Ulster county csea local 856, kingston, ny
Ulster county csea local 856 website
Welcome to the CSEA Local 856 Website
Please check our site for the latest postings. If you prefer, you can join our mailing list for updates and other Union information
A word about our Postings online
Wherever possible - the postings are listed in chronological order. You can click on the image to view the entire posting or the link that accompanies it.
These postings are also available on site at the Union Bulletin Boards in the County Buildings as well.
Todd Schmidt,
President, CSEA Local 856
csea local 856 boat ride
July 22, 2022 | 6pm-9pm | 5:30pm board
HUDSON RIVER CRUISES
1 East Strand Street, Kingston, NY 12401
CSEA Local 856 members pay $20 and 1 adult guest of the member pays $20. The member will be refunded their $20 when they board the boat.
Adults only.
Light refreshments will be provided and music by DJ Frank Banks will be on board for your dancing pleasure. A cash bar will be available.
Please contact a Local Officer to purchase tickets: Todd Schmidt at UC Probation 750-7265; Eugene Roosa at Town of Lloyd 914-388-3684; Sheri Farrell at UC DA 706-1865; Kirk Jones at UC IS 332-5207; Derek Stapleton at Town of Shandaken 514-5919; Tina Buono at UC DSS 706-9620; Jeanne Edwards at City of Kingston 224-9262
Space is limited. Tickets available until July 8, 2022.
Leadership Empowerment Zone - Thursday may 12th, 2022
Federal Judge sets primaries, upholds Assembly district lines
This week a Federal court has ruled that the primary for congressional seats and state senate seats will be August 23, 2022 and the primary for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and State Assembly will be June 28 of this year. The court has upheld the redrawn Assembly district lines. We expect the new congressional lines and New York State Senate lines to be released on or about May 20.
Honoring those doing the work to strengthen our Union
Have your fellow leaders or members been signing up new members within your local or unit? Have any of them made an extraordinary contribution towards bringing a new bargaining unit or group of members into CSEA? If so, please consider nominating them for either the Membership Achievement Award or the Nadra Floyd Award! Nominations are due by July 22, 2022. More information on the awards, the qualities the nominees should have, the nomination forms and the process can be found at https://cseany.org/award-nominations.
Last chance to apply for CSEA college scholarships
The last date to apply for our union’s statewide college scholarship awards will be May 15. If you know of CSEA members who have graduating high school seniors, this is your last chance to share the application information with them. We will give out eighteen $1,000 Irving Flaumenbaum Memorial Scholarships, three in each of our six regions. We also have two additional college scholarship opportunities available through the same application. The application is available for download at: https://cseany.org/scholarships.
Communications Department wins awards
I am pleased to share that our Communications Department has won several awards from the New York Metro Labor Council. The Department brought home 13 different awards for their outstanding work in the Work Force, CSEA Calendar and Video production. To view the full list of awards visithttps://cseany.org/metro-ny-awards.
CSEA Appreciation Day is coming, did you get your posters?
Monday, May 23 we celebrate our third annual CSEA Appreciation Day. If you want a supply of posters that you can ask to have posted in your community, please reach out to your Region President and they will assist with distribution. I’d also invite you to view and share our Appreciation Day tribute on our website: https://cseany.org/thankyou.
Have you received the Safety Net newsletter?
Don’t miss the April edition of the CSEA Safety Net, our Safety and Health e-newsletter, recapping our informative and empowering Statewide Conference on Safety and Health held last month in Saratoga Springs. I encourage anyone who hasn’t subscribed to do so at: https://cseany.org/safetynet.
Resolutions and Amendments webinar now available on-demand
We have a brand-new webinar available online for activists interested in our governance process, How to properly write and submit proposed resolutions or amendments to CSEA’s Constitution & By-Laws. It will prepare viewers to properly write proposed resolutions and/or amendments to our governing documents that, if approved, may be voted on at our Annual Delegates Meeting this October. It can be found at: https://cseany.org/webinar-resolutions-and-amendments.
A reminder on submission deadlines:
Proposed amendments to the CSEA Constitution must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by May 15, 2022.
Proposed amendments to CSEA’s By-Laws must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by June 15, 2022.
Proposed Resolutions to be voted on by the delegate body must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by July 1, 2022.Many on-demand safety trainings available from our OSH Department
Our award-winning Occupational Safety and Health Department continues to offer guidance through on-demand webinar trainings that all members can access at no cost. We have dozens of available offerings, including many provided at our recent Statewide Conference on Occupational Safety and Health, as well as school safety and health topics, and employer compliance webinars. For detailed explanations of and links to each workshop, please visit: https://cseany.org/osh-webinars.
Required OFFICER TRAININGS scheduled
We remind all elected union officers that per our constitutions, you are required to take the training for your office during your current term of office. This training must be taken each time you are elected, even if you’ve taken it during a previous term in office. To satisfy this constitutional training requirement, a number of trainings are scheduled. Please make plans to attend the training for the office you hold. To register, contact your CSEA Region Office and let them know which training and date you are registering for. Participants must use their own time or have approved Release Time to attend this training if attending during normal work hours.
President/Vice President Training:
>June 21 & 22 (NOT previously trained officers) – 6 to 7:30 pm - Please register by June 15
>June 28 & 29 (previously trained officers) – 6 to 7:30 pm - Please register by June 23
Treasurer Training:
ONSITE trainings for Region 1 Treasurers - Please register with the Region 1 Office at 631-462-0030 by May 18
>May 24 – 5 to 8 pm – William P. Bennett Hicksville Community Center, Hicksville NY
> May 25 – 5 to 8 pm – CSEA Long Island Region 1 Office, Commack NYVirtual training for all > Regions – please register with your Region Office by June 8
> June 15 – 5 to 8 pmWhat do you want to read about?
I’m asking for your feedback on any topics you’d like to see covered in future editions of this weekly leadership update. If you have ideas, please take the time to fill out our quick online survey at: https://tinyurl.com/leadership-update-topics. I appreciate your response.
In Solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan
President
Leadership Empowerment Zone - Thursday may 5th, 2022
Be warned: outreach from anti-union front group continues
State workers have been targeted with recent emails from the Freedom Foundation (OptOut Today). In addition, this past week, members in local governments have received mail at home and emails from the Freedom Foundation encouraging them to opt-out.
This coincides with municipalities getting FOIL requests seeking YOUR NAMES AND PERSONAL INFORMATION. If you’re a union leader in a local government municipality - be it a library, village, town, county, or school district - PLEASE let your local FOIL Officer (many times your village or town clerk) know that they are prohibited from distributing an employee's personal identifying information.
I ask that you please educate our members on the advantages of being a CSEA member. The reasons are clear and can be found at: https://cseany.org/advantage. Should you need any assistance, contact CSEA’s Director of Member Engagement Adam Acquario at (518) 257-1303.
Northeast Parent and Child Society workers join CSEA
Northeast Parent and Child Society (NPCS) workers located in Schenectady voted 2 – 1, in a decisive majority, to join CSEA in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election held yesterday. The 88 full-time and part-time workers organized with CSEA for a stronger voice on the job, a safer workplace and fair treatment. The group works to help the children at NPCS (5-21 years old) navigate life at their residential facility, to and from school, and in the community. As we know, Volunteer Member Organizers are vital to successful organizing campaigns. The support for this group was plentiful and heartwarming. The campaign was led by CSEA Statewide Organizer Greg Bartow with assistance by CSEA Lead Organizer Jess Riley. CSEA Region 4 President Ron Briggs, the Schenectady County DSS Unit, Schenectady County Local Treasurer Katie Soule, Oyster Bay President Jarvis Brown and SCO President Sirlentor Berry and the SCO Executive Board supported the workers throughout the campaign. CSEA Senior Counsel Aaron Kaplan and Associate Mary Slattery won multiple legal victories to keep the final unit to 88 workers against management’s legal team.
Do You Have the My CSEA Mobile App?
Have you downloaded the My CSEA mobile app yet? Have you encouraged your members to download the app? The My CSEA mobile app offers all kinds of information and tools, like region, local and unit officer contact information, access to online application forms like the $10,000 Accidental Death Benefit beneficiary form and much more.
In addition, CSEA Officers can also use the mobile app to electronically send pictures of paper membership applications directly to the CSEA membership Department. Inside the app select “Officers Toolkit,” then select “Membership Application Scanner.” You can either select “Take a Picture” or “Choose from Device” to select from your picture gallery. To take a usable picture of the application from your phone please make sure you lay the application on a flat surface and are zoomed to capture the full application. Click “ok” if the picture shows all the member information clearly, then click “Send Application.” This will instantly send a copy of the application to the CSEA Membership Department and a copy will be emailed to you for your records.
Any CSEA member can download the app by visiting https://cseany.org/newmycseaapp.
2022 AAPI Women in Labor Event on May 10th
On May 10th from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm AAPI Women in Labor will hold a virtual event: Forging New Paths for Safety and Power. I encourage you to register and join this event at https://bit.ly/cluwapala22.
Honoring those doing the work to strengthen our Union
Have your fellow leaders or members been signing up new members within your local or unit? Have any of them made an extraordinary contribution towards bringing a new bargaining unit or group of members into CSEA? If so, please consider nominating them for either the Membership Achievement Award or the Nadra Floyd Award! More information on the awards, the qualities the nominees should have and the nomination forms and process can be found at https://cseany.org/award-nominations.
Governor Hochul appoints Delgado to Leiutenant Governor position
Earlier this week Governor Hochul appointed Antonio Delgado to the Leiutenant Governor position. He most recently served as the Unites States representing the Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley areas. He has been a friend to CSEA in the past and we look forward to working with him in his new role.
Last chance to apply for CSEA college scholarships
The last date to apply for our union’s statewide college scholarship awards will be May 15. If you know of CSEA members who have graduating high school seniors, this is your last chance to share the application information with them. We will give out eighteen $1,000 Irving Flaumenbaum Memorial Scholarships, three in each of our six regions. We also have two additional college scholarship opportunities available through the same application. The application is available for download at: https://cseany.org/scholarships.
CSEA Appreciation Day is coming, did you get your posters?
Monday, May 23 we celebrate our third annual CSEA Appreciation Day. If you want a supply of posters that you can ask to have posted in your community, please reach out to your Region President and they will assist with distribution.
This Week in Labor Education e-newsletter published
This week we sent out the latest edition of our newest e-newsletter from our Education & Training Department, This Week in Labor Education. If you haven’t received it, I encourage you to subscribe at: https://cseany.org/this-week-in-labor-education.
Resolutions and Amendments webinar now available on-demand
We have a brand-new webinar available online for activists interested in our governance process, How to properly write and submit proposed resolutions or amendments to CSEA’s Constitution & By-Laws. It will prepare viewers to properly write proposed resolutions and/or amendments to our governing documents that, if approved, may be voted on at our Annual Delegates Meeting this October. It can be found at: https://cseany.org/webinar-resolutions-and-amendments.
A reminder on submission deadlines:
Proposed amendments to the CSEA Constitution must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by May 15, 2022.
Proposed amendments to CSEA’s By-Laws must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by June 15, 2022.
Proposed Resolutions to be voted on by the delegate body must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by July 1, 2022.Many on-demand safety trainings available from our OSH Department
Our award-winning Occupational Safety and Health Department continues to offer guidance through on-demand webinar trainings that all members can access at no cost. We have dozens of available offerings, including many provided at our recent Statewide Conference on Occupational Safety and Health, as well as school safety and health topics, and employer compliance webinars. For detailed explanations of and links to each workshop, please visit: https://cseany.org/osh-webinars.
Required OFFICER TRAININGS scheduled
We remind all elected union officers that per our constitutions, you are required to take the training for your office during your current term of office. This training must be taken each time you are elected, even if you’ve taken it during a previous term in office. To satisfy this constitutional training requirement, a number of trainings are scheduled. Please make plans to attend the training for the office you hold. To register, contact your CSEA Region Office and let them know which training and date you are registering for. Participants must use their own time or have approved Release Time to attend this training if attending during normal work hours.
President/Vice President Training:
> May 17 & 18 (previously trained officers) – 6 to 7:30 pm - Please register by May 12
Secretary Training:
> May 10 - 5 to 7 pm
Treasurer Training:
ONSITE trainings for Region 1 Treasurers - Please register with the Region 1 Office at 631-462-0030 by May 18
> May 24 – 5 to 8 pm – William P. Bennett Hicksville Community Center, Hicksville NY
> May 25 – 5 to 8 pm – CSEA Long Island Region 1 Office, Commack NYVirtual training for all Regions – please register with your Region Office by June 8
> June 15 – 5 to 8 pm
What do you want to read about?
I’m asking for your feedback on any topics you’d like to see covered in future editions of this weekly leadership update. If you have ideas, please take the time to fill out our quick online survey at: https://tinyurl.com/leadership-update-topics. I appreciate your response.
In Solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan
President
Leadership Empowerment Zone - Thursday Apr 28th, 2022
Farewell to Maureen Malone
On Saturday, we lost a dear friend to our union, former Statewide Treasurer Maureen Malone. Maureen and I started out as CSEA Local Presidents in Region 5 and, over the years, were fortunate enough to serve our Union as statewide officers. She was my critic, my advisor and my loyal friend for many years. She was always smiling, quick with a joke, a powerful advocate for the members she faithfully represented. I will miss her very much. Rest in Peace, my Union sister.
Workers Memorial Day observed today
Today we honor our fallen brothers and sisters. Observances were held in Manhattan, Rochester, and Syracuse and there will be more in the next few days. I encourage all who can to participate to demonstrate our commitment to fight against preventable workplace injuries and deaths.
Redistricting plan struck down, primaries to be delayed
Yesterday the State Court of Appeals struck down the redistricting plan put forth by the NYS Legislature for congressional and state Senate seats. The court will appoint a “master” to draw new lines. This will push back the June primary for congressional and senate seats. It is unclear when these primaries will be held. As it stands, the Assembly seats have not been struck down and, absent any new legislation, primaries for the Assembly as well as Governor and Lt. Governor could still be in June. Stay tuned for any updates, as everything is up in the air right now.
CSEA’s Director of Research retiring
After 41 years of working for all of us at CSEA, Don Kelly is retiring! Don has had an impressive career and has made lasting accomplishments for the membership. Known as “Mr. Civil Service,” Don’s expertise in civil service rules and regulations has made him one of the most popular workshop presenters in our union. In addition, he has done an exemplary job running our Research Department supporting our contract and budget fights at all levels of our union. I hope you will all join me in wishing Don the very best in retirement. He will be sorely missed.
Recognizing Public Employees
During the first week of May, people around the country recognize Public Service Appreciation Week, in recognition of all of us who provide valuable public services. I have always said that this recognition should be extended longer than just a week, and that’s why I scheduled CSEA Appreciation Day to be observed on Monday, May 23. Our Region Presidents will be distributing posters to Locals and Units that can be posted throughout our communities to show their support for us.
Safety Net newsletter published
Last week we sent out the April edition of the CSEA Safety Net, our Safety and Health e-newsletter, recapping our informative and empowering Statewide Conference on Safety and Health held earlier this month in Saratoga Springs. I encourage anyone who hasn’t subscribed to do so at: https://cseany.org/safetynet.
Resolutions and Amendments webinar now available on-demand
We have a brand-new webinar available online for activists interested in our governance process, How to properly write and submit proposed resolutions or amendments to CSEA’s Constitution & By-Laws. It will prepare viewers to properly write proposed resolutions and/or amendments to our governing documents that, if approved, may be voted on at our Annual Delegates Meeting this October. It can be found at: https://cseany.org/webinar-resolutions-and-amendments.
A reminder on submission deadlines:
Proposed amendments to the CSEA Constitution must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by May 15, 2022.
Proposed amendments to CSEA’s By-Laws must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by June 15, 2022.
Proposed Resolutions to be voted on by the delegate body must be submitted to the Office of the Statewide Secretary by July 1, 2022.
Many on-demand safety trainings available from our OSH Department
Our award-winning Occupational Safety and Health Department continues to offer guidance through on-demand webinar trainings that all members can access at no cost. We have dozens of available offerings, including many provided at our recent Statewide Conference on Occupational Safety and Health, as well as school safety and health topics, and employer compliance webinars. For detailed explanations of and links to each workshop, please visit: https://cseany.org/osh-webinars.
Required OFFICER TRAININGS scheduled
We remind all elected union officers that per our constitutions, you are required to take the training for your office during your current term of office. This training must be taken each time you are elected, even if you’ve taken it during a previous term in office. To satisfy this constitutional training requirement, a number of trainings are scheduled. Please make plans to attend the training for the office you hold. To register, contact your CSEA Region Office and let them know which training and date you are registering for. Participants must use their own time or have approved Release Time to attend this training if attending during normal work hours.
President/Vice President Training:
> May 10 & 11 (untrained officers) – 10 to 11:30 am - Please register by May 5
> May 17 & 18 (previously trained officers) – 6 to 7:30 pm - Please register by May 12
Secretary Training:
> May 10 - 5 to 7 pm
Treasurer Training: (ONSITE trainings for Region 1 Treasurers)
Please register with the Region 1 Office at 631-462-0030 by May 18
> May 24 – 5 to 8 pm – William P. Bennett Hicksville Community Center, Hicksville NY
> May 25 – 5 to 8 pm – CSEA Long Island Region 1 Office, Commack NY
What do you want to read about?
I’m asking for your feedback on any topics you’d like to see covered in future editions of this weekly leadership update. If you have ideas, please take the time to fill out our quick online survey at: https://tinyurl.com/leadership-update-topics. I appreciate your response.
In Solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan
President
CSEA You are not alone we are stronger together
Strengthening the CSEA Relationship through the Insurance Program
Offering a voluntary insurance program since the 1930's, CSEA was a pioneer in the group insurance program that has benefited thousands of members and their families over the decades.
These specially negotiated group plans are only available as a CSEA Member. All plans are with A+ rated carriers vetted by CSEA & obtained through the union's strength of extensive membership. The program today is better than ever with a full range of offerings from life insurance products to supplemental disability, to rental and homeowners insurance to auto, boat and motorcycle. We even have catastrophic illness and pet insurance available. Everything that you might need in your life.
How the CSEA Group Sponsored Insurance Program has helped Members
CSEA Ulster County Local 856 next wave meeting
When: Tuesday, May 24th, 2022
Time: 5:30 PM at Local Office
open to: ALL MEMBERS
Please RSVP - a light dinner will be served.
All members of CSEA are welcomed and encouraged to attend this meeting. You are our future and we need you to keep our future strong. If you are interested in being part of the Next Wave, but are unable to attend, please contact us and we will collect your information to keep you posted on new and upcoming activities. For information, contact the committee chairperson, Sheri Farrell at 845-706-1865.
enacted 2022-23 State budget summary
A few days after the start of the state fiscal year, the Governor and lawmakers agreed to a final budget. Overall, this budget is a positive for CSEA members across New York State. It includes positive changes for members in tiers 5 and 6, bonuses for healthcare and direct care workers, historic levels of school district funding, new funding for SUNY, and unprecedented investments in childcare.
We continue to review the enacted budget for additional details and will report additional details as needed.
Have a graduating senior? 🎓 CSEA Southern Region scholarships available!
Reply-To: get.active@cseainc.org
Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 CSEA Southern Region Scholarships! Click here to download an application. The deadline to apply is June 17, 2022. Applications must be postmarked or received via email by that date.
Each year, we offer four $1,000 scholarships to college-bound graduating seniors whose parents or guardians are CSEA members working in the Southern Region (which consists of the following counties: Orange, Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan).
These scholarships are made possible by funds raised at our annual region golf tournament. Information on this year's golf tournament will be announced later this spring.
This email is being sent to every CSEA member in the Southern Region for whom we have a personal email address on file. We encourage you to share this information with your fellow members who may not receive email from CSEA.
If you have any questions, you may call my office at (845) 831-1000 or email csearegion3@cseainc.org.
In solidarity,
Anthony M. Adamo
CSEA Southern Region President
CSEA Local 1000 | 143 Washington Ave., Albany, NY, 12210
General membership meeting, scholarship drawing and forms
General Membership Meeting and Scholarship Drawing
General Membership Meeting and Scholarship Drawing
General Membership Meeting and Scholarship Drawing
General membership meeting and scholarship drawing.
June 6th, 2022 at 5:30pm
at the: CSEA Local 856 Office in the NYSUT Building / 200 Stockade Drive, Kingston, NY 12401.
CSEA Ulster County Local 856 will be awarding:
$10,000 in Scholarship Awards.
In order for your CHILD to qualify for these scholarships, you must:
* Be a CSEA ULSTER COUNTY Local 856 Member
Applicant must be a 2022 graduating High School senior or current undergraduate who will be attending college full-time in the fall 2022 at an accredited College or University working to attain an Associate or Bachelor's degree or a two-year program at an accredited trade school. Application form is available here
The application filing deadline date is MAY 15th, 2022
You don't have to be in the drawing to come to the meeting!
Local 856 Annual Scholarship Application
General Membership Meeting and Scholarship Drawing
General Membership Meeting and Scholarship Drawing
Ulster County Local 856 Annual Scholarship application. Completed applications can be emailed to: sheri@csealocal856.com or mailed to:
249 Stockade Drive
Kingston, NY 12401 by MAY 15th, 2022
Guidelines
- Applicant must be a 2022 graduating High School senior or a current undergraduate attending college full-time in Fall 2022 at an accredited College or University working to attain an Associate or Bachelor's Degree or an accredited two-year trade school program.
- Parent must be a CSEA Local 856 member in good standing.
- Student must be a member of your immediate family; son/daughter, stepchild, or child residing in your household. (If the child is not a member of your immediate family, but resides in your household, a certificate of residency is required with this application.
- Winners will be randomly drawn at general membership meeting on June 6th, 2022 at 5:30pm. Member must be present to enter drawing.
college scholarships
CSEA will award the following college scholarships for children of CSEA-represented employees in New York State who are graduating high school seniors:
> Irving Flaumenbaum Memorial Scholarship
> Pearl Insurance Award in memory of Charles Foster
> Met Life Award in Memory of Joseph D. Lochner
Filing deadline is April 15th. One application includes all scholarships! Download the application from: cseany.org/scholarships
Are taxes stunting your growth?
Did you know that by contributing to New York State Deferred Compensation Plan you can put off paying taxes on your contributions and any earnings.
The plan is tax-deferred . That means that you pay less current federal and New York State income taxes today and have the opportunity for your money to grow tax-deferred. You don't pay taxes until you decide to make withdrawals, which are taxed as ordinary income.
Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal.
Be tax smart.
Sign-up for the Plan today.
Ask questions, review your account or join
Ulster County Employees
New York State Deferred Compensation Plan
Please contact Gene for more information about your benefit.
For general info please visit: www.nysdcp.com
For MORE information, contact Gene Nescot at his voicemail (614)854-4364
or send Gene an email to gene.nescot@nationwide.com
CSEA - Insurance for csea members
CSEA - Pearl Insurance
Insurance plans specifically designed for CSEA Members!
- Disability
- Term Life
- Whole Life
- Critical Illness
- Comprehensive Accident Plan
- Hospital and Home Care Recovery
- Auto
- Home & Renters
- RV, Boat, Motorcycle
- Umbrella
- Pet Insurance
Your NEW CSEA Insurance representative is: Sean Lynch - 518-860-0612 | call or text!
Click on the CSEA Pearl Insurance flyer for additional information.....
Early Retirement Incentive Update
Subject: CSEA members: Get the facts on Early Retirement
Reply-To: get.active@cseainc.org
Many CSEA members are inquiring and seeking an Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) this year from the legislature. While CSEA does support any additional retirement benefit that may be offered to all of our members, the specific proposals that have been introduced in the Assembly and Senate are unacceptable for many reasons as outlined below:
The proposals give the employer the exclusive right to target who gets an incentive and the position must be ELIMINATED. That means the specific job is gone. While ERI’s do have a benefit when layoffs are proposed, that is not the case this year. In fact, all of our state agencies are understaffed and mandatory overtime is being used exclusively in our agencies. There also are no proposed layoffs on the local government side and in fact many county executives are using stimulus money to beef up the workforce especially in probation, social work, child protective workers and 911 operators. This bill is not automatic for local governments or the state. THE EMPLOYER GETS TO CHOOSE TO OPT-IN OR NOT.
No position in health care, direct care or public safety can get the incentive. This particular provision excludes almost three-quarters of our state workforce and many positions in local government as well. CSEA cannot support an ERI that does not treat all of our members fairly and equitably.
There is always a cost to an ERI that is paid for by the employer. These costs can add up to millions of dollars that the employer must pay to the retirement system. In order for the employer to save any money, the job must be eliminated leaving employees who cannot take advantage of the ERI to do even more with less workers. In addition, if the employer is paying out more money to pay for an ERI that means less money for contract negotiations or raises!
Employers in the past have used the ERI to support and promote the privatization of our public jobs. When there are not enough workers to do the job the state and local governments will contract out the work. In fact, this year our Department of Motor Vehicles is so far behind in servicing the general public due to the pandemic that they contracted out to Triple A to pick up the slack... members of AAA can now get any motor vehicle service accomplished at their local office in the downstate area.
Employers in the past have also given the ERI to management and then rehired that same person as a consultant to no benefit of the CSEA members.
For all of the reasons listed above, CSEA cannot support the proposed ERI’s currently pending in the legislature.
CSEA would and will support an ERI that is open and fair to all of our members, that doesn’t eliminate positions and that strictly prohibits privatization of the work performed by the members.
In solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan, President
CSEA Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210
We will continue to add additional content as it becomes available.
