YOUR METROPOLITAN |,
Official publication of REGION 2 NEWSLETTER
Rs, IS ENCLOSED! | Ham sng
CSE cae
; , TALL
Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Vol. 21 No.9 SEPTEMBER 1998
fi a
Next month: The Work Force
The Sector | ;[ a amas
retires after |~ eryd
two decades A
I n late 1978 an exceptional iE
new union publication, The Sa
Public Sector, was born. It quickly
became the centerpiece of an
improved and expanded CSEA
communications program that
helped pave the way for CSEA to
grow stronger and more effective
by reaching out to the rank-and-
file, keeping members informed
and getting them more directly
involved in their union and their
lives. :
In the two decades since, The 7
Publie Sector helped educate, excite ee
and inform the rank-and-file about | a
labor issues that impact on their
lives and those of their family, | |
friends and neighbors. It did its j ay
gh
well, winning national and
international awards for effective —
labor journalism.
The Public Sector will be retired after
this edition, and a new publication, The
Work Force, will arrive at your home eac
month to keep the lines of :
communication open. Its content and | | the state cons
appearance will be different than The “We took this
Sector, but its mission is the same - to
keep you informed and to stay in touch.
(see pages 8, 11, 12, 13 & 24)
_ New York's highest court
unanimously packed CSEA in its long
battle to keep th
XN
money-” feontinnes on page 3
CSEA'S NEWEST MEMBER BENEFIT...
The CSEA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
covering Workers’ Compensation
and Social Security Disability
It’s here to help you!
If you are injured on the job or sustain a job-related illness,
CSEA’s new Workers’ Compensation Legal Assistance
Program can help you navigate the maze known ao Workers’
Compensation. If you become disabled, the program can
help you obtain Social Security Disability benefits.
The Program Services Are Absolutely Free, And Sa 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 are
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
1-800-342-4146 TOLL-FREE and
select the proper menu options.
Your call will be answered by the
firm of Fine, Olin and Anderman,
P.C., 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
cages will be turned down and
there is no cost to CSEA
members and their dependents
for the program services.
1-800-342-4146
Follow the menu options
for instructions
to access the program
Summary of July 1998
Board of Directors meeting
Editor's note: The Public Sector publishes a summary of actions taken
by CSEA's Board of Directors at the board's official meetings. The
summary is prepared by CSEA Statewide Secretary Barbara Reeves
Jor the information of union members.
ALBANY — CSEA’s statewide Board of Directors met here on
July 23. In official action, the board:
© Approved the appointments of Carmen Bagnoli, Cindy
DerGurahian and Mary Sullivan as Employee Benefit Fund trustees;
© Approved the appointments of Flo Tripi, Jeff Howarth, Debbie
DeCicco and Barbara Moloney as Political Action Fund trustees;
© Approved the appointments of John Shepherd, Diane Hewitt,
Marguerite Stanley, Bruce Damalt and Jim Kurtz to The Public
Sector Committee;
© Approved the appointments of Liz Puttre, Joel Schwartz, Sabina
Shapiro, Mike D'Alessandro, Tom Pirozzolo and Wilma Hasser to the
Appeals Board Committee;
© Approved the appointments of Margaret Capriola, Pamela
Patnode, Art Townsend, George Winchell, Micki Thoms, Jim Schultz,
Shelley Finnegan and Sabina Shapiro to the Region 3 Political Action
Committee;
© Approved the appointment of Bill Flanagan to the Region 1
Political Action Committee;
© Approved the Proposed Standards for Consideration of
Probationary Termination Cases, and approved
the Standing Legal Committee report;
© Approved a lease extension of office space
for Rockland County Local 844; and
© Placed several locals and units into
administratorship for failure to submit election
committees for the 1998-2001 election cycle.
Questions concerning this
summary of actions taken by CSEA’s
statewide Board of Directors should be directed to
CSEA Statewide Secretary Barbara Reeves,
CSEA Headquarters, 143 Washington Avenue,
Albany, NY 12210
1-800-342-4146 or (518) 257-1253. | “Barbara Reeves |
The Public Sector (USPS 0445-010) is published monthly by The Civil Service Employees Association.
Publication Office:
THE
PUBLIC
ecto...
Official publication of
CSEA Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
143 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12210-2303
Danny Donohue, President
STEPHEN A. MADARASZ
Communications Director & Publisher
STANLEY HORNAK
Asst. Director of Communications
ROGER A. COLE, Editor
CATHLEEN HORTON
Graphic Design & Support Services
RALPH DISTIN, Graphic Artist
JANICE NUSBAUM
Communications Production Coordinator
SHERYL C. JENKS
LILLY GIOIA
ANITA MANLEY
DAN CAMPBELL
MARK M. KOTZIN
Page 2 ¢ The Public Sector ¢ September 1998
Publisher, The Public ¢
LONG ISLAND REGION John C. Shepherd
METROPOLITAN REGION (vacant)
SOUTHERN REGION Diane Hewitt
143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210.
Periodical Mail Postage paid at Post Office, Albany, New York 12288.
Postmaster: Send address changes to: CSEA, Attn: Membership Department,
143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210.
CSEA on line: The CSEA web site can be accessed at www.cseainc.org
Readers; Send any comments, complaints, suggestions or ideas to:
ctor, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210-2303.
COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATES
Long Island Region RON WOFFORD
(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
ED MOLITOR
\ASORLCOMMUH C4
sume
=
TAFCCIOICKS * “ocunrenn
The Public Sector Committee
CAPITAL REGION Marguerite Stanley
CENTRAL REGION Bruce Damalt, Acting Chair
WESTERN REGION James V. Kurtz
CSEA Unit President Liz Piraino, Pat Brown from
CSEA's Town of Poughkeepsie Unit and Labor
Relations Specialist Steve Chanowsky protest
plans to close the Dutchess County Infirmary.
CSEA calls Dutchess County Infirmary closing
‘A reckless
proposal’
POUGHKEEPSIE — Despite strenuous
objections from CSEA and residents, Dutchess
County lawmakers voted recently to close the
county-run infirmary. Union activists picketed,
lobbied and spread the word among county
residents that legislators were plotting to close the
facility that housed 62 residents and employed 80
CSEA members.
Although one legislator pointed out that the
issue was not one of money, the emphasis over
the last two years has in fact been on the
county's fiscal obligation and that the infirmary
was operating at a deficit.
“This is a reckless proposal,” said CSEA Deputy
Director of Labor Relations Steve Alviene. “The
employees have done a good job. They care about
the residents.”
Alviene pointed out that taxpayers were not
given the chance to speak at a public hearing or
to vote in a referendum.
“County residents would gladly pay their share
of 50 cents per year to keep it open,” he said.
Indeed, public sentiment has been on the side
of the employees. Praise by families of patients for
the unique care and love given by infirmary staff
was emphasized over and over during the
legislative session. But it seemed to have no
impact on those who voted to close the facility.
Two days after the vote, the resolution was
signed by the county executive, putting into
motion the process that will end with the closing.
Plans for placement of the infirmary’s residents
will be the first order of business.
The plan must be approved by county
Join the 1998 Labor Day
lawmakers as well as state
officials. Meanwhile, union
representatives will
negotiate to ensure jobs
for the facility's employees.
Unit President Liz
Piraino said she is not
discouraged.
“We may have lost the
batt e said, “but not
the war!
“We caused dissension among the Republicans
on the legislature,” Piraino said, “and we got
support from the community which has been
lacking.”
Piraino thanked Unit First Vice President Frank
Carlon and Infirmary Shop Steward Maureen
Simons for assisting her with the implementation
of plans to demonstrate and speak to lawmakers.
“Maureen did a wonderful job motivating the
employees,” she said, “and we are very lucky to
have such a dedicated shop steward.
She also thanked Unit Second Vice President
Tara Fitzpatrick and Shop Steward Donna
Borquist for their assistance as well as all those
employees who spoke at the legislative meeting.
“I would also like to thank Steve Alviene and
(Region 3 Political Action Coordinator) Jason
Haenel for all their help,” she said.
Referring to the county's next legislative
elections, Piraino had a warning for lawmakers
who voted to close the facility.
“Come 1999, we won't forget you!”
— Anita Manley
Be
2s]
LOGAL 1000 AFSCHE
AFL-CIO
WOOT]
| Dow Eu
‘It's not going to be easy to move to
‘| another nursing home. It's going to be a
L| trauma for the residents.”
— Physical Therapy Aide and CSEA Shop
Steward Maureen Simons, right, with
resident Ida Walker.
narades, celebrations
New York City, Long
Western Region
Island and Southern
Regions
New York City
Labor Day
Parade
Saturday Sept. 12
Parade kicks off at 1 p.m.
Join the CSEA contingent at
12:30 p.m. at Sth Avenue
and W. 46th Street.
Capital Region
Capital District Labor Day
Celebration and Picnic
Monday Sept. 7, Noon to dusk
Ganser-Smith Memorial Park
Menands Road, Menande
Fotluck picnic, ¢0 bring a dish to share.
The Solidarity Committee/Jobs with Justice
will provide hamburgers, hotdogs, all the
fixings and cold drinks. Bring your musical
instruments! Interfaith service at
10:30 a.m. at St. Joan of Arc
across from the park. The service will
a blessing of the tools.
Central Region
Labor Day Parade and Rally
at the New York State Fair
Monday Sept. 7, 11 a.m.
Marchers assemble at 10 a.m. by the Indian
Village and will march to Cole Muffler Court
Favilion for a brief rally. For information, call
Mark Spadafore at 315-422-3365.
Massena Labor Day Parade
Monday Sept. 7 at 11 a.m
A St. Lawrence County Local 845 members
semble at 10 a.m. For more information,
call Betty Thomas at 315-379-2230,
Buffalo Labor
Day Parade
Monday Sept. 7, noon
from Walden Avenue & Harlem
Road, Cheektowaga, ending at
town park for a picnic.
Rochester Labor
Day Parade
Monday Sept. 7, 11 a.m.
from Alexander Street and
East Avenue to Frontier Park
for a picnic from 12:30 to
2:30, followed by a ballgame.
GENERAL NEWS
The Public Sector * September 1998 » Page 3
ee Unsafe conditions, understaffed
County DSS
members
take their
SCHENECTADY — “We're
angry and we don’t care who
knows it,” the frustrated
Schenectady County
Department of Social Service
worker said as she plopped a
pile of handmade protest
signs down on the hot
sidewalk in front of the
123 year-old ramshackled
DSS headquarters.
She was among more than
100 CSEA members who
were gathering to conduct
informational picketing to
protest poor working
conditions and staff
shortages. The
tensions started boiling the
week before when the DSS
general counsel denied
CSEA Local 847 President
Joanne DeSarbo permission
to have DSS members
photographed and
interviewed as they worked in the cramped and
crowded offices in the antiquated old school building.
The union had wanted to document the poor
conditions employees are forced to work in.
“If this building represents the attitude of
Schenectady County government toward those in need
of social services, no wonder our clients feel betrayed
and our workers feel abused,” DeSarbo told the local
new media that flocked to the noontime informational
picket. As the building's condition continues to
disintegrate, staffing has been cut by one-third in
recent years, DeSarbo said.
Despite management efforts to suppress them, the
union erected a display of photos that depicted some
of the horribly cramped working conditions the
employees have to put up with daily.
“These are the photos that Schenectady County
doesn't want you to see,” the CSEA news release
handed to news media
members read.
The photos also trace
how important paperwork
winds up in boxes
scattered haphazardly
throughout the building.
The photos displayed
how, starting at crowded
desks where they don't
have enough room to
change their minds, the
employees and clients try
to conduct “confidential
interviews” in the cramped
work areas. The forms
they complete are processed and then filed in
“confidential” files atop desks, in cluttered open areas
or lining the waiting area, exposed for all to see.
Eventually the confidential files are moved to a more
secure location in the overcrowded building — the
dank and dark basement. There these so important
documents lie scattered about in open boxes, or
stuffed into rusting file bins, wet and damp, covered
with mold and mildew. There they wait, resting in
pieces here and there in the smelly files, some
dangerously near the facility's boiler, waiting for a
spark to start a long predicted disaster.
Not far away, a huge area of downtown
Schenectady has been designated by the county for
massive renovation under a “Metroplex” project
plan. Here, angry pickets chant “This Helloplex has
got to go!”
Inside, the county Commissioner of Social
Services greets the press in his spacious office
and, smiling, tells them how nice it is that his
employees welcomed him back from his vacation
with such a nice party.
But it’s no joke to the workers. Their chants of
“We're fired up, we ain't gonna take it any more!”
can be clearly heard in the commissioner's
office, and his smile fades.
— Daniel X. Campbell
A disaster just waiting
rete CO happen
SCHENECTADY
COUNTY
YOU 70 S&E!
CSEA wins reinstatement for worker Fulton County improperly terminated
County to pay court-ordered $50,000
JOHNSTOWN - A Fulton County Highway
Department employee whose termination was
overturned is expected to receive a court-ordered
judgement totaling more than $50,000 plus
interest shortly.
CSEA member John Lane was terminated by
the county two years ago after he refused to
operate a piece of equipment which he said
aggravated an old back injury. CSEA objected to
the harsh penalty and took the case to state
Supreme Court, where a justice lowered the
penalty to two months suspension without pay
and ordered Lane reinstated,
The county appealed that ruling to the
Appellate Court, which recently upheld the lower
court's decision.
The court ordered Lane reinstated to the
Fulton County Highway Department with full
restoration of all benefits, including back pay; all
salary increases due, all leave accruals earned
to highway worker |
and full reinstatement in the state retirement
system.
"We wanted this to be over a long time ago, but
the county kept pushing this matter to the
extreme. I’m very happy with the court rulings.
Now it's time for the county to move on to
address other problems they have ignored during
this long litigation,” Fulton County Local
President Sandy Lewis said.
— Daniel X. Campbell
Page 4 * September 1998 * The Public Sector
LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS
DOL cites town in member's death (¢
QUEENSBURY — With CSEA’s Safety and
Health Department pushing the matter, the New
York State Department of Labor has issued two
citations against the Town of Queensbury for
violations of the state PESH law in the death of
CSEA member John W. Johnson.
DOL found that the piece of equipment that
crushed Johnson to death has been improperly
modified and that the workers involved in the
unloading of the “hot box” pothole fill mixer were
not properly trained in that operation.
Johnson died March 16, 1998 when the
attachment he was helping remove from the back
of a dump truck in the highway equipment yard
toppled and crushed him. The 50-year-old CSEA
member had worked as a laborer for the
Queensbury Highway Department for 30 years
It was the first time he and three other town
highway employees were unloading the mixer,
which is owned by the Town's Water Department.
DOL conducted a three-month investigation.
CSEA Occupational Safety and Health
Representative Wendy Hord put pressure on DOL
to trace the history of the material mixer. CSEA
learned that the hot box’s original manufacturer
had discontinued that item when it sold its
equipment division and that manuals concerning
its proper operation were difficult to obtain.
DOL found that the mixer was modified when
someone added a propane tank and a “cylinder
sleeve” to hold the tank. The report states that
tests show that the addition had altered the
machine's center of gravity. The mixer fell to the
side where the sleeve and tank had been added.
The investigation also found that the men
assigned to remove the mixer had not been
properly trained to undertake the task.
If the town does not take steps to correct the
two violations it could face fines of up to $200
per day, a Labor Department spokesman said.
— Daniel X. Campbell
East Hampton protests pause for President
EAST HAMPTON — CSEA members in the
Town of East Hampton, who have been protesting
in front of Town Hall prior to the town Board
meetings over unfair treatment during prolonged
contract negotiations, got “good press” recently
for a demonstration they didn’t conduct.
When CSEA members cancelled a scheduled
protest at Town Hall and at a Democratic
National Committee fundraising event while
President and Mrs. Clinton were in town recently,
the news media responded favorably to the
union's decision.
“We cancelled that protest because of
heightened security concerns over the recent
shootings at the Capitol Building, and so as to
not cause any additional traffic or other problems
for the community during the President's visit,”
Unit President Tom Horn said. "We wanted to
contrast the “Other Hampton” of underpaid
Town employees with the spectacle of a
fundraiser that, within a few hours, would
accumulate millions of dollars for political
advertising. We will resume our picketing and
demonstrations because we feel the importance of
this issue must continue to be publicized. We will
not settle until we have a fair agreement.”
Of 193 Town of East Hampton members, 32
people are living below poverty level and of those,
95 percent are women, Horn said. Sixty-four
percent of the membership works two jobs to get
by and 11 percent work three jobs.
Employees in the Town of East Hampton are
earning 32 to 52 percent less than their
neighboring employees in the same titles.
“Yet, the town wants givebacks. It’s crazy,” said
CSEA Labor Relations Specialist Pat Curtin.
— Sheryl C. Jenks
Certified nursing aides get personal training
GLENS FALLS — CSEA's 15,000 Certified
Nursing Aide members have the responsible,
difficult and demanding job of providing direct
care for residents in residential care facilities
across the state in both public and private sector
settings. They are the backbone of resident care
and now they know it.
Many of these workers were recently trained in
“Positively Speaking,” an interactive workshop
program which stresses the worth of the
individuals and how they can improve their self
esteem and job performance by active listening,
positive feedback and by changing their mind set
about their own self worth.
The workshops were held in seven county
residential health care facilities during July and
August. Participants learned to use active
listening skills as well as positive feedback to
enhance their personal communications. They
also examined their personal qualities which
enable them to respond positively to challenges
they encounter in their everyday work life, and
learned how to change their mind sets about
themselves, their co-workers and their work.
Judy, a CNA at one site, was thrilled by the
workshop's content.
“I've never attended a workshop that made me
feel good about myself, the job I do and the
people I work with, both CSEA and management.
This one does,” she said.
Another participant offered her view in an
assertive manner that was a bit different from
her normally quiet style.
“Sometimes we can hear each other talk but
we're not really listening. Hearing and listening
are two different things, two very different
things,” she said, “If that’s all we learn from this
workshop it’s enough. But we also learned about
our worth to our self and to others.”
Facility administrators are enthused about the
workshops, which fulfill state in-service training
requirements. CSEA is hopeful that the program
will spread throughout the health care network.
— Daniel X. Campbell
PEOPLE PROGRAM
BUILDING POWER IN
ALBANY HOUSING
AUTHORITY
More than a third of the CSEA Albany
Housing Authority unit are white jacket
CSEA/AFSCME PEOPLE Program members.
PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to
Promote Legislative Equality) is CSEA's
federal political action program. Members
earn special white PEOPLE jackets for
contributing $2 or more per pay period.
Members understand that funding for the
Housing Authority comes from the federal
budget, and that AFSCME lobbies heavily
for additional funding, and also works with
federal lawmakers to preserve the
prevailing wage and protect collective
bargaining rights for public housing
employees. The Housing Authority is home
to Albany County Local 801 President Jack
Rohl, who knows the importance of
political power, and PEOPLE activist
Eugene Smith, who believes that everyone
should be involved in PEOPLE. Some of the
units white jacket members on the stairway
are: Michael Commerford, Philbert McKay,
Frank E. Snow, Charles L. Davis, Kevin
Bartee, George Mercer, Joe Raymond, Sue
Caputo, Yvonne Fletcher Eugene Smith,
John Marshall Jr., Beverly Evans, Marshall
C. Stone and Harold McNeil.
~
A
LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS
The Public Sector * September 1998 » Page 5
CSEA “dumps on” OMH policies
MANHATTAN — CSEA accused
the NYS Office of Mental Health
(OMH) of “quietly going forward with
its plans to downsize Manhattan
Psychiatric Center (MPC) at a public
hearing on the future of state
operated mental health serv
New York City.
CSEA Metropolitan Region 2
President George Boncoraglio told
the NYS Assembly Committee on
Mental Health that during the past
five months, MPC discharges have
more than doubled over admissions.
He also denounced OMH’s neglect in
failing to obtain real input from local
governments, community
organizations, unions, and advocacy
groups before making changes that
force “significant service reductions.”
Such input is mandated under State
Mental Hygiene Law.
CSEA Manhattan Psychiatric
Center Local 413 President Sam
Koroma joined others critical of the
“secrecy” rampant at OMH for
concealing or disguising hospital
affing short ng. MPC of
indiscriminate patient “dumping,”
Koroma said management had
admitted to him “that no one at
MPC tracks discharged patients.”
“I know for a fact that many of
the released patients are wandering
on their own. When I drive through
the streets of Harlem, I recognize
patients who were former clients at
MPC. They are panhandling or
sleeping in cardboard boxes in front
of banks and shops,” Koroma said.
CSEA testimony also highlighted
the horrible beating sustained by
Ms. Laura Zirinsky in Manhattan
last year by former MPC mental
MANHATTAN — A 51-year-old
schizophrenic inpatient at
Manhattan Psychiatric Center
committed suicide recently after he
was told he must leave the hospital
where he had lived for the past 15
years. When told he had no choice
about the decision, Peter Fazio said
he was fearful of ending up alone
and homeless on the streets before
he slashed his wrists and throat.
Mental Hygiene Therapy Aide
Anthony Warner, who had cared for
Fazio over the past year said “Mr.
MPC dumping leads to patient suicide
Fazio was one of my best patients
and he would be alive today if they
hadn't tried to discharge him.”
Fazio’s discharge was expedited
by the NYS Office of Mental Health's
announced policy to downsize MPC
by 500 beds as quickly as possible.
CSEA Manhattan Psychiatric Center
Local 413 President Sam Koroma
said a “discharge team” was sent to
the hospital from Albany to speed
inpatient releases, on average
discharging one patient per day.
— Lilly Gioia
patient Gary Graves. After five
months without anti-psychotic
drugs, Graves viciously attacked his
victim, nearly killing her. He was
sentenced to 8-16 years in prison,
and some estimates show as many
as 200,000 former mental patients
now incarcerated. There are actually
more mentally ill individuals in New
York’s prison system than there are
in the State Mental Health system.
Advocates for the homeless
mentally ill also testified about
thousands of former mental patients
in homeless shelters and the urgent
need to increase state psychiatric
services for these persons.
Ironically, a new 400-bed homeless
shelter was recently opened on the
grounds of Kingsboro Psychiatric
Center in Brooklyn.
“It's deplorable and morally wrong
for the state to deny psychiatric
services to sick people and instead
build more prisons or open
homeless shelters on the very
grounds of a hospital where they
could have received real treatment,”
Boncoraglio said.
Janet Susin, of the Nassau
County/Queens Division of the
Alliance for the Mentally Ill, praised
the quality of services at Creedmoor
Psychiatric Center in Queens,
finding them far superior to any
rendered by private or non-profit
hospitals. The Creedmoor difference,
she stressed, was its permanent and
stable staff of dedicated mental
health professionals.
Metropolitan Region 2 President
George Boncoraglio slams OMH's
dumping policy before lawmakers.
Susin said that privately run
psychiatric units had very high staff
turnover rates. Most private staff
are newly hired college graduates
with little experience who leave as
soon as possible, she said, adding
there was no comparison with
Creedmoor's excellent patient
improvement rate.
Former mental patients, now in
recovery, praised the initial
treatment they received at state
hospitals. Unfortunately, the OMH
representatives who testified first,
left the hearing immediately,
unwilling to hear six more hours of
input from the next 20 witnesses
with valid criticisms of current state
mental health budget cuts and
service reductions.
— Lilly Gioia
Project REACH teaches you skills for success
Want to read or
write better? Feel the
need to take English
as a second language
to improve speaking skills? Want to get a high-
school equivalency certificate or prepare for
college?
Project REACH (Reading, Education and
Achievement) can help! Here’s how it works. Call
Kitty Zimmerman on the LEAPline (1-800-253-
4332) and confidentially discuss the skill you
want to improve or the test you want to pass.
Kitty will discuss your background and interests
and help you decide an approach. Once your
direction is clear, you will be put in touch with a
school or organization that can provide the
classes you want, usually at no cost to you,
For example: If your goal is to obtain a high
school equivalency certificate you can prepare for
the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) exam by
attending free classes at your local high school or
BOCES. You will talk to your teachers to decide if
you need to study for all the areas of the test or if
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you only need to brush up your skills in a few
areas. Your classmates will be at the same skill
level as you are and your instructors will be
experienced in teaching adult students.
To improve your reading skills, you may be
referred to Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA)
which would arrange for you to meet with a tutor
for individual instruction.
LVA volunteers have special
college will evaluate your background and be
sure that you are in the appropriate class.
Do you have an educational dream? Is there a
goal you want to strive for? Can you do it?
We say YES YOU CAN!
Call the LEAPline, speak with Kitty, Together,
you and LEAP can make it happen.
training in working with
adult students and can help
you in a way appropriate to
your particular learning style
and abilities. You and your
tutor will meet a time and
place convenient to you both,
probably in a library.
Should you be aiming for
college and need to get up to
speed for college level courses
you may study reading,
writing, math or English at a
college near your home. The
IT'S TIME TO APPLY FOR TUITION BENEFITS
It’s time to apply to LEAP for tuition benefits for the fall semester.
If you do not have a catalog and are unable to obtain one in your
agency or institution, call LEAP at 1-800-253-4332.
LEAP is a tuition benefit program available to members in the
State Administrative, Operational and Institutional Services Units,
the Division of Military and Naval Affairs and certain employees of
Health Research Inc., SUNY Construction Fund, Teachers
Retirement System and the Unified Court System.
Contact the LEAPline at 1-800-253-4332 with questions about
LEAP or other education and training benefits for CSEA represented
employees. LEAPline Advisors are available weekdays from 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays).
Page-6 * September 1998 * The Public Sector
STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS
Inmate disturbances highlight law enforcement risks
Recent unrest in the state prison
system has again focused the
spotlight on the risks and dangers
faced by correction officers and
civilian employees in the local and
state correctional facilities.
A number of correction officers
represented by AFSCME Council 82
were injured in inmate disturbances
recently at the Attica Correctional
Facility and the Coxsackie
Correctional Facility. The
disturbances involving several
factions of inmates were confined to
inmate areas and resulted in
New law makes
A new law, which CSEA has
pushed for years, will allow SUNY
hospitals in Syracuse, Brooklyn and
Stony Brook to operate more
efficiently in today’s increasingly
competitive health care market.
Introduced by Assembly Majority
Leader Michael J. Bragman, the law
gives the SUNY hospitals the
flexibility they need to compete with
private hospitals. The new law
exempts SUNY hospitals from
cumbersome purchasing restrictions
that apply to other state agencies,
allowing them to contract with low-
lockdown conditions for several days
at both locations.
No civilian employees were
reported to be threatened during the
most recent inmate brawls and
attacks against correction officers,
beyond the risks associated with
working in the high security
facilities.
CSEA represents some 15,000
corrections and law enforcement
workers, including civilian
employees, in local and state
correctional facilities across the
state.
“The health and safety of our
members working in correctional
facilities is an utmost concern.
Fortunately none were directly
involved in the most recent
incidents,” CSEA President Danny
Donohue said. “Our AFSCME
brothers and sisters did an excellent
job in controlling the potentially
explosive disturbances. The inmate
population is younger and more
violent than ever, and that increases
the risks to all who work in
correctional facilities.”
SUNY hospitals more competitive
cost suppliers of goods and services.
The law also gives the hospitals the
ability to form partnerships with
other health care providers, i.e.
becoming a participating provider in
an HMO.
SUNY management had insisted
that it also needed flexibility with
respect to employees, including
autonomy from the Department of
Civil Service and the ability to
negotiate its own collective
bargaining agreements. But CSEA
told lawmakers this was just an
excuse for SUNY to get out of having
to pay its employees fair wages and
fringe benefits, and successfully
fought to exclude such language
from the law.
CSEA President Danny Donohue
called the new law a victory for all.
“SUNY’s Health Science Centers
are critical to the overall quality of
health care in New York,” he said.
“Employees at these facilities now
have the opportunity to improve the
“quality and availability of services
they provide to the community.”
— Ed Molitor
ATTENTION CSEA-REPRESENTED STATE EMP
ENHANCE YOUR JOB AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SKILLS
The NYS/CSEA Labor Management Committees are sponsoring a series of
workshops designed to meet the personal and professional training and
development needs of CSEA-represented NYS employees. The workshop
series will be held between October 1998 and March 1999 on a variety of
topics drawn from the OSU Job Skills and Career Development, Safety
and Health, and Personal Development program categories. The
registration deadline for all workshops is four weeks prior to the
scheduled date of the workshop. Except for the Safe Computer Use
workshop, all workshops are full-day sessions (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.).
Registration forms are available in a course catalog prepared by the
NYS/CSEA Labor-Management Committees. A supervisor or manager
authorized to grant release time must sign the registration form.
Date Workshop
10/14/98
10/14/98
10/21/98
10/22/98
10/28/98
11/03/98
11/12/98
11/18/98
12/08/98
12/09/98
12/15/98
01/13/99
01/19/99
Small Engine Repair
Managing Finances
Back Wellness
Managing Finances
Small Engine Repair
Safe Computer Use
Stress In Your Life
Boilers and HVAC
Managing Conflict
Emergency First Aid
Masonry and Drywall
Back Wellness
Diesel Engines
Location
SUNY Plattsburgh
NYS Veterans’ Home at Batavia
Buffalo State College
Central NY DDSO (Syracuse)
Green Lakes State Park
Rochester PC
Buffalo State College
Binghamton State Office Building
Metro DDSO.
Pilgrim PC
State Campus (Albany)
Poughkeepsie State Office Bldg.
SUNY Farmingdale
~ EBF changes “
take effect
October 1
Effective October 1, 1998 the
CSEA Employee Benefit Fund will be
making changes to their Workplace
Security Program. These changes
come as a result of drastic increases
in claims filed and multiple claims
since its inception in October of 1994.
The changes to the plan are:
* Two levels of Assault Benefit
Payments ($2,000 for rapes, fractures
or incidents requiring two consecutive
nights stay in a hospital; and $500 for
all other incidents)
* The Permanent Total Disability
Benefit will be 400% of the Assault
Benefit
* Disability must begin immediately
after the incident
The benefits for Accidental Death
or Dismemberment and Captivity
remain the same as well as the
requirements for Police, Medical and
workplace documentation. All eligible
and enrolled members of the CSEA
EBF are covered for this program.
EES
Catalogs with course descriptions,
schedules and locations are available
from your CSEA Local President and
personnel and training offices. You
can also contact the NYS/CSEA
Labor-Management Committees
at (518) 473-3416.
Date Workshop
Stress In Your Life
Boilers and HVAC
Managing Finances
Safe Computer Use
Managing Finances
01/19/99
01/27/99
02/04/99
02/11/99
02/17/99
02/18/99
02/24/99
03/02/99
03/03/99
03/10/99
03/10/99
03/17/99
03/17/99
Boilers and HVAC
Safe Computer Use
Managing Conflict
Back Weliness
Managing Finances
Boilers and HVAC
STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS
VE TIVO STAT
Emergency First Aid
Small Engine Repair
=== Tg Ruble Rectan: September 1988. Paget.
Location
GOER Training Room (Albany)
Wallkill CF
Hudson River PC
Binghamton State Office Bldg.
Long Island DDSO
Tax and Finance (Latham)
SUNY Maritime College
Metro DDSO
Watertown State Office Building
Utica State Office Building
SUNY Plattsburgh
SUNY Buffalo (Amherst)
Finger Lakes DDSO (Rochester)
In touch with you
A mersate from CSEA President Danny Donohue TN aa @
The Public Sector has served us well;
The Work Force will serve us better
It's hard to believe that this is the last edition
of The Public Sector. It’s bittersweet to say good-
bye to a familiar friend that has served CSEA
members so well for so long.
CSEA is very excited, however, about our new
publication, The Work Force, which debuts in
October. Tremendous effort has already gone into
building on the strengths of The Public Sector
while developing a fresh perspective to help you
find your voice in your work site and your union.
Change is not new to CSEA's official
publication. The Public Sector has gone through
several transformations in its history. In fact,
change was at the heart of how it came into
existence in the first place.
Twenty-one years ago, The Public Sector was
born from a heated controversy with a razor-thin
margin of approval in CSEA’s statewide Board of
Directors.
Prior to the existence of The Public Sector,
CSEA’s membership Sqmmunication consisted of
several pages >
purchased in a New
York City oriented EA
civil service
newspaper. The viewpoints in the debate about
creating The Public Sector ranged from those who
didn’t want any change to those who didn’t think
CSEA had the capability to publish its own
newspaper to those who believed we could and
must do more and better.
There are lessons to be learned from that
experience, especially as CSEA prepares to
confront its future in so many new ways.
Those who didn’t want change quickly had to
recognize the improvement that came from
having a statewide publication devoted entirely to
CSEA issues, activities and personalities. The
Public Sector not only helped establish a union
identity but also provided an exponential increase
in the valuable information presented to CSEA
members.
The notion that CSEA couldn't produce its own
newspaper was dispelled with the first edition
and there was no looking back. The Sector has
never missed a
publication ve
deadline f i
NeW
THE ‘FORCE I$ WITH US!
in its existence. At the same time it has set a
- standard for labor publications nationally that
few others can match. For one example, The
Public Sector has won awards in every labor
publication competition it has entered.
As for doing more and better? Well, that's a
never-ending responsibility for CSEA and part of
the reason why we are transforming our official
publication into The Work Force.
There is so much changing in the world
around us and we hope to better reflect how
CSEA is meeting those challenges in The Work
Force. Look for more examples of excellence in
CSEA and look for a stronger sense of community
in The Work Force. But most importantly, look for
yourself in the publication.
Like The Public Sector before it, The Work Force
will be your publication and our aim is to make
it relevant and inspiring to you. We have some
high standards to meet which will be a challenge.
But we also hope the results will challenge you
as well.
Page.8-* September 1998.» The.Public.Sector
THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Govern or : + bu signings cap a sudcessful legislative
a, session for CSEA
signs a
series
of bills
beneficial
to CSEA
members
ALBANY — In one of CSEA’s most
productive state legislative sessions,
Gov. George Pataki has signed into law
a host of bills that will benefit CSEA
members, Several additional CSEA-
sponsored bills were awaiting the
Governor's signature as this edition of
The Public Sector went to press.
CSEA is especially proud of recently-
signed legislation prohibiting the use of
state funds to discourage workers from
unionizing.
“This finally ends the practice of
allowing the use of public money to
oppose workers’ rights to collective
bargaining,” CSEA President Danny
Donohue said in applauding the bill
signing.
The governor also was praised by
union and religious leaders for signing
legislation requiring toilets and
washing facilities for farm workers.
CSEA, the AFL-CIO and the NYS
Labor-Religion Coalition lobbied
al
‘sable -
PROB. TION 25 YEAR! Fee
Allows counties to offer a 25 yea a
hhalf pay retirement option for
CSEA President Danny Donohue, second from left, looks on as probation officers.
Gov. George Pataki discusses why
pension bills benefitting CSEA members. Donohue chaired the state
AFL-CIO Pension Task Force that
improvements. At left is Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. State [—
Comptroller H. Carl McCall is at right. All three state leaders, along | PERFORMANCE OF DUTY
with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, were
instrumental in enacting the
pension improvements.
he recently signed into law four passed both houses, awaiting
7 r.
recommended the pension delivery to Governo!
Allows for counties to offer a three-
aiNG fourths performance of duty
FT bios ey Maui ts the disability retirement for Sheriffs,
jows
e deputy sheriff
i . tem y Tits, undersheriffs <
2 cal retirement sys! ( : ee
tne oe of service instead of correction officers.
after five y
FIVE YEAR
UNION ORGANIZING
Makes it an improper practice for a
public employer, and an unfair labor
practice for a private or not-for-profit
employer, to use state funds for the
purposes of discouraging employees
from unionizing,
Passed both houses, signed by
Governor, in effect.
Sect Sead aa
extensively on behalf of that bill.
Here's a look at the CSEA’s 1998
Legislative Program bills that union
members helped push through both
houses, including those signed into
law by Gov. Pataki so far:
TIER REFORM
Eliminates the Social
for Tier 3 members an'
members to maximize on final
Security offset
d allows Tier 4
10 years. Passed both houses, awaiting
passed both houses, signed by delivery to Governor.
Governor, in effect.
aay
|CETAREOPENER
ws former CETA employees to
EXCLUSIVITY pete for retroactive credit for CETA
Ensures that the placement of a service. Employees must apply for
workfare participant at a job site additional credit by March 31, 1999.
does not affect the exclusivity of the
Parbeuning unite) Passed both houses, signed by
Governor, in effect.
tes
Passed both houses signed b
s y ee
Governor, in effect.
5 . SUNY FLEX
Allows the flexib;
TED DEATH SUNY and Healt!
ility necessary for
PENSION SUPPLEMENT
A two-year pension suERiea ies
in the first year all pre-1990 rent
currently receiving a pension aoe
supplement will see a raise an
pre- 1993 retirees will begin to ales
‘on supplement. Single
hich pension
aised
receive a pensi i
anc wi
base allowance, by
supplement is calculated, re
from $12,500 to Soy soe
In second year all pre-199
will receive a pension supplenen: i
i ase allowance
and the single base al
raised from $13,500 to $14,000.
Passed both houses, signed by
average salary after 20 years instead
of 25 years of service.
Passed both houses, signed by
Governor, in effect. P|
tase
VETERANS BUYBACK
Allows veterans of foreign conflicts to
buy back one month of additional
service credit for each month of
military service during a period of
foreign conflict, up to a maximum of
three years. The employee is
responsible for all costs,
Passed both houses, awaiting
delivery to Gove: nor,
h Science ©
3 a enters
to be competitive in the modern :
health care Market
BENEFITS
Provides a death benefit for “eee
retired members equal to one
the death benefits for member: Pasesulbeu: he
S, Sik
die while in service. Governor, in effect. | 2 °4 PY
es, signed by
Passed both houses,
ogee UNEMTNCE BENEFITS
UNY INCREASE
§ U-GRADES Provides for an increase in
Requires the approval of unemployment benefits and creates a
Giitl Service eee ane et wage reporting system. Also creates a
Aran hen petoree re-employment fund which will retain
classified to unclag be changed from }) and create 300 CSEA-represented
“assified status, jobs in the Department of Labor.
ate
Passed both h
‘ ou ,
delivery to Govern awaiting Passed both houses, signed by
Governor, in effect.
GENERAL NEWS. scorer
: Governor, in effect.
~The Publi. Sector ¢ September: 1998.2 Page.d~,
CSEA members help provide
The Goodwill « «.
Goodwill Games
NASSAU COUNTY - After months of preparation, the Goodwill Games, an
international, multi-sport event, rushed through Nassau County and New
York City in two, whirlwind weeks recently. CSEA-represented Nassau
County employees worked behind the scenes in every capacity before, during
and after the games to make the
event a success.
The lives of hundreds of
volunteers, many of them CSEA
members, have returned to
normalcy, but the games will live
on in their minds forever.
“The Goodwill Games were so
exciting. | was meeting world-class
athletes and being treated like a
VIP,” said CSEA member and
NCMC Nurse Rose Droz.
CSEA Nassau Coliseum Local
737 employees Virginia Casasayas
and Altagracia Rivas prepared and
vacuumed the floors where
gymnasts from around the world
performed.
CSEA member Jose Rivas
cleaned the tables where the
judges sat to score the gymnasts.
The new Swimming and
Aquatics Center was staffed by
CSEA Nassau County Local 830
Engineers Dean LaBella and
Vitalino Estrada.
The Nassau County Medical
Center had 85 employees, many
CSEA members, volunteering for
the games and was totally
responsible for Chinese gymnast
Sang Lan’s care after she was
paralyzed in a fall from the vault.
(See story on this page.)
CSEA member NCMC RN Noreen
Lingham took a week of her own
time to volunteer for the Goodwill
Games.
“It was awesome! I met some of
the athletes while I worked a first
aide station with one other nurse
and a doctor,” she said.
CSEA Nassau Local 830 member
Leroy Hampton was one of the
county employees who prepared and oversaw the state-of-
the-art Mitchel Field Athletic Complex where world record
holder Donovan Bailey was trounced by Maurice Greene.
This was where Michael Johnson made a world class 400
meter run and where Jackie Joyner-Kersee won her last heptathlon.
“Our members were involved in every aspect of these games. The Goodwill
Games were a success because our CSEA members worked hard to make
the county proud,” said CSEA Long Island Region President Nick LaMorte.
CSEA members helped carry on the tradition of excellence that is
associated with the Goodwill Games. Past venues were: Moscow (1986),
Seattle, Washington (1990) and St. Petersburg, Russia (1994).
— Sheryl C. Jenks
CSEA Nassau
Coliseum Local
737 Cleaner
Virginia Casasayas
prepares
gymnastics mat.
Cleaner Jose Rivas,
a CSEA member,
cleans judges’
table.
Chinese gymnast Sang Lan leaves NCMC to be transported to
another hospital for rehabilitation as her father (in striped shirt)
looks on. CSEA member Dr. Wei-dei Zhang, center, handled most of
the translating for Sang and her family.
CSEA members pour out love,
attention for injured gymnast
EAST MEADOW — The Nassau
County Medical Center was thrust
into the international
spotlight recently
when three-time
Chinese National
Vault champion
gymnast Sang Lan
crashed from the
vault, headfirst,
causing a serious
spinal cord injury
which paralyzed her.
Twelve minutes
4 after the fall, Sang
arrived at the NCMC
Trauma Center
where she received
tests and
treatments. Within
days she received
experimental drugs
and underwent a
five-hour spinal
fusion surgery. The
injury is considered
an “incomplete
injury” which means
there is a possibility
of partial recovery.
“That is certainly a
better condition than to have a
complete injury to the spinal cord
where you have immediate and
permanent paralysis,” said CSEA
member Dr. Vincent Leone who
was Sang’s attending physician at
NCMC.
CSEA members Nurse Laurie
Haufler and Director of Pediatric
Intensive Care Dr. Peter Cimenera
also cared for Sang throughout
her NCMC stay.
In the days it took for Sang’s
parents to get through the red
tape of passports and travel
halfway around the world from a
seaport city in China, the NCMC
employees acted as surrogate
family to Sang.
Many CSEA members at NCMC
helped translate for Sang,
including Dr. Wei-dei Zhang and
Dr, Julie Lee. The employees
wanted Sang to feel she could
depend on them for not just her
physical needs, but emotional
needs as well.
“The NCMC personnel played a
tremendous role in the care of
Sang Lan. From the nursing staff
and the doctors to the
administrative staff who helped
with arrangements for her
parents, everyone has been
wonderful,” said NCMC Public
Affairs Director Shelly Lotenberg.
CSEA members also helped
coordinate a visit to Sang by
former Jets defensive lineman
Dennis Byrd, who was partially
paralyzed after a collision with a
teammate six years ago.
CSEA Ambulance Medical
Technicians Dawn Folz and Ralph
Longo recently transported Sang
from NCMC to Mt. Sinai Hospital
in Manhattan for rehabilitation.
Page 10 * September 1998 The Public Sector
GENERAL NEWS
GO You Havea
Right to a
New York Healt ay
(NYS Board of Regents, December 1994)
Poor building conditions affect
ASTHMA, HEALTH and LEARNING
Crumbling walls and ceilings and
peeling paint can expose lead and
asbestos; renovations undertaken
without health precautions, poorly
vented coal boilers, or overcrowded,
damp-dirty buildings can also
create unhealthy, conditions.
For information about this school’s
HEALTH & SAFETY MAINTENANCE and REPAIR, call:
(Fill in name of building Principal or other school official)
This message sponsored by members of the New York Healthy Schools Network.
Ne,
96 South Swan Street, Albany 518-462-0632
105 Court Street, Brooklyn 718-624-8450
Call us for a FREE BROCHURE
or for more information about becoming a HEALTHY SCHOOL!
Visit the Healthy Schools Network website at
www.hsnet.org
Production and printing of this poster courtesy of CSEA, Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO Rese
The Problem —
too many Unhealthy Schools!
New York State has over 4,000 public schools enrolling
3 million children, all of whom are more vulnerable than
adults to environmental hazards, and increasing numbers of
whom are already at risk due to poverty or disabilities. Poor
facility conditions can impair children’s health and ability to
learn.
Federal and state surveys show that one-third of all our
schools need new roofs, 37% have ventilation problems,
24% have indoor air pollution, and one-fifth have outdated
wiring or heating systems.
What is the Healthy Schools Network?
The New York State Healthy Schools Network is a
state-wide coalition of parent, environmental, education,
and public health groups dedicated to assuring every child
and school employee an environmentally healthy school.
Founded in 1994, The Network’s organizational membership
now collectively reaches well over one million public school
building occupants.
The Network is the leading advocate for healthier public
school facilities. Our leadership has resulted in the State’s
Board of Regents adopting new environmental principles for
the operations of school facilities, establishing an oversight
committee to advise the Education Department on facility
reforms, and holding public hearings on public school
conditions, as well as State Education’s adopting specific
measures to protect student and school personnel health
and safety. Our collective advocacy has also resulted in the
Governor and Legislature agreeing to retain education laws
and funding to protect public health, and recognizing that
unhealthy schools may impair children’s health and ability
to learn, and that environmentally responsible schools are
community asgets.
1978 - 1992
glimpse back at
some memorable
moments in
The Schuyler County tragedy
Darkest day inspires
members to honor
Slain co-workers by
campaigning hard for
workplace security
improvements statewide
The Public Sector
November 1992
WATKINS GLEN — Nearly six years later,
Schuyler County Assistant Caseworker Susan
she went into the office. He followed her in and
she was the first to get shot.
Tacka still remembers in frightening detail the
day that gunfire forever shattered the peace and
the lives of every CSEA member in the county
and beyond
Tacka recalls brushing up against the
murderer immediately before it all happened. The
date was October 15, 1992.
“It was a normal day...very busy. I had been in
the child eae office that morning. When it
happened,” Tacka recalls. “John Miller was
walking south toward child support, and I was
walking north on the same side of the hall. He
bumped into me and I bumped into Phyllis
(Caslin). I remember she recognized him and even
said something to the effect of ‘hello John.’ Then
When it was all over, Miller, a “deadbeat dad”
who was angry over having to pay child support,
had killed Caslin, her co-workers Nancy Wheeler,
Denise VanAmburg and Florence Pike, and
finally, himself.
The next day, this Public Sector reporter was
walking through the scene of the tragedy and
talking to CSEA officers and members who were
all trying to make sense of the senseless. Since
then, we've done several articles, many front
page, to detail what occurred and to ensure that
it will never happen again.
It has been that coverage that has helped beef-
up worksite security, which was all but
(Continued on Page 13)
Susan Tacka stands beneath a tree planted in
memory of four Schuyler County Local 849
members killed on-the-job Oct. 15, 1992.
Sector photo brought home the pain of layoffs
CARMEL — For Kevin Prendergast, a layoff seven years
ago was a bad memory. The good news is he was hired
back to work just a few months after the layoff, and today
he loves the tree removal job he’s doing.
Prendergast, a road maintenance equipment operator,
was featured on the cover of the November 1991 edition of
The Public Sector, holding his young daughter and telling
Putnam County legislators that he and his wife had a
four-month-old baby, had just moved into a new home and
could not afford a layoff.
Ironically, he recalls he took the job with Putnam County
because he was told it was secure.
‘I asked how secure the job was and was told there had
never been layoffs,” he said. “I had just turned down a job
as a New York City cop because of the hours and the risk.”
Prendergast said after his picture holding his baby
daughter was on the front page of The Sector, his boss told
him he would be rehired “before the snow flies.” He was
back to work in December of that year.
There have been no layoffs since then but Highway
Department workers who have resigned or retired have not
been replaced, reducing the crew to about half.
“They've restructured a lot,” Prendergast said.
Lately, he has been working on a tree removal crew and
says he love the work. — Anita Manley
More inspiring articles
trom the files of
The Pubic Sector
The Public Sector
November 1991
Nine months later, in spite of his impassioned plea,
lawmakers put him and other co-workers out of work.
— see pages 12 & 135
GENERAL NEWS
ana ananas =
The Public Sector e September 1998 * Page 11
(ARSE AA BINT S Bet Pad HeNRe St BR
A glimpse back at some memorable momeihts from the files of
the best in rescue
workers, care
givers, NCMC
It was a
cold, rainy
night, nine
years ago
when a
passenger jet from Columbia crashed in an
exclusive Long Island neighborhood while on
its way to JFK airport.
For the many CSEA members who
assisted in the crisis that ensued, the
scenes of the aftermath of that crash are
fresh and painful. Not one person.
interviewed remained composed while
sharing their memories. In fact, most were
reluctant to speak about it at all.
“It's not something I want to
remember. Bodies, blood, debris,
emergency crews, chaos — it was
awful,” said CSEA NCMC Unit
President George Walsh, who worked at
the site of the crash as a volunteer
auxiliary policeman. “I still have
nightmares,” he
added.
CSEA member
and Assistant
Director of Nursing
Eileen Horan had
just arrived home
the night of the
Avianca plane crash when she was called to
return.
“We set up teams. A doctor, nurse and
anesthesiologist or respiratory therapist to
triage at the ambulance doors to decide
which treatment area the patients would be
sent to,” Horan said. NCMC also sent
doctors, nurses and supplies to the site of
the crash.
While Horan and her staff were treating
survivors, CSEA member and Registered
Nurse Linda Brauchler was working as a
family support nurse. She worked with the
families to help them find out the condition
and whereabouts of their loved ones and she
helped them identify bodies in
the morgue.
“We had 90 families looking
for loved ones and we had 72
bodies in the morgue that
needed to be identified,”
Brauchler said.
CSEA member and Nassau
County Fire and Rescue
Services Coordinator Peter
Meade responded to the crash
and did all the necessary things
to get emergency vehicles in
and survivors out of that long,
dark, narrow, private road.
Like Walsh, the memories are
extremely difficult for Meade.
“I thought I was fine
afterwards. I was a biker, a
Marine. I thought those
memories couldn't touch me,”
Meade said.
“That experience changed
a ile
The Public Sector
February 19, 1990
Eileen Horan
Peter Meade
Recalling me. I'm more aware of the
frailty. The thinness of the
that tragic, string that holds us,” he said.
rainy night “It was a reawakening. I'm more
nine years religious. I enjoy life more. I hug
people more often.”
ago...
George Walsh
Travis Luria
His story
touched
many
hearts
KINGSTON — When
Travis Luria needed surgery
| to help him walk, CSEA
members from all over the
ane ey ee state came through with
help for his family.
Travis’ dad, Mike Luria, an Ulster County caseworker and
member of Local 856, said he never expected the response
he received after he was interviewed for The Public Sector in
1992.
Travis, meanwhile, has grown into a feisty 10-year-old
fighter. Born
4 with Cerebral
Palsy, Travis
had difficulty
walking.
Doctors at the
Rusk Institute
operated in
j 1992 and after
months of
therapy, Travis
was able to
walk with the
aid of a walker
and later with
canes.
Last year
Travis
developed a
pocket of spinal fluid which was pressing on nerves and
causing pain and bowel problems. Although Travis has
undergone 13 operations in the last year to drain the fluid,
he is again astounding his doctors with his strength and his
spirit, even through one critical bout with spinal meningitis.
“He always surprises his doctors,” said Luria. “He's the
best patient, always smiling and upbeat.”
One of the family’s biggest ongoing supporters has been
CSEA Central Region 5 Executive Vice President Ginger
Sheffey, who sent the family a donation after the story was
published in 1992. Since then, Sheffey has kept in touch
and continued to send gifts to Travis and his sister Hannah.
“They're like family now,” Sheffey said. “The kids send me
wonderful things. Alison (Travis’ mother) sends me pictures. }
I have things the kids have made me. They've become very
WALKING
ypTALL
Travis and family today
Page 12 * September 1998 * The Public Sector
The
Public
Shouldn’t have happened, former local president says
197%
- 1998
WINGDALE — Henry Walters says Harlem
Valley Psychiatric Center should never have
closed.
“They took something that was working —
it was a model,” said Walters, former
president of Harlem Valley Psychiatric
Center Local 409.
Dutchess County officials as well as
representatives of towns in the area have
been trying to market the property since it
closed down in 1994, but with no success.
Proposals for a veterans nursing home, a
state operated AIDS care facility and a
The Public Sector ile oats have gone by the wayside.
March 1992 Businesses in rural Harlem Valley felt the
crunch when the employees had to seek work elsewhere. Walters, who lives
in Wingdale not far from the facility and served as local president until it
closed, said some small business were forced to close.
Walters took a transfer along with many of his co-workers to Hudson
River Psychiatrie Center in Poughkeepsie. Some employees took an early
retirement or jobs in private industry or in other nearby state facilities.
Walters has since retired and presently works as a substitute bus driver for
a local school district.
Walters said the closing of the psychiatric center was a waste of
resources,
“The medical-surgical building had one of the best equipped operating
rooms in the state,” he said. “The kitchen facility had everything — state of
the art equipment. The buildings were in optimum condition.”
In addition, there is a train station right on the facility grounds, he said,
“and there were plans for a high speed rail in the works. Families didn't
have to scramble for transportation.”
For workers at Hudson River Psychiatric Center, the closing of Harlem
Valley meant 200 more patients and more work with less staff.
Local 410 President Judy Watts-Divine said although staff from Harlem
: Valley came to Hudson River
with the additional patients,
Hudson River staff still has
to cover for those employees
who are out sick or on
workers’ compensation. In
addition, Hudson River staff
were unfamiliar with the
Harlem Valley clients.
While direct care staff
was short, there were no
‘hey doubled
adminstrators in many
departments,” she said, “and
then they slowly laid off
people. We had many
duplicate titles.”
One year later, many of
the CSEA employees were
CSEA Hudson River Psychiatric Center
Local 410 President Judy Watts Devine,
left, and Local 410 Vice President Lorraine
The closing of Harlem Valley PC
displaced when state officials decided to lay off a
number of workers.
Over the last four years, conditions have only
gotten worse. In order to e some of the
shortstaffing, state officials have been hiring
temporary workers to fill shifts, said Watts-Divine.
“They have no seniority, no status ...they are not
entitled to the disciplinary process and can be fired
at any time.”
Permanent workers are also filling shifts.
“We had 14 people on overtime last night. For
some of them it was the second day in a row.”
— Anita Manley
Henry Walters
Schuyler County tragedy touched all
(Continued from Page 11)
non-existent in Schuyler County prior to the murders.
“The impact of CSEA’s coverage was advocacy. We had asked for
protection and been turned down, and The Public Sector was reporting the
information to try and make changes, whereas the news media didn’t care
if we had security or not,” said CSEA Schuyler County Local 849 Treasurer
Sandra Rhodes.
Rhodes, who also chaired the DSS Security Task Force and the
countywide Security Committee, said that the CSEA news articles helped
mobilize the workers to incre ecurity and then maintain it afterward.
“CSEA galvaniz s into demanding better security, The CSEA
coverage di more with the impact on the workplace and the people who
worked he she said.
“What CSEA has done has had an impact nationally. People who work in
other DSS offices across the country have said to me that what happened
in Schuyler County is the reason they had security in their offices. The
articles and coverage provided by CSEA had an impact across the nation
and gave them the impetus to demand better security for their worksites.”
And a few years later when politicians in Schuyler County with mingly
short memories floated ideas about reducing the security measures in the
County Office Building, CSEA’s Public Sector articles were there again to
quickly squash those efforts. The April 1997 cover story “Shame on
Schuyler” was posted on bulletin boards in the County Office Building, and
sent to the local media to involve them in the fight
“We u: that article when we fought with the | ture to maintain the
security. We used it to hit them over the head and let them know that it
was unacceptable,” Rhodes said.
Without that publicity, Tacka said that the security might not still be in
place.
“I think the ‘Shame On Schuyler’ article hit it right on the head,” Tacka
said, “I don’t think without the publicity we would have kept the security in
place. It helped sway the legislators.”
Tacka says that the union's continued push for a statewide Workplace
Security standard still needs to remain an important focus.
“We need to have statewide regulations. You need to be able to work in a
building you know is secure. I'd really like to spare anybody so that they
don’t have to go through what we went through here.”
— Mark M. Kotzin
The Public Sector * September 1998 * Page 13
important, s ‘ial to me.’
Linda Brauchler — Sheryl C. Jenks POTMAD VERY BROS ar VON Sanita Manley Johnson.
THE CSEA ORK FORCE
ome = =N YC UO SIATLINIS
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage: Get involved ... You will learn
Imagine you are eight years old
growing up on a warm island in a small
house surrounded by palm trees. You
live with your grandmother who never
lets you go out at night.
One day you are put on an airplane.
That night you fly over the lights of a
big US city where you land, unable to
speak a word of English. You are
surrounded by big buildings, noise and
automobiles. It’s dark and it’s so cold.
Your mother greets you, takes your
hand and brings you home to live in the
South Bronx. A small Puerto Rican
child, you are one scared little girl.
Welcome to New York!
This is how it all started for Ana
Diaz. “I could not speak English, so
they left me back in school,” Ana
remembers, “but within a short time I
was brought back up.” With both her
parents working, Diaz had many
responsibilities at home, but some
special teachers took an interest in her
artistic talents, helping her enter the
High School of Art and Design where
she excelled. One thing about Ana Dia
— she’s a hard worker.
After an unsuccessful marriage, Diaz
landed a job at Brooklyn Developmental
Center (BDC). “I was separated from
my husband with three small children to
care for and I was fortunate to find a
job with good benefits,” Diaz said.
BDC’s CSEA Local 447 had a vacancy
for the position of treasurer to which
Ana was first appointed, then elected.
“Faced with the enormous task of
being a single parent, I was eager to
learn as much as I could,” she recalled
Diaz went to CSEA workshops, saying
the union was like a “support family, a
network, Union people were always
there for me,” she said,
She credits the union classes in test-
taking skills and communications skills
with helping her advance in civil service
from Grade 6 to Grade 13 Spanish-
speaking administrative aide at Bernard
Fineson Developmental Center where
she now works in Queens. Later she ran
for treasurer at her new CSEA Local
406 and was elected Metro Region 2
Treasurer shortly after that.
Thanks to the trainings, workshops
and union meetings she attended, Ana
Diaz noticed a change in herself.
“T came away from being a Hispanic
woman in the background to saying I
am not just working because I need this
job, but I am a person who could bring
home the bacon and make a difference.
Because of my union experiences I felt
stronger to do this
Now Ana Diaz-Gifford, she proudly
acknowledges the commendation she’s
received from
CSEA’s
Statewide
Treasurer
Maureen
Malone. “I help
the local
treasurers and
show them how
to do the union
books,” she said.
“T really enjoy
working as a
Spanish translation
Imaginate que tienes ocho afios y vives
en una casita rodeada de palmeras. Vives
con tu abuelita quien no te deja salir de
noche,
Un dia te ponen en un avién. Esa noche
sobre las luces de una gran ciudad
de EE.UU. donde aterrizas y no sabes ni
palabra de inglés. Alrededor tuyo hay
ios altos, ruido y automoviles, Es
oscuro y hace mucho frio. Tu mamé te
recibe, te toma de la mano y te lleva a
casa en el sur del Bronx. Eres una
pequefia puertoriquefia y te sientes muy
asustada. jBienvenida a Nueva York!
Asf fue como empezé todo para Ana
Diaz. “No sabia
hablar inglés y
me colgaron de
grado,” recuerda
Ana, “pero en
poco tiempo
avance en la
ENLON escuela.” Debido
Re Wasi : a que sus padres
trabajaban, Diaz
tenia muchas
responsabilidades
dentro de la casa,
regional
treasurer.”
As a former
member of the
CSEA statewide Minorities Committee
she wants to have more union
information printed in Spanish.
Her children grew up with the union,
Diaz will tell you: “My union work
affected my whole family.
women, Ana Diaz-Gifford has two
words of advice “Get involved!”
So many women out there just don’t
know about the resources that are there
to help them, If you get involved, you
will learn, she said,
from left and Melissa, right.
Po all union
Ana Diaz-Gifford, second from left, participated recently in a
run for women with her daughters Jessica, left, Tamara, third
pero un maestro
tom6 interés en
su talento
artistico y la
ayud6 a entrar en la Escuela Secundaria de
Arte y Diseiio donde se destacé. Una
cualidad de Ana Dfaz es ques es muy
trabajadora.
Después de un fracaso matrimonial,
Dfaz empezé a trabajar en el Brooklyn
Development Center (BDC). “Estaba
separada de mi esposo, con tres
pequenitos a mi cargo, tuye la suerte de
encontrar un trabajo con buenos
beneficios,” afirma Dfaz. El sindicato de
BDC, el local 447 de CSEA, tenfa un;
vacancia de tesorera a la cual Ana fue
nombrada y luego elegida.
“Con la enorme tarea de ser ahora
madre soltera, estaba ansiosa de aprender
todo lo que pudiese,” recuerda. Dfaz
asistié a un taller de CSEA, y dice que el
sindicato era como “una familia, un
apoyo. Las personas del sindicato siempre
estaban presentes para ayudarme:
Ella dice que gracias a las clases del
sindicato que tomé sobre cémo rendir
exdmenes y habilidades de comunicacién,
pudo avanzar del grado 6 al grado 13
como ayudante administrativa en espafiol
en Bernard Fineson Developmental Center
donde ahora trabaja en Queens. Luego, se
present6 como tesorera en el nuevo Local
406 de CSEA y poco tiempo después fue
elegida tesorera de la region
metropolitai
Gracias al entrenamiento, talleres y
reuniones del sindicato que asistié, Ana
Dfaz ha notado un cambio en ella.
“Dejé de ser la mujer hispana en el
fondo para decir que no solamente trabajo
porque necesito este empleo, sino que soy
la persona que pone la comida en la mesa
y que puedo hacer la diferencia, Debido a
mi experiencia en el sindicato, me siento
mas fuerte para hacerlo.”
Ahora, Ana Dfaz-Gifford acepta con
orgullo las felicitaciones que ha recibido
de la tesorera estatal de CSEA, Maureen
Malone. “Ayudo a los tesoreros locales y
les ensefio cémo llevar los libros del
Me gusta mucho trabajar
como tesorera regional.”
Como ex miembro del Comité de
Minorias de CSEA a nivel estatal, quiere
sindicato,” dice
més informacién del sindicato impresa en
espafiol
Sus hijos crecieron con el sindicato,
Diaz le diré “Mi trabajo en el sindicato
afecté a toda mi familia.” A todas las
mujeres del sindicato, Ana Diaz-Gifford
brinda este consejo — “Participa.
mujeres no saben sobre los recursos que
existen par
aprender.
‘antas
ayudarles. Si participas,
METROPOLITAN REGION OFFICE / 40 Fulton Street / 22nd Floor / New York, New York 10038-1850
CSEA kicks off city-wide
Voter Registration Drive
BROOKLYN — CSEA Kingsboro
Psychiatric Center Local 402
President Lou Smith welcomed union
members to the hospital’s Assembly
Hall to meet with the Brooklyn
political leaders who helped save their
facility from a threatened closure two
years ago.
“When Kingsboro was on the
chopping block and slated for closure,
we needed strong folks in Albany to
stand up for our hospital, and they
did,” Smith said. “That’s how we
Saluting Outstanding Leaders
MANHATTAN — At CSEA’s
Metropolitan Region 2 annual Political
Action reception, a most outstanding
union activist is always honored each year
for their efforts to promote the union’s
political agenda. But the 1998 Regina
Maxwell award was presented to not one,
but two CSEA winners by President
George Boncoraglio this year.
Honored for 1998 were Cheryl
Copeland of CSEA Local o10 NYS Social
Services Dept. and Jackie Stanford of
CSEA Local 351 NYS Insurance Fund.
Unable to attend last year’s reception,
CSEA Retirees Local 910 member
Barbara Rustin also collected the Regina
Maxwell Award she had won in 1997.
President Boncoraglio urged all CSEA
members to be certain
they are registered
voters and to be sure
all their co-workers
and family members
are also signed up to
vote. “We only have
to look to last June’s
election in California
where the anti-union
prop 226 was soundly defeated by
thousands of registered union voters,”
Boncoraglio said.
While we say it all the time, it really is
true that our future as workers and the
future of our kids, depends so much upon
our getting out to the polls and voting, he
stressed. “Who speaks for New York
City in Albany makes a huge difference.”
Below, saluting the 1998 Metropolitan Region 2
most outstanding union activists are, from left,
Staten Island Assemblymember Eric Vitaliano,
CSEA Political Action Director Fran Turner,
Region 2 President George Boncoraglio,
Brooklyn Assemblymember Cathy Nolan, Local
910 member Barbara Rustin, Region 2 PAC
Chair Vincent Martusciello, Chery! Copeland,
Local 010 and Jackie Stanford, Local 351.
know from first-hand experience that
voting is so important. We have to
keep our friends up in Albany working
for us and with us.”
The Kingsboro meeting kicked off
a city-wide CSEA voter registration
drive under the direction of CSEA
Metropolitan Region 2 Pol
Action Coordinator Max Neuberger.
Region 2 President George
Boncoraglio reminded the Kingsboro
members that the Senator who
previously represented their Brooklyn
District never lifted a finger to help
save the hospital. “It’s because we
helped elect Sen. Vincent Gentile,
that we now have a representative in
Albany who supports keeping
Kingsboro’s services available to all of
Brooklyn,” Boncoraglio said.
Any CSEA member wishing to
volunteer in the 1998 Voter
Registration Drive, please contact
Max Neuberger at 212-406-2156.
ATTENTION
CSER =
the 1998 we Falbor.
invites you to join your
brothers & sisters at
, Banke
Formation at 12:30 p.m.
at W. 46th Street and Fifth Avenue, Manhattan
SATURDAY
Tekin 5c 12, 1998
Refreshments & fun for
the whole family as the
Labor Movement
celebrates its 100th
anniversary in the
City of New York!
At left, attending the CSEA
Metropolitan Region 2 PAC
reception were PAC
Chairperson Vincent
Martusciello, left, with
Assemblymember Felix
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Patient took his own life rather than be turned out onto the streets
Tragic patient suicide draws media attention
MANHATTAN — CSEA members mourned the loss of a 51 year old paranoid
schizophrenic Manhattan Psychiatric Center patient, Peter Fazio, who took his own
life rather than be turned out onto the streets by the NYS Office of Mental Health
(OMH). According to CSEA Local 413 President Sam Koroma, Mr. Fazio was well
liked and often helped other patients, but he feared discharge.
“He was afraid of being alone and homeless like too many other discharged MPC
patients who are now panhandling in Harlem and other Manhattan neighborhoods,”
Koroma said.
Under a state plan to downsize the Manhattan Psychatric Center by two-thirds
(500 patients), discharges have sharply accelerated in recent months. CSEA has
faulted MPC management for failing to provide any follow-up for discharged patients.
CSEA Metro Region 2 President George Boncoraglio expressed the union’s
sympathies and outrage over this tragic death. “CSEA has been fighting OMH’s
mindless and insensitive rush to push sick people out of Manhattan Psychiatric
Center,” Boncoraglio said.
“We had a Prayer Service in Harlem just a week before Mr. Fazio killed himself,
plus we presented lengthy testimony opposing this downsizing before the NYS
Assembly Mental Health Committee just days before his suicide, but neither
management nor the media paid attention,” he added.
Now that Mr. Fazio has taken his own life, finally the Associated Press, the Fox
TV News, Eye Witness News, the Daily News, the Chief-Leader and WBAI radio have
all reported on the impact of these senseless cuts, Boncoraglio continued. “People are
now demanding to know why OMH is inflicting this pain on both Manhattan
patients and the community,” he said.
An MPC patient who knew Mr. Fazio has written an impassioned plea, showing
the depth of fear and depression many patients experience when they are told that
their hospital discharge is near, whether or not they feel ready to leave.
“We are all deeply saddened by the suicide of Peter Fazio,” the patient writes.
“You are not dealing with the changes in the hospital appropriately. All you have
been concerned with is downsizing the hospital as quickly as possible and you forget
that you are dealing with human lives and feelings.
“Forget your stupid deadlines and let time be spent on these patients to prepare
them so they don’t all of a sudden feel abandoned.”
From left, Tony Bailous, CSEA Local 419 NY Psychiatric Institute president and a member of St.
Charles Roman Catholic Parish Council, Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Greater NY Labor/Religion
Coalition, CSEA Metro Region 2 President George Boncoraglio and Msgr. Wallace Harris, St.
Charles Roman Catholic Church conducted interfaith prayer service to protest the downsizing of
Manhattan Psychiatric services.
“Forget your stupid deadlines and let
time be spent on these patients to
prepare them so they don’t all of a
sudden feel abandoned.”
Excerpt from a letter written by an MPC patient after Mr. Fazio’s death.
guly 29, 1998
“Io Whom It May Concern:
You can not all of a sudden force patients, you have kept here for so many
years, to leave .... you are discharging people left and right who haven’t spent a
day on their own in years. Instead you could spend months taking them on
day passes, teaching them about the subway or maybe send them to the movies
with a staff so they get a positive outlook and not only an overwhelming one.
“You seem to have so much money to cut down the trees outside and build
all Kinds of concrete walkways, but when it comes to putting money into the
actual care of individual patients, you don’t have it.
“Tt is very sad that here we are in a mental health center surrounded by
hundreds of professionals who supposedly Know so much about mental health,
and Peter Fazio felt he had no where to turn but to a razor blade and seek
comfort in his own blood.
“He had been telling people he would kill himself if he is forced to be
discharged. He was told he had no choice, thanks to all you so called
professionals and educated people who Know so much about the human mind.
“Like in other issues, in this one you will probably never address the real
problem which isn’t how he got the razor or what he was doing in the
dormitory, because if he was so ready for discharge, you shouldn’t have had to
worry about any of that. The real problem was no one would listen to him and
help him step by step make the transition. Instead he felt unwanted and alone.
“And don’t point the fingers at the Mental Hygiene Therapy Aide staff,
because this incident could have happened anywhere on the grounds. It’s the
people who thought they Knew him better then he knew himself, and thought it
was okay to disregard his feelings. They are at Fault.
“Don’t hide from this incident in order to protect yourselves. Let us all use
Peter Fazio’s cry for help to make us more sensitive so we will hear the next
person and we can do our up-most so this does not happen again. Thank you
for listening.”
(Patient's name remains confidential)
3
ALL NEWLY ELECTED CSEA LOCAL OFFICERS attended special
training sessions conducted in August.
Statewide CSEA Secretary Barbara Reeves worked with newly elected local
secretaries, while Statewide Treasurer Maureen Malone reviewed union financial
codes and procedures with elected local teasurers, all of whom will serve three year
terms, All other local officers were trained by Statewide CSEA Executive Vice
President Mary Sullivan.
CSEA State!
‘Treasurer :
Maureen Maloni
addresses
participants at
recent local
officers training
session.
CSEA METRO REGION 2 PRESIDENT GEORGE BONCORAGLIO
announced that a joint installation of all new local officers and delegates is planned
for September 23, 1998 at Manhattan DDSO, 75 Morton Street. “Local officers and
delegates from across the City will be coming together for this first time joint
installation, pledging their oaths of office to a new CSEA, a union that will become a
national leader in organizing the unorganized,” President Boncoraglio said.
LEAD BY NEW YORK CITY RETIREES PRESIDENT IRENE
HILLIS, members of Local 910 worked hard to support the long overdue NYS
Pension Supplement bill signed into law By Gov. George Pataki on July 21, 1998. (See
photo, page ?? of The Public Sector.) Faced with the high cost of living in New York
City, Local 910 members complained bitterly for years about being deprived of
urgently needed cost of living increases at a time when NYS Pension fund
investment income had increased dramatically thanks to the boom on Wall Street.
Retirees gathered
recently outside
the CSEA Metro
Region 2 office.
NYS PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE CSEA LOCAL 419 members enjoyed a
well deserved Employee Recognition Celebration honoring their years of service to
the community. Working with NYS/CSEA Labor-Management Committee
Representative Maryanne Fallmann, Local President Tony Bailous and First Vice
President Joe Aravena obtained grant funding for service award plaques.
Congratulations to all!
CSEA LOCAL 460 NYS TAX & FINANCE DEPT. WOMEN’S
COMMITTEE members who collected baby items and donations for Hale House
are already working on their next good will project, according to newly elected
President Cheryl Mitchell.
Chery! Mitchel
and co-workers“)
Louise Canty and “
Darlene Lynch
(Local 460 Women’s \
Committee) present
--4 donation to Dr.
Louise Hale, director
_ of Hale House.
American Labor Link
We're very proud
to represent CSEA,”
Alexander said. “We
watched the union
week last year and
it’s great to be
recognized.”
“Marquerite and
Marita have
tremendous energy
and enthusiasm,”
CSEA President
Danny Donohue
said. “They
represent the best of
ALBANY — “We were Wheel Watchers,” said
CSEA Department of Law Local 672 member
Marquerite Alexander. “Now we're Wheel Players.”
Alexander, and her twin sister Marita Brown, a
former CSEA member will represent CSEA when
Wheel of Fortune, America’s most popular
television game show, airs a week-long special
salute to America’s
working families
and their unions
beginning Labor
Day, Sept. 7.
Alexander and
Brown are
scheduled to
appear on
Thursday Sept. 10,
Taped in
Pittsburgh, the
salute to America’s
working families
features twelve
contestants
selected from the
ranks of unions
affiliated with the
AFL-CIO, Each
union member
teamed up with a
family member to
spin the Wheel for prizes that are all Union-made
in the USA. Union members from auto workers to
hotel workers to service workers will show the
fruits of their labor as cars, family vacations and
other exciting prizes are described to the
television audience.
The sisters won a national contest to be
considered as contestants. Coached by their
mother, Marvella Brown, the pair then
successfully held their own against 56 other
teams at auditions in Boston to be selected as
one of 7 finalists for the program.
I'D LIKE TO BUY A VOWEL — Holding vowels, the twins
are flanked by CSEA President Danny Donohue, CSEA
Department of Law Local 672 President Angela Fiore and
CSEA Statewide Treasurer Mary Sullivan at a visit to
CSEA headquarters prior to taping the show.
what we want a
national television audience to see in
CSEA members.”
No one knows yet how the two did on
the show because the show's rules
specifically state contestants can't talk about the
results until after the show airs. We'll all have to
wait until Sept. 10 to find out.
“Everyone in
the office is
excited about
this and pulling
for Marquerite,”
CSEA
Department of
Law Local 672
President Angela
Fiore said. “We
can't wait to see
the program air
in September.”
“Americans
are working
harder and
smarter than
ever before,” said
Wheel of Fortune
Producer Harry
Friedman,
explaining the
special salute to
working families. “We think a salute to workers,
their unions and the products and services they
provide our society is a fitting tribute to offer on
Labor Day.”
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney agreed.
“American workers have made personal
sacrifices and investments to improve the
products and services they produce,” he said.
“They're the most productive and efficient
workers in the world, They deserve the highest
possible respect for their major contributions that
make our country the economic power that it is.”
The twins chat on the set with hosts Vanna White
and Pat Sajak, who they described as “very
approachable.”
Linda Chavez-Thompson, Executive Vice
President of the AFL-CIO, will talk with hosts Pat
Sajak and Vanna White about the importance of
unions on the show airing on Sept. 7.
— Ed Molitor
Another victory for
Cornell labor professor
Beverly Enterprises, the
nation’s largest nursing
home operator, has dropped
its appeal of a federal court
judge’s decision to dismiss a
libel lawsuit it filed against
Cornell labor professor Kate
Bronfenbrenner.
As reported in the August
edition of The Public Sector,
Beverly had filed the suit
against Bronfenbrenner for
remarks she made during a
Congressional hearing about
contractors who do business with the federal
government, She had commented on the unfair
labor practices of certain employers, including
Beverly Enterprises, to curb organizing efforts,
and called Beverly “one of the nations most
notorious labor law violators
Bronfenbrenner expressed satisfaction that
Beverly dropped its action against her.
“I am grateful for the widespread support I
have received in fighting this lawsuit,” she said.
“Beverly's attempt to stifle the right of academic
researchers to present the results of their
research in appropriate public policy forums has
failed.”
Bronfenbrenner
Page 14 * September 1998 * The Public Sector
Sh FBBS + Seb) HditBiiee > Be ANS SAT
GENERAL NEWS
Proposed amendments to
esen's Constitution and By-Laws
The following
report of the
Constitution and By-Laws
Committee contains
recommendations for changes
in the CSEA Constitution and
By-Laws. CSEA delegates will
vote on the proposed changes
at the 1998 CSEA Annual
Delegates Meeting Oct.
5-9 in Rochester.
NOTE: Underlined language is new
material recommended for insertion into
the Constitution or By-Laws. [Language
enclosed in brackets] is old language
proposed for removal from the
Constitution or By-Laws.
STANDING CONSTITUTION AND
BY-LAWS COMMITTEE
The Constitution and By-Laws Committee
has met five (5) times since the Annual
Delegates Meeting in 1997. The meeting dates
were February 12, 1998; May 8, 1998; June 8,
1998; July 8, 1998 and July 22, 1998. The
Constitution and By-Laws Committee has,
amongst its functions, the recommendation to
the Delegates of proposed amendments to the
CSEA Constitution and By-Laws. The
Committee reviews suggestions made by
individuals and Locals and it accepts referrals
from the Delegates and Board of Directors.
Additionally, the Committee can initiate
proposals which it deems to be in the best
interests of the Association. All
recommendations of this Committe
to the Delegates, together with the
the recommendations.
are made
asons for
THE FOLLOWING ITEM IS PRESENTED
TO THE DELEGATES FOR A SECOND
READING. IF PASSED BY A
TWO-THIRDS VOTE, THE
AMENDMENT WILL BECOME PART OF
THE CONSTITUTION.
The following proposal was submitted by
Brother Walter Nash of Local 443. In 1996,
the Delegates referred this matter back to the
Committee for further review. Last
passed by the delegates and comes before the
delegates this year for a second reading.
ARTICLE X. Delegates
Section 2. DELEGATE DUTI
(a) Te shall be the responsibility of each
Delegate to any Association meeting to attend
the general business sessions until
adjournment by the Statewide President
officially en e session.
(b) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
EXPLANATION: This proposal seeks to
insure that delegates remain until the close of
the Annual Delegates Meeting which occurs
with the final strike of thie official gavel by the
Association President. Upon further review of
this matter and additional explanation
provided by Brother Nash, the Committee
supports the intention of this proposal.
Existing language in Article X of the Statewide
Constitution requires that each Delegate
“attend the general business sessions” of any
Association meeting. In practice, however, this
does not always occur. Group travel plans or
individual travel preferences sometimes result
in delegates individually or as a delegation
leaving the Annual Meeting before the
conclusion of business on the last day. This
language is intended to make it clear that it is
a delegate’s responsibility to attend the
business sessions in their entirety and that
necessary travel should be arranged to
encompass this responsibility in its entirety.
The Committee believes that the proposed
» aditional language is appropriate to insure
that there is full delegation participation for
the entire meeting and that travel
arrangements are made to reflect this
responsibility. In addition, Convention Rules,
Rule No. 17, stipulates the closing time of the
Convention which would be recognized by this
language.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE
PRESENTED TO THE DELEGATES BY
THE COMMITTEE AS PROPO:
AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LA’
PASSED AT THIS MEETING, THESE
AMENDMENTS WILL BECOME
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
ELECTION CYCLE PROPOSAL
Secretary and Treasurer shall be designated
voting delegate
(b) Vacancy in the office of President
shall be filled by the Executive Vice
President. Vacancy in office of Executive
Vice President shall be filled by the Board
of Directors by electing any one of the six
eee ae ea
of any of
ice Presidents shall b d_according
to the Constitution and By-Laws of
respective Region. Vacancies in the office of
Secretary and Treasurer may be filled for
the remainder of the term by the Board of
Directors. No person elected to a position
as_an officer of the Association shall remain
an_ officer of a Local or Unit.
Section 7, HONORARIA. TEXT
REMAINS THE SAME
ARTICLE III. Statewide Elections
Section 1. ELECTION TERMS.
(a) Commencing with the close of the
1998 Annual Delegates Meeting, the term
n officers of the
d_ changed
as follows:
1. The Region
expire on June 30, 1999 s| be ¢
to March 1, 2000. Thereafter, commencing
with election year 2000, Region Officers will
four year terms, commencing March
dent, Secretary and
This proposal will lengthen the ten
yciation Officers’ terms to four years. It
will also place the Region elections on the
same sequence as the election of the four
Association officers and of the Board of
Directors elections.
The following proposal to amend the
By-Laws is submitted by President Donohue,
ARTICLE I. Officers
Section 1, PRESIDENT, TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME
Section 2. EXECUTIVE VICE
PRESIDENT. TEXT REMAINS THE SAME
Section 3. VICE PRESIDENTS. TEXT
REMAINS THE SAME
Section 4. TREASURER. TEXT
REMAINS THE SAME
Section 5. SECRETARY. TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME
Section 6.
(a) The Officers of the Association,
President, Executive Vice President, six Vice
Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer shall be
elected by secret ballot every four years
Treasurer terms due to commence July 1
2000 shall be for a single term of three and
uarter years, ending March 1, 2004.
Thereafter, commencing with the election
Executive MURS
Treasurer shall serve four yea
commencing March 1, 2004.
3. The Board of Directors terms
due to commence July 1, 2000 shall be fora
single term of three and three-quarter years.
ending March 1, 2004. Thereafter,
commencing wii e election year 200:
Directors shall serve four year terms.
commencing March 1, 2004.
(b) All elections for terms
commencing in the year 2000 shall be held
concurrently, and in such manner as to
allow for the timely March 1, 2000
gommencement of the term of office for
Region Officers. For the Association
resident, Executive Vice President,
Se ary and Treasurer and for the Board
of Directors, their terms shall commence
July 1, 2000 as provided for herein.
commencing with the year 2004 election
cycle. Such elections shall be held in
(c) Commencing with the el
cycle in year 2004, elections for the
accordance with Article II] of these By-laws.
officers of the Association and for the
These ten (10) officers shall by virtue of their
office be designated as voting delegates at all
meetings of the Association. The Association
President, Executive Vice President,
Board of Directors shall be held in such
manner low for the commencement
of four year concurrent terms of office as of
March 1 of the election year. The schedule
GENERAL NEWS
ANNUAL pee
for the elections shall be adjusted to allow
for such term commencemen:
(d) II officers shall hold office for the
full term set forth herein or until their
hall qualified.
Section [1]2. ELECTION PROCEDURE.
The Election Committee shall have the
responsibility for supervising elections of the
officers of the Association, members of the
State Executive Committee, members of the
Local Government Executive Committee, and
members of the Retiree Executive Committee
who shall be elected by secret ballot. Persons
running for office may petition and appear on
a ballot as a slate or individually. Where
candidates run as a slate there must be an
opportunity for members to vote for the whole
slate and/or individuals. The Election
Committee shall supervise the distribution,
receipt, and verification of nominating
petitions and the drafting, distribution,
verification and counting of the ballots. The
ballot must clearly recite the date, place and
time for the return of ballots and must be
accompanied by instructions as to how a secret
ballot may be cast. The names of the
candidates shall appear on the ballot in the
order in which they were drawn by lot. Such
drawing shall be conducted by the Election
Committee upon notice to all candidat
Commencing with the year 2000 election
cycle, balloting is to be conducted for all
elective offices between [May] January 15 and
[June] February 15 of the election year. The
distribution of ballots and the return of
completed ballots shall be accomplished in a
manner which will assure each member in
good standing a fair opportunity to vote, Only
CSEA members in good standing as of [April]
December | of the [election] year preceding
the election will be eligible to vote in the
election. All candidates or their designees may
be present to observe at each stage of the
election process, including the ballot count
and tally processes. The member receiving the
greater number of votes for the office shall be
declared elected. The Board of Directors of the
Association shall establish rules and
regulations concerning the conduct of the
elections. Such rules and regulations shall be
adopted by a simple majority of the Board of
Directors and may be amended thereafter.
Printed copies of the rules and regulations
shall be mailed to [all] any potential
candidate|s] upon request at any time and to
Local Presidents on or before [May] December
1 of the [election] year preceding the election.
Write-in votes are prohibited.
a) ELIGIBILITY. In order to be elig
to seek office, a candidate must be —
18 years of age, a member in good standing
of the Association since January 1 of the
(Continued on Page 16)
The Public Sector * September 1998 * Page 15
Proposed amendments to CSEA’s Constitution and By-Laws
(Continued from Page 15)
the year preceding the election year, s
not have been a member of a competing
Association shall be elected by secret ballot
for_a term of four years, by the members of
egion, such election
Jucted concurrent with the statewide
to be
labor association or union since January 1
of the year preceding the election year, and
shall not currently be serving a disciplinary
penalty imposed by the Judicial Board of
a
Section [2] 4. ELECTION AGENCY. The
Board of Directors shall select an impartial,
disinterested agency outside the public service,
prior to [February] July 15 of the [election]
NOMINATIONS. Nominations
ices nt, Ex e
ident, six Vice Presidents, Secretar
surer_and for State Executive
overnment
Executive Committee shall be mad.
official petition. Upon the written request of
ber, official petition forms shall be
provided by the Chairperson of the
Statewide Election Committee or designated
employee of the Associa When
nominating petitions are given out, the
name of the candidate and the office th
the candidate is seeking must be typed or
clearly printed at the top of the petition. A
record must be kept of all petitions
1) A member who is otherwise
eligible may qualify. didate for
ssociation President, Executive Vic
resident, Secretary or Treasurer by
submitting @ nominating petition carrying
the signatures and social security numbers
of not less than 1,000 members in good
standing eligible to vote in the election.
(2) A member who is otherwise
eligible may qualify as_a candidate for
Region President (CSEA Vice President) by
submitting a nominating petition carrying
the signatures and social security numbers
of not less than 500 members in good
standing eligible to vote in the election.
3) A member who is otherwise
eligible may qualify as a candidate for the
State Executive Committee or Local
Jovernment Executive Committee by
submitting a nominating petition carrying
the signatures and social security numbers
of not less than ten percent (10%) of the
members i ing eligible to vote
in their election provided, however, that in
no event will more than 450 valid
signatures be required. Any member
submitting the required number of
signatures to the Statewide Election
Committee at CSEA Headquarters ina
timely manner shall _be placed on the ballot
as_a candidate for office. Write-in vote:
prohibited.
(c) TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT.
The Board of Directors shall within
reimbursement of travel expenses for duly
nominated candidates for the ten (10)
ers of the A\ ite]
(d) OATH. All officers of the
sociation and the Board of Directors shall
be required to take an oath of office as
rescribed by tl ‘oard of Directors priot
to_assuming the duties of their respective
offices
Section 3. ASSOCIATION OFFICERS.
e Preside ecutive Vice President,
Secretary and Treasurer of the Associatioi
shall be elected by secret ballot every four
years. The six Vice Presidents of the
good s
Page 16 * September 1998 » The Public Sector
TP 9064 ¢ BEG) tedmaiqs? * rare? old)
year preceding the election.
Elections shall be conducted by the selected
agency in accordance with the provisions of
the Constitution and By-Laws of the
Association and any policies adopted by the
Board of Directors. The agency shall notify all
candidates of the election results.
Section [3] 5. ELECTION PROTEST. Any
memiber believing himself or herself aggrieved
by any aspect of the nomination or election
process may file a written protest with the
Statewide Election Committee, Civil Service
Employees Association, Inc., 143 Washington
Avenue, Albany, New York 12210 by certified
mail, return receipt requested. Such written
protest must be postmarked within ten (10)
calendar days after the member first knew or
should have known of the act or omission
complained of. Notice of such protest must
also be sent by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to all other candidates, by the
Election Committee. The protest must include
the member's signed statement, supported by
necessary documentary proof, containing a
short and plain statement of the facts upon
which the member relies to show that he or
she has been aggrieved. Each election protest
must contain the name, address and telephone
number of the member protesting the election.
If the Statewide Election Committee
determines that the signed statement and
supporting proof establish that the member
has been aggrieved by an aspect of the election
process, it shall sustain the protest and take
any other action which it deems appropriate in
order to remedy the situation. If the Statewide
Election Committee determines that the
signed statement and supporting proof fails to
establish a violation of any of the election
procedures, it shall dismiss the protest and so
notify the member. If the Statewide Election
Committee determines that the signed
statement and supporting proof raises a
question of fact which, if resolved in favor of
the member, would establish that there has
been a violation of the election procedures, it
shall hold a hearing to determine whether in
fact the protest is valid.
At the hearing, the protestor shall bear the
burden of proof, The Statewide Election
Committee may also invite other interested
parties to appear and present evidence. All
interested parties will be entitled to bring
witnesses and present evidence in support of
their positions. All personal expense incurred
relative to the hearing must be borne by the
individuals involved. No member of the
Statewide Election Committee will be
permitted to vote on a protest which involves
his or her own Department or Local,
If the Statewide Election Committee
determines that the protestor has failed to,
establish a violation of the election procedures,
the Committee shall so notify the protestor. If
the Statewide Election Committee sustains the
protest, the Committee shall notify the
protestor and all affected candidates. The
Statewide Election Committee may take any
action it deems appropriate in order to remedy
the situation.
EXPLANATION; With our present
election cycles, the Association President,
Executive Vice President, Secretary and
Treasurer begin their terms in July, They are
immediately faced with having to put together
a CSEA budget for the new fiscal year, deal
with already-late State budgets in many years
and generally set the course for the union at a
time when many necessary parties, both in
and out of the union itself, are on vacation or
otherwise unavailable as a result of summer
schedules. In certain years, they a
contract negotiations with the two staff unions
and State negotiations in other years. In the
past there have been times when both State
negotiations and negotiations with our staff
unions have run concurrently, adding even
more to the initial challenges facing the newly
elected officers. This proposal will move the
term starting date back to March | which will
provide the newly elected officers with a
meaningful opportunity to address the CSEA
budget and progran-planning in a more
comprehensive, thoughtful and focused
manner, By bringing the Region elections onto
the same cycle as the statewide elections, the
Region Presidents who also serve as Vice
Presidents of the Association will have a more
meaningful opportunity to contribute to
budget and program planning, along with the
other four Association officers. In addition, we
must find internal resources with which to
support our many future projects. One area in
which we consistently drain time, energy and
resources away from representation, organizing
and political action is our election process.
Every year the Statewide Election Committee
is charged with conducting at least one major
election which drains our resources in terms of
both dollars and time. For several years there
has been a lot of pressure to streamline the
election process, to eliminate continuous
election cycles, and to make the election
process more meaningful in terms of candidate
viability and voter participation. This proposal
will lengthen the terms of the ten Association
officers from three years to four years which
can be done under applicable law. Longer
terms mean not only fewer elections but also
more effective leadership for accomplishing our
long term goals of defeating work place
injustice and enhancing workers’ lives. This
proposal which insures that all Association
positions (ten officers and Board of Directors
are elected at the same time, also will simplify
the election process and reduce the members’
perception of there being too many elections.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
Iso face
The following proposal to amend the
Constitution is submitted by President
Donohue as necessary housekeeping as a result
of the approval of the new election language
placed in the By-Laws.
ARTICLE IV, Organization of the
Association
Section 1. DIVISIONS. TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME.
Section 2, BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
Section 3
TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME
Section 4,
DIRECTOR'S
COMMITTEE.
TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
Section 5. OFFICERS. The officers of the
Association shall be a President, an Executive
Vice President, six Vice Presidents to be the
six Region Presidents, the Secretary and
Treasurer.[, and shall by virtue of their office
be designated as voting delegates at all
meetings of the Association.|
[(a) ELECTION. DELETE
SECTION.]
{(b) NOMINATION. DELETE ENTIRE
SECTION,]
(ELIGIBILITY. DELETE ENTIRE
ECTION.|
{@) DELETE ENTIRE SECTION.|
[SECTION 6. OATH. DELETE ENTIRE
SECTION.]
ARTICLE VI. State Division
Section 1. STATE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE. The power and authority to
transact business relating to state employees
shall, except as provided herein, be vested in a
State Executive Committee. The State
Executive Committee shall consist of the
officers of the Association, and one
representative from each State Department.
The Judiciary, the State University, the
Waterfront Commission and state public
authorities as one unit, shall be deemed State
Departments. The Teachers’ Retirement
System shall be deemed a State Department.
Each State Department with more than 3,000
members as of [January] September 1 of the
[election] year preceding the election shall,
for the term of office beginning the following
(uly) March, be entitled to one representative
on the State Executive Committee for each
3,000 members or major fraction thereof. The
members of the Department of Mental
Hygiene shall be elected by Region. In all
other departments entitled to more than one
representative on the Board of Directors,
members shall be elected from the
departments on an atlarge basis. The State
Executive Committee shall elect from its
membership one member to be known as the
Chairperson of the State Executive Committee
and one member to be known as the Vice
Chairperson of the State Executive Committee.
The State Executive Committee may create one
or more subcommittees to perform such duties
as the State Executive Committee shall
delegate, Each department representative shall
be elected by ballot by the members in that
person’s department in the manner prescribed
in the By-Laws. [No person shall be eligible for
nomination unless that person shall have been
a member in good standing of the CSEA since
June 1 of the year preceding the election. They
shall hold office for a term of three (3) years or
until their successors shall have qualified,
except that] [s}Solely for the term commencing
July 1, 1998, their term shall be for two (2)
years. Vacancies in the office of the State
Department representatives including
termination of employment with the
(Continued on Page 17)
Y QW ------- ===
GENERAL NEWS
— éWav JAKIMAG
Proposed amendments to CSEA's Constitution and By-Laws
(Continued from Page 16)
Department may be filled for the remainder of
the term by the President of the Association,
from name(s) submitted by the affected
Local(s), without an election with the approval
of the State Executive Committee. No
statewide officer shall be eligible to be a
candidate for any position on the State
Executive Committee. If the office of
Chairperson becomes vacant, the Vice
Chairperson shall succeed to the office of
Chairperson and a new Vice Chairperson will
be elected by the State Executive Committee at
its next scheduled meeting. Failure to assume
the higher office will result in automatic
removal from the office currently held.
[Section 2. DELETE ENTIRE SECTION. }
Section [3]2. LOCALS. TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME
ARTICLE VII. Local Government
Division
Section 1.
(a) LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE. The power and authority to
transact business relating to employees of the
political subdivisions of the state shall, except
as otherwise provided herein, be vested in a
Local Government Executive Committee
which shall consist of the officers of the
Association and one representative from the
Local Government County Locals of each
county having 100 or more members as of the
preceding [January] September Ist, and one
Local Government Educational Local
representative from each CSEA Region elected
by the Local Government Educational Local
members within each Region. One additional
member of the Local Government Executive
Committee shall be elected by the members of
the Local Government Executive Committee
to represent Local Government County Locals
which have membership of less than 100 on
the preceding [January] September Ist. In
addition to the foregoing, Local Government
County Local(s) of any county having more
than 10,000 members as of [January]
September | in the year lof] preceding an
election shall, for the term of office beginning
the following [July] March, be entitled to one
additional representative. The Local
Government Executive Committee may create
‘one or more subcommittees to perform such
duties as the Local Government Executive
Committee shall delegate. The representatives
of Local Government County Local(s) shall be
elected by such Local(s) for a three (3) year
term of office to be coincidental with the term
of office for members of the State Executive
Committee, including the sole two-year term of
office commencing July 1, 1998. The Local
Government Executive Committee shall elect
from its membership one member to be
known as the Chairperson of the Local
Government Executive Committee and one
member to be known as the Vice Chairperson
of the Local Government Executive
Committee. Vacancies in the office of Local
Government representative including
termination of employment with the political
subdivision may be filled for the remainder of
the term by the President of the Association,
from name(s) submitted by the affected
Local(s), without an election with the approval
GENERAL NEWS
of the Local Government Executive
Committee. No statewide officer shall be
eligible to be a candidate for any position on
the Local Government Executive Committee.
If the office of Chairperson becomes vacant,
the Vice Chairperson shall succeed to the
office of Chairperson and a new Vice
Chairperson will be elected by the Local
Executive Committee at its next scheduled
meeting, Failure to assume the higher office
will result in automatic removal from the
office currently held.
Section 2. TEXT REMAINS THE SAME
Section 3. TEXT REMAINS THE SAME
EXPLANATION: Based on the Delegates’
approval of changes to the By-Laws to establish
four year terms for Association officers and
establish the concurrent election cycle for the
ten Association officer and for the Board of
Directors’ positions, these changes are needed
to eliminate conflicting and unnecessary
language.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THESE AMENDMENTS.
AMENDMENT CY‘ ROP.
These next two proposals seek to alternate
the years in which the Delegates will consider
Constitution/By-Laws amendments with years
open for other important union business.
warranting the delegates’ deliberation and
debate.
The following proposal to amend the
Constitution is submitted by President
Donohue.
ARTICLE XIII. Amendments
DELETE ENTIRE SECTION AND
REPLACE WITH:
Commencing with the 1999 meeting of
the delegates, this Constitution may be
amended biennially by a two-thirds vote ata
meeting of the Delegates of the Association
rovided th osed amendment hi
mit in writing to th of the
Association by May 15 of the year of the
Delegates meeting at which it is to be
presented and a copy of the proposed
amendment is published in the official
newspaper not less than ten days before the
meeting at which the proposed amendment
is voted upon. Any approved amendment
must be published in the official newspaper
within forty-five (45) days of the close of the
e hicl vas approved. Upor
call of the Statewide President and with the
approval of the Board of Directors, a
proposed amendment may be placed before
we have longterm planning to undertake to
address future leadership challenges and union
survival. By focusing attention on
Constitution/By-Laws matters every two years
(biennial), we will open up significant time for
the Delegates to participate in meaningful
discussion, deliberation, and consideration of
the many issues facing the union now and in
the foreseeable future. We will be able to do
this without incurring additional expense or
time away from our day-to-day representation
of our members. The impact of this proposal
would not delay the time it takes to enact a
change to the language of the Constitution.
Presently with the two reading requirement, it
takes two years to change constitutional
language and there must be a two-thirds
approval vote on the second reading. The new
proposal would require only one reading and a
two-thirds vote at that reading to passa
constitutional amendment. This proposal also
allows for an exception to the biennial rule
when there is an urgent matter that cannot
wait and that must be addressed through
constitutional change. Any proposal which
requires an immediate review can be presented
to the President with an explanation as to why
the proposal cannot wait for the regularly
scheduled Constitution and By-Laws
Committee Report. With the President's
support and the approval of the Board of
Directors, that matter can be presented to the
Delegates in the “off” year, without awaiting
the next regularly scheduled Committee
Report. Delegate meeting formats like we
experienced last year and again this year allow
for Delegates to work together in small groups.
with brothers and sisters from different parts
of the union, to enhance our sense of
solidarity and to raise our strength for fighting
joint battles against the efforts to bring about
the demise of the union movement by
weakening workers’ voices. This is our mandate
for the future and we must find, within our
means, ways for allowing our leadership, the
delegates and the elected officers together, to
debate and decide how this great union will
position itself for thie battles ahead.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
The following proposal to amend the
By-Laws is submitted by President Donohue.
ARTICLE VIL
These By-Laws may be amended by a
majority vote at any meeting of the Delegates
of the Association at which amendments to
the Constitution may be entertained
the Delegates at any other meeting of the
Delegates. Suc! endment must be
approved by a two-thirds vote of the
Delegates and is subject to the publication
requirements contained herein
EXPLANATION: The business of the
Delegates has, over the past several years,
centered primarily on proposals for changes to
the Statewide Constitution and/or By-Laws.
While such matters are important to the
Union and these deliberations are an
important responsibility of the Delegates, there
also are many other matters requiring the
Delegates’ attention and consideration. As we
move forward to build our force and
strengthen our voice, we have many policy
issues that should be discussed. Additionally,
provided the proposed amendment has been
submitted in writing to the Secretary of the
Association by May 15 of the
delegates meeting at which it is presented and
a copy of the proposed amendment is
published in the official newspaper not less
than ten days before the meeting at which the
proposed amendment is voted upon. Any
aporored amendment to the By-Laws shall
eee forty-five (45) days of the close of the
meeting at which it was approved. Upon the
call of the Statewide President and with the
approval of the Board of Directors, an
amendment to these By-Laws may be
sidered at any ot! e' of the
elegates. Suc! ay_be
CSEAa Lx Local 1000 | |
AFSCME, AFL-CIO |
ed a HC p 2% Ye |
en 88
: > ANNU L MEETING |
m: y vor
the delegates an.
is subject to the
same publication
requirements as
set forth herein.
EXPLANATION: The business of the
Delegates has, over the past several years,
centered primarily on proposals for changes to
the Statewide Constitution and/or By-Laws.
While such matters are important to the
Union and these deliberations are an
important responsibility of the Delegates, there
also are many other matters requiring the
Delegates’ attention and consideration. As we
move forward to build our force and
strengthen our voice, we have many policy
issues that should be discussed. Additionally,
we have long-term planning to undertake to
address future leadership challenges and union
survival. By focusing attention on
Constitution/By-Laws matters every two years
(biennial), we will open up significant time for
the Delegates to participate in meaningful
discussion, deliberation, and consideration of
the many issues facing the union now and in
the foreseeable future. We will be able to do
this without incurring additional expense or
time away from our day-to-day representation
of our members. The impact of this proposal
would not delay the time it takes to enact a
change to the language of the By-Laws. This
proposal also allows for an exception to the
biennial rule when there is an urgent matter
that cannot wait and that must be addressed
through constitutional or by-law change. Any
proposal which requires an immediate review
can be presented to the President with an
explanation as to why the proposal cannot wait
for the regularly scheduled Constitution and
By-Laws Committee Report. With the
President's support and the approval of the
Board of Directors, that matter can be
presented to the Delegates in the “off” year,
without awaiting the next regularly scheduled
Committee Report. Delegate meeting formats
like we experienced last year and again this
year allow for Delegates to work together in
small groups with brothers and sisters from
different parts of the union, to enhance our
sense of solidarity and to raise our strength for
fighting the joint battles against the efforts to
bring about the demise of the union
movement by weakening workers’ voices. This
is our mandate for the future and we must
find, within our means, ways for allowing our
leadership, the delegates and the elected
officers together, to debate and decide how
this great union will position itself for the
battles ahead.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE
PRESENTED TO THE DELEGATES BY
THE COMMITTEE AS PROPOSED
AMENDMENTS TO THE
CONSTITUTION. THE PRESENTATION
TO THE DELEGATES AT THIS
MEETING CONSTITUTES A FIRST
READING OF THESE AMENDMENTS.
(Continued on Page 18)
The Public Sector * September 1998 ¢ Page 17
Proposed amendments to CSEA's Constitution and By-Laws eae
P88:
(Continued from Page 17)
The following proposal was submitted by
Mike Febraio, Local 674; Tim Jaccard, Local
830; Tracy Jordan, Local 436; Cheryl Melton,
Local 860; Steven Sayles, Local 406; Sabina
Shapiro, Local 836 and Mary E. Sullivan,
Local 822.
ARTICLE II. Purpose and Policy
[This Association is organized and exists to
promote the organization of workers in general
and public employees in particular, to
represent all its members with respect to all
terms and conditions of employment, to
uphold and extend the principles of merit and
fitness in employment, to maintain and
promote efficiency in public service, to
advance the interests of all employees and to
foster and advance the interests of its retiree
members. It is dedicated to the principle that
Government is the servant and not the master
of the people, that its objectives are to be
attained by truly democratic methods, without
regard to race, creed, color, national origin,
age, sex, physical challenges, marital status,
political affiliation or sexual orientation.)
We exist as a Union to organize working
people and, through our active involvement
in our Union, to enhance the quality of life
for all workers and their families, to
improve and protect our working
conditions, and to have a voice in the
political process.
We are devoted to the concept that an
injury to one is an injury to all. We are
responsible as union members to forcefully
and effectively defend our right:
of all workers to ensure justicé
and dignity
the democratic process within our union is
aright of member, whether employed
or retired, without regard to race, creed
rigin, age, sex, ph
challenges, marital status, political
affiliation, or sexual orientation.
EXPLANATION: The justi
presented with the proposal is as follows:
“The creation of a new mission statement,
utilizing the input from the delegate body, was
a great first step on the long road we'll all
travel to change our Union.
As a second step, we submit the attached
language to replace Article II Purpose and
Policy of the CSEA Constitution.
The current language refers to CSEA as an
“Association.” CSEA is a Union and the
Constitution should stipulate that,
Language such as “...the principles of merit
and fitness...” and promote
efficiency in public service...” no longer reflect
our membership and excludes our brothers
and si in the Private Sector Division.
Finally, if we are truly a Union of members
organized to represent ourselves and each
other, without regard to who we work for or
where we work; if we are truly a Union of
members united to support working people in
their continuing struggle for a living wage and
benefits for themselves and their families, and
a safe and healthy workplace; if we are truly a
Union of members committed to ensuring that
working people have a right to participate in
the political process, then the Purpose and
Policy Article of our Constitution should say
Page. ifs Feptember Ages 70
color, natio
RUM RPI =
80,
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
The following proposal was submitted by
Sister Betty Lennon of SUNY Plattsburgh
Local 612.
ARTICLE VI. State Division
Section 1. STATE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE. TEXT REMAINS THE
SAME.
Section 2. (a) NOMINATIONS.
Nominations for members of the State
Executive Committee shall be made by official
petition. Upon the written request of any
member, official petition forms shall be
provided by the Chairperson of the Statewide
Election Committee or designated employee of
the Association, When nominating petitions
are given out, the name of the candidate and
the office that candidate is seeking must be
typed or clearly printed at the top of the
petition. A record must be kept of all petitions
istributed. A member who is otherwise
eligible may qualify as a candidate for the State
Executive Committee by submitting a
nominating petition carrying the signatures
and social security numbers of not less than
ten percent (10%) of the members in good
standing eligible to vote in the election
provided, however, that in no event will more
than [450] 200 valid signatures and_social
security numbers be required. Any member
submitting the required number of valid
signatures to the Statewide Election
Committee at CSEA Headquarters in the
timely manner shall be placed on the ballot as
a candidate for the State Executive Committee.
Write-in votes are prohibited.
(b) ELIGIBILITY. TEXT REMAINS THE
SAME.
Section 3, LOCALS. TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME.
EXPLANATION: The justification.
presented with the proposal is that the
number of signatures to run for the Board
should be more in line with the number of.
signatures required for individuals to run for
Region and Statewide office. Also, for some
reason social security numbers are not
mentioned in this section but are mentioned
in the comparable section for Local
Government. Adding the reference here will
conform the language to actual practice as well
as to the language in the Local Government
section
The Committee does not agree that this
change is appropriate. The role of a Board
member is an organizational role, with each
Board member focusing on the interests of the
union as a whole and not on the particular
interests of his/her local or unit. Each State
Local Board seat represents at least 3000
members and most usually extend beyond an
individual’s local. These factors make the
Board seats comparable to other statewide
positions in terms of focus, scope,
responsibility and fiduciary relationship. The
requirement to secure 10% of the eligible
yotership with a maximum of 450 signatures
and social security numbers was designed to
protect the candidates from the larger locals
wherein one or more Board seats were elected
wholly from within a given local. Examples of
such situations are the larger county locals
that have over 5000 members. In these
instances the maximum of 450 signatures was
set to ease these candidates’ burden which,
without the maximum, would require them to
secure 500, 600 or even more signatures.
Having to use a network of supporters to
secure signatures reflects the true nature of
the position. The elected Board member will
have to communicate with and respond to and
on behalf of a large number of members who,
most likely, are scattered over a large
geographic area, in several locations and across
numerous shifts. The Committee believes that
to lower the maximum required number of
signatures to 200 would diminish the role and
the responsibility of the Board members. It
would also increase the lack of connection,
real or perceived, between Board members and
their constituencies. As for the inclusion of the
reference to social security numbers a second
time in the text to make it consistent in
wording with the comparable language for the
Local Government Executive Committee, the
omission was a matter of inadvertent error in
the numerous revisions of language over the
years. The Committee will insure as a matter
of housekeeping that these words are placed
back in the text in the appropriate position at
the time of the next republication of the
Constitution and By-Laws.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
DISAPPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
The following proposal was submitted by
Sister Betty Lennon of SUNY Plattsburgh
Local 612.
ARTICLE VIL. Local Government
Division
Section 1. [(a)] LOCAL GOVERNMENT
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. TEXT
REMAINS THE SAME.
Section 2. (a) NOMINATIONS.
Nominations for members of the Local
Government Executive Committee shall be
made by official petition. Upon the written
request of any member, official petition forms
shall be provided by the Chairperson of the
Statewide Election Committee or designated
employee of the Association. When
nominating petitions are given out, the name
of the candidate and the office that candidate
is seeking must be typed or clearly printed at
the top of the petition. A record must be kept
of all petitions distributed. A member who is
otherwise eligible may qualify as a candidate
for the Local Government Executive
Committee by submitting a nominating
petition carrying the signatures and social
security numbers of not less than ten percent
(10%) of the members in good standing
eligible to vote in the election provided,
however, that in no event will more than [450]
200 valid signatures and social security
numbers be required. Any member submitting
the required number of valid signatures to the
Statewide Election Committee at CSEA
Headquarters in a timely manner shall be
placed on the ballot as a candidate for the
Local Government Executive Committee.
Write-in votes are prohibited.
(b) ELIGIBILITY. TEXT REMAINS THE
SAME,
Section 3. LOCALS. TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME.
Section 3(b). TEXT REMAINS THE
SAME.
EXPLANATION:
The justification
presented with
the proposal is as
follows: “The number of signatures to run for
the Board is more in line with the number of
signatures required for individuals to run for
Region and Statewide office.”
This is the same proposal as the preceding
‘one which addressed the maximum number of
signatures for the State Division Executive
Committee. The Committee does not support
this proposal for all the reasons set forth in
opposition to the earlier related proposal. The
tole of a board member is an organizational
role, with each board member focusing on the
interests of the union as a whole and not on
the particular interests of his/her local or unit.
County locals having at least 100 members
have one Board seat. Each Region has one
Education Local seat, regardless of size. Board
seats are comparable to other statewide
positions in terms of focus, scope,
responsibility and fiduciary relationship. As
such, the requirement to secure 10% of the
eligible votership with a maximum of 450
signatures and social security numbers
protects the candidates from the larger locals
by capping the number of signatures they must
have. Examples of such situations are the
larger county locals that have over 5000
members. In these instances the maximum of
450 signatures was set to ease these Board
candidates’ burden which, without the
maximum, would require them to secure 500
or 600 or in the case of Nassau County, as
much as 1100 signatures or more. Having to
use a network of supporters to secure
signatures reflects the true nature of the
position wherein the elected Board member
will have to communicate with and respond to
and on behalf of a large number of members
who most likely are scattered over a large
geographic area, in several locations and across
numerous shifts. The Committee believes that
to lower the maximum required number of
signatures to 200 would diminish the role and
the responsibility of the Board members. It
would also increase the lack of connection,
real or perceived, between Board members and
their constituencies. The proposed deletion of
the reference to subdivision (a) at Section 1 is
appropriate as there are no subdivisions in this
Section. The Committee will insure as a
matter of housekeeping that this reference is
removed when the Constitution and By-Laws
are next republished.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
DISAPPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
The following proposal is submitted by
Brother Thomas Jefferson from Capital
Region Judiciary Local 694.
ARTICLE VI. State Division
Section 1. TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
Section 2. (a) NOMINATIONS.
Nominations for members of the State
Executive Committee shall be made by official
petition. Upon the written request of any
member, official petition forms shall be
provided by the Chairperson of the Statewide
(Continued on Page 19)
SS SENERAD EWS
Proposed amendments to CSEA's Constitution and By-Laws
(Continued from Page 18
Election Committee or designated employe
of the Association. When nominating
petitions are given out, the name of the
candidate and the office that candidate is
seeking must be typed or clearly printed at the
top of the petition. A record must be kept of
all petitions distributed. A member who is
otherwise eligible may qualify as a candidate
for the State Executive Committee by
submitting a nominating petition carrying the
signatures and social security numbers of not
less than [ten] five percent [(10%)] (5%) of the
members in good standing eligible to vote in
the election provided, however, that in no
event will more than 450 valid signatures be
required. Any member submitting the required
number of valid signatures to the Statewide
Election Committee at CSEA Headquarters in
a timely manner shall be placed on the ballot
as a candidate for the State Executive
Committee. Write-in votes are prohibited.
(b) ELIGIBILITY. TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME.
Section 3, LOCALS. TEXT REMAINS
THE SAME.
EXPLANATION: The justification
presented with the proposal is as follows:
“There is a relatively short time period allowed
by the Statewide Election Committee to obtain
nominating signatures. State workers are
generally spread quite wide throughout the
system and the minimum number is not easily
obtainable. Most importantly, no other CSEA
office requires the 10% in order to qualify. As
an example, I needed to obtain 350 signatures
to qualify. In order to get that amount I had to
call on about 30 working friends throughout
the State to gather signatures on my behalf,
and return them to me within about 3 weeks.
Realistically, I need about 425 in order to
insure that all signatures are done by
members, and not mistakenly signed by an
agency person. Simplify and standardize is the
intent here, and is endorsed by this
departmental representatives.”
The Committee does not support this
proposal, Firstly, the proposal only “benefits”
the State Division and for that reason alone
would be objectionable as creating an inequity
across the divisions. Moreover, the Committee
believes that this proposal is no different in
effect than the earlier proposals that also
sought to lessen the number of maximum
signatures necessary for nomination as a
candidate for a Board seat. For all the reasons
it objected to the earlier proposals, the
Committee does not find this proposal to offer
an appropriate change.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS.
DISAPPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE
PRESENTED TO THE DELEGATES BY
THE COMMITTEE AS ADDITIONAL
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE
BY-LAWS. IF PASSED AT THIS
MEETING, TH! AMENDMENTS WILL
BECOME EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
The following proposal is submitted by
Brother Fred Gerloff, President of Local 015.
Article III, Statewide Elections
Section 1(a) ELECTION PROCEDURE.
The
responsibility for supervising
officers of the Association, members of the
State Executive Committee, members of the
Local Government Executive Committee, and
members of the Retiree Executive Committee,
who shall be elected by secret ballot. Persons
running for office may petition and appear on
a ballot as a slate or individually, Where
candidates run as a slate there must be an
opportunity for members to yote for the whole
slate and/or individuals. The Election
Committee shall supervise the distribution,
receipt, and verification of nominating
petitions, and the drafting, distribution,
verification and counting of the ballots. The
ballot must clearly recite the date, place and
time for the return of ballots and must be
accompanied by instructions as to how a secret
ballot may be cast. The names of the
candidates shall appear on the ballot in the
order in which they were drawn by lot. Such
drawing shall be conducted by the Election
Committee upon notice to all candidates.
Balloting is to be conducted for all elective
offices between May 15 and June 15 of the
election year. The distribution of ballots and
the return of completed ballots shall be:
accomplished in a manner which will assure
each member in good standing a fair
opportunity to vote. [Only CSEA members in
good standing as of April 1 of the election
year will be eligible to vote in the election. All
candidates or their designees may be present
to observe at each stage of the election
process, including the ballot count and tally
processes. The member receiving the greater
number of votes for the office shall be declared
elected. The Board of Directors of the
Association shall establish rules and
regulations concerning the conduct of the
election. Such rules and regulations shall be
adopted by a simple majority of the Board of
Directors and may be amended thereafter.
Printed copies of the rules and regulations
shall be mailed to all candidates and Local
Presidents on or before May | of the election
year. Write-in votes are prohibited.
(b) VOTER ELIGIBILITY. Only CSEA
members in good standing as of the
applicable eligibility date for the election
ear will be eligil ro vote i lection
except that for CSEA members who work
regularly in seasonal jobs, good standing
will be determined by the member's
certification of his/her dues paying
membership status fo: i o'
consecutive weeks in the twelve months
immediately preceding the applicable
eligibility date and a demonstrated
continuity of dues paying membership
status of at least the immedi: st two
rs ina C sented bargaining
unit as a seasonal employee.
EXPLANATION: Several members hold
yearly seasonal jobs which do not commence
until after April 1. These members return to
these jobs year after year and participate in
CSEA regularly when they are working in
these jobs. They do not get to vote in our
elections because of the April 1 eligibility date.
Upon receiving a request on behalf of our
Black River Valley State members who work
seasonal jobs, to find a way to allow these
members to partake in the membership right
ection Committee shall have the
lections of the
to vote in their union election, the Committee
investigated possible options. The simple
option of changing the eligibility date does not
work. No matter what date is chosen,
somewhere in our union some seasonal
employee will be disenfranchised, There are
additional problems for our Membership
Records Department due to the incomplete
information contained in most payroll
information received from over 900 employers
overnment. Accordingly, the
Committee looked for a different type of
approach and decided that the best approach
would be one that reflected most truly the
nature of seasonal work, Seasonal work is
shortlived, fixed in time and place depending
upon the nature of the work, and tends to be
repeated year after year. By imposing upon the
seasonal members who seek to vote the burden
of certifying and documenting their own work
history in order to be able to exercise the vote,
our Membership Records Department will be
spared an insurmountable burden, In addition,
to preclude the situation of seasonal employees
voting in elections and having no true
continuity of membership, the Committee
believes that some demonstrated continuity of
past seasonal employment would serve to
indicate a sufficient expectation of continued
future seasonal employment to allow for a vote
in union elections. The Committee was guided
throughout its deliberations on this issue by
the principle that the right to vote is an
important right of union membership.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
in loce
The following proposal was submitted by
Sister Marcia Olszewski, Local 815.
ARTICLE III. Statewide Elections
Section 1. ELECTION PROCEDURE. Text:
remains the same.
Section 2. ELECTION AGENCY. Text
remains the same.
Section 3, ELECTION PROTEST. Any
member believing himself or herself aggrieved
by any aspect of the nomination or election
process may file a written protest with the
Statewide Election Committee, Civil Service
Employees Association, Inc., 143 Washington
Avenue, Albany, New York 12210 by certified
mail, return receipt requested. Such written
protest must be postmarked within ten (10)
calendar days after the member first knew or
should have known of the act or omission
complained of. [Notice of such protest must
also be sent by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to all other candidates, by the
Election Committee.) The protest must include
the member's signed statement, supported by
necessary documentary proof, containing a
short and plain statement of the facts upon
which the member relies to show that he or
she has been aggrieved. Each election protest
must contain the name, address and telephone
number of the member protesting the election.
Notice of such protest st also be sent by
certified mail, return receipt requested, to
all other candidates, by the Election
Committee, which Notice of Protest shall
include a written statement that the affected
ca lates have a ri o_respo o the
protest by filing an answer along with an
supporting documentation by certified mail
o the State e Election Committee, wi!
GENERAL NEWS-
n (10) days of
Notice of Protest
If the
Statewide Election Committee determines that
the signed statements and supporting proof
establish that the member has been aggrieved
by an aspect of the
sustain the protest and take any other action
which it deems appropriate in order to remedy
the situation. If the Statewide
Committe
ction process, it shall
Election
determines that the signed
statements and supporting proof faills] to
establish a violation of any of the election
procedures, it shall dismiss the protest and so
notify the member. If the Statewide Election
Committee determines that the signed
statements and supporting proof raises of
question of fact which, if resolved in favor of
the member, would establish that there has
been a violation of the election procedures, it
shall hold a hearing to determine whether in
fact the protest is valid.
At the hearing, the protestor shall bear the
burden of proof. The Statewide Election
Committee may also invite other interested
parties to appear and present evidence. All
interested parties will be entitled to bring
witnesses and present evidence in support of
their positions. All personal expense incurred
telative to the hearing must be borne by the
individuals involved. No member of the
Statewide Election Committee will be
permitted to vote on a protest which involves
his or her own Department or Local.
If the Statewide Election Committee
determines that the protestor has failed to
establish a violation of the election procedures,
the Committee shall so notify the protestor. If
the Statewide Election Committee sustains the
protest, the Committee shall notify the
protestor and all affected candidates, The
Statewide Election Committee may take any
action it deems appropriate in order to remedy
the situation.
EXPLANATION: The proposal suggests
that it is appropriate to set forth in the
By-Laws a specific right for candidates affected
by a protest to respond to the allegations of
the protest before the Election Committee
deliberates on the matter. Over the past years
there have been many delays in election
protest processing caused by the Election
Committee's need to gather input from other
candidates and/or local and unit election
committees. Sometimes information was not
forthcoming until after the Election
Committee had deliberated on the matter and
issued its decision. Other times, requests to
reconsider were made based on additional
information coming to light. And, all these
problems led to longer and longer delays
before protests were finally determined. The
Statewide Election Committee has revised its
procedures to insure that all persons affected
by a protest do have an opportunity to give
the Election Committee input before any
decision is made and that there is a specific
due date by which it will receive any relevant
information. As a matter of good governance,
it is the Statewide Election Committee's
(Continued on Page 20)
Thé Poblié' Sector + Séptembet 1998 Page t9 *
Proposed amendments to CSEA's Constitution and By-Laws
(Continued from Page 19)
opinion that having the By-Laws set forth this
opportunity to respond is in order.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
The following proposal was submitted by
Brother Frank Forte of Onondaga Local 834.
Article IV. Finance
Section 2(a) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
Section 2(b) TEXT REMAINS THE
SAME.
Section 2(c) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
Section 2(d) DISABLED MEMBERS. A
member in good standing who becomes
incapacitated by accident, illness, maternity or
paternity and, as a result of such incapacity, is
placed on a leave without pay, upon proper
notification to the Membership Records
Department of CSEA, will be granted a
gratuitous membership for the duration of that
member's leave without pay, not to exceed one
year, Such gratuitous membership shall [not]
satisfy the member in good standing
requirements for purposes of running for or
continuing in elected office, signing
nominating petitions, voting in union
elections and voting on collective bargaining
agreements. [A disabled member wishing to
remain in elected office or to run for office
must arrange with the Membership Records
Department for the direct payment of their full
dues for the duration of that member's leave
without pay.]
Section 2(e) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
Section 2(f) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
EXPLANATION: The justification
presented with the proposal is as follows: “I
am aghast at the thought that gratuitous
membership serves only one purpose, to allow
members to continue their insurance coverage
while out of work.”
CSEA By-Laws Article IV allows for
gratuitous membership status for up to one
year in instances involving a member's
disability due to accident, illness, maternity or
paternity leave, and in situations of layoff. The
purpose of this status is to allow for such
members to remain as members for insurance
coverage purposes during the term of their
we without pay, However, to run for or hold
CSEA office one must have been “a member
in good standing” since June 1 of the year
preceding the election. Gratuitous membership
status does not constitute “good standing” for
election purposes. During the 1995 Local and
Unit election cycle and prior, the Statewide
Election Committee was presented with many
election situations in which individuals seeking
office were found to be ineligible to be
candidates for office because the 1 been on
gratuitous status for some time during the
preceding eligibility year. The fact that their
gratuitous membership status did not
constitute “good standing” for election
purposes came as a surprise to many of those
potential candidates, some of whom were
long-time CSEA activists. Accordingly, the
SEC believes that there is sufficient confusion
among the membership who are of the mind
that one can run for office while on a
gratuitous status to warrant clarification
regarding the need to maintain full
membership status. Regular reminders of the
Page 20 * September 1998 * The Public Sector
value of such membership have been appearing
in each edition of The Public Sector for over a
year. The Committee believes that the
of running a local or unit
cannot he done effectively by one who is not at
work on a regular ba
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
DISAPPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
The following proposal is submitted by
Brother Joel Schwartz of Local 446 South
Beach Psychiatric Center.
ARTICLE IV. Finance
Section 3. REFUND AND
REIMBURSEMENT.
(a) | REFUNDS TO LOCALS. Each duly
organized Local of the Association which has
complied with all of the provisions of the
mandated Local Constitution and this
Constitution and By-Laws shall receive from
the treasurer an annual payment of twenty-five
percentum (25%) of the membership dues and
twenty-five percentum of the agency shop and
union shop fees collected from the employees
in such Locals after the net per capita payment
to AFSCME, based on the June 1 audit, has
been deducted. The expense of the delegates
to regular or special meetings of the
Association shall be paid by the Local from
such funds as hereinafter provided.
Starting October 1, 1998, those Locals
that have more than three years of their
current yearly rebate in hand would not get
a_rebate for Fiscal Year 1999. On October
1, 1999, those Locals that have more than
two years of thei ¢ bate
hand would not get a rebate for Fiscal Year
. On October 1, 2000. se Locals
that have more than one year of thei.
current yearly rebate in hand would not get
a_rebate for Fiscal Year 2001.
(b) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
(c) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
(d) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME,
(ce) | TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
EXPLANATION: The proposer provided
the following justification with the proposal:
“The primary purpose of this proposal is to
put CSEA members’ dues money to use for
CSEA members, so it is not just sitting in
bank accounts collecting interest. This
proposal is not intended to take one penny
away from any Local, but rather to get those
Locals that have saved a lot of money over the
years to spend it (according to the Financial
Standards Code) for the benefit of the Union.
and our members. Right now there is over $8
million sitting in Locals’ bank accounts, while
our members and leaders cry out for more
action and more services. We, as a union, are
hamstrung by the fact that we have a fairly low
dues structure. This has worked to our benefit
as well as our detriment.
By this proposal, in order for Locals to get
a rebate from CSEA, they would have to have
one year or less of their current yearly rebate in
hand. Once a Local gets below the threshold
in any of the next three years, they would get a
rebate at the beginning of the following fiscal
year, There would be no retroactive rebates.
If this proposal were passed, CSEA would
have the ability to do many of the things our
union and members need without raising dues
or taking money away from any Local,
Transforming ourselves into a Union that is
prepared for the challenges of the 21st century
will not be easy, but it is something we must
do. As leaders of this great Union, we have to
think creatively and be prepared to change
some of our old habits. I strongly believe that
no Local needs more than one year of their
yearly rebate in hand when a new fiscal year
starts. This proposal gives us three years to get
there without asking anyone to stop doing
anything they're currently doing.”
Unions today have to make hard decisions
on how to use their limited resources, both
monetary and otherwise. This proposal
provides at least a shortterm and temporary
approach to enhancing
the General Fund resources by providing a one
or two year respite from the significant local
rebate allocation that drains the General Fund
each year. The purpose of local rebates is to
provide dues money for locals and units to
mobilize, organize and represent our members.
It is understandable that the idea of large sums
of money being “saved” and remaining
unspent or being spent on non-chargeable
events provides a tempting opportunity for
redirecting these funds into expenditures more
consistent with the needs of the Union and
the requirements of law. The administrative
plausibility of this proposal is questionable
and its long-term impact is quite limited.
Reliance on the annual reporting and periodic
audits can yield only a piece of the true
picture, However, the Committee believes that
the idea of freeing up money for use by the ©
General Fund is sound and the intention is
commendable.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
The following proposal was submitted by
Sister Betty Lennon of SUNY Plattsburgh
Local 612.
ARTICLE IV. Finance
Section 3. REFUND AND.
REIMBURSEMENT.
(a) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME,
(b) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME,
(c) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
(d) TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
(ec) | REIMBURSEMENT OF
DELEGATE EXPENSES.
(1) ANNUAL DELEGATE MEETING,
All locals shall receive reimbursement for the
expense of one delegate to the annual meeting.
land Locals having more than 1,000 members
shall receive reimbursement for the expense of
one additional delegate for each additional
1,000 members or major fraction thereof.] The
maximum reimbursement for such delegate
shall be for full group rate quotations if
appropriate, or full lodging and meal expenses
which shall not exceed the rate paid to State
Board of Directors Committees for the
duration of the meeting. Transportation
expenses shall also be reimbursed.
(2) _ SPECIAL DELEGATE MEETINGS.
TEXT REMAINS THE SAME.
EXPLANATION: The justification.
presented with the proposal is as follows: “We
speak of the need for Headquarters to have
money to service our members and to continue
to grow. This will save money for
Headquarters. If each Local is allowed
reimbursement for at least one delegate, the
Local will have a voice at the convention and it
does not effect the
vote of said
Local.” The
Committee
tt
ANNUAL MEETING
supports this
1998 7
proposal as an
appropriate and necessary way to redirect
General Fund resources to the important work
and projects the Union is undertaking as part
of our efforts to expand our power base and
recapture our position as a forceful voice for
workplace justice and worker quality of life.
Historically, when financial resources were less
strained, the General Fund was able to
financially support multiple delegates from
larger Locals. This is no longer the case. As
General Fund resources are more limited and
the demands upon those funds are greater, the
luxury of having the cost of multiple delegates
reimbursed from the Union's General Fund is
no longer feasible, Local voting strengths are
not tied to the number of delegates who attend
the Annual Delegates Meeting. Each Local
Executive Board has, as a matter of budgetary
planning and discretion, the authority to
determine how many delegates the Local can
afford to send to the Annual Delegates
Meeting beyond the delegates for whom the
Local will be reimbursed. In some instances in
the past, larger Locals have received back in
delegate reimbursement more in total dollars
than smaller locals receive as annual dues
rebate. In effect then, the smaller Locals have
been subsidizing the larger Local delegations
which practice can no longer be ignored. The
impact of this proposal as provided by
Statewide Treasurer Maureen Malone is as:
follows: “Two years, 1996 and 1997, of
delegate reimbursements were used to analyze
the proposal. The number of delegates
reimbursed for each year was almost identical
257/254. The average cost per delegate was
$1,150. The number of delegates in excess of
one per Local was 57. This generates a
potential savings of $65,550 per year. Most of
the Locals entitled to more than one delegate
are from Local Government Locals, but the
most reimbursements are made to State
Division Locals.” The delegates should also
remember that CSEA is not reimbursed by
AFSCME for the delegates we send to the
AFSCME Convention every two years. CSEA
must budget for the cost of sending our entire
delegation, The Committee strongly believes
that attendance at the CSEA Annual
Delegates’ Meeting is an event which should
be provided for out of Local monies. As long
as the General Fund will reimburse one
delegate per Local, the full voting strength of
the Local will be represented at the Annual
Meeting. Additional participation should be
up to each Local to determine based upon its
own resources and priorities.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS,
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
The following proposal was submitted by
Sisters Noreen Lingham and Kathy
Martinez-Walsh and Brother Timothy Jaccard
of Nassau Local 830,
Article VI, Committees
Section 4, SPECIAL AND AD HOC
COMMITTEES. The Special Committees of
(Continued on Page 21)
GENERAL NEWS
be it
Members wishing to see copies of a
Proposed RESOLUTIONS fo be
yg presented for the consideration of
delegates attendins CSEA’s
e 6oth Annual Delegates Meetins
Oct. a in Rochester
uld contact their delegate
Defeat the Kyl/Archer Bill
(HR-2497 and S-1194)
Submitted by:
Lee Pound, Delegate - Local 918
The resolution proposes that
CSEA and AFSCME continue to
lobby against passage of the
Kyl/Archer Bill which would
remove the current two-year
Medicare billing restrictions on
doctors, rescind Medicare
reimbursement caps and “expose
seniors to price gouging by
physicians.”
‘The Resatutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted ae amended,
SUPPORT RAPP
(Relatives As Parents
Program)
Submitted by:
Lee Pound, Delegate - Local 918
The resolution proposes that
CSEA, in concert with the
Retiree Executive Committee,
lobby for increased monies for
RAPP so information can be
more widely distributed to
grandparents and relatives about
legislation affecting caregivers of
children and advise caregivers of
available state programs. The
resolution also suggests the
CSEA Women’s Committee use
their workshops and newsletter
to educate and advocate for
grandparent/relative caregivers.
The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adopted as amended,
Legislation to Protect
Elder, Disabled and
Mentally Challenged
Abuse Victims, and to
Impose Harsher
Sentences to Offenders
Submitted by:
Lee Pound, Delegate - Local 918
The resolution proposes that
CSEA lobby for passage of a bill
in the State Senate, similar to
one passed in the State
Assembly, that would increase
penalties for caregivers and
guardians who assault or abuse
elderly, disabled or incompetent
persons.
The Resatutions Committee
recommends thés resolution be
defeated since current tawe
addnesa the tsaue and the
frsparal docs uot contacn
specific protections for CSEA
members wha work tn such
locations ad hospitals, nursing
homes, mental health and.
deuelapmental facilities and
groupe homes whe may be brought
Page 22 » September 1998 * The Public Sector
pe SRS" eR A
SP RPT" SUES | 1b
Protecting Funding For
Section 202, “Elderly
Housing For
Low Income Seniors”
Submitted by:
Lee Pound, Delegate - Local 918
The resolution proposes that
CSEA and AFSCME continue to
lobby against cuts in funding for
“Elderly Housing For Low
Income Seniors,” as proposed by
the US Department of Housing
and Urban Development.
Protection For
Field Workers
Submitted by:
Ken Monahan,
Delegate - Local 814
The resolution proposes that
CSEA continue to lobby for and
support legislation that would
provide additional protection for
CSEA members who are at
extra risk by performing their
jobs in the field in dangerous
areas and at all times of the
day.
The Resolutions Committee
recommenda this recatution be
adopted as amended.
Cumulative Trauma
Disorder in the Workplace
Submitted by:
Catherine Barretta,
Delegate, Local 014, and
Jim McHugh, Delegate, Local 518,
on behalf of the Standing Women’s
Committee and the Standing
Safety & Health Committee
The resolution proposes that
CSEA continue to offer
ergonomic training to all
members, to educate members
on using labor/management
committees to meet state policy
on promoting the cost-saving
benefits of ergonomics and
continue to lobby state
legislators on safety and health
issues.
Cultural Diversity
and Leadership
Submitted by:
Les Eason, Delegate - Local 830 on|
behalf of the Statewide Advisory
Committee on Minority Issues
The resolution proposes that
CSEA continue to incorporate
National Coalition Building
Institute training in its
leadership development and
officer institute programs and
strongly encourages regions,
locals and units to participate.
The Resolutions Committee
recommends this resolution be
adapted as amended.
Sweat Shops,
Slave Wages
and Child Labor
Law Violations
Submitted by:
dim McHugh, Delegate - Local 518
The resolution proposes that
CSEA continue to actively
oppose sweat shops, slave
wages and violations of child
labor laws through educating
and mobilizing members and to
lobby for legislation providing
equity for workers everywhere.
The Resolutions Commettee
recommenda thes resolution be
adopted,
Resolutions Committee members
The Resolutions Committee met
at CSEA Headquarters on June 8
and July 14, 1998. Members of the
Resolutions Committee are Karen
Spotford, chair; Paul D'Aleo, Diane
Gamache, Mike Febraio, Andrea
Frank, Diane Hewitt, Rose
MacBlane, Alfredo Carlo, David
Lawson, Jim McHugh, Dutch Wade,
Lloyd Roberts, Roslie Tallman, Jose
Aravena, Cindy Stiles and Robert
Mootry.
GENERAL NEWS
TRS
Proposed amendments to CSEA's Constitution and By-Laws
(Continued from Page 20)
the Association shall be as follows: Audit,
Human Rights, Memorial Scholarship Fund,
Memorial Plaque, Social Services, Probation,
School Employees, Veterans Affairs, Committee
on Minority Issues, Committee for Methods
and Procedures, Health-Care Services
Committee, and such other committees
designated by the President of the Association.
Members of these committees shall be
appointed by the President of the Association
for the duration of the President's term of
office or until successor appointments have
been made. Special Committees shall meet as
required and review matters pertinent to the
committee assignment and/or upon call of the
Association President. The membership of
these committees shall not be less than seven,
nor more than eleven, and the make-up of such
committees shall include representation from
each Region and proportional representation
for the Local Government Division on such
committees that affect Local Government
problems. The membership of the Region
Political and Legislative Action Committee
shall not be less than seven
(a)
ist of ne no
wh region. ir sual
and Home Care.
EXPLANATION: With the driving forces
of HMO’s, managed care, and deregulation of
both the health-care industry and health-care
professions, we must mobilize. As health-care
providers, we must be advocates for our
patients as well as for ourselves. This new
committee will promote unity and influence
through communications in an effort to
maintain quality and accountability in the
health-care system by means of organizing,
education and political action at the region,
state and federal levels. Existing committees do
not sufficiently or directly address health-care
issues. The Human Rights Committee
appropriately deals with employment practic
and related cultural, ethnic and gender issues
as raised by those practices. The Social
Services Committee focuses on human services
programs such as child protection, eldercare,
food stamps, workfare case management and so
forth, Health-care is part of employment and
human services. However, the needs of workers
in the health-care fields must be met directly in
light of the onslaught of legislative initiatives
seeking to radically restructure health-care
systems and the delivery of health-care services.
We need to have a vehicle for staying ahead of
the curve on these issues. We need a
clearinghouse for basic information and for
separating ideas and positions that work from
those that do not. We need a way to provide
research and actual experience to our brothers
and sisters throughout the health-care industry.
Health-care is this union’s largest represented
industry. It includes county medical centers,
MH and MR community residences, substance
abuse treatment centers, home health-care
agencies, HMOs, PPOs, and private hospitals.
The health-care industry cuts across the State,
Local Government and Private Sector divisions.
It extends beyond New York State as reflected
in CSEA’s participation on AFSCME’s UNA
Advisory Committee and on AFSCME’:
Health-Care Committee. What is sorely lacking
inside CSEA is a vehicle for focused, timely
and continuous dissemination of the
ever-changing industry-related information to
‘A health-care workers. The health-care
industry is under a concerted attack by
corporate America. Privatization, deregulation,
proliferation of more profitable and less
service-oriented delivery systems, and the
de-professionalization of certain care-giving, all
serve to greatly threaten our ability to remain a
viable voice in the health-care industry. With
loss of power comes a loss of jobs, a loss of
nd a loss of quality care. While we
will not be able to stop all the intended efforts
ing more profits for the owners of
‘are services, we cannot afford to remain
ctators in the dialogue and must fight for
the formation of health-care policy at both the
state and national level that is informed,
worker-friendly, and most of all,
patientappropriate. The Health-Care Services
Committee will provide a statewide network
and structure for the brothers and sisters in
the industry to work together to insure the
continuation of quality care our membe:
provide and the public expects to receive, for
themselves and for their loved ones. If this
statewide committee is established, language
will be proposed for our Local and Unit
Constitutions to allow for similar committees
where appropriate in our local government
units and private sector and state locals, With
the addition of these subdivision committees,
we will be able to reach all our health-care
members in a direct and timely manner on just
about any issue we need to address in the
health-care field.
We will become
a force to reckon
with in
determining
health-care
policy in New York State!
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The Committee has no unfinished business to
report this
ALL CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING
RESOLUTIONS AND/OR PROPOSED.
AMENDMENTS RECEIVED BY THE
COMMITTEE AS OF THE
CONSTITUTIONAL DEADLINE OF MAY
15, 1998 HAVE BEEN REVIEWED.
APPROPRIATE RESPONSES HAVE BEEN
DIRECTED TO THE INDIVIDUALS.
Respectfully submitted,
Tony Bailous, Chair, Region Il
Sabina Shapiro, Vice Chair, Region III
Gail Hansen, Region IV
Anthony Giustino, Region 1
Karen Spotford, Region VI
Lester Crockett, Region Il
Dominick Grasso, Region V
Sam Mogavero, Retiree Division
Mary Sullivan, Officer Liaison
You CAN EARN DovelEe PEOPLE POINTS DURING SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER
CSEA members can earn double
points for every member they recruit
to join the union’s PEOPLE (Public
Employees Organized to Promote
Legislative Equality) during
September and November,
PEOPLE is CSEA's federal
political action program, raising
money to promote the interests of
the membership in federal election
and legislative processes.
CSEA members who sign up to
make voluntary payroll deductions
to the PEOPLE program earn gifts
depending on the level of
contrtibution, and CSEA member:
who sign up those members earn
points, which can be redeemed for
gifts in the PEOPLE Recruiter Gift
Catalog.
Points will be doubled for all
recruiters who submit completed
PEOPLE applications to CSEA’s
PEOPLE Department during
September and November.
Micki Thoms of Letchworth H
is
GENERAL NEWS
Name
Address
City
Developmental Center Local 412
earned recruiter of the month
honors for July by recruiting 12 new
members for PEOPLE.
To join with the more than 13,000
¢ PAYROLL DEDUCTION APPLICATION *
First
CSEA members who already
contribute to PEOPLE, contact your
CSEA Local or Unit President. Or
complete the application below and
send it to CSEA PEOPLE, Legislative
Midis | Name
Apt. #/ Floor
State
on Address ____
Work Phone( —)
Job Title
Region
Deduction per pay period:
Security No.
Home Phone (
City
Social Security No.
1f $2.00 or more is checked above, circle jacket si
¢ DIRECT CONTRIBUTION APPLICATION
and Political Action Department,
CSEA Headquarters,
143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY
12210, or call (518) 257-1404 or
1-800-342-4146 Ext. 1404.
X-Small / S$ /M/L / XL / XXL
Middle
Apt. #/ Floor _
State zip
Work Phone ( )
Local Agency #
Job Title
Payroll Item # fea
Name of Employer
1$1.50 ($2.00
Al
¢ with the By-Laws of PEOPL
employment, and is free oF reprisal, and th
lume by giving written notice
SIGNATURE
‘Qualified Committee for the purpose of making political
ons. My contribu swolumary and undertid tha isnot eure as. onion of membership in
— Local _
Name of Employer
Region _
Home Phone (
Department
amount of: [$35.00 [
ngton, D.C. 30035-5334,
VISA O.MASTERCARD
at I may revoke this authorization
ACCOUNT NUMBER
Enclosed is my personal check, money order or credit card contribution in the
$50.00
1$75,00
Expiration Date
SIGNATURE
DATE
The Public Sector * September 1998 * Page 21
What Do You
Know About
Insurance?
As a service to our members,
CSEA, along with Jardine
Group Services Corporation,
presents the second in a series of
Clip-N-Save Insurance Facts.
Your CSEA insurance broker, Jardine
Group Services Corporation, can help
with all your insurance needs. Jardines
works with CSEA to provide a wide
range of insurance programs available
exclusively to CSEA members. To learn
more about the Jardines sponsored
Personal Lines Insurance Program,
please call
1-800-833-4657.
Joint Committee on
Clip this out and save for your future reference.
What do you know about
BER DOE CUbEGek, POE Ge
During the last decade, these four factors* have led to an increase in
auto premiums:
1. The number of auto accidents has dramatically increased — 4.3% in one year.
2. The cost of auto accidents has skyrocketed — 7.9% in one year.
3. Accidents involving lawsuits increased — 41.2% in one year.
4. Auto theft is on the rise — 11.2% in one year.
*Source: Preferred Mutual Insurance Company, 1995
Q. What steps can I take to lower my auto premiums?
A. One thing is clear: if you have a car, you need insurance. Unfortunately, car
insurance is expensive. The best way to keep costs down is with a clean driving
record. Since keeping a clean record is easier said than done, the following tips
may help keep your premiums more economical.
1. Take a driver training course! It could help reduce some of your coverages by
10%, and take up to four points off your license. Call the National Safety Council
at 1-800-962-3434 for information.
2. Purchase a car with safety features, such as automatic seat belts, air bags,
anti-lock brakes and anti-theft devices. Insurance companies assume accidents
and theft are less likely, and that less damage will result if your car has these
features.
3. Increase the deductibles on your collision and comprehensive coverages! This
could lower your premiums because if you're in an accident you'll absorb a
larger portion of your loss. Consult your insurance agent to see if this option is
right for you.
4. Purchase both automobile and homeowner's coverages from the same
insurance company, which may entitle you to a multi-policy discount.
Just remember, however, cheaper is not always better. And striving to get the least
expensive insurance can be disappointing if you don't know how to make sure
that your policy has enough coverage. So make sure the auto insurance you have
is complete and will keep you covered.
The Joint Committee on Health Benefits was very pleased by the response
to our Word Search Contest regarding the New York State Health Insurance
Program which appeared in the August edition of The Public Sector. The
answers with the corresponding page numbers of where they appear in the
General information booklet and Empire Plan or HMO Certificate are at left.
The first 10 CSEA active members who submitted a correct entry will
receive a JCHB T-shirt. The winners are:
Linda M. Rowland Local 414 Central N.Y. DDSO
Irene Martin Local 676 Schenectady County DOT
Linda S. Brown Local 263 NYS Police Troop C - Sydney
Kathy Blodgett Local 449 Broome Developmental Center
Suzanne Lehtonen Local 013 Syracuse State Employees
Debbie Downey Local 426 Taconic DDSO
Joan Cameron Ciccone Local 857 City of Glens Falls
Charles J. Lopez Local 419 NYS Psychiatric Institute
Elvis Thomas Local 860 Mount Vernon School District
Susan Zehner Local 653 Department of Civil Service
Congratulations to all of the winners from the Joint Committee on
Health Benefits.
U E Answer Key:
Birth pg.8
Sick Leave pg. 18
Card pg. 10
Medicare pg. 28
Partner pg. 4
Fund pg. 1
Preferred pg. 15
Payroll pg. 6
COBRA pg. 24
Benefits pg. 6
Premium pg. 10
Dependent pg. 22
Waiver pg. 13
Student pg. 5
Family pg. 14
Transfer pg. 2
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GENERAL NEWS ~ The Public Sector * September 1998 * Page 23
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OFFICIAL PUBLICATION of CSERE 10021 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Official publication of
Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
143 Washington Avenue
INSIDE THIS EDITION
ve FIGHTING TO SAVE AN INFIRMARY - Page 3
ve LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS - Pages 4 and 5
vx STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS - Pages 6 and 7
vx A LEGISLATIVE SUCCESS STORY - Page 9
vx CONSTITUTION & BY-LAW CHANGES - Pages 15 - 21
The Civil Service Employees Association, Inc. |
Albany, New York 12210-2303 <A}
