get compensation for our losses and
help make it so this doesn’t happen to anyone
again.”
Families left destitute
Many of those who died were the main source
of income for their families. Bangladesh is one
of the poorest nations in the world. Not having
income can mean the difference between eating
and not eating for many families.
Corporate retailers have flocked to
Bangladesh to pay wages of $35 to $40 a week
compared with the $90 wages they would pay in
China. The workers, who were making T-shirts,
polo shirts and fleece jackets for retailers such
as the Walmart’s Faded Glory line, The Gap, H&M
HUCK/KONOPACK! LABOR CARTOONS - JUNE
WWW.HUGKKONOPACKICARTOONS.COM
= Se rs
©2013
L
JN| ED CO ORS
OF ENETTON
W Imart >)<.
Save money. Live better.
FRES
Jue 2013 CGE
and others, have asked for compensation for
their devastating loss. Complete compensation is
estimated to be about $5 million total.
Walmart could easily handle this alone, but
that’s not what is being requested. The request
is to have the responsibility shared among all the
companies using the factory.
To date, the group of retailers has not made
any reparations. Many have signed on to safety
reforms, but large retailers such as Walmart and
the Gap are still refusing to make common sense
labor reforms that are considered standard in
most other parts of the world.
“These are mostly teen-age girls working in
these conditions. Can you imagine the horror
they must have been going through?” said CSEA
Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan. “To
be placed in the position at work, trying to
decide the best way to die? To be buried under
rubble for 17 days at the Rana complex? It’s
June 2013
horrific. We hold power as consumers and
taxpayers in New York. We can make a difference
if we work together for changes that will keep
future workers safe even across the world in
Bangladesh. We have a moral obligation to do
so.”
— Jill Asencio
What you can do
Visit www.cseany.org and
1. Sign a petition ur:
garments
2. Sign the petition asking the Gap and Walmart two of the
clothing from Bangladesh — to implement the Bangladesh Fire and Build:
Agreement
3. Pass this onto family and friends so they can do the same.
of corporate neglect in garment factory tragedies
Two days after labor activist Kalpona Akter
and garment worker Sumi Abedin visited
Albany to raise awareness about a Bangladesh
factory fire, building housing garment
factories in Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza garment
district in the city of Dhaka collapsed. More
than 1,000 people were killed.
ng New York to stop spending tax dollars on sweatshop
est buye
THe Work FORCE 11 |
Long Island parks and beaches ready
for summer, despite Sandy damage
hirty Long Island state parks
and beaches opened to the
public with varying degrees of
accessibility for Memorial Day
weekend, due in large part to
the resolve of CSEA members in
the State Parks and Recreation
Local who have worked long and
hard since early last November
to achieve a goal that initially
seemed impractical at best.
That’s because Hurricane
Sandy inflicted about $100 million
in damage to Long Island’s state
parks and beaches when it roared
through the region late last
October, according to the Office
of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation. But undeterred
in the face of unprecedented
devastation, parks workers
embarked on a mission to repair
heavily damaged park facilities
More than sun and sand
and beach
18 million people visited Long
and restore sand to the beaches
only days after the storm passed.
CSEA members in
municipalities across Long
Island have also done much
work to ready county, town and
village parks and beaches for the
summer, despite the tremendous
amount of damage from Sandy.
“Our state parks and beaches
are popular destinations for
local residents in these uncertain
financial times and are also
important to the local economy,”
said State Parks and Recreation
Local President Paul D’Aleo. “Our
members worked diligently so
these parks and beaches could
welcome visitors as the summer
season begins.”
— Rich Impagliazzo
* $1.9 billion spent by visitors during to park:
Long Island pai
and beaches account for
State parks workers Richard Van Horn, left, and Matt Lemonis
repair a section of the boardwalk leading to Jones Beach. Parks
workers across Long Island have been working to get state,
county, town and village parks ready for the summer season after
Hurricane Sandy’s devastating damage last fall.
a
Orient State Beach Park
) * rebuilt ace ro.
) ¢ half-mile buffer around buildings
¢ shoreline restoration
Robert Moses State Park
* rebuilt circle
| * extensive fence repair, massive
Jones Beach
* rebuilt the destroyed
boardwalk
rebuilding fishing piers and
boat basin
* creating storm-resistant
lifeguard stations
shoreline tion
* parking at limited capacity, beach
still under repair
pei Ctr Other parks affected
Bayard Cutting Belmont L: Bethpage
Arboretum State Park
¢ Annex roof repaired Caleb Smith
Captree State Park, Gilgo and Tobay
beaches, Wildwood, Valley Stream,
Hempstead Lake, Connetquot River
and Sunken Meadow State Parks
June 2013
Mandated overtime shows Cuomo’s mismanagement
ALBANY — The latest figures on New York’s
excessive state employee overtime costs
reveal the glaring deficiencies in the Cuomo
administration’s management by news release.
“The Cuomo administration continues
to purposely under-staff state agencies and
mandate overtime to a perverse degree,” said
CSEA President Danny Donohue. “They tell the
public they’re cutting the public work force
and improving operations when they are really
eroding decent middle-class jobs, leaving
people at risk, and still costing the public
plenty.”
Nearly all the overtime in agencies like the
Office of People with Developmental Disabilities
(OPWDD) and the Office of Mental Health is
mandated. Union contracts DO NOT entitle
workers to overtime. It is a management choice
to use overtime to cover shifts and necessitated
by chronic understaffing. OPWDD, for instance,
has been slow to fill direct care positions.
Many budget managers and accountants
prefer to pay overtime rather than hire more
staff. CSEA has long pointed out, however, that
excessive and chronic mandated overtime is
counterproductive. It contributes to fatigue,
burnout and the likelihood of occupational
injuries and on-the-job mistakes. It takes a
human toll and also costs taxpayers in the long
run.
The evidence of
the administration
undermining the
front-line state work
force is coincidental
with other news
demonstrating Gov.
Andrew Cuomo’s
misplaced priorities.
The administration
recently petitioned
the Civil Service Commission to authorize the
creation of 120 exempt-class positions in a new
job title called “Empire State Fellow.” (See story,
page 2)
Exactly why the new positions and why so
many of them are needed is unclear. According
to the job description, these “Fellows” would
“work on the most pressing policy issues facing
the state and advance the administration’s
strategic objectives and programmatic
initiatives.”
Additionally, it was recently reported
that the Cuomo
administration
is paying an
outside consulting
firm to advise
on recruitment
practices for the
state work force.
“The people of
New York would
be better served if
Governor Cuomo
showed more concern about managing his
existing work force — providing them with the
help, resources and respect that they need —
rather than bringing in outside consultants and
anew layer of political patronage,” Donohue
said.
Next Wave cleans, teaches
ecology at same time
BUFFALO — Erie County CSEA
Next Wave activists and their
families recently celebrated Earth
Day by cleaning up the banks of
the Buffalo River.
A handful of Next Wave
members and their children filled
about a dozen large bags of trash
from the water’s edge and from in
the weeds.
“A lot of our
members have
children, and this
family-friendly
event gave
everyone the opportunity to be
involved,” said Rachel Casey, chair
of the Erie County Local's Next
Wave Committee.
“It allowed Next Wave to
continue its community outreach
and it helped teach the kids why
it is important to clean up after
yourself and not litter. It is a good
lesson.”
Next Wave members collectively
that we keep our
66 I: is very important
waterways clean.??
dedicated a total of 19 hours to the
event, held in a South Buffalo park.
Members of the AFL-CIO Next-Up
group joined the Erie Next Wave
members at the park after Next-Up
cleaned a beach on the Lake Erie
shore.
Erie County Next Wave is
continually active, Casey said.
In the past,
the group has
cleaned other
Buffalo parks
and held a fund-
raiser and pet
food drive for the Buffalo Animal
Shelter. More community outreach
events are being planned for the
future.
“We would love to do this
again,” Casey said. “We were
really surprised by the types
of gross things we found. It is
very important that we keep our
waterways clean.”
— Lynn Miller
Erie Next Wave members Laurie Santiago, left, Alison Schoonover, Keith
Ralph and Rachel Casey celebrated Earth Day by cleaning a Buffalo
waterfront park, using the opportunity to reach out to their community
and help educate children about not littering.
June 2013
THe Work Force
2013 CSEA ELECTIONS
INFORMATION
Public Sector Local and Unit
Elections
Private Sector Local Elections
Elections will be conducted for all Public Sector
Local and Unit Officers and All Private Sector Local
Officers
he term of office for all current Public Sector Local and Unit
officers and all current Private Sector Local officers expires June
30, 2013. Public Sector officers and delegates will be elected to four-
year terms. Private Sector officers and delegates will be elected to
three-year terms.
Balloting for Public and Private Sector officers will be conducted
between May 15 and June 15, 2013.
Each Local and Unit executive board must select its own election
committee and Election Committee Chairperson, or Election Meeting
Chair, if applicable (see box below). The Local and/or Unit Election
Committee is primarily responsible for conducting the election.
Slating petitioning and slate voting will be an option for candidates
for Local and Unit office (see Page 15).
Members may run as individual candidates if they wish to.
Note: When circulating and signing individual and slate
petition forms, members must write in their own CSEA ID
numbers.
ATTENTION: Public Sector Local and
Unit Presidents, Private Sector Local
Presidents
Did you send your Election Committee Data Form
to CSEA Headquarters?
n early January, registered Election Committee Chairs and
Election Meeting Chairs began receiving their election packages
from CSEA to assist them in performing their election duties.
This material is necessary for the Chairs to have to run a proper
election.
Election packages will only be mailed to those Chairs where
their Local or Unit President has sent in the required Election
Committee Data Form (ECDF). CSEA Headquarters cannot
send material and information to any Chairperson, without first
receiving the completed ECDF from the Local or Unit president.
Inquiries regarding election committees may be directed to the
CSEA Statewide Election Committee at 1-800-342-4146, ext. 1447.
THe Work Force
CSER
Local 1000 AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Locals and Units with 150 o
Fewer Members
Holding an Election at a Special
Membership Meeting
Locals and Units with 150 members or less may choose to appoint
an Election Meeting Chairperson (instead of an election committee)
and conduct an election at a meeting.
Holding your election at a Special Membership meeting simplifies
the election process in that, where there are races (more than one
candidate for an office), the Election Meeting Chairperson calls a
Membership meeting for the purpose of electing officers.
Application for Office
Special election rules are available to Locals and Units of 150 or
fewer members. In these smaller Locals and Units, completion of the
Application for Election to Office replaces the requirement to obtain
signatures on a nominating petition.
In Locals or Units with 150 or fewer members, any member who
submits the application and meets election requirements under the
appropriate Local or Unit Constitution will be placed on the ballot.
Break in membership affects eligibility for union
office, voting privileges
A break in union membership status can have long-term future implications. Your
membership status affects your eligibility with respect to:
* Seeking or holding union office;
* Signing nominating petitions for potential candidates;
* Voting in union elections, and;
* Voting on collective bargaining contracts.
Only members “in good standing” can participate in these activities. To be in “good
standing”, your dues cannot be delinquent.
If you go on unpaid leave or for any other reason have a break in your employment
status, your dues will not continue to be paid through payroll deductions. You must make
arrangements to pay your dues directly to CSEA to continue your membership status. If
you are either laid off or placed on leave without pay status due to becoming disabled by
accident, illness, maternity or paternity, you may be eligible for dues-free membership status
for a period not to exceed one year. If you are called up for active military duty you may also
apply for dues-free status.
Note, however, you must continue to pay dues to run for office. Dues-free or gratuitous
membership allows members to continue their insurance coverage while out of work. It
does not protect your right to run for or hold office. This does not apply to members who
are on leave due to being called up for military duty. Members on active duty, upon return,
are considered to have had continuous membership status for all CSEA election purposes.
Please notify the CSEA Membership Department at 1-800-342-4146, ext. 1327, of any
change in your status and what arrangements you are making to continue your membership
in CSEA.
June 2013
2013 CSEA ELECTIONS
INFORMATION
Public Sector Local and Unit
Elections
Private Sector Local Elections
Important Information about
Slate Petitioning and Slate
Voting
Local Elections
In Local elections, a slate must contain a candidate running for the
offices of President, one or more Vice Presidents, as set forth in the
Local's by-laws, Secretary and Treasurer.
The slate may also include candidates for other offices that have
been created according to the Local Constitution and by-laws. In Locals
that have created the combined position of Secretary-Treasurer in their
by-laws, the slate must include a candidate for that office.
Unit Elections
In Unit elections, a slate must contain a candidate running for the
offices of President, one or more Vice Presidents, as set forth in the
Unit’s by-laws, Secretary and Treasurer.
The slate may also include candidates for other offices that have
been created according to the Unit Constitution and by-laws. In Units
that have created the combined position of Secretary-Treasurer in their
by-laws, the slate must include a candidate for that office.
Candidates should know the following:
e Amember cannot be a candidate for officer and for delegate on
the same slate. An officer candidate must circulate a separate
nominating petition in order to appear on the ballot also as a
candidate for delegate. The member will appear on the ballot as a
candidate for office as part of the slate and as an individual for the
position of delegate.
¢ When circulating and signing petition forms, members must write in
their own CSEA ID numbers.
¢ Candidates who run as a slate must complete a Slate Eligibility and
Consent Form and a Slate Petition Request Form. By petitioning
as a slate, candidates who appear as part of a slate need to submit
only one set of the required number of signatures to qualify as
acandidate. Individual petitions are not necessary for slate
candidates.
* Candidates who withdraw from a slate must complete a Slate
Withdrawal Form and return the form to their election committee.
* More detailed information about election slates will be available
from Local and Unit election committees.
June 2013
MEMBERS ONLY INFORMATION
wm CGERE n=
Legal Services
Program
Compensati ont] reas | ereany | ee ee eae
Soc seoaty Legal | Injury 5 seri Disability
provides attorney
representation
al |
Rights!
Injury, Veterans
Disability Benefits and Personal Legal matters including Taking
for Workers’
Compensation,
Care of Business for members and their dependents. Quality
legal representation at little or no out-of-pocket cost for
somes MIROVWw
only
benefit program Yo ur
Social Security
Disability, Personal
injury/illness related matters; quality legal representation at
pre-negotiated/discounted fees for other personal matters.
The Injury Related Program is administered by the firm of FINE, OLIN
& ANDERMAN, LLP through its statewide network of offices. Personal
Legal Services are provided by a closed network of specially selected
attorneys dedicated to quality service for CSEA members.
CSE
Since 1910
i
i
1-800-342-4146
Call during normal business hours, 8 am. ~ 5 pm, Mon.-Fi and follow the menu instructions for the Legal Services Program
CSEA Headquarters, 143 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12210
Web site: www.cseany.org (through the CSEA members-only portal)
Danny Donohue, President
THe Work FORCE
CSEA Health Benefits Department: We’re here for you!
chief
ae sibility += eit |
of the CSEA
Health Benefits
Department is
the oversight of negotiated
health benefit arrangements.
The department’s primary
goals include developing,
enhancing and expanding
health related benefits while
containing costs to employers
and our members.
The Health Benefits
Department acts as a valuable
resource for all CSEA divisions
(state, local government and
private sector) by providing
direct assistance and support
to region and headquarters
Local Government/Private Sector Division
he Local Government/Private Sector Division is here to
provide CSEA members and labor relations specialists with a
valuable resource to ensure that members’ rights and needs are
being protected.
staff, local and
unit officers and
members.
The
department has
two components: the Joint
Committee on Health Benefits
and the Local Government/
Private Sector Division.
Each unit has its own area of
responsibility, but function
together to provide the most
comprehensive understanding
of health insurance coverage
and related issues: health care
reform, health care trends,
market products, Medicare
coordination and wellness, to
name a few.
Staff members have expertise with analyzing benefit designs
proposed by employers and providing alternative options
available in the health care industry. They are especially helpful
during contract negotiations, where health benefits are generally
a major priority. Outside of negotiations, whenever an employer
proposes changes to health care, a health benefits specialist
can provide insight and clarity by preparing plan comparisons,
analysis and other important information.
Educating members
healthben@cseainc.org.
n addition to providing the above services, the Health Benefits
Department strives to educate the membership about the
efficient use of their health care benefits and provides education
regarding trends in the industry. Staff is available to attend
information days, health fairs and to provide educational
workshops and presentations.
The CSEA Health Benefits Department can be reached by
phone at 518-785-4774 or 1-800-286-5242, or by email at
CSEA-NYS Joint Committee on Health Benefits
he CSEA-New York State Joint Committee on Health Benefits
(JCHB), pursuant to Article 9 of the state contract, is
primarily responsible for the oversight and administration
of the New York Sate Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP).
The NYSHIP program includes the Empire Plan and health
maintenance organizations located throughout the state.
Our staff is always available to answer member inquiries
and to help with a variety of issues, including claims, appeals,
eligibility, retirement and coordination of benefits. The JCHB
works hard to keep members informed about any changes
made to the NYSHIP program through The Work Force,
attending information days, the CSEA website at www.cseany.
org and leadership mailings.
Join us at
The Great Escape in
Lake George, NY!
Tickets only
$24.99!
+ tax, per person
To purchase tickets please visit:
www.sixflags.com/greatescape
Once you have entered the site please
enter the promotional code below into the white
search box at the top of the page, then follow the
purchasing prompts. Tickets are available NOW!
Tickets are valid from May 18 — October 28, 2013.
Promo Code: SAVE28EM
(all capital letters and no spaces)
June 2013
16 ie Work Force
Get the most out of your SUNRISE
DENTAL PLAN
EBF dental benefits en
ere is an insider’s guide for CS9EA members options and the expected results. Once again,
who have dental benefits through the CSEA talk to your dental professional. Knowledgeable
Employee Benefit Fund (EBF). Knowledgeable patients make better choices.
patients make better choices. When it comes to benefit questions, your plan ws
can be found on the EBF website
Seek treatment/find a dentist tes by using our “Benefit Search” tool Eumiovee
Probably the most important thing EaS at www.cseaebf.com. The EBF has > tite
that you can do is USE your dental customer service representatives SUMMARY PLAN psc
benefits, especially for preventive and AFSCME Local !000, AFL-CIO available from 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
diagnostic care. When you see yor =_EMPLOYEE Monday through Friday at (800)
dentist for cleanings and exams ona BENEEIT EUND 323-2732. They are there to answer
routine basis, small problems can be questions about your benefits. If
CSE
diagnosed and treated early. A full your dentist recommends extensive
listing of the EBF’s participating providers can be treatment, we recommend having the dentist
found online at www.cseaebf.com. submit a predetermination so that you will know
what will be covered before you have the work
Ask questions/know your plan/ done.
understand your dental needs
You should discuss your oral health with Take care of yourself techniques, ask for a demonstration by your
your dentist and dental hygienist. They can Prevention is the key and you have total dental provider.
answer questions that you may have about control over your home care. Brushing and Dental benefits are provided to assist you in
taking care of your teeth and gums and about flossing your teeth thoroughly on a daily achieving optimum dental/oral health. The EBF
various conditions in your mouth. They may basis, eating properly and avoiding sweetened encourages you to use the knowledge and skill of
make specific recommendations for treatment foods and beverages are all very important to your dentist and the EBF staff and put forth your
or for home care. When a dentist recommends maintaining your dental health. If you need a best effort at home in the interest of better oral
a treatment, make sure you understand the refresher on effective brushing and flossing health care.
American
Cancer
CANCER PREV Y Society
STUDY-3
CSEA members in the Capital Region, Finger Lakes and Step 1: Register
Buffalo areas: Register Today and Save a Life Tomorrow! Schedule your enrollment appointment time and location by visiting:
Take advantage of an opportunity to participate in a nationwide cancer *° www.cps3schenectady.org (Capital Region)
prevention research study that has the potential to protect future e www.cps3auburnskaneateles.org (inger Lakes)
generations from getting cancer. e www.cps3buffalo.org @uffalo area)
CSEA is strongly urging Capital Region, Finger Lakes and Buffalo area
members to join this important study by enrolling at upcoming events in
Schenectady, Cayuga, Onondaga and Erie counties.
There are multiple enrollment locations in each area. If you live outside the
Capital Region, Finger Lakes or the Buffalo area, you can still get involved in
the study by visiting www.cancer.org/cps3, clicking on “Where to Join” and
. making an enrollment session appointment at a location near you.
You can enroll if:
¢ You are between the ages of 30 and 65;
e You have never been diagnosed with
cancer (not including basal or squamous
cell skin cancer); and
¢ You are willing to commit to the study
long-term.
Step 2: Attend a 25-minute enrollment session.
Step 3: Complete Follow-Up Surveys
Complete periodic surveys sent to your home every few years to update
your information.
June 2013 THe Work FORCE id
Plan your dream vacation or family theme park weekend with
Working Advantage and Union Plus Travel the world, travel the
Get,thelliowest/Ainkares plana day atthe Great WolfWaterPark _state or get deals at home.
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Petar A Teavel Entertainment and Travel Working Advantage website. Register or sign in, HERSTEYPARI Z
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Travel & Entertainment. Flights Register or sign in.
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wa [ Alamo} NScarrenial.
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your CSEA Membership .
For these and more deals to help you save
Danny Donohue, President 4
18] THe Work FORCE June 2013
NEW WINDSOR
RATIFIES — Members
of the Town of New
Windsor Unit in Orange
County recently
unanimously approved
a three-year contract.
The deal, which runs through the
end of 2014, includes annual wage
increases, a longevity increase
and enhancements to the CSEA
optical plan ... ORLEANS NURSING
FIGHT— About 100 community
members, faith leaders and CSEA
members demonstrated May 8
outside of the Orleans County
Legislature meeting. The three-hour
event was part of the ongoing battle
to keep The Villages of Orleans
nursing home publicly operated. The
coalition is planning other visibility
events, including attendance at
festivals and parades throughout
the summer. The Orleans County
Legislature voted in February
to create a local development
corporation with the intent of
selling the nursing home ... FIRST
CONTRACT— Congratulations to
members of the Bronxville Public
Library Unit, who recently ratified
their first contract since organizing
a union with CSEA. The ratification
comes after several years of difficult
negotiations. The agreement runs
through May 31, 2015 and includes
retroactive pay for 2012 and wage
CSE
TODAY
increases for the final
two years of the contract
... REMEMBERING
FALLEN WORKERS
—Western New York
Office for People
with Developmental
Disabilities recently held its
annual Workers Memorial Day
ceremony at the West Seneca
Developmental Center. Union
members, management, individuals
and community members attended
the event. The ceremony is held
in memory of all staff who died
during the last year ... CAR WASH
FOR VETERANS — Members of
the Long Island Region Veterans
Committee and other CSEA
activists and members conducted
a charity car wash in the region
office parking lot with the help of
student volunteers from SUNY Stony
Brook. The more than $700 raised
through the event will be used to
assist homeless or needy veterans
... GENEVA CONTRACT — Geneva
City School District Unit members
recently overwhelmingly ratified a
new agreement, which runs through
2015 and includes wage increases
in each year. It also spells out the
procedure for compensatory time,
sets contribution rates for health
insurance for active employees and
adds a new subsection for health
insurance in retirement.
Bringing labor’s message to the libraries
City of Rochester Library Workers
Unit Treasurer Lorry Wisse and
President Ove Overmyer celebrate
National Library Week by accepting
a dozen copies of The Main Street
Moment: Fighting Back to Save
the American Dream, a book by
former AFSCME President Gerald
W. McEntee and current AFSCME
President Lee Saunders that
points out the ongoing attacks on
middle-class working people and
how Americans are fighting back.
Library workers in Monroe County also recently marked the week
by hosting workshops on pay equity and workplace safety, as well as
participating in World Book Night on April 23. Many CSEA members
also honored National Library Workers Day by wearing buttons that
read 331.88, the Dewey Decimal number for trade unions. CSEA
represents thousands of library workers throughout the state.
Summer baseball deals sure
to hit your “sweet spot!”
SEA’s
longstanding
support of
baseball across
New York will have
a focused message
once again this
summer, reaching
thousands of fans
with our “Don’t
Zone Out” message.
“Let’s All Get Home
Safe — Don’t Zone Out” will again be the message delivered at all
minor league ballparks through CSEA promotional activities and
distribution of local team-branded static decals.
Help make some noise and ramp up our message to help end
distracted driving and enforce work zone safety. Make it a night
out to remember with co-workers,
friends and family. Visit the CSEA
website at www.cseany.org for
season discounts and local dates
and times of these special CSEA
Nights Out.
Help knock it out of the park!
Help end distracted driving
for good.
Bush is PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month
utha Bush of the Long Island Developmental
Rossini: Services Office Local in the Long
island Region is the PEOPLE Recruiter of
the Month for April. She recruited 17 new PEOPLE
members at the MVP level.
“That soda or candy bar is not good for you,”
Bush told The Work Force after being honored as
the PEOPLE Recruiter of the Quarter last month.
“The dollar you put into PEOPLE will help you save
your job and benefits.” Bush
CSEA’s PEOPLE program protects and improves
our jobs, benefits and pensions in Washington,
Albany and in your community. Your support and participation in PEOPLE
strengthens CSEA’s clout in the workplace, in the legislature, in your
community and in the labor movement.
— Rich Impagliazzo
June 2013
THe Work Force 19)
Work Force
www.cseany.org,
Published by CSEA
143 Washington Ave * Albany NY * 12210
Danny Donohue, President
(518) 257-1000 * (800) 342-4146
CSEA * Local 1000 AFSCME * AFL-CIO
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AUGUST 8S - 11, 2013
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