| STATE NEWS SECTION PAGES 1-7 LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS PAGES 18-24
Angry state
employees in
the Monroe
F
U
l
i
l
i
i
i
u
1
!
i
E
l
i
I
Xl
:
i
E
i
t
i
u
i
STATE NEWS
Demonstrations stir things up in Monroe
Hundreds of state employees are issuing
a wake-up call directly to the public
throughout the Monroe County area. The
CSEA members are warning that public
services are rapidly being eroded as the
state sinks deeper in a fiscal disaster.
In a series of informational pickets
sponsored by several CSEA state locals,
angry members are pointing out layoffs and
program cuts have slashed services while
morale dwindles for the remaining
workforce that toils without a contract for
nearly a year.
"We want the public to join us and put
pressure on the Governor to negotiate a fair
contract," said CSEA Labor Relations
Specialist Karen Spies, one of the protest
coordinators. "We're tired of him balancing
the state budget on the backs of our
members. Our members provide priceless
services but have not seen pay raises
themselves in almost two years while being
INDEX
Page 3
Important updates on CSEA contract talks
status, increments and longevity and lag
pay.
Page 4
Fighting for Harlem Valley Psychiatric
Center and OMH clients and employees
across the state.
Page 5
The injury rates in state facilities are
frightening. Meanwhile, psychiatric center
workers suffer from patient attacks. Plus a
snowplow driver is injured in a fatal
accident.
Page 6
A CSEA member tells of her ordeal as
hostage of a prison inmate.
Page 7
Handling stress at Southport Prison, and
CSEA fights replacing state workers with
prison inmates.
Page 8
Know your rights, protected in your CSEA
contract. Plus important information about
the Empire Plan and the Employee Benefit
Fund,
lagged two weeks' pay."
“We help protect the environment; we
care for the sick and mentally ill; we
maintain state parks and roads; we
maintain the state colleges and
universities," said CSEA Labor Relations
Specialist Pat Domaratz. "These are basic,
needed public services and all of them are
being slashed and some are in danger of
being wiped out."
It's i
‘everything we do is in the name of public
service, and we're regular working folks -
not fat-cat politicians," said Ralph Hesson,
president of CSEA Judiciary Local 335.
"We want to make sure the public
understands that we care for many who are
unable to care for themselves," added
Geraldine Wiggins, president of Rochester
Psychiatric Local 420.
"This campaign should help make it clear
to all that we're only looking for fairness
from the state," said Duane Wilcox,
president of DOT Local 506.
Demonstrations will be held at work
locations of all participating CSEA locals
during the series. Locals represented are
Monroe Developmental Center Local 439,
Rochester Psychiatric Center Local 420,
Division for Youth/Industry Local 552,
Judiciary Local 335. Department of
Transportation Local 506, Rochester State
Employees Local 012 and SUNY Brockport
Local 601,
EBF Prescription Cards to be mailed in April
New CSEA Employee Benefit Fund (EBF)
Prescription Drug Cards will be mailed on
April 20, 1992.
Members newly enrolled since March 13
will receive their Prescription Drug cards in
the April 20 mailing. New enrollees who
requires the Prescription Drug Benefit prior
to receiving the Drug Card should contact
the CSEA Employee Benefit Fund, 1-800-
323-2732, for assistance.
Also, the CSEA EBF converted to an
automated attendant tlephone system on
March 30. Calls from touch tone telephones
will be answered by an automated system.
Callers using rotary phones will continue to
be assisted by the switchboard operator.
(rue
PUBLIC
Official publication of The Civil Service
Employees Association, Inc., Local 1000,
AFSCME, AFL-CIO, 143 Washington
Avenue, Albany, New York, 12210
ese a SS CURSE
MICHAEL P. MORAN, Publisher
ROGER A, COLE, Editor
KATHLEEN DALY, Associate Editor
STANLEY HORNAK, Assistant Director
a of Communications
The Public Sector (445010) is published monthly by The Civil Service Employees =)
Association. Publication Office: 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210.
Second Class Postage paid at Post Office, Albany, New York.
Address changes should be sent to: Civil Service Employees Association, Attn:
Membership Department, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210.
oo COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATES
RON WOFFORD
SHERYL C. JENKS: Long Island Region
(516) 273-2280
Metropolitan Region
(212) 406-2156
Southern Region
(914) 896-8180
Capital Region
(518) 489-5424
Central Region
(315) 433-0050
LILLY GIOIA
ANITA MANLEY
DAN CAMPBELL
MARK M. KOTZIN
STEPHEN MADARASZ Headquarters
Western Region
(716) 886-0391
(518) 434-0191
We anvcioreat: ©
—
2 April 1992 gZ 4
STATE NEWS SECTION
An update on contract talks, lag pay, increments and longevity
Progress grinds forward on many fronts
Progress is slow but sure and steady as CSEA works toward forcing _
the state to pay increments and longevity payments and give back
money the union says the state stole from workers under a lag pay
scheme,
And CSEA will present the union's case for a fair and equitable
contract as fact-finding gets underway this month in another effort to
break the impasse that has blocked a new CSEA/NYS agreement
covering more than 100,000 CSEA-represented state employees.
CSEA is using every available avenue - lawsuits, contract
grievances, improper practice charges and the full range of relief
available under the Taylor Law - in a broad legal battle the union is
waging against New York state.
“Progress is being made and justice will prevail,” CSEA President
Joe McDermott said. “We are overcoming every obstacle Gov. Cuomo
and the state have thrown in our way. The wheels of justice turn
slowly but we are winning on all fronts.”
Meanwhile, terms and conditions of CSEA/NYS contracts which
expired a year ago continue to be protected for CSEA-represented
state employees. Under the Triboro Amendment to the state's Taylor
Law, terms of expired contracts remain in effect pending negotiations
of a successor agreement.
Here's a look at where things stand:
We've been robbed, :
frozen and slashed,
We've been without a contract
for one year.
Without a raise for two years,
A= we're dedicated to
STATE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
The previous contract expired April 1, 1991.
Negotiations between CSEA and the state for state
workers in the Operational Services, Administrative
Services, Institutional Services and Division of esac
Military and Naval Affairs bargaining units broke Weve been a oeucwhere, sornething tis (0 happen! 2,
down when the state declared impasse after months Ras to ierand unless things improve ft w=
of bargaining. Formal mediation efforts also failed this state, 2°" ‘OF the Future of public services in bes
and negotiations are now in the fact-finding stage. N
The three-person fact-finding panel will conduct lew York Still Works Because We Work!
hearings in April and May and will ultimately prepare Ct service Employees Association
written recommendations for resolving the dispute. “Joo MeDermott, Prealdent
If either side rejects those recommendations, the
issue would be sent to the state Legislature for a
legislative hearing. Under the state’s Taylor Law, the
Legislature could impose a one-year settlement.
Separate negotiations between CSEA and the
Office of Court Administration (OCA) for CSEA-
represented court workers, stalled for a while over
budget problems, are expected to resume soon.
Unlike contract talks for other state workers,
bargaining for court workers never reached an
impasse.
New York sttll works beca
THIS AD was
scheduled to
appear in The
New York Times
on April 1.
LAG PAY
Three lag pay schemes have been directed at state workers since
1990 - two of them against court employees.
Gov. Cuomo instituted a one-week lag payroll plan against
Executive Branch state employees that took effect in January 1991.
The state withheld one day of pay for five consecutive pay periods.
State workers would not get the five days of pay back until they leave
state service, which in many cases could be decades from now.
CSEA and other public employee unions filed a lawsuit in federal
court charging the pay lag violates the U.S. Constitution and union
contracts. CSEA has asked the federal court to issue a summary
judgment declaring the pay lay unconstitutional and ordering the
state to repay the one week of salary withheld. A federal court ruling
is expected soon.
A series of other court decisions involving other lag pay cases have
gone against the state. In every instance courts have ruled that pay
INCREMENTS, LONGEVITY PAY
Decisions are pending on an improper practice charge
and a contract grievance filed by CSEA against the state
for failure to pay increments and longevity payments to
general state employees after the CSEA/NYS contracts
expired April 1, 1991.
Legal briefs are due during April on CSEA’s improper
practice charge and an administrative law judge's decision
will be issued sometime later. An arbitration hearing is
scheduled to be held later this year on CSEA's contract
grievance.
CSEA also filed an improper practice charge after the
court system refused to pay increments and longevity
payments after April 1, 1991, to court employees. The
lags violated contracts and the state has been forced to pay back
money it took from employees under those lag payrolls. Paying back
CSEA-represented state workers could cost the state as much as
$125 million.
A two-week pay lag levied on court employees in May 1990 has
court system eventually paid the increments last summer.
CSEA also filed a grievance when Health Research Inc,
(HRI), a private sector branch of the state Health
Department, failed to pay increments to CSEA-represented
employees of HRI. The grievance was settled when HRI
agreed to pay the increments.
“The Governor and the state want to shirk their
responsibilities, but CSEA will not let them,” McDermott
said. “Through our lawsuits and wide range of legal efforts
Rb will be held accountable.”
Z P April 1992 3
been repaid, with interest, by order of state and federal courts after
CSEA and other unions sued. The state is still attempting to appeal
that case to the US Supreme Court.
CSEA and other unions obtained an injunction in state Supreme
Court that blocked an attempt by the state to implement a one-week
pay lag on court employees last June. The Court of Appeals ruled in
January that that lag was unconstitutional, Ey.
STATE NEWS SECTION
The fight for Harlem Valley
‘Policy has to change'
WINGDALE -- CSEA officials slammed state Office of Mental Health (OMH) policy as
immoral during state legislative hearings at Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center,
“Abandoning Harlem Valley is just the latest and most graphic evidence that OMH policy is
government without a heart or a head, and that has.to change,” CSEA President Joe
McDermott said. “OMH is abandoning the *
mentally ill, wasting the experienced state
workforce and dumping on the local
community.”
More than 300 people, including OMH
Commissioner Richard Surles, heard
McDermott and others re-emphasize CSEA's
contention that OMH policy is The Shame of
All New York.
The hearing, conducted by key state
lawmakers at the request of CSEA and other
groups, focused on the OMH plan to close the
psychiatric center within two years without
developing appropriate alternatives for the
patients, staff and community. But it was
clear that the issue goes beyond the
immediate concern for Harlem Valley.
As if to thumb its nose at the public, the
workforce and the patients, OMH announced
shortly after the hearing that they will close the facility as scheduled. CSEA called the
action a mockery of the public policy decision-making process.
At the hearing, McDermott called on the legislators to demand responsible action.
“The first and most obvious action," he said, “should simply be to tell OMH to stop
going forward with closure until all the patient care and employee issues have been
addressed.”
CSEA Southern Region President Pat Mascioli testified that OMH irresponsibility
goes beyond the mentally ill.
“The state has let down both the workforce and the community because the closure
of Harlem Valley will all but destroy both,” Mascioli said. The psychiatric center is the
area's largest employer and the potential loss of 1,200 jobs will devastate the local
economy.
“People have dedicated their lives to providing an excellent quality care here, but the
state just doesn’t care,” CSEA Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center Local 409 President
Henry Walters said.
“The Governor promises to pull out all the stops to save the jobs of auto workers in
Tarrytown,” Walters said, “but he turns his back on his own state employees and the
people they're trying to help.”
FACE-OFF AT HARLEM VALLEY -- CSEA
members demonstrate, above. At left,
CSEA President Joe McDermott testifies,
with CSEA Executive Vice President
Danny Donohue. Below, CSEA Harlem
Valley Local 409 President Henry Walters
makes his case as OMH Commissioner
Richard Surles, right, looks on.
The fight on Long Island
CSEA mental health members on Long Island have protested against
the agency's policy direction at several demonstrations.
Members at Pilgrim, Central Islip and Kings Park Psychiatric Centers
demonstrated to raise awareness about the impact of cutbacks and the
deterioration of working conditions.
At a legislative hearing, CSEA Long Island Region President Gloria
Moran attacked state plans to close Kings Park Psychiatric Center and
consolidate services at Pilgrim within 10 years.
“We are not satisfied in any way with what we've seen about how Long
Island's psychiatric needs are going to be addressed,” Moran said.
bi
ST. LAWRENCE STRATEGY -- CSEA St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center
Local 423 President Jack Fisher, second from right, meets with
members of the CSEA Mental Hygiene Task Force and others about the
state's plan to downsize the facility.
4 April 1992 g
Layoffs postponed
CSEA efforts to improve the state mental health system
have made some progress.
More than 400 layoffs scheduled for May have been
postponed until at least October.
There's no guarantee the layoffs will be avoided
altogether, but CSEA sees the delay as a positive step and
will press for long term alternatives.
“This action will not solve the understaffing problem on
the wards,” CSEA President Joe McDermott said, “but it
will help prevent the situation from getting even worse and
keep people working while we seek real solutions.”
CSEA lobbies to
improve system
ALBANY -- CSEA mental hygiene activists pressed state
lawmakers for immediate improvements in the system at a
CSEA lobby day at the state Capitol.
“CSEA’s message is clear and consistent. We are demanding
responsible action by the state and that means the Legislature,
the Governor and the Office of Mental Health,” said CSEA
Executive Vice President Danny Donohue, who chairs CSEA’s
Mental Hygiene Task Force.
“CSEA will not accept these people pointing the finger at each
other while the system goes down the toilet,” Donohue said.
Sanaa
STATE NEWS SECTION [ex or era eon DOSHaOOComptaion——
Lost Time Injuries umber of Laet Workday
338,561 lost workdays SES Cn ema
. . na 7s ozo | 27a 24000 me
Injuries hurt =:
bot 0 a “0 pus 1,763 _ 1.882
26 413 x20 4.700 __11,966__11,822
ALBANY — State mental hygiene cutbacks are costing New Yorkers a lot more than services. | aueore ie » 2 jigs 1.784 _1.387
CSEA's annual compilation of occupational injury figures shows that lost workdays are way up|
over last year even as the workforce has been cut significantly. een ECT 10 18 st 2
Aside from the cost in human suffering, the situation is expensive. Even worse, the state is | |. saan tase 2002
still failing to address the crisis. oil »__S_ a
Combined, the Office of Mental Health (OMH) and Office of Mental Retardation and Montanan | 128 = at ssi __6008 el
Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) had their workforces cut by eight percent in 1991. But prnxcec | 2 22 Au = __
lost workdays due to occupational injuries increased from 310,689 in 1990 to 338,561 in 1991 | pers a eee ee
— a nine percent increase for the two agencies. ey ‘mt 150 128 ages 10.006 8.701
The situation was particularly bad in OMH. OMH | "tem! ™urtstn ax ortomern inn Dosso compan || SE azn 480
suffered a nine percent workforce reduction but lost| ““" ene Number ot Lost Workday || Beach J __#s oa
wou rsayeiereaced We pera from 1990 figures to | toni aoe | ras aS jee Live motets | nee ree__ ee
a total of i lost workdays. Brockiyn 190 210 25 27 20 ss00 6022 7.560
In OMRDD the workforce was cut 7.5 percent and) jn wroa 7 3 7 a a =
lost workdays increased 5 percent over 1990 figures |... a 5 a 28 26. i06 ses__tte
to a total of 171,823 lost workdays. Re aa a 150-209 | 10700 _=8000__—14278
Clearly the workforce reductions are causing 3 wh __WA nat te
people to suffer more serious injuries. an bad = az 4502 7 Es 3213
"This is disgraceful," said CSEA President Joe ied oI % 96 im __suor 80 WA 4517 ___1,529 Wa
oe "OMH and OMRDD employees deserve | werner 57 so 2 228 aay Paar
a safe workplace." Pie ass 5 (os cs 2et8
“There's plenty of blame to be shared between the] woe son su = oes ee ee
politicians and the bureaucrats,” he said. BE eee
“Year after year CSEA has demonstrated how bad 6 co 2900 __2737_1808
the safety problem is and detailed the vicious circle |“ “___tti__iss_|__ a5 __aa7 co 3 zres__290_ 4.008
of injury and understaffing,” McDermott said, “and |““*——— tes. 128 4216 3.915 Write ase 41289535
year after year they make it worse.” bee Ee tad sara 7.813 = 0 as 1ea 1580
McDermott also noted that cutting the workforce | 2:2 aL} = 149 4574 __ 6,055 me ge00 38895741
is penny-wise and dollar foolish. Sunmourt__ 202 188 12 492 sz7 ey “8 gare 381719
A conservative estimate pegs the direct cost of Memce Se. 147 4307 4080 ee sow 7885 8419
the 1991 lost workdays at more than $30 million. | sn.sdam_128 187 126 es
OMH alone has spent an additional $50 million on | now ter 34 100 | ayes _azor 2 Ed Co eel JE
overtime in the past year, driven in large measure | wsencs _ 402 MT 420 er 106 $22 5i75 3.458 _—2,682
by their staffing and injury problems. rig 109 7 % Eat eet aera 4490 age,zoz 147,603 108.798
These figures do not even account for the So AIO ips afeut | Neceal= Sadana? da |
indirect costs.
MHTA attacked by ex-patient on S
STATEN ISLAND - A routine commute
turned into a trip to hell for CSEA Local
446 member Deborah Duff, a therapy aide
at South Beach Psychiatric Center. On her
day off while aboard a Staten Island Ferry,
she was brutally assaulted and terrorized
by a mental patient,
dumped from South
Beach.
Duff, a 4°11” slight
| woman, was decked by a
smashing blow to her
face delivered by a 6'2”,
| 180-pound male in his
twenties.
It's not uncommon for
South Beach staff
members to spot many
former mental patients
among homeless
vagrants squatting at NYC ferry terminals.
While riding the ferry, Duff recognized
the man as a former patient.
“I thought at the time he didn’t look good,
like he might not be taking his medication,”
she said. But concentrating on her book,
she paid no attention until the client was
standing over her.
“I thought, what is this guy going to do?
Then he sat down and said hello. He asked if
I was a psychiatrist from the hospital. 1
asked how he was doing and we exchanged a
few remarks. I returned to reading my book.
Then, without any warning, he closed his fist
and punched me in the eye!” Duff said.
Reeling in pain she glanced at other
Deborah Duff
passengers. “They were petrified and I was
thinking, why doesn’t somebody get up and
help me?” Then another man came forward
to pull the agitated client away from Duff.
Ferry personnel later found the attacker
on an upper deck. He denied any knowledge
of the attack. Police booked him while Duff
was taken to a hospital for X-rays and
examined for head trauma.
Though a judge issued an Order of
Protection, Duff is frustrated and
astonished that a known mental patient
was released by police without referral for
psychiatric evaluation.
Aide says she's not a punching bag
BINGHAMTON - "I don't feel my job is to
come into work to be a punching bag."
With those words, Rosalie Atkinson, a
secure care treatment aide I at
Binghamtom Psychiatric Center, summed
up her feelings about a recent client attack
she suffered. This was the
back injuries, and several deep facial
scratches. In the previous attack she
suffered similar injuries.
Atkinson filed assault charges against
the client in both cases, but said that local
authorities had little legal recourse.
second time Atkinson was
attacked by the same
individual.
According to Atkinson, she
was assaulted while doing
paperwork in an office in the
facility's secure care ward.
Suddenly, a female client
who had been upset earlier
barged in and grabbed
Atkinson by the collar of her
sweater, and proceeded to
punch, swing and scratch at
her face. It took several
minutes for a nearby co-
worker to come and help.
Atkinson sustained a
black and blue eye, neck and
To add insult to
Atkinson's injuries, nothing
happened to the client after
the original attack and up
until a month after the
second attack the client
remained at the facility with
ground privileges, enabling
her to roam freely around the
center and the neighboring
community.
She added that the client
had also assaulted two
clients and started two
mattress fires in her room.
"People need to be aware
that it's getting more
dangerous and that people
are getting hurt," she said.
STATE NEWS SECTION
Editor's note: Frances King is a victim of a desperate
inmate at a state prison and, CSEA says, a state policy of
cutbacks and layoffs that left her and other workers
defenseless. King, a member of CSEA Local 175, was injured
when she was taken hostage by an inmate at the maximum
security Wende Correctional Facility in Erie County in \
February. King believes her damaged wrists will mend and the
multiple bruises will heal. She hopes the mental scars
will also disappear. She is currently on compensation
leave and under a doctor's care at home.
By Ron Wofford
CSEA Communications Associate
2.
ALDEN — The hostage-taking of a CSEA member SS i yy —z
who is civilian prison employee at Wende State e —_
Correctional Facility in Erie County has heightened <a
a
union demands for adequate corrections facility staffing . %
and improved safety measures statewide.
“We're thankful that Fran King survived this attack,”
CSEA President Joe McDermott said. “But the state
Department of Corrections owes her and all our
members who work in prisons a re-doubled effort to
guard their safety.”
King, laundry supervisor at the maximum security
prison, was taken hostage by inmate Santos Torres, 39,
while she and Torres were in the prison laundry alone,
near the end of the work day. Several other inmate
laundry workers had returned to their cell blocks but
Torres remained behind to do mending tasks and unload
washers and dryers. The corrections officer position that
normally would have provided security to that area had been cut
from the state budget last year.
King was working at a desk when Torres approached her from
behind, grabbed her by her wrists, kicked a chair from beneath her q
and wrestled her to the floor.
“He got me to the floor and then placed his knee in my stomach as I was
fighting him,” King said. “After I told him I couldn't breathe, he let me up
off my back to a sitting position against the refrigerator. He threatened
to knock me out if I didn't stop struggling, and he warned me not to
scream.”
He then tied her hands behind her back
and tied her feet. As Torres began
pacing and wondering aloud (5
what he should do next, King
said, she put to work training \Y .
she received six years earlier. RY
“I tried to keep him
calm, maintaining
eye contact and
keeping conversation a
going,” King said. “I There are
remembered that from
a training session cs ~. four or five
when I first started = spots that are
here.” ©,
At her urging, Torres just Oe)
called the 8 dangerous as
superintendent. After a Ron” ”
standoff with officers the laundry.
and the superintendent Z Ed Seres, president,
outside the laundry office, ~ CSEA Local 175 \.~
Torres allowed King to
leave, followed
instructions from the
officers and laid down on the
floor to surrender. 7 |
King suffered painful injuries é
to both wrists and multiple bruises
but feels fortunate it wasn’t worse.
“I didn’t know until afterwards that he
was in for sexual abuse,” King said. She also didn’t know, as Torres did,
that his parole date had just been pushed back from this year to 1994.
Torres is serving a 12-to-24-year term for sexual abuse, robbery and
assault. Torres, who wanted to go to a New York City-area prison, was
immediately transferred to Auburn Correctional Facility after taking King
hostage.
Meanwhile, Fran King attempts to recover from the ordeal that could
have cost her life.
“I'm truly grateful to all my fellow CSEA members, from all over the state,
A
ALT INN
2 || bd
%
Staff cuts leave
employees in Pox
explosive
, situations .:s
Tim Ws
I \\ .
Ve
FRAN KING, her
injured wrists
covered by
wristbands, |
shows some
of the
medication
who called after finding out that I
was the hostage involved,” she said. “It’s really heartwarming to know so many people care.”
6 April 1992
STATE NEWS SECTION
A year after prison uprising,
They're still stressed at Southport
ELMIRA - The stress of working in a
prison every day is magnified at Southport
Correctional Facility, a “maxi-maxi” prison
for the state’s worst offenders.
Since last May, the tension has been even
higher. That's when several guards were
held hostage during a prison uprising.
CSEA is now working
to help Southport
employees to recognize,
reduce and relieve
stress on and off the
job. Recently, CSEA
held a day-long stress
reduction workshop,
“Think Safe, Act Safe,”
sponsored by the joint
CSEA/NYS Labor-
Management
Committees.
According to
instructor Ellen
Sadowski of Cornell
University’s College of
Industrial and Labor Relations, the goal of
the stress management workshop was to
teach the employees to “ride the waves” of
everyday life. For some employees at the
workshop, it seemed like it would be a
tough job learning how to “surf” over what
e
Louise Fields
witnessed the event
seemed like tidal
waves of workplace
stress.
Most said that there
had been a large
increase in job stress
since the hostage-
taking. Many, like
calculations clerk
Louise Fields,
first-hand.
“We saw the whole
thing from the
business office,” she
said. “We could see the ‘Viola Powers
inmates on the roof
with the hostages, parading them around
and beating them,” she said.
“That's not something you forget right
away. You can shove it in the back of your
mind, but it’s always there. It could happen
to you.”
Earlier this year, Fields attended a stress
management course held in Syracuse,
provided through the CSEAP Program,
which she said helped a lot. She said she
was glad to see the on-site program, and
hoped more like it would be held.
According to keyboard specialist Viola
Powers, stress in the workplace is at an all-
time personal high. Powers, who has
worked for the state for 29 years at several
facilities, said that the state fiscal problems,
combined with the hostage incident, has
made Southport a very stressful place.
“I never felt this way before. Now, I'm
getting really angry,” she said. “It's just
more and more demands with less people to
do the work.”
Carpenter Steve Kenyon agreed, saying
that since the riot, “everyone was on edge.”
He added a positive
note, however, saying
the changes made by
the state since the
uprising, including
additional security
measures, are helping to
get things back to
normal and decrease
stress,
Powers echoed those
feelings, and said that
she was “very
impressed” with the
workshop and was sure
that it would help to
reduce the stress at
Southport.
Steve Kenyon
Inmates shouldn't take prison employees’ jobs
ALBANY — CSEA protested increased
use of inmate labor at state correctional
facilities during a legislative hearing.
CSEA Assistant Contract Administrator
Jim Martin testified before the Assembly
Committees on Labor and Corrections.
“The current initiative by the
(corrections) department to employ as many
inmates as possible at the expense of law-
abiding, tax-paying civilian employees is
absolutely unconscionable,” he said. “The
decision to systematically attrit civilian
positions and replace the workforce with
inmates denies entire communities that
have historically counted on those jobs.”
CSEA objects to the use of inmate labor
when it replaces workers who have been
laid off or transferred, but it is also
concerned for the members who remain on
the job in those facilities. The inmate
workers are given access to tools they
previously were forbidden to use, including
knives and screwdrivers.
With larger inmate work crews and
shrinking security forces, CSEA-members
are supervising more inmates with less
security than ever before.
The risk is great. A CSEA member
supervising a laundry crew at Wende
Correctional Facility was taken hostage by
an inmate (see page 6). The security
position once assigned to the laundry had
been eliminated.
Workers in jobs that have been classified
as “excess” have been given opportunities
to transfer, which can mean moving to
another region of the state. But inmates
have been used to replace workers in
“excess” jobs.
Inmates are not only replacing laid-off
workers, they are filling vacant union
positions. They are working as meat
cutters, power plant workers, snowplow
operators, clerks, electricians.
Now, the state is trying to use inmates in
other agencies; for example, CSEA has
reports of inmates working at Craig
Developmental Center.
“We are sensitive to the fact that
corrections officials’ decisions are being
driven by the lack of funds. They are under
the same pressures as other agencies to do
more and more with less,” Martin said.
“However, as long as it continues to be
public policy in New York state to replace
our workforce with inmates, CSEA will
continue to adamantly oppose that policy.”
( S f= A Pp CSEAP's spring schedule is listed below. Goal Setting For
The career enhancement programs offered by Carter epliancement-y Matentownies Mey! 21/22 bpeas
CSEAP are the results of benefits negotiated by CSEA Managing Your Minutes Ogdensburg Apr 29 Call CSEAP
for members in the Administrative Services Unit.
sets NYS Merit System: Albany Apr 22 Call CSEAP
of E \1 \TE. PI
COUESE. LOCATION DATE AEEL YB How To Make It Work Rochester Apr 14 Call CSEAP
h | Beginning Accounting New York City Apr 14, 21, 28 Call CSEAP Forvou
AProoireader’s Guide Hauppauge — May 18 Apr 17
Planning Meetings:
Communicating With The ‘The Secretary's Role Middletown — Apr 17 Call CSEAP
(@) f Public: First Impressions B
Last Buffalo Apr 14, 21, 28 Call CSEAP Principles of Good Human
Relations In The Workplace:
-| Computers, Technology Albany May 14 & 15 Apr 16 Level II (PATT) Albany May 26, June 2,9 Apr 28
Ss p rl n g And The Workplace New York City May 19 & 20 Apr 21
Effective Problem Albany Apr 20 & 21 Call C
Solving Syracuse May 14, 21, 28 Apr 16 A Positive Image Albany May 4 & 5. Call C
classes Fundamentals of Writing Albany May 28, June 4,11 Apr 30 Understanding And Using Albany May 14,21& 28 = Apr 16
Effective English New York City May 4, 11 & 18 Call CSEAP
gZ ‘ April 1992 7
STATE NEWS SECTION
lames NOW YOUR RIGHTS ~
The right to discuss all work-related matters with your union representative
The Taylor Law, which protects public employees in
New York state, prohibits public employers from ices aes
interfering with the rights of employees to participate in areas
their union. This includes protection of the right to ATTENTION
testify at a grievance arbitration or a disciplinary —
arbitration and to discuss the employee's potential
testimony with representatives of the union. Even if an
employer plans to call a union-represented employee as a
witness to support management's allegations in a case,
the employee has the right to discuss his or her
testimony with the union. If an employer directs an
employee not to speak to his or her union representative
about testimony that he or she is planning to give at a
hearing, this is a violation of the Taylor Law.
Here's a case in point
Management at the O.D. Heck Developmental Center ent
interviewed Nicole Caisse, a CSEA member, about events that Managem
Caisse had witnessed on March 13, 1991. The events were the cannot violate
subject of a notice of discipline against another CSEA member. i YOUR
That member was later found innocent, according to CSEA : RIGHTS
Associate Attorney Paul Bamberger, who handled both the z
initial case and subsequent charges against management.
CSEA filed an improper practice charge alleging that the
management representative who interviewed Caisse told her iscuss workplace
not to discuss with CSEA the events she saw which led to > You havea right to dis
patient abuse charges against the other union member. CSEA Jems with your union.
accused management of violating the Taylor Law.
The case was settled when management signed a stipulation - You havea right to purs
"that it understands its obligation under the Taylor Law not to your union.
interfere with, restrain or coerce any CSEA employee involved at grievance hear-
as a witness in a grievance with respect to the exercise of that - You have a right to testify at g)
person's protected rights. Further, it understands its obligation ings and arbitrations.
not to discriminate against such persons with respect to their nio!
membership in or participation in an employee organization, or + You have @ right to tell your u
to subject them to any negative repercussions for discussing said and did.
grievance or arbitration matters with CSEA representatives.”
O.D. Heck ap
Developmental Cente! ’
CSEA Local 445 Members:
prob-
ue grievances with
in what others
ecent improper practice charge,
bin promise in writing — and
e — that CSEA employ-
reussions” for axercis-
As part of the settlement ol ie
MI
This CSEA informational leaflet has been posted Ga eal re the a
throughout the O.D. Heck Developmental Center. The a eked to “negative repe
leaflet informs union members of their right to participate
in their union without interference from management.
jected to any “negative
ve you have been subject svhich yaclude union ac-
if you belie tight
"I've been waiting for years for a decision like this," said O.D. repercussions” for exercising these rights,
Heck Local 445 President Fran Kennedy. "We hope CSEA's tivities, please contact CSEA immediately.
informational campaign at O.D. Heck will put an end to these
scare tactics by management."
"For too long, O.D. Heck management and other OMRDD
facility managers have used a variety of methods in an effort to
stop CSEA members from exercising their rights under the law,"
CSEA Labor Relations Specialist Kate Luscombe said. "This is a
great win for our members."
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FUND FOR MENTAL HEALTH & SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES
IMPORTANT NoTICE || WE CAN HELP. GIVE US A CALL.
mene 1-800-446-3995
indicate that cold and flu-type medications a fas
have been considered as "Maintenance
Drugs," which limits purchases at local
pharmacies to the initial prescription and
one refill. That requires all additional
refills to be piceeeecs through the Mail For Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
Order procedure. i
Bhontce fenuediately this i ie American PsychManagement
longer be the practice. Short-term REMINDER: To avoid large deductibles and unnecessary out-
antibiotics, prescription cold/cough of-pocket expenses, all mental health and substance abuse
medications and analgesics will be j i (j
available with no restrictions on the (including alcoholism) treatment must be approved by APM
number of refills at your local pharmacy. (American PsychManagement).
8 April 1992 at gZ
| A message from CSEA President Joe McDermott
! Holding accountable those
who shirk responsibilities
THE
PUBLIC
These are difficult times for public employees. Politicians and
the media want to use us as scapegoats. At times like these we are
in tremendous battles to protect the gains we have made through
years of tough collective bargaining.
CSEA is moving on several fronts to force the state to pay
increments and longevity payments that have been illegally
withheld and to overturn the lag pay scheme that literally robbed a
weeks’ pay from every state employee. A status report on these and
other pending legal actions can be found on Page 3 of this edition
of The Public Sector.
In hotly pursuing these legal actions, CSEA is upholding the law
and the sanctity of our contracts.
And even as we continue to work for a new contract, we battle
to protect what we already have. Our work rules, the wide range of
benefits CSEA has negotiated over the years, health insurance
and terms and conditions of employment continue in effect, even
though the contract itself expired a year ago. Why? Only because
CSEA fought for that type of protection, now afforded by the
Triboro Amendment under the Taylor Law, to safeguard workers
from being stripped of their hard-won gains simply because
management refused to negotiate a new contract when the
previous one expired.
I have always believed that if something is worth fighting for, it is
worth fighting for with everything you have. Our contract,
increments and longevity, our
jobs, our benefits, the services
we provide and the lag pay
the state stole from us are
all worth fighting for.
1 expect a decision oO (AS
soon in a federal court
lawsuit brought by
CSEA against the M:
Cuomo-devised pay
lag scheme that
literally robbed state
workers of a weeks’
pay.
If, as most of us
expect, the federal
court rules in
favor of CSEA and
declares the pay lag ~
unconstitutional, the
state will be forced to
pay the money back. |
recognize that the
state would probably
appeal such a
decision and could
drag the case on for
a long time, but I
am confident we will
win in the end and at
some time the pay lag will
be nothing more than a
footnote in history.
And there is a real probability
the state will have to repay the
increments and longevity payments
ario
GENERAL NEWS
that are being improperly withheld from
state workers.
Those responsible for these
harebrained schemes forged ahead after
ignoring warnings from CSEA and
dismissing advice from some of their \
own experts that a lag payroll was yi VMs
clearly unconstitutional and that isl
withholding increments and longevity payments was wrong and
would not hold up to legal challenges.
CSEA began our legal challenges in these cases quite some time
ago. I wish the wheels of justice turned more quickly, but the
process takes a considerable amount of time to run its course.
While the final decisions are made by administrative law judges,
arbitrators, courts or PERB, I believe our cases are very strong and
that we will win on the merits.
While these particular battles deal with state employee issues,
our defense of these fundamental rights will benefit all public
employees. If the state is allowed to go unchallenged, other public
employers will copy the state’s actions.
One of our jobs as a labor union is to stand up to injustices
wherever we encounter them. We win some and we lose some, but
we must always stand up and make the effort. In these instances I
honestly believe that justice will prevail.
gZ , January 1992 G
INDEX
Page 11
CSEA members lobby the state Legislature.
And important information about CSEA's
Annual Delegates Meeting and a NYS AFL-
CIO scholarship.
Pages 12-13
Candidates for delegates to the AFSCME
Convention. Plus Workers Memorial Day-
Page 14
Believe it or not, Rob Curtis knows his
facts. AFSCME criticizes Joe Doherty's
deportation.
Page 15
How to break down the barriers,
information on social justice, and Retiree
News.
Page 16
A list of the valuable benefits CSEA provides.
Taylor Law conference set
A large contingent of elected CSEA
officials will attend a conference marking
the silver anniversary of the Taylor Law.
The conference, entitled "The Taylor Law:
25 Years of Public Sector Collective
Bargaining: The New York Experience," will
be held May 7 and 8 at the Desmond
Americana in Albany. The conference will
be hosted by The Government Law Center
of Albany Law’School.
Conference participants will include
CSEA General Counsel Nancy Hoffman and
Deputy Counsel Jerome Lefkowitz.
For additional details contact Barbara A.
Mabel at the Albany Law School, (518) 445-
2327.
GENERAL NEWS
Women's group honors Gloria Moran
ROSLYN HARBOR - CSEA Long Island
Region President Gloria Moran was recently
honored for her outstanding labor
leadership by a women’s employment rights
advocacy group called Women On The Job.
Women On The Job Executive Director
Lillian McCormick praised Moran as a “role
model for women.”
“It is through her example that other
women are encouraged to continue the
struggle for equal employment rights,”
McCormick said.
Moran, who was a Nassau County
crossing guard before becoming CSEA
regional president, is a vice president of the
Long Island Federation of Labor, where she
is the first woman officer.
The granddaughter of a coal miner,
Gloria learned about labor from her family.
Her father organized garment workers and
her uncles were all union officials.
In 20 years, Moran has served in a
number of union positions, most recently
as region president for the 55,000-member
Long Island region.
“I was thrilled to be honored by Women
On The Job,” Moran said. “I've had union
blood running through my veins since I can
remember, yet I never dreamed I would be
one of the leaders in the largest union in
New York and that I would break ground for
other female union activists.”
Time to start planning for Public Employee Day
New York state honors those who work
for state and local governments, school
district and other public entities on May 12
with Public Employee Day.
Public Employee Day is an opportunity to
recognize the hard-working people who
keep schools open, roads clear and safe, the
ill and disabled cared for, and the offices in
schools, villages, towns, cities, counties and
the state functioning.
CSEA locals and units are encouraged to
celebrate Public Employees Day.
Remember, New York Works Because We
Work.
Actions of CSEA Board of Directors
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Public Sector
regularly 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 Irene
Carr for the information of union members.
The CSEA Board of Directors met on Feb.
6. In official actions, the Board:
* Approved maximum miscellaneous
allowance limit of $30 per overnight stay
WE WON'T FORGET -- CSEA President Joe McDermott, left, thanks CSEA Local 441
President Keith Zulko for the local's donation of an American flag to CSEA. The flag flew
over the U.S. Capitol in honor of veterans of all wars. CSEA then got the POW-MIA flag to
honor those troops who are missing in action or were prisoners of war.
10 April 1992 gz K
for delegates attending the CSEA State
Workshop April 24 to 26 in Saratoga; CSEA
Local Government Workshop May 15 to 17
in Rochester and CSEA Retirees
Convention Aug. 16 to 20 in Cooperstown;
* Approved a miscellaneous allowance of
$50 per overnight stay for delegates
attending the Annual CSEA Delegates
Meeting Sept. 21 to 25 in New York City;
* Approved a 60-month copier lease for
SUNY at Stony Brook CSEA Local 614;
* Approved the placement of SUNY
College of Environmental Science &
Forestry CSEA Local 647 in
administratorship;
* Approved the Independent Election
Corporation of America (IECA) to conduct
the election of CSEA Board of Directors
members and election of CSEA delegates to
the 1992 AFSCME Convention;
* Approved Rochester as the site of the
1994 CSEA Annual Delegates Meeting to be
held Oct. 2 to 6, 1994;
* Approved the appointment of Jim
Mattei, Nassau County CSEA Local 830,
and Shirley Matlock, retiree, to the CSEA
Long Island Region | Political Action
Committee; and
* Approved the appointment of Norma
Condon as chairperson of CSEA Southern
Region III Political Action Committee,
contingent upon approval of Region IIT
Executive Board.
Questions concerning this summary of
actions taken by CSEA’s Board of Directors
should be directed to CSEA statewide
Secretary Irene Carr, CSEA Headquarters,
143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210,
1-800-342-4146 or 518-434-0191,
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Working for change
CSEA PALs lobby
state Legislature
ALBANY — CSEA Political Action
Liaisons (PALs) flooded the halls of the state
Capitol and Legislative Office Building
recently to promote the union's legislative
program.
The PALs lobbied their legislators all day,
promoting legislation CSEA supports.
That includes: legislation to limit
contracting out by public employers; tax
legislation to force the wealthy and
corporations to pay their fair share in taxes;
laws to ensure state mental hygiene clients
get quality care and mental hygiene
employees get job security; a law to create a
board of trustees for the Public Employee
Retirement System; and legislation to allow
non-teaching school district employees to
apply for unemployment compensation
during summer break.
New Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin, one
of a number of legislators who addressed
the PALs during a lunch meeting, said the
contributions of public employees are
noticed.
“I won't abandon the people who have
devoted themselves to public service just
because the political winds have changed. I
can't lie to you; I won't say ‘Don’t worry.’
This will be another difficult year,” Weprin
said. “I'll do everything I can to make sure
New York's public employees are not
sacrificed in the name of fiscal politics.”
State Sen. Tarky Lombardi, chair of the
Senate Finance Committee, also spoke to
the PALS.
The PALs also heard from Assembly
Representative Helene Weinstein, chair of
the Assembly Governmental Employees
Committee, and Sen. James Lack, chair of
the Senate Labor Committee.
Lack urged CSEA to continue its fight for
mandatory agency shop for all New York
public employees (see page 21).
Weinstein listed the CSEA-supported
legislation she plans to bring to committee
on a variety of CSEA issues.
“I plan to take the lead on a series of bills
requiring notification of public employees
who are being laid off,” she said.
She also pledged to support retirement
system reforms (see page 16).
CSEA members working in the Offices of
Mental Health (OMH) and Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
( OMRDD) also lobbied legislators recently
(see page 4).
During the lobby day, the Governor
announced there would be 1,400 fewer
state employee layoffs than originally
anticipated.
“CSEA has been out there talking to
legislators and with agencies and the
i
f,
Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin
j
Governor's Office of Employee Relations,”
CSEA Lobbyist Tom Hartnett said.
“Obviously, we're making a difference.”
CSEA Secretary Irene Carr praised the
PALs and encouraged them on their
mission.
“I congratulate you all for taking the time
and being here,” she said. “Hold your head
high. You can be very, very proud of your
union and you can carry that pride with
you as you talk to your legislators.”
CSEA Executive Vice President Danny
Donohue echoed her encouragement.
“Think how bad things would be if you
weren't here to lobby for CSEA’s program,”
he said. “Your efforts are very important
and greatly appreciated.”
Deadlines announce ein esiniiin sn brSss sna prope sien ote
considered at CSEA’s Annual Delegates Meeting scheduled for Sept. 21
OF SUDIMUSSION Ol eo sntonsnc opie san
Constitution & By-Laws “tit sgnen(siam ns ae
changes, resolutions
_ for Delegates Meeting
be submitted at least 60 days before the meeting. The deadline for
submissions of proposed resolutions is July 24, 1992.
Proposed amendments and proposed resolutions must be submitted
on or before the deadline to CSEA statewide Secretary Irene Carr,
CSEA Headquarters, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210.
NYS AFL-CIO offers scholarship to HS graduates
The NYS AFL-CIO will award a four-year
scholarship to a 1992 New York state
graduating high school senior who intends
to pursue a career in labor relations or a
related field.
The scholarship will be for $2,000 a year
for four consecutive years for a total of
$8,000.
To be eligible, the applicant must meet
the following criteria:
Qa 1992 graduate from a New York state
high school;
Qa member of a family whose parent or
guardian is a member of a union affiliated
with the NYS AFL-CIO (CSEA is affiliated);
Q planning to pursue a course of study in
labor relations or a related field at an
accredited institution of higher education in
New York state.
The applicant must submit a completed
application form by May 20, 1992, to:
NYS AFL-CIO Scholarship Committee
c/o Dr, Lois Gray
Cornell University
15 East 26th St., 4th Floor
New York, NY 10010
The application must be accompanied by:
Qa letter of recommendation by a
teacher from the applicant's school;
Q an official transcript and SAT scores;
Q an essay of 400 to 500 words on the
topic: “What are the essential issues facing
working men and women and their families
in the 1992 elections?”
Finalists will be selected and interviewed.
The winner will be selected and all finalists
notified of the decision by June 18. The
winner will be invited to and be formally
announced at the NYS AFL-CIO Labor
Recognition Dinner, For an application,
write to:
Emma K. Deeble, Education Director
NYS AFL-CIO
48 21st St., 12th Floor
New York, NY 10010
gZ ‘ April 1992 11
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
Ballots will be in the mail by April 1 for the election of CSEA
delegates to the 1992 AFSCME Convention scheduled for June 15 to
19 in Las Vegas, Nev.
CSEA will send 222 delegates to the convention. Delegates will be
elected on a regional basis with each CSEA region electing a specific
number of delegates based on membership strength.
By virtue of their office, the CSEA president, executive vice
president, secretary and treasurer are designated voting delegates for
the AFSCME convention.
The candidates are listed on the sample ballots by region and slate
as they will appear on the ballot.
Ballots must be marked in accordance with instructions that
accompany the ballot. Ballots must be returned by 8 a.m. April 22,
1992. Ballots returned later will not be counted.
Ballots may be cast for individual candidates, an entire slate of
candidates or combinations of both. But the total votes cast cannot
exceed the number of delegates assigned for that particular region.
Voting for more than the allowed number of delegates will void the
: , Candidates for
inthepublicservice AAFGCME delegates |
entire ballot.
Members may, however, vote for fewer than the region’s designate
delegates total. No write-ins will be allowed.
Ballots should be placed inside the “secret ballot envelope” provid,
and sealed. The “secret ballot envelope” should be placed in the |
enclosed self-addressed, postage-paid return envelope for mailing.
Members should be sure to sign the validation certificate and enclose
the certificate in the postage-paid return envelope according to the
instructions. Failure to sign your name on the member validation |
certificate will void the ballot.
Members who do not receive an official ballot may request a
replacement ballot by calling, toll-free, 1-800-866-CSEA, on or atter ff
April 9, 1992.
Candidates will, as usual, have an opportunity to observe all aspects
of the election process.
Ballots will be counted Wednesday, April 22, at the Independent |
Election Corporation of America, 2335 New Hyde Park Road, Lake
Success, New York 11042. i
SOUTHERN REGION III i
CT Region Ill Unity Slate - (28 candidates)
1 © Pat Mascioli 14 O Thomas Schmidt 27 ( Barbara Ritshie
2 0 Rose Marcinkowski 1s O Naomi 2 G Dave Lawson
3 O Diane Lucchesi 16 O Barbara Hogan 2 ( Betty Gordon
«0 Patricia Nealon v7 O Richard Colson 20 ( Edward Schroeder
+ O Maryjane MacNair 18 () Mike Moravsky 31 Grace Ortiz
«6 O Jeff Howarth 1s O Carmine DiBattista 2 G Allen Keith
7 O Norma Condon 20 O Rossie Smith so Tracy
* O Irena Kobbe 2 Irene Amaral ™ O AntGriffth
9 O Henry Walters a eI Desert 6 iz [Teveiny fopci
jemnon Cason =
Se eae: = G1 Jimmy Schultz 3 4] Jonn Rogerson
12 O John Fella 2 Alan erman so Cleveland
13 O Grace Ann Aloisi 2s Judy Watts
SAMPLE
Independent Candidates
29 John Catoe
40 Jack Shaw
41'0) Walter Meinecke
2D Barbara Rosengraft
LONG ISLAND REGION |
C1 Ll. Regional Slate - (45 canaidates)
+ O Gloria Moran 1» O June Nowak 2 O Mary Ellen DeLouise
2 Gi Rita Wallace 17 James Mattei x2 @ Donna Smith
2G Ralph Spagnolo ws G1 John C. Shepherd 3 Oi Lila Stein
+O John Aboisio ‘» @ Geri Sguegiin @ Phil Santella
s Paul Nehrich 2» O Mare 3s Jim Madison
8 OF Robert Blumhagen 2 Bill Walsh 38 G1 Paul D’Aleo
‘7 @ Annette Hunt 2 @ Alfredo Carlo » OF Ralph
8 Helen Dupree = @ Liz Puttre 20
® Anthony Giustino x O Richard Pankowski 3 1 Joe Denaro
‘© G Susan Dutte 2 G1 Rosie Jackson 40 G7 Frank Celentano
1B Beth Luttinger = 1 John Anderson |B George Walsh
12 O) Barbara Jones 2 O Tom Byme 2 DF Gerri Esposito
‘3 O Eleanor Arnost 2 1 Gene Haynes «© Gi Kathy Martinez
© Joan Kieila = PatHahn 4G Pat Komely
1 Bruce Kuban x Gl Kerri Hahn 4s G1 Lucy Jackson
ne Region Slate - (44 candidates)
01 One Region Slat
“© 1 Nick LaMone *\ @ June Mellon ca nis Berger
a Mi 1 June M 1 Dennis
“DF Carol Guardiano Stan D'Andrea 7 1 William Stodolski
“| OF Cathy Green © O George Weyant 7” O Mike Gamba
“Barbara Allen « @ Rich Pohimann 7» O Jeanne McCarthy
© @ Pete Ellison ss O Jim Carey % 1 Stephanie Williams
5! Tom Corridan DF Diane Klement % G Santo Sala
G1 Bary Malone 7 DF Denis Midnet ® 1 Tony Pluto
= William Maccaro, Sr. 1 Tom Orestis * G1 Lawrence Vicario
S Ray Santora, Sr. © 1 Sonny lasenza ™ OD Dave Stewart
Joan Seogers 7 G1 Ben Gumin = O Gerard Green
% 1 Terence Shaughnessy » Gl Rich Satre % 1 Michelle Buczak
Jim Henck v2 Mary Vicario * 1 AlBartholomeo
SG Eugene Guardiano 73 Janis Ellison % 1 Helena Redding
% 0 Mike Stekardis » oO Schuyler "© (1 Fobert Valentine
"© Gene Townsend > 1 TomEarle
O Abe Lincoln Party Slate
(4 candidates) Independent Candidates
ohn Colombo, es Frank Dolinski
#2 1 James La Roc! % Gf Grace Roy
93. O Joe Ward wv
% 1 Ernestne Shelton D1 Bob Mitonel!
E METROPOLITAN REGION II
e pel
(1) Region II Leadership Slate - (18 candidates)
\ © George Boncoraglio 7 Vincent Martusciello ‘9 D1 Joe! Schwartz
2 O Denis Tobin 1 Miguelangel (Mickey) Cruz ©} Wally Nash
2G Tony Ballous ¢ OO Barbara Moore ‘s @ Margaret Bagley
« © Harriet Hart 1 G C. Danny Plumey ‘e G Janet Ventrano-Torres
5 G Sharon Katz 11 G Mohamed Hussain 7 @ Dave Howell
© Jimmy Gripper 12 O Bob Nurse ‘sO Mary Greenman
0 The New Spirited Team, ‘Awesome, Daring, Courageous Slate |
(3 candidates)
1» O Denise Berkley
2» O Willie Terry
2 O Bunny Jackson
1 2 April 1992
CAPITAL REGION IV
O Capital Region United Slate - (40 candidates)
1 OC. Allen Mead 1 Georgiana Natale 2” gy Ralph McCann
2 Joan Tobin °8 Richard Plumadore 2 G] Anna Dellarocco
2 Carmen Bagnoli 16 Jack Roht ® G William McMahon
+ © Louis Altier' 7G Hank Wagoner % (] Marianne Herkenham
5 Judy Remington 18 Shirley Ponkos 31 G] Elizabeth Habiniak
© 0 Barbara Stack 1® G]_ Nunzio (Nick) Russo = G Jack Miller
7G Milo Barlow 2 1 William Soh! % Rebecca Lawson
® Cl Lester Cole, Jr. 2] Marge Oxbrough 2 G Richard Cannitf
2G) Rose DeSorbo 2 1 Jacqueline Vanderhoot 38 (J Susan Matan
‘© G Betty Lennon 2 Gary China 36 G Glennen Woodward
1 O Douglas Persons % @ Ellen Faust 37 & John Wyngaard
= G Barbara Moloney % 1G Maria Most) 210 Eéward Hetlrnan
oy ine Kelso = varles Staats, Jr.
eS a ‘© 5 Cindy Egan DerGurahian
SAM
oO Reps. IV Slate - (2 candidates)
41 © John Nicholas Polydouris
“0 Michael D'Alessandro
andidates for
FSCME delegates
CENTRAL REGION V
C Leadership Slate - (39 candidates)
1 Jim Moore Bob Goeckel 2D Doris Pratz
2 D Sharon Connor Cindy Hammond 1 Barbara Reeves
3 Rostie Tallman Mary Hanna 220) Sheila Sears
+O Dale Kir Pat Labrozzi 30 E] Ginger Sheffey
sO Dorothy Penner-Breen Dan Lasky 311 George Smith
* 0 Maureen Malone George Lawson 2 Q Sar
7G Bob Timpano Ellen Lennon =o Wits ‘Sirooter
* Rick Galbally Dava Livingston ™ O Betty J. Thomas
U a Jean peeoter = ‘ones =o sd Vincent
bd Betty Browell im Monroe so Jalpole
1 Lyle Evans Lore Oswald 37 Tom Ward
12D Jack Fisher Shirley M. Payne 31] Len Wilson
130 Joe Frank Jon Premo 1) Jack Wood
cAnreLe
Independent Candidates
Ss aberies Atrhaces (C) 422 Action Team Slate
1 © Gloria R. DiBuono —!
420 Ralph L. Young 49] Anthony Gallo
sO Rosemary Baker so) Emma Gallo
“#0 Sandy Delia 81 Richard Fiorini
DC “Hopetulls” Slate
(2 candidates)
«sQ Marcia H. Hatherill
Gail A. Pedersen
Independent Candidate
s¢0) Charles Niven
WESTERN REGION Vi
0) The Region VI Slate - (37 candidates)
1 Robert L. Lattimer 13] Ronald K. Castle Jr. 251 Elaine Mootry
2) Florence ''Flo" Tripi “O Doris B. Cota 280) Mary Murphy
20 Marie Prince 80 Archie B. Galloway Ill 270] Ronald Nowak
4 Sylvia A. Thomas 160) Wilma Hasser CQ) John Ostergard *
so Mary (Candy) Saxon ‘7G Ralph W. Hesson 2] Thomas Patterson
6G James V. Kurtz 18 Wayne B. Jones 20] George A. Phelps
7 fy pot Castro 19) Mary Lettieri 31 Barbara Reese
*( George Growney 2%) Tammy Macomber 2) Carol Thornton
°( Mary Ann Bentham 210] Patricia S. Martin 2% Richard B. Moles
10 Kathleen Berchou 22 Paul McDonald Jr. ™*O Thomas We
1G] Kathleen Button 230) Richard Mcintyre 31] Geraldine ‘iiains
12] Stephen Caruana 40 Terry Melvin 36} Duane Wilcox
37) Edward L. Williams
C1 Locat 621 Slate 0 UB. Slate
(4 candidates) (2 candidates)
3.0 Karen Adamsh 42D doe Rotterman
‘© & Kathy Leber oes
“ag Don Posch
COXSACKIE -- A state snowplow being operated by a solo driver
was involved in an accident that claimed the life of an innocent
motorist and left the CSEA member in the hospital with a broken
vertebrae.
DOT plow operator Daniel Hulick was working solo March 22
during a snowstorm when his plow wing got stuck in the road's dirt
shoulder on Route 9W near here. The truck then swerved into
oncoming traffic, killing 25-year-old Richard Van Deusen of Elmira
after slamming into the driver's side of his car. The crash also
injured Van Deusen’s passenger, 22-year-old Michael Panetta.
Another motorist hit the
1 plow truck, breaking
free the sand
payloader and
ee sending it
ey
That vehicle was then rear-ended by another, injuring one of the
drivers.
“This was a tragedy,” said CSEA President Joe McDermott. “The
accident is a stark reminder of what happens when safety is
compromised to save a buck. Our hearts go out to Mr. Van Deusen's
family and to our member, Mr. Hulick.”
Hulick was in fair condition at Columbia-Greene Medical Center
at press time. He has worked for DOT since 1977 and has operated a
plow since 1986. The other individuals injured in the incident were
treated and released from the hospital.
The state Department of Transportation began a One Person
Plowing (OPP) policy this winter. CSEA opposed the plan, saying it
would compromise safety. CSEA has a Public Employee Safety and
Health (PESH) complaint and an improper practice charge pending
against the policy.
“From the start it was clear that the savings were not going to be
what DOT said they would be,” said CSEA DOT Local 676 President
Milo Barlow, who chairs the CSEA-DOT Labor-Management
Committee. “Whatever they might have saved was at the expense of
safety.
Ste angers me terribly," Barlow added. "Unfortunately,
somebody had to get killed and we have a driver laying in the
hospital. It makes me mad as hell because DOT chose to ignore our
legitimate concerns."
Barlow also challenged DOT's contention that OPP has
proceeded without problems.
“Even though it’s been a very mild winter for the
most part and there's been less plowing activity,
more than 80 incidents have occured statewide,”
he said.
The Route 9W mishap was the second fatal
accident involving a one person snow plow in less
than a week. On March 18 in Chautauqua County,
54-year-old Charles Smith of Ellington was killed
when he apparently lost control of his vehicle on
Route 394 outside Falkner and struck a plow head
on. The plow operator was not injured.
April 1992 1 3
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
E2ipLev's_—=
iBelieveyiGOryOtm
By Daniel X. Campbell
CSEA Communications Associate
DELMAR - Rob Curtiss, a CSEA member
with 32 years of service with the state
Department of Taxation and Finance,
watches silently as a group of visitors to an
exhibit of Ripley's Believe It or Not cartoons
wander through an Albany-area library.
“What they don't realize is that all of
those cartoons on exhibit are all from one
person, one contributor - me,” he said.
Believe it or not, Rob Curtiss is telling
the truth. What began as a passing interest
for the processor of personal tax returns
several years ago developed into a hobby
and is now a time-consuming addiction.
Curtiss has had 210 contributions
published in the Believe It or Not series,
possibly the most by any single contributor.
To help promote the Ripley's series as it
approaches it’s centennial year, Curtiss is
sponsoring a one-man exhibit of his
published items at nine Albany-area
libraries over the next six months.
“I just love doing research, love finding
odd bits of information. And then I enjoy
seeing if Ripley's will accept my latest
contribution, and then how they will
portray it in cartoon form in the Ripley's
Believe It or Not cartoon feature that
Believe
or Not/
Rob Curtiss is a believe
Rob Curtiss
fact into an interesting cartoon. That's
creativity,” Curtiss said.
Sometimes the
research takes on a personal slant.
“I once submitted a contribution about
Cranberry the Clown marrying another
clown in front of 3,000 well-wishers at the
Altamont Fair, near Albany. I thought it
was a nice bit of local color. When the
Ripley's cartoon was published in a Sunday
color cartoon edition, I was thrilled,”
appears in over 200 publications on a daily
basis worldwide,” he said.
Each of his 210 published contributions
has its own little research story.
“I read four papers thoroughly every day
and I just love finding little tidbits of odd
information. And of course, I've always
been delighted with the way the Ripley
Despite his extensive contact with the
Ripley organization, Curtiss said he has
never visited one of the permanent Ripley's
museum exhibitions located throughout the
United States and in Canada, Australia and
Denmark.
“I'd love to go to one,” he said. “I do enjoy
seeing the daily and especially the Sunday
Curtiss said. “And then the phone rang and
it was Cranberry the Clown, thanking me
for making her marriage world famous,”
Curtiss said.
“After you contribute one item, you want
to do more. After your first 100, Ripley's
sends you a very nice certificate. All I know
is that I'm always looking for the next
staff, based in Toronto, Canada, turns the
colored Ripley cartoon.”
Joe Doherty deportation deplored
“The Joe Doherty case is not so much a British versus
Ireland issue as it is a miscarriage of justice, a diminishing of
human rights and a set-back to the cause of liberty,” CSEA
Executive Vice President Danny Donohue said.
Doherty was deported to Belfast, Northern Ireland, last
month after being held in jail in the United States for nine years.
Doherty was arrested in 1983 and charged with entering the
country illegally. :
Labor unions, scores of civil and human rights organizations
and nearly 80 members of Congress from both parties urged the
United States to release Doherty and not send him back to
Ireland. A number of lower courts blocked attempts to extradite
Doherty, ruling he did not commit any crimes in this country and
should be released. But he was finally deported last month after
the Supreme Court denied him a new hearing. _
The AFL-CIO supported the release of Doherty for years.
Delegates to CSEA’s annual convention last year unanimously
supported a resolution calling for Doherty to be freed.
“Joe Doherty's civil and human rights were violated for nine
years while he was held without a fair hearing and without
benefit of due process under the law,” Donohue said,
“Labor unions have a proud history of supporting freedom
movements all over the world. Union rights only exist in societies
where human rights exist,” Donohue said. “So while we fight for
the traditional workers’ issues of wages, benefits and working
conditions we also extend the labor movement to include social
issues which impact the quality of life. And that ts why we fight
on behalf of Joe Doherty.”
Donohue chairs an AFSCME International committee
studying the political, economic, religious and labor situation in
Northern Ireland. The committee will recommend ways in which
organized labor can contribute to resolving the crisis.
contribution.”
Ballots for CSEA
statewide Board of
Directors election to
be mailed next month
ALBANY — The deadline for submitting statements and photos
to The Public Sector for election of the CSEA statewide Board of
Directors is April 20.
Candidates for the Board of Directors who want a photo and
statement printed in The Public Sector must submit them to CSEA
headquarters by April 20.
All seats on the Board are up for election this year. The
nominating process has been completed, and candidates have had
an opportunity to confirm their name as they wish it to appear on
the ballot.
Ballots will be mailed May 18, and must be returned by 8 a.m.
June 8, Replacement ballots will be available May 26.
CSEA’s Board of Directors has adopted the following election
schedule:
April 20 — Deadline for receipt of campaign articles for The
Public Sector; deadline for campaign literature to be
submitted to CSEA headquarters for distribution (5 p.m.).
May — Publication of campaign articles in The Public
Sector.
May 18 — Ballots delivered to post office for mailing.
May 26 — Replacement ballot may be requested if original
is not received.
June 8 — Deadline for return of ballots (8 a.m.)
Election results will be announced after the count.
Candidates will be notified by mail.
July — Publication of election results in The Public Sector.
1 4 April 1992 g ’
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
A Resource Guide to obtaining social justice, human dignity a
CSEA has published a resource guide for members seeking information and/or
assistance in obtaining social justice and basic human dignity for fellow union members.
The brochure, "Breaking Down Barriers," provides useful information about CSEA's
Special Human Rights Committee, Committee on Minority Issues and Ad Hoc Committee
Against Apartheid in South Africa. Background information and contact addresses are
also provided for the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), New York State Black
and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement,
Blacks in Government, American Association for Affirmative Action, National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and National Urban League.
To order "Breaking Down Barriers," fill out, clip and mail the coupon below:
i ' Civil Service Employees Association
A Resource Guide
for CSEA Members
' % Advisory Committee on Minority Issues
| 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210
date
Please send me a copy of "BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS, A Resource Guide for
CSEA Members."
CITY
. Social Security Number
RETIREES AND RETIREMENT
Legislator to pursue retirement system reforms
ALBANY — Assembly Representative
Helene Weinstein told CSEA political action
liaisons (PALS) she will fight to improve the
Employee Retirement System.
The newly appointed chair of the
Assembly Representative Helene
Weinstein, chair of Governmental
Employees Committee.
Assembly’s Governmental Employees
Committee, Weinstein addressed CSEA
PALs during a recent lobby day.
She said she plans to submit legislation
that would create a Board of Trustees for
the Employee Retirement System, one of
CSEA’s major pension reform goals. The
Board would give public employees a voice
in the administration of the pension fund.
The system now has only one trustee, the
state comptroller.
Weinstein also said she supports
legislation that would create a cost-of-living
increase for pensions and to protect the
health insurance coverage of retired school
district employees.
She praised CSEA members and retirees
for choosing careers in public service.
“You are the state of New York. The
backbone of our state is the public
employees,” Weinstein said. “You will not be
forgotten.”
NASHUA, NH — More than 30 CSEA
retirees heard what the Democratic
candidates for president have to say abou
health care.
The CSEA retirees, all from CSEA's
Capital Region, were among 100 AFSCME
retirees of the 250 people at the forum,
sponsored by the New Hampshire Council
of Senior Citizens.
Candidate Bill Clinton and former
candidates Bob Kerrey and Tom Harkin
CSEA retirees listen to presidential
candidates debate in health care forum
participated in the forum. Each favors
health care reform and pledged to make it
part of the presidential debate.
“Our members took advantage of the
to hear the candidates
scuss their positions on
CSEA Director of Retiree
Programs Kathleen Cahalan said. “The
forum was well worth the long trip and
was a exciting experience, especially since
we m.ay have heard the next president.”
g , April 1992 15
GENERAL NEWS SECTION
AT YOUR SERVICE
YOUR UNION
A REFERENCE GUIDE TO CSEA MEMBER SERVICES AND BENEFITS
BENEFITS
GRRE
CSEA Toll-Free
The union's toll-free telephone number— 1-
800-342-4146—is your direct link to CSEA
Headquarters.
When you call the toll-free number, a
recorded message describes the choices to put
you through to the right place for the help you
need.
You need a touch-tone telephone to
complete your call without operator
assistance. If you aren't calling from a
touchtone telephone, an operator will pick up
and complete your call at the end of the
message.
If you know the extension number of the
individual that you're trying to reach, you can
press “O” plus the extension number on your
touch-tone telephone at any point during the
recorded message and be connected.
If you don’t know the extension, the
message will give you the following choices:
* For Field Operations or the Empire
Plan/Health Benefits Committee, press
number 1.
* For disciplinaries, grievances and other
legal matters, press number 2.
* For Communications, the Executive
Offices or Political Action, press number 3.
* If you have a question concerning dues
membership or agency shop, CSEA group
insurance other than health or need to talk to
the Finance Department, press number 4.
*To hear CSEA's Current Issues Update for
news of interest to CSEA members, press 5.
Employee Benefit Fund
The CSEA Employee Benefit Fund is a
CSEA-administered trust fund which provides
certain supplemental negotiated benefits for
state employees and participating local
government employees. It currently
administers Dental Care, Vision Care,
Prescription Drug, and Package 7 Benefits
Plans.
For questions regarding any of the benefits
or for assistance with negotiations, call:
1-800-323-2732 or (518) 463-4555 or
write:
CSEA Employee Benefit Fund
14 Corporate Woods Boulevard
Albany, NY 12210
Education and Training
CSEA can help you prepare for civil service
exams with low-cost study booklets and free-
to-borrow video tapes.
CSEA also provides educational workshops
for union activists eager to learn more about
their union responsibilities.
To request booklet order forms or to obtain
information on union workshops, call CSEA
headquarters at 1-800-342-4146. For
information on videotapes, contact your CSEA
regional office.
IMPORTANT NOTICE CONCERNING THE
UNITED BUYING SERVICE PROGRAM
The United Buying Service (UBS)
program previously advertised by CSEA is
no longer in existence and the UBS
telephone numbers previously advertised
are no longer in service. CSEA hopes to be
able to offer members a new buying service
program soon,
AFSCME Advantage Credit Card
The AFSCME MasterCard has one of the
lowest interest rates - 5 percent about the
prime lending rate. There is no annual fee.
To obtain an application form, call your
CSEA regional office.
The card is issued by the Bank of New
York. If you apply for a card and there is no
response within four weeks, call the bank toll-
free at 1-800-942-1977.
AFSCME Advantage Legal Services
Program
The AFSCME Advantage Union Privilege
Legal Service Program makes it possible for
you to easily obtain high quality, affordable
legal services for many personal legal matters.
For more details and a list of the participating
lawyers in your area, call the CSEA office in
your region.
Insurance
CSEA offers several insurance programs at
low group rates and provides the convenience
of automatic payroll deduction.
These voluntary group plans include: Basic
Group Life, Supplemental Life, Income
Protection Program, Hospital Indemnity Plan
and Family Protection Plan. For details, call
1-800-366-5273. Also offers Auto Insurance
and Homeowners/Renters Insurance. For
details, call 1-800-366-7315.
Health Insurance
For health insurance questions concerning
Empire Plan coverage, call the appropriate
following telephone number:
EMPIRE PLAN
Blue Cross Claims-1-800-342-9815 or (518)
465-0171
Metropolitan Claims-1-800-942-4640
Participating Providers-1-800-537-0010
Empire Plan Health Call-1-800-992-1213
(Hospital admission approval/surgical
review)
Mental Health & Substance Abuse Program
1-800-446-3995
Retirement
If you are retiring soon, it’s important that
you select the proper option from the
Employees’ Retirement system.
By using the services of a CSEA-provided
retirement counselor, you'll be able to plan for
a lifestyle in your retirement years that takes
into account your anticipated expenses.
For more information, call 1-800-366-
5273.
General retirement information and retiree
membership information are available by
contacting CSEA’s Retiree Department at
CSEA Headquarters 1-800-342-4146 or
(518) 434-0191.
Technical retirement benefit questions (i.e.,
eligibility for service buy-back, transfer of
membership), requests for retirement
allowance applications, and requests for
retirement estimate applications should be
directed to the New York State and Local
Retirement Systems at (618) 474-7736.
State employees over the age of 50 and
their spouses can attend DIRECTIONS, a two
and one-half day pre-retirement planning
seminar sponsored by CSEA. For
information call (518)486-1918.
Grievances, Disciplines
If you believe you have a grievance,
immediately contact your local grievance
representative or shop steward. If they are
unavailable, contact your CSEA Unit or Local
President, or your CSEA Labor Relations
Specialist at the appropriated regional office.
Do not delay if you believe you have a
problem; grievances must be filed on a timely
basis.
Safety
To report unsafe or unhealthy working
conditions or serious accide call your
CSEA labor relations specialist. For
occupational safety and health information,
call CSEA headquarters at 1-800-342-4146.
CSE
LONG ISLAND REGION | OFFICE
Hauppauge Atrium Building
300 Vanderbilt Motor Pkwy.
Hauppauge, NY 11788
(516)273-2280
(516)435-0962
Rural Route 1
Box 34, Old Route 9
Fishkill, NY 12524
(914)896-8180
METROPOLITAN REGION I! OFFICE
40 Fulton Street
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10038-1850
(212) 406-2156
Suite 402
Albany, NY 12203
(518) 489-5424
RON CSEA STATEWIDE HEADQUARTERS
143 Washington Avenue, Albany, N.Y. 12210
1-800-342-4146 ( toll-free)
Press 5 for Current Issues Update
CSEA REGIONAL OFFICES
SOUTHERN REGION Ill OFFICE
CAPITAL REGION IV OFFICE
1215 Western Avenue
(518) 434-0191
CENTRAL REGION V OFFICE
6595 Kirkville Road
East Syracuse, NY 13057
(315) 433-0050
WESTERN REGION VI OFFICE
482 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 886-0391
16 April1992 g és
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
By Anita Manley
CSEA Communications Associate
Danger on the job at Orange County
NEWBURGH - A deputy sheriff is now
working at the Orange County Department
of Social Services (DSS) offices in Newburgh
and Middletown after an employee was
stabbed.
An alarm system that did not work could
have cost the employee her life.
County Executive Mary McPhillips also
ordered metal detectors to be placed in the
two offices to screen clients for weapons
after Labor Relations Specialist Carl
Rasmussen and Unit President Dave Score
met with her to discuss the most recent
assault.
Reported incidents from DSS records
over the last few months include personal
and phone threats, verbal abuse,
intoxicated clients and clients with
weapons.
The latest incident involved a mentally
disturbed client who called his caseworker
and demanded that she give him money.
He later showed up at the office,
brandishing a knife.
She turned away as he tried to stab her
in the stomach, but he managed to nick
her back. The worker escaped with
superficial wounds and was treated at a
local hospital and released. Shop Steward
Terry Fisher said.
The attacker escaped, but eventually
turned himself in and was arrested.
Fisher has been concerned with security
in the building, she said. Most offices here
have only one entrance. When the
disturbed client was fighting with the
caseworker, they blocked an office and no
one could leave to get help. Worse, an
alarm system used to signal the front desk
didn’t work.
Fisher has also asked for glass partitions
wha
OEP 0
SAFETY FIRST -- Orange County CSEA Shop Steward Terry Fisher, left, talks with co-
workers Jerry Barry and Brian Randazzo about the need for protective barriers for
receptionists after a co-worker was stabbed recently.
around receptionists’ desks to protect
them.
Another complaint is that there is no
standard procedure in place to deal with
emergencies, Fisher said.
Security guards in the building are not
trained and do not wear uniforms, she
said. Fisher recalled a day when an
intoxicated and disorderly client was
causing a disturbance and a worker called
the security guard.
“He said he couldn't leave his desk,” she
said. “The employees had to restrain the
man themselves.”
Fisher also pointed out that there is no
employee entrance. When workers arrive in
the morning, they run a gauntlet of clients
waiting to come into the building.
Employees have complained to county
officials before, and they sent a petition to
the DSS commissioner in October. The
commissioner showed up at the building
with the sheriff one day, but never followed
up on the issues.
“It's been a disaster waiting to happen,”
said DSS employee Brian Randazzo. “The
workers have been concerned not just for
themselves, but for the clients.
Food stamp demands flood Rockland County DSS
POMONA - Monday is “Food Stamp Day”
at the Rockland County Department of
Social Service (DSS) office.
The lines snake through the lobby where
about 100 people are crowded into a space
more appropriate for 50.
Some were here a week before and had to
return just to see an examiner. Many are
new applicants,
ROCKLAND COUNTY Caseworker Ronnie DelVecchio
processes a food stamp application for a client.
casualties of the
economic times. Most
will be here all day.
Mondays and
Thursdays are food
stamp days in
Pomona. Clients begin
to form a line before 8
a.m. hoping to see an
examiner before the
day is over. Pomona is
the only place
residents can apply
for food stamps.
“There is not
enough manpower in
the district offices to
take all the
applications for food
stamps,” caseworker
Ronnie DelVecchio
said.
There are security
guards here. People
get angry and frustrated. Many do not like
to wait. Recently, a group of applicants,
told to return on another day, converged
angrily on a county employee. The Sheriff's
Department had to be called to control the
crowd.
DelVecchio fears for the safety of the
elderly and the children. The day the sheriff
was called, more than 150 people were
waiting to be seen. Employees can process
60 to 80 applicants a day.
More staff and equipment are needed,
DelVecchio said.
“We have between 40 and 50 examiners
and only eight computers and two copy
machines,” she said. “It’s impossible to
process an application without a computer
and a copy machine. The paperwork is
incredible.”
Layoffs last year didn’t help the
department. Social Sérvices Commissioner
Noah Weinberg says he understands the
frustration of the employees.
Weinberg has promised to look into the
equipment complaints.
DelVecchio said hiring new examiners is
not easy.
“You try to replace people fast, but it
entails a lot.” she said.
April 1992 1 7
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
J
It's Our Right.
WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY
AFL-CIO
CSEA honors three
workers killed in
job-related incidents
CSEA will mourn its own and fight for the
living as part of Workers Memorial Day
activities on April 28.
* Workers Memorial Day is an opportunity
to focus attention on workplace safety and
health and to honor those who have lost
their lives on the job.
“Many public employees put their lives on
the line every time they go to work and once
again that point was dramatically
underscored in the past year.“ CSEA
President Joe McDermott said.
“Three CSEA members were killed on the
job or because of their job in the past year.”
The three CSEA members who lost their
lives were:
* John Wayne — a tree pruner
supervisor for the New York State
Department of Transportation in Buffalo;
he died following injuries from a tree
branch falling on him while supervising a
work crew in May, 1991.
* Sabina Kulakowski — A Cayuga
County Social Services worker who was
murdered at home by a man who vowed
revenge against the department for
removing his child from his custody.
* Kenneth Ruiz — a general mechanic
with the state Department of
Transportation on Long Island who died
when a tree limb fell through the
windshield of his truck.
Thirty-two CSEA members have died from
work-related incidents since CSEA’s Safety
and Health Department began compiling
information in 1985.
Many CSEA locals and regions are
planning activities in conjunction with
Workers Memorial Day.
Arbitrations,
Grievances,
IPs, Lawsuits
CSEA claims Cohoes mayor retaliated against unit officer
COHOES - After 24 years, the city of
Cohoes is cutting Marilyn Rosney’s full-
time job to a part-time job, and she
thinks it’s just retaliation for her attempt
to demand her rights.
“I filed a grievance over an improper
search of my desk and I feel the Mayor's
decision to cut back my full-time position
of 24 years to part-time is retaliation,”
said Rosney, CSEA Cohoes City Hall
Clerical Unit treasurer.
CSEA has filed an improper practice
(IP) charge with the Public Employment
Relations Board (PERB), saying the
Taylor Law prohibits Cohoes Mayor
Robert Signoracci’s actions.
“If the City of Cohoes is tightening its
belt fiscally then why did it grant a 31
percent salary increase to a confidential
secretary?” CSEA Labor Relations
Specialist John Cummings asked.
In White Plains:
Rosney's was the only position cut to
supposedly balance the city’s budget out
of 200 full-time positions, Cummings said.
“This is the first IPthe clerical unit has
filed against the city of Cohoes
administration in more than five and a
half years,” Cummings: said. “But it
certainly will not be the last if the
Signoracci administration continues to
intimidate our membership.”
While Rosney’s position as a secretary
in the city's Civil Service Commission
office had been cut to part-time, the
public demand for information about civil
service exams has not diminished.
“We know of instances where people
seeking test information had to go to the
school district to get proper information,”
Cummings said. “In our opinion that
proves the need for Rosney’'s position to
be full-time.”
Roche finally gets court award
WHITE PLAINS — At long last, Joe
Roche has received the $25,000 a federal
jury awarded him last August.
The jury awarded Roche the money
after ruling that White Plains city officials
violated his rights as CSEA unit
president.
Roche, an assistant engineer, was
suspended from his job after the mayor
accused him of provoking a physical
confrontation during contract
negotiations.
Roche alleged that the mayor interfered
with his ability to function as unit
president by barring him from city
property.
Following months of disciplinary
hearings, Roche was fired. A week later,
though, a federal jury ruled the mayor
had violated Roche's rights and awarded
the $25,000 in compensatory damages.
The mayor appealed the decision, but the
judge denied the appeal.
Roche is appealing his firing in court.
“One battle of the war is over, but we
have to continue the fight,” he said. “The
only positive thing is that a jury made the
award and in a sense they believed I was
telling the truth. It was quite evident they
realized a misdeed was done.”
CSEA files IP over Yates County contract
PENN YAN — CSEA has filed an
improper practice (IP) charge against
Yates County after the county Legislature
rejected a contract negotiated with the
CSEA Yates County Unit.
CSEA charges that the county
negotiated in bad faith before the
legislature voted, CSEA Labor Relations
Specialist Debbie Lee said.
The union wants the Public Employee
Relations Board to impose the two-year
contract for the 95 county employees.
The CSEA unit has already ratified the
proposed contract.
An informal hearing on the charge has
been scheduled, Lee said.
Grievance restores Westchester differential
WHITE PLAINS — A CSEA-filed
grievance led to the restoration of
$2,500 shift differential payments for
some Westchester County Department
Chester District Office had collected the
shift differential for 10 years when the
county stopped paying it.
CSEA filed the grievance based on a
contract article which provides for
“maintenance of standards."
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
SCHOOL DISTRICT AFFAIRS
Central Islip Unit will hold
boxing program May 15 to
raise scholarship funds
CENTRAL ISLIP -- The CSEA Central
Islip School District Unit is sponsoring a
night of amateur boxing to raise money for
scholarships for children of CSEA members
in the district.
The CSEA Unit will hold its First Annual
Scholarship Boxing Match at 7 p.m. on
May 15 at the Central Islip High School,
Wheeler Road.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at
the door. For tickets, call Wally at 435-
8302 or 435-1595, Arlene at 581-4943 or
Marge at 234-0250,
Sixteen amateur bouts are on the card,
and all the boxers have Golden Gloves
experience. Special guests expected to
attend include world welterweight
champion James "Buddy" McGrit and
welterweight contender Jake "The Snake"
Rodriguiz.
"People will get to see some
extraordinary boxing talent while we raise
money for continuing education for the
children of CSEA members," said Wally
Ahrem, unit scholarship committee
chairman.
Grievances,
IPs, Lawsuits
Arlington workers win award
The Arlington Central School District
contracted out the installation of new locks
on students’ lockers, but the plan backfired
when CSEA fought for the district
employees usually assigned the work.
Maintenance workers customarily install
the locks, Region III Labor Relations
Specialist Larry Natoli said, and the
district’s action took overtime pay away
four CSEA members.
“The school district was looking to save
money by hiring a school custodian and his
wife to do the job,” Natoli explained.
After CSEA filed the past practice
grievance on behalf of maintenance
workers Dana Pierce, Steve Cortright,
James Smith and George Livingston,
school district officials settled the case by
agreeing to pay each employee $250.
The grievance was an important win,
“not just monetarily, but for the security of
the unit,” CSEA Unit President Tim Cotton
said.
Unemployment legislation introduced
ALBANY — CSEA is progressing in its
work to get New York to provide
unemployment insurance benefits for some
school district employees during school
breaks.
The Assembly Labor Committee reported
out of committee a bill which would allow
certain non-instructional employees to
collect unemployment benefits when.
schools are closed for vacations.
Long Island school district news
Following six months of demonstrations
and negotiations, CSEA members in the
Bayport/Bluepoint School District
Teacher's Aides Unit won a three-year
contract with salary increases plus
stepsfour percent, and four percent, plus
steps..... The Greenport School District
Unit of Suffolk Educational Local 870
ratified a three-year pact which calls for
salary increases including increments.....
The Three Village School District
Clerical Unit and Buildings and Grounds
Unit agreed to a two-year pact with salary
increases including steps..... CSEA
organized a new Security Unit in the
William Floyd School District. The
employees went from no benefits to a three-
year contract which calls for salary
increases plus paid vacation, sick leave and
holidays..... The William Floyd School
District Custodial Unit has not fared as
well. They have been without a contract
since June 30, 1991, with no fair offer in
sight..... Despite demonstrations and pleas
to the school board, the Babylon School
District Custodial and Clerical Units
have also been without contracts since
June 30, 1991..... After demonstrations
Because the bill has fiscal implications,
it must now be considered by the Ways and
Means Committee.
CSEA/AFSCME succeeded last year in
the battle for a federal law which allows
states the option of providing
unemployment benefits. Once the federal
law passed, CSEA began its fight to have
New York state take advantage of that
option,
CONTRACTS
Agreement
BETWEEN
THE CIVIL SERVICE
EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, INC.
AND
and many months of negotiations,
custodians, busdrivers, security and food
service members in the Connetquot
School District overwhelmingly ratified a
three-year pact which calls for annual
salary increases plus increments.... The
Hicksville School District Unit of CSEA
Nassau Local 830 won an occupational
safety and health battle charge recently
which forced the district to properly train
and equip employees who are doing
sandblasting work..... Custodians in the
Massapequa School District Unit don’t have
to worry about cleaning smoke-filled
bathrooms anymore. Under an agreement
between CSEA and the district, letters are
going out to all school personnel to reaffirm
the district's no smoking policy.
You have a right to a safe, healthy worksite
If you believe unsafe or unhealthy conditions exist in your
workplace, immediately. contact your CSEA shop steward or local
president or call your CSEA labor relations specialist at your CSEA
region office. For occupational safety and health information, call
CSEA headquarters at 1-800-342-4146 and ask for the CSEA Safety
and Health Department.
Keep up with current issues
Call CSEA's Current Issues Hotline for
the latest daily update
Call 1-800-342-4146
and hit 5 on your touchtone telephone
Let's stay in
touch
CSE
gZ 4 April 1992 19
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
Death brings home point that layoffs are about people
Suicide follows layoff notice
A Nassau County Department of Social
Services (DSS) worker apparently
committed suicide after receiving a layoff
notice, according to police.
According to co-workers and the police
report, the 45-year-old woman, a member
of the CSEA Social Services Unit of Nassau
County Local 830, committed suicide at
home shortly after learning she was being
laid off.
More than 2,000 Nassau County workers
have been laid off under planned budget
cuts.
Despite demonstrations and
impassioned pleas by employees, CSEA and
the public, the county projects to layoff
between 4,000 to 6,000 county workers
before the axe stops swinging.
“Layoffs are about people,” CSEA
statewide President Joe McDermott said.
“Each layoff has consequences in human
Members protest short-staffing
About 250 CSEA members from the Nassau County Sheriff's
Department demonstrated outside a recent meeting of the Board of
Supervisors to protest short-staffing conditions at the county jail.
Inside, CSEA Sheriffs Department Unit President Dan Murphy
pleaded with the board to take corrective action.
Murphy said he fears for the safety of the employees at the
Nassau County Correctional Center. He said the jail is
overcrowded but there are less corrections officers at posts than
before a recent rash of prisoner escapes from the facility.
“The county is dropping coverage to pre-escape levels,” CSEA
Unit Vice President Tom DeStephano said. “We don't want to
minimize security or see anyone get hurt because of
understaffing.”
The county sheriff told legislators he did not believe the jail
could be operated safely at the present staffing levels.
Empty promises anger probation officers
Coe oD
Freeport members |
protest lack of contract
FREEPORT - CSEA members in the
Village of Freeport Unit of CSEA Nassau
Local 830 turned out in force recently to.
protest working without a contract for
more than a year. :
More than 250 CSEA members
demonstrated in front of Freeport Village
Hall.
“The members showed real unity,”
CSEA Collective Bargaining Specialist
Larry Borst said, “I think our message
was heard loud and clear.”
The 260-member unit of blue and
white collar positions has gone to
factfinding.
Pointing out that the village
negotiators cancelled the last factfinding
meeting and rescheduled for April, Borst
said negotiators for the village are “too
busy with personal ventures” to
complete negotiations.
“One guy is on vacation in Florida and
the other one is too busy campaigning
for police commissioner,” he said. “In
the meantime, our members are left
waiting and wondering.”
Unit President Madeline Horn said
the unit is simply asking for a fair and
equitable contract.
20 April 1992 Z _¢g ’
terms which cannot be ignored. The tragic
death of this young woman reminds us of
that fact.”
“This woman's death is a poignant
reminder to the county that the layoffs are
not simple about budgets and money, but
about human lives,” added CSEA Long
Island Region President Gloria Moran.
Fellow co-workers flooded the Nassau.
County Board of Supervisors meeting a few
days after the suicide to express their anger
at the county for not taking into account
the human emotions and devastation the
layoffs have caused.
“There has been absolutely no follow-
through or referrals for those who have
been laid off or for those who are dealing
with the stress of being left to do all the
work,” one DSS member said. “Any help
and direction has been given by the union,
not the employer.”
By Sheryl C. Jenks
CSEA Communications Associate
MINEOLA — CSEA members in the
Nassau County Probation Department are
furious at what they call “empty promises”
made by the county.
County officials had promised that newly
discovered funds would be used, in part, to
rehire 20 probation officers from the
county's preferred list. CSEA Probation
Department Unit President Jane D'Amico
and CSEA Nassau County Local 830
President Rita Wallace both say the promise
was to rehire 10 officers immediately and
the remaining 10 in the near future.
However at a recent Board of
Supervisor's meeting it was revealed the
county could not transfer any funds until
November.
Nassau County Personnel Director George
Sinnott announced that despite the layoff
of 101 probation employees in February,
the Probation Department was still $1.3
million in the red.
“The county is playing ping-pong with
our members’ lives,” Wallace said. “This
promise was made loud and clear to these
members, the public and the news media,
and now it’s all turning out to be empty
promises.”
SToP
THE
LAYOFFS!
THE
LAYOFFS!
CSER
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
Senator supports agency shop
ALBANY — State Sen. James Lack told CSEA
political action liaisons (PALs) to keep fighting for
mandatory agency shop for New York's public
employees.
“Mandatory agency shop throughout the state
isn’t going to happen just because I think it’s
right or you think it's right,” he said. “In order to
make agency shop a reality and to have it happen
by the end of the session, you're going to have to
make it a non-cost priority in this year of looking
at every penny.”
Under agency shop, employees who chose not
to join the union pay an agency shop fee, which
goes toward the cost of negotiating and enforcing
the contract. The union by law is obligated to
represent employees who are not members. If
those non-members do not pay an agency shop
fee, they are “free riders,” getting the benefits
without contributing to the cost.
Lack, chair of the Senate Labor Committee,
said agency shop is important because it ensures
that everyone who benefits from union
representation pays for the privilege. New York's
state employees have temporary mandatory
agency shop which must be renewed periodically.
Local government and school employees must
negotiate for agency shop in their contracts.
Getting mandatory agency shop will be a tough
battle, Lack said.
“You've got to make my colleagues understand
one, that it’s imperative; two, what it'll do from
the standpoint of all public employees; and AGENCY SHOP GETS A BOOST -- State Sen. James Lack, left, talks with CSEA
finally, that it's important to you as voters,” he Executive Vice President Danny Donohue at a CSEA lobby Day. Addressing CSEA's
said. “You work and get support and I pledge to _ Political action liaisons, Lack urged CSEA to continue to pursue mandatory agency
you that it will get brought up in our committee.” shop.
CSEA Lobbyist Tom Hartnett said he was
encouraged by Lack’s comments during the PALs’ lobby day in
Albany. Mandatory agency shop for all public employees has long
been an important goal for CSEA.
Only 75 to 80 percent of CSEA’s local government and school
district locals have mandatory agency shop, he said.
#X
“The issue comes down to fundamental fairness: that everybody
pays his or her fair share. Twenty percent of the workers enjoy all
representation but are not paying one penny for that
representation,” Hartnett said. “I would argue that those employers
who have not negotiated agency shop are not interested in
negotiating it, and that’s why it needs to be law.”
CSEA develops infectious disease
training for county employees at risk
Tuberculosis is on the rise, and exposure The program provides the most up to from inhaling airborne bacteria from a
to people with AIDS and hepatitis are date information available. It emphasizes person with active TB. The risk increases
workplace realities for many public that exposure to infectious disease does not based on the length and circumstances of
employees. mean that a person will become infected. contact.
But fear of the unknown is the worst, AIDS and hepatitis A and B are Tuberculosis is a treatable disease,
and CSEA is doing something about that transmitted through blood to blood contact _ especially if it is diagnosed early.
for various county employees. or contact between bodily fluids. A series of recent TB incidents have
CSEA is sponsoring a training program AIDS transmission primarily results raised serious concerns about the spread of
on infectious disease for local government from unprotected sexual relations with an the disease and the risk for public
employees across the state through a grant _ infected individual or sharing of employees.
from the state Labor Department. hypodermic needles with an infected CSEA is working with the state to ensure
The program provides an overview on the _ individual in intravenous drug use. adequate screening and isolation programs
major blood-borne and air-borne diseases While AIDS generally causes more are followed.
that may confront workers. It focuses on concern, hepatitis is actually far more “There's a lot of information for people to
what these diseases are, the risk for contagious and poses a greater risk for digest and the infectious disease training
workers on the job and how to minimize the public employees. provides a thorough introduction with an
chance of infection. Even health care workers can opportunity to ask questions,” Corcoran
A similar program was conducted for significantly reduce their risk of infection said. “It also lets people know how they can
state employees in recent years. by using universal precautions. They get more information.”
“Any time we've had a crisis with include using gloves, goggles and other The program kicked off in Schenectady
infectious disease problems in a workplace _ protective clothing when handling or County recently.
it’s generally been because of lack of coming in contact with blood or bodily “We have good in-service training
information and understanding,” said fluid, properly disposing of infectious waste programs but this infectious di
CSEA Director of Occupational Safety and material, thoroughly washing after contact | program provides a different perspective, “
Health James Corcoran. “When people and other measures. said Jeff Zabielski, CSEA Glendale Nursing
learn what the risk is and how to protect Tuberculosis, an air-borne disease, i Home Unit president. “It’s also very positive
themselves it's a lot easier to deal with the more of a problem for working people than that labor and management participated to
problems.” blood-borne disease, TB exposure comes get that fresh approach.
g A April 1992 21
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION
Broadacres, like many county nursing homes, potential target for privatization
"If it goes private, | don't see a
lot of future for these people"
By Mark M. Kotzin
CSEA Communications Associate
UTICA - As state Medicaid reimbursements and revenue sharing
to local governments decrease, county-run nursing homes are
increasingly becoming targets for the budget axe by cash-strapped
county governments.
CSEA workers at the Broadacres Skilled Nursing Facility in
Oneida County, for example, are wondering what the future holds
for them and the quality care they provide. CSEA represents about
125 workers at Broadacres, mostly in direct care positions.
Many counties, including Oneida, have been considering
whether to privatize their nursing homes.
CSEA Broadacres Unit President Mary Dean, a certified nursing
assistant, said that while the uncertainty is upsetting to both
residents and staff, the quality of care remains “outstanding.”
Many people don’t realize the added value of a county-operated
nursing home, Dean said. Excellent programs and services at the
home combine with a strong bonding between staff and residents
to make it extra special, she said.
“Many of us have been here a long time and have formed
attachments to
many residents,”
Dean said. “I think
of them a lot, and
always try to give
| them extra special
attention.”
Dean and Shop
Steward Linda
Smith, an activities
aide, described
several programs
the staff provides.
For instance, over
the holidays they
put up a tree in the
lobby and decorated
it with each
resident's name.
Volunteers, visitors
and staff were
encouraged to each
} pick a name and
bring a holiday gift
to that resident.
The effort was
very successful,
with each resident
getting a gift, Smith
said, and
culminated in a
Christmas Ball, at
which the staff
treated residents to
F a live band and
LPN KAREN BUSH helps rcadactes Nursing refreshments.
Home resident Helen Bruce. Smith also spoke
CSEA UNIT SECRETARY Mike Demma, an orderly at Broadacres
Nursing Home, helps resident Celia Carroll at lunchtime.
about bringing in local schoolchildren for a pen-pal program, a
mid-winter Hawaiian luau and a summer carnival. Taking
residents to area shopping malls, movies, arts and crafts classes
and religious services for three different religions are regular
activities at Broadacres, she said.
Smith compared Broadacres to a private nursing home her
father had been in which she said was simply “not as nice.”
“For a nursing home, we have excellent care here,” she said.
Others, including resident Celia Carroll and her daughter, Ann
Staple, agreed completely.
“I couldn't ask for better,” Carroll said.
anywhere else.”
“They have been super-great to her here,” Staple added. “I have
nothing but praise for the staff.”
Staple also wrote a letter for the facility's employee newsletter to
help raise awareness in the community of the value of the county-
run home. In her letter, Staple told of the huge improvements in
her mother's health since she arrived.
When she came to Broadacres, Carroll weighed only 82 pounds,
couldn't walk and ate very little.
Now, after about seven months, Carroll is up to 106 pounds, is
walking with a walker and is learning to go up and down stairs,
eats “most everything” and even goes to bingo games.
Because of her improvement, Carroll was able to go home for
Christmas and enjoy spending time with her grandchildren, Staple
said.
Dean is proud of the work that she and her fellow workers do,
and she hopes the rest of the community realizes it, she said.
Privatization could mean that people who need treatment might be
turned away and that the quality of care might decrease.
“If it goes private,” she said, “I don't see a lot of future for these
people.”
“I wouldn't want to go
proudly s1yee
supports Clinton
April 1992
22
FOR PRESIDENT
COUNTIES)
|| SCHOOL |
| TOWNS VILLAGES) DisTRICTS
CITIES
INDEX
Page 17
Problems for workers in the
Department of Social Services in
Rockland and Orange counties.
A new program offers CSEA local
government employees training in
infectious diseases.
Page 18
CSEA fights for its local government
members -- and wins -- using
grievances and improper practice
charges.
Page 19
School district news, including
contract updates from Long Island
districts and progress in important
legislation for school district
employees.
Page 20
The cost of layoffs: A CSEA member
dies tragically after layoffs in
Nassau County. Updates on
problems -- and some progress -- in
Nassau County.
Page 21
State Sen. James Lack gives agency
shop a big boost as CSEA members
lobby the state Legislature.
Page 22
CSEA members provide quality,
caring service at Broadacres
Nursing Home in Utica, but
privatization is becoming a threat,
not just to members but to nursing
home residents.
Correction
We inadve ssigned one of
our sional vice presidents in the
h edition of The Public Sector, In
an article ¢
ofS in E
Western Ri
actually is. Region VI president;
Myra Simmons
eS LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS
Celebrating Black
History Month in
Westchester
NEW ROCHELLE — Westchester County
employees in the New Rochelle District
Office recently celebrated Black History
Month with a luncheon.
Employees June Addison, Sandra
Anderson, Phyllis Manning, Dawn
Blount, Glynnis Tyree and Myra
Simmons were on the planning committee.
Workers contributed food which
represented various cultures.
Anderson said she hopes to continue to
organize more events “to make people more
aware of black women and men in black
history.” She grew up with an awareness of
black history, she said, because her father
marched with Martin Luther King Jr.
RAMAPO — A Rockland County Local
CSEA member and activist has been named
Woman of the Year by state and local
elected officials.
Pauline Goldin, president of the CSEA
Town of Ramapo Unit for six years,
received several awards in recognition of
her many years of community service from
the Rockland County district attorney, the
county clerk, county legislators, Ramapo
town and Spring Valley village officials,
state Sen, Joseph Holland, Assembly
WOMAN OF THE YEAR and CSEA activist Pauline Goldin with her husband, Joe. ‘ .
Unit president honored in Ramapo
€
Representative Sam Colman and
Congressional Representative Ben Gilman. >
Goldin began her “volunteer career”
collecting money for the Muscular
Dystrophy Association. Active in the Jewish
War Veterans Auxiliary for the last 30 years,
Goldin is now president. She is a 14-year
town employee.
Goldin’s husband, Joe, was also honored
at the same event. He works part time for
the town and is involved with the War
Veterans Civic Association.
April 1992 23 a
| STATE NEWS SECTION PAGES 1-7 GENERAL NEWS SECTION PAGES 8-17 LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS PAGES 18-24 |
gE 5 ee iS eee z ¥
CSEA UNIT PRESIDENT Mary Dean, a certified nursing assistant,
helps Veronica Wrobel brush her hair at the Broadacres Skilled
Nursing Facility in Oneida County. Mrs. Wrobel, a resident of
Broadacres, is the mother-in-law of CSEA Mohawk Valley
Community College Unit President JoAnne Melisko. A special
bonding between staff and residents is a distinct advantage of
publicly-run nursing homes, Page 22
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0