The Civil Service Employees Assn. has reason for
: optimism following the November 7 general election. The union contributed funds and services to
back up e n d o r s e m e n t s and helped elect a
r e m a r k a b l e 94% of its endorsed candidates for State
Senate and 88% of its endorsed State Assembly candidates.
In its first-ever venture into endorsing statewide
candidates, CSEA gained a split. CSEA-backed
' R o b e r t A b r a m s w a s elected State Attorney General,
but CSEA-supported Harrison J . Goldin lost a very
close r a c e for State Comptroller to E d w a r d Regan.
The union r e m a i n e d neutral in the r a c e for governor, but did contribute $41,000 to both Gov. Hugh L.
Carey and his challenger, P e r r y B. Duryea.
Things w e r e less successful in local r e f e r e n d u m s
w h e r e the union took a public position. F o r a complete report on CSEA's role in Election 78, turn to
pages 6 and 7.
Official Publication of
The Civil Service Employees Association
SECTOR
Vol. 1, No. 7
25e
Wednesday. November 15, 1978
Anticipate major CSEA State Police victory
ALBANY — O b s e r v e r s representing two new State Police
bargaining units will be present this
F r i d a y for the counting of ballots in
the Civil Service E m p l o y e e s Assn.
challenge for representation of State
Police Commissioned Officers,
Sergeants, and Bureau of Criminal
Investigation (BCD personnel.
Counting of the b a l l o t s in the
election will take place at the Knights
of Columbus Hall in Albany.
CSEA challenged for representation
of the two newly created bargaining
units a f t e r State Police personnel ask-
ed the s t a t e ' s largest public employee
union to assist themObservers representing CSEA at
the count for Bargaining Unit " C "
(Sergeants and Officers) include: Lt.
J i m McCarthy, Troop C, Sidney; Sgt.
George Meyers, Troop T, Thruway;
Capt. Blake Muthig, Troop F,
Middletown; Sgt. Robert P e t t y , Troop
K, P o u g h k e e p s i e ; S g t . T h o m a s
Tucker, Troop F , Middletown; and
Sgt. Thomas Kirwan, also of Troop F ,
Middletown.
Observers representing CSEA at
the count for Bargaining Unit " B "
(BCI Inv. and Sr. Inv.) include
Investigators Terry Montgomery,
Troop E , Oneida; Ed Kelly. Troop C,
Sidney; T o m Reilly, M a n h a t t e n ;
F r e e m a n Shaw, Troop A, Batavia;
and Wayne B e y e a , Troop F,
Middletown.
PREPARING FOR STATE POLICE
NEGOTIATIONS even as the representation election is in progress, staff
representatives of the Civil Service
Employees Assn. go over some of the individual "demand sheets" sent in by
State Police personnel. Looking over the
demands are CSEA Director of Research
William Blom, Collective Bargaining
Specialist John Naughter, and Research
Analyst Timothy Mullens. (See a related
State Police article on Page 5).
Talks start
A L B A N Y — A f t e r l i t e r a l l y m o n t h s of
p r e p a r a t i o n s , the Civil Service Employees Assn. and
the State of New York will exchange initial contract
demands this week to begin what promises to be one of
the most difficult negotiation confrontations in m a n y
years.
The exchange of initial d e m a n d s is the first step in
actual negotiations to replace the present CSEA-State
contracts covering m o r e than 100,000 state employees
in the Administrative, Institutional and Operational
Bargaining Units.
Negotiating t e a m s of CSEA m e m b e r s in the t h r e e
units have been preparing for negotiations for weeks.
In addition to planning and s t r a t e g y sessions, the
t e a m s h a v e also been r e v i e w i n g t h o u s a n d s of
" C o n t r a c t Demand S h e e t s " submitted by employees
in their bargaining units.
CSEA and the Governor's Office of Employee
Relations ( O E R ) have agreed to ground rules setting
the administrative f r a m e w o r k for the negotiations.
T r a d i t i o n a l l y included in t h e r u l e s is a " n e w s
blackout" prohibiting both sides f r o m revealing the
details of the negotiations prior to a conclusion. The
blackout a g r e e m e n t also covers details of the initial
demands but obviously high on the demand list of
priorities a r e salary increases to offset continuing
high inflation and i m p r o v e m e n t s in health insurance
benefits.
After initial demands are exchanged this Thursday, the parties will m e e t for a brief "clarification
session" to resolve any questions concerning the
positions of the parties. Following an^rlysis of the
demands by both sides, actual negotiations will be under way later this month.
^
CSEA P r e s i d e n t William L. McGowan is chief
spokesman for the negotiations and CSEA Chief
Counsel J a m e s R o e m e r is chief negotiator. In addition
to the m e m b e r s of the individual negotiating t e a m s ,
CSEA Executive Director Joseph Dolan and M e m b e r
Services Director J a c k Carey will take part in the
n e g o t i a t i o n s with CSEA Collective B a r g a i n i n g
Specialists Nels Carlson, J a c k Conoby and Robert
Guild.
Ceremony
honors late John T. Clark
THIELLS - The late John T. Clark will long
be r e m e m b e r e d by p u b l i c e m p l o y e e s
throughout New York State for the many
y e a r s he devoted to working on their behalf
through the Civil Service Employees Assn. A
very active unionist, Mr. Clark held m a n y
local and regional offices and served on
numerous important c o m m i t t e e s with CSEA.
And he will be r e m e m b e r e d , too, at the
Letchworth Village Developmental Center. A
power plant employee there, the late Mr.
Clark was memorialized recently with the dist i n c t i o n of h a v i n g t h e p o w e r p l a n t a t
Letchworth Village renamed in his m e m o r y .
And a permanent plaque in m e m o r y of Mr.
Clark was given by CSEA and installed within
the power plant facility.
In the a c c o m p a n y i n g photo, the sign
designating the facility as the " J o h n T. Clark
Power P l a n t " is held by Letchworth Village
Director Oleh Wolansky and Mrs. Agnes
Wilson of the Letchworth Board of Visitors.
His widow, Mrs. Mickey Clark, accepts the
CSEA plaque f r o m CSEA Statewide Executive
Vice President Thomas McDonough.
TIE program holds seminar in Region I
I n f o r m a t i o n for the C a l e n d a r of C o m i n g Events m a y b e submitted directly t o THE PUBLIC S E C T O R . Include the d a t e ,
time, p l a c e , a d d r e s s a n d city for the event. S e n d to THE PUBLIC S E C T O R , C l a r i f y Publishing Inc., 7 5 C h o m p l a i n Street,
Albany, N.Y.
Center Local 411, is chairman of the
regional educational and training
committee. He is shown addressing
a recent educational seminar sponsored by the TIE Committee for
PS&T bargaining unit members at
the Holiday Inn here. Some of the
participants are shown in the accompanying photograph.
12204.
NOVEMBER
14 — Syracuse a r e a retirees (CSEA) C h a p t e r 9 1 3 Fall meeting. Fireside Inn,
Baldwinsville, N.Y. Luncheon at 1 p.m.; The business meeting at 2 p.m.
14 — C r e e d m o o r Psych-ntric Center Local 4 0 6 g e n e r a l membership meeting: 5 : 3 0
p.m., C r e e d m o o r basement chapel.
14 — Kings Park Psy. Center Local 411 general membership meeting. Kings Park
Psy. Center community store, 8 p.m.
15 — Nassau Local 8 3 0 b o a r d of directors meeting: 5 : 3 0 p.m., Salisbury Club,
Eisenhower Park, East M e a d o w , L.I.
16 — CSEA S t a t e w i d e Board of Directors meeting, H o l i d a y Inn, 575 B r o a d w a y ,
M e n a n d s , 9 a.m.
17-18 — Region 5 County Workshop,- C a p t a i n ' s Lounge, O s w e g o .
17-18-19 — Region 4 w o r k s h o p . Friar Tuck Inn, Catskill.
18 — Kings Park Psy. Center Local 411 " r e c o g n i t i o n n i g h t " ceremony, Nisseguage
Post V F W Hall, Kings Park, 8 p.m.
21 — Livingston County unit of Rochester A r e a Retirees Local 9 1 2 general
membership meeting: 2 p.m.. Youth Center, M a i n St., M t . Morris.
21 — N e w York M e t r o p o l i t a n retirees Local 9 1 0 meeting: 1 p.m., 2 W o r l d Trade
Center, r o o m 5 8 9 0 , M a n h a t t a n .
2 9 — L o n g Island Region 1 special elections seminar: 5-11 p.m., site to be announced.
DECEMBER
2 — S t a t e w i d e Non-Teaching School Employees' Committee M e e t i n g for Jefferr
son, St. Lawrence, O s w e g o county school unit representatives; 9 a . m . - l p.m.. Holid a y Inn, W a t e r t o w n .
t0 the Editor
We e n c o u r a g e l e t t e r s f r o m readers pertaining to i t e m s which
have a p p e a r e d in T H E P U B L I C SECTOR or which are oi interest to public e m p l o y e e s . Letters must contain the n a m e ,
a d d r e s s and t e l e p h o n e number of the writer for v e r i f i c a t i o n
purposes. T e l e p h o n e n u m b e r s will not be printed, and n a m e s
m a y be withheld upon request. Send all l e t t e r s to T H E
P U B L I C SECTOR, Clarity Publishing Inc., 75 Champlain
Street. Albany, N . Y . 12204.
Editor, The Public Sector:
You a r e not telling your members all that
should be told. Such as medical, doctor and
hospital bills. We are not getting good medical
service at a reasonable price. This is wrong.
You must pay the doctor, hospital or any
medical bill. Getting credit from any one of these
bums is a no-no. What good is your medical plan
or insurance; they do not honor their credit. You
must pay the doctor first, as I know I had to
borrow money to pay my doctor and wait for my
insurance to pay me. Also the insurance people
only allow doctors and hospitals so much, you
have to pay the balance. There is no control on
these people, but there is control on our wages and
the amount of money we can earn. It should be
the other way around. Take away the insurance
plan and pay under SS fund — like Italy,
Switzerland, England and many other nations. It
does work.
Please don't have two sets of rules, one for the
Page 2
HAUPPAUGE Membership
education is an ongoing activity in
the Civil Service Employees Assn.
Long Island Region, under the
a u s p i c e s of the region s " T I E
(Training, Information. Education)
Committee."
G r e g Szurnicki, p r e s i d e n t of
C S E A s Kings P a r k P s y c h i a t r i c
ONE OF THE TOUGHEST JOBS during the recent CSEA Annual Meeting in
Kiamesha Lake was accomplished by those who manned the delegate
registration desk and signed in almost 1,400 delegates. Credentials Conimiltee members and CSF^A staff members who manned the desk included
(from left): (Back row) Shirley Palmer, Hudson River Local 410; Rose
Mary Redmond and Ellalouise Wadsworth, staff; Helene Callahan, Syracuse
Local 013, and David Pflaumenbaum, Nassau County Local 830. (Front row)
Jeanne McGarry, staff; Connie Buckley, Taxation and Finance; Kathy
Barnes, staff; Helen Fox, Stony Brook Local 614; and Anne Wadas, Basic
Research Region H.
wage earning person and none for the medical big
business, transportation, oil, steel and food — the
big hogs. I am not a member of your union, but
my wife is a member of your good union. I understand it is very hard to fight big business, but I
think you should let your members know how you
stand about socialized medicine.
D.M. Donalone
Bohemia
(Editor, The Public Sector:
Hooray for Beatrice Wahrlich and her letter
which appeared in the November 1st issue of the
PUBLIC SECTOR! She is not alone and has expressed an opinion shared by many of us with years
of State service. Unfortunately, the rest of us have
kept quiet too long.
I consider myself a very capable stenographer
and feel that an outmoded Civil Service exam has
only dampened my spirit and left me with little, if
any, incentive.
For instance, for promotion I am required to take
three minutes of shorthand at 100 wpm. For nin(
years now my job has required little shorthand —
we happen to use a transcribing/dictating unit.
What little I do receive does not come close to 100
wpm and never exceeds my capabilities. I might
add that an inherited keen ability to improvise
words or sentences smooths over any rough areas
reached in transcribing. Needless to say, it is impossible for me to pass the senior stenographic exam. The result, no promotion.
If a survey of stenographers was taken, I am
certain that a majority would be in a similar
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, W e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r
15,, 1978
situation. So. what do we do? I plan to retire from
State service in another year (by then I will vest my
rights), unless of course there is some hope for
.promotion. But, I suggest that those of you out
there headed for nowhere do something now.
If only someone "with pull" would make an effort
to reach all of us to determine how many other
capable, but discouraged employees are out here
- AND THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Sincerely,
Anita L. Murphy
Public Relations Office
Upstate Medical Center
Syracuse
Editor, The Public Sector:
In your October 25, 1978 edition, I read your article on the J . P . Stevens Company on Page 14. On
Page 3, Irving Flaumenbaum tells me to "put your
money where your mouth is," and that we have
enough " m u s c l e " to help our friends in politics.
I feel that I must take exception. This very same
edition informs us that $41,000 has been donated to
Governor Hugh L. Carey. Governor Hugh L. Carey,
through the Office of Court Administration, is
attempting to do to the Court System just what you
accuse the J . P . Stevens Company of — "Union
Busting."
Our morale has reached "ebb tide." Thus, I for
one, am requesting a rebate of my funds used for
political purposes by CSEA.
Sincerely,
J. Smith'
Nassau County
Unified court plan
appeal set Nov. 17
in Appellate Div.
Region V
Workshop
By S. W. Chapman
Special to "The Public Sector"
SYRACUSE - The latest information on arbitration, contract
and disciplinary
grievance
procedures, and legal services
and responsibilities were discussed by Civil S<»rvice Employees
Assn. officials and outside experts
with CSEA m e m b e r s from the 20county Central Region at a
workshop held Nov. 3 and 4 at the
downtown Holiday Inn here.
F e a t u r e d speakers at the state
division workshop were J a m e s
Markowitz, associate professor of
Labor Relations at Ithaca College,
w h o s p o k e on " A r b i t r a t i o n ,
Contract and Disciplinary;" J a c k
Carey, CSEA director. Office of
Member Services; CSEA Atty.
Michael Smith, and Joseph
Conway, chairman of the CSEA
Legal Committee.
C a r e y s p o k e on " C o n t r a c t
G r i e v a n c e and
Disciplinary
P r o c e d u r e s , " and Smith and
Conway discussed "Legal Services and Responsibilities."
Dale D u s h a r m , p r e s i d e n t of
CSEA Local 611 at SUNY Oswego,
w a s workshop c h a i r m a n with
Claire McGrath of Syracuse Local
013 t a k i n g c h a r g e of s p e c i a l
a r r a n g e m e n t s and reservations.
About 75 o f f i c e r s and o t h e r
members
of
the
locals
representing state employees in
the 20-county region participated
in the workshop. They included
representatives of the four units
— Operational, Institutional, Administrative, and Professional,
Scientific and Technical — f r o m
such diverse agencies as the State
University of New York universities and colleges at Binghamton,
Cortland and Oswego, the Barge
Canal system, the Department of
Transportation, Upstate Medical
Center, the Department of Mental
Hygiene, the Department of Env i r o n m e n t a l Conservation and
several others.
CSEA Atty. Smith detailed the
legal responsibilities and services
of headquarters and regional attorneys.
. S m i t h stressed that in most
cases, individual m e m b e r s in need
of legal counsel should contact
their chapter representative who,
in turn, should get in touch with
the regional field representative.
The field r e p r e s e n t a t i v e then
should advise the regional attorney of the problem. E m e r g e n c y
situations sometimes require
m o r e direct methods, however, he
advised.
It is generally advisable that attorneys do not deal directly with
individual m e m b e r s in the first instance, Smith said.
SYRACUSE WORKSHOP COORDINATORS Claire McGrath, leU, Mary
Lauzon, Dale Duschartn and Doris Pratz, make a tinal check ot the program
prior to the afternoon session of the recent two-day Central Region V CSEA
workshop for State employees. Some 75 CSEA members from 20 counties
attended the workshop which featured sessions on arbitration, grievance
procedures and legal services.
BINGHAMTON CSEA LOCAL 002 REPRESENTATIVES Carol Potter, left,
Eleanor Korchar, Margaret Campoli and Joni Adams discuss their thoughts on
disciplinary grievance procedures during a break in the workshop session.
CSEA suit
gains in court
»
BARGE CANAL LOCAL 503 representatives, left to right, Ray Meszko,
Don McKinnon and Nick Varalli, go
over recent changes in contract
grievance and disciplinary grievance
procedures.
I
CSEA ATTORNEY MIKE SMITH of
Albany detailed the legal services and
responsibilities of CSEA headquarters
and regional attorneys.
Court upholds Buffalo's residency law
BUFFALO - A Buffalo city law,
which requires certain employees of
that city to live within city limits,
has been upheld by the Appellate
Division of State Supreme Court.
The decision overturned a lower
court decision which declared the
Buffalo law unconstitutional.
The class action suit against the
NEW Y O K K C I T Y
The
Appellate
Division.
irst
D e p a r t m e n t . S t a t e S u p r e m o Court
w i l l h e a r an a p p e a l h e r e on
November 17 to a State Supreme
Court ruling N o v e m b e r 1 which
blocked the proposed reclassification
plan of the unified court .system
proposal of the State Office of Court
Administration.
The proposed court .system would
classify all stale court employees as
state employees, whereas under the
current system many a r e listed as
county employees. Most of the 9.500
non-judicial employees affected a r e
represented by the Civil Service
Employees Assn.. which has already
gone on record as being opposed to
many of the items included in the
planned reclassification
plan
However, the law suit halting the
proposal was brought by a number
of small unions which represent
some 1.700 New York City court
workers not represented by CSP^A.
A State Supreme ('ourt justice ruled on N o v e m b e r 1 t h a t Adm i n i s t r a t i v e J u d g e R i c h a r d .1.
Bartlett lacks the constitutional and
statutory authority to adopt the plan.
While CSEA strongly objects to
particulars in the proposed plan, it
does not generally object to the
overall proposal since many of the
nearly 8.000 CSEA-represented court
workers affected would be in line to
receive higher wages and benefits
CSEA had testified at the first of a
series of public hearings scheduled
on the proposal, but which was curtailed pending the outcome of the
law suit.
law had been brought by two Buffalo
City Law Department attorneys. The
costs of the Appellate Division
appeal were paid by AFSCME Local
650.
The local must decide whether
to appeal the latest decision to the
State Court of Appeals.
The Appellate Division ruled:
(residency) is a qualification of
employment, no less than admission
to the bar may be in the case of the
plaintiffs, and a qualification which
the city may impose if it cho.ses to
do so without running afoul of the
constitution or general laws of the
state."
NEW YORK CITY A State
Supreme Court justice has ordered a
law suit charging the Commissioner
of the Division of Housing and Comm u n i t y R e n e w a l with i l l e g a l l y
creating positions and filling them
with political appointees transferred
to a trial t e r m of Supreme ('ourt.
The lawsuit was filed by the Civil
Service Employees Assn. Division of
Housing and community Renewal
Local 258; the Organization of New
York State Management
Confidential Employees Inc.. and others.
State Supreme Court Justice De
Forest C. Pitt ruled at a recent
special t e r m of court in Albany that
the case should be t r a n s f e r r e d to a
trial t e r m of State Supreme Court to
determine the " f a c t u a l basis of the
administrative d e t e r m i n a t i o n " by
the State Civil Service Commission
in creating three exempt positions in
the Division of Housing and Community Renewal. The lawsuit
charges the determination was arb i t r a r y and c a p r i c i o u s and a
violation of law, contending the
positions a r e in the competitive
class of Civil Service and that an
immediate competitive examination
should be conducted to fill the
positions with qualified persons.
The case is expected to be heard
at a future trial term of Slate
Supreme Court at Albany County
Supreme Court.
Page2THE PUBLIC SECTOR, W e d n e s d a y ,
November
15,,
1978
Will those political lOUs be paid back?
With m o d i t i c a t i o n of the inf a m o u s T a y l o r Law still a top
priority in the next session of the
S t a t e I . e g i s l a t u r e . it is i m p o r t a n t
to e v a l u a t e
the
expected
relationship b e t w e e n the Civil Service F'.mpioyees Association and
m e m b e r s of t h e S e n a t e a n d
Assembly.
Did the
union's
c h a n c e s for a b r e a k t h r o u g h inc r e a s e or d e c r e a s e on N o v e m b e r
If political e n d o r s e m e n t s m e a n
anything at all, and they usually
a c c o u n t for s o m e t h i n g , CSP]A
should be held in high e s t e e m by
m e m b e r s of the next L e g i s l a t u r e .
In l e g i s l a t i v e e l e c t i o n s
last
week. 51 out of 54 CSEA-endorsed
S t a t e S e n a t e c a n d i d a t e s won, a
s p a r k l i n g 94'r . And over in the
A s s e m b l y . 124 out of 141 CSEAendorsed c a n d i d a t e s won s e a t s , an
excellent
88'r . And
most
s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i d a t e s in both
houses r e c e i v e d not only financial
backing, but a v a r i e t y of s e r v i c e s
a s well f r o m the union.
While it is obvious that CSEA
CAN pick up s o m e lOUs based on
its e n d o r s e m e n t r e c o r d , it rem a i n s t o ' be seen w h e t h e r cand i d a t e s a r e willing to pay up on
such an e m o t i o n a l and c o n t r o v e r sial issue a s m o d i f i c a t i o n of the
Taylor Law. In y e a r s p a s t , when
CSEA did about a s well in endorsing s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i d a t e s , it did
not pay off in t e r m s of significantly changing the T a y l o r Law. but
did have a recognized e f f e c t in
o t h e r key legislative goals. But
CSEA did work h a r d e r this past
election for m o r e s u c c e s s f u l cand i d a t e s than e v e r b e f o r e , so the
debt b e c o m e s a bit g r e a t e r .
Still, a s u r v e y r e l e a s e d j u s t
prior to E l e c t i o n Day by the
Citizens Public
Expenditure
Survey, Inc. ( C P E S ) showed a
m a j o r i t y of l e g i s l a t o r s who did
respond do not support c h a n g e s in
the T a y l o r Law, especially the 2for-1 s t r i k e penalty. So it s h a p e s
up a s a n o t h e r difficult session on
t h a t p a r t i c u l a r legislation. But
p e r h a p s the e x t r a e f f o r t displayed
by t h e union this p a s t election will
m a k e the possibility for c h a n g e
g r e a t e r . (R.A.C.)
CSEA endorsement helps
The e n d o r s e m e n t and the support of CSEA proved to be an important f a c t o r in the r e s u l t s of
m a n y S t a t e S e n a t e and A s s e m b l y
elections. One e s p e c i a l l y good exa m p l e of this w a s in the 92nd
A s s e m b l y District in W e s t c h e s t e r
C o u n t y , w h e r e R e p u b l i c a n inc u m b e n t P e t e r Sullivan d e f e a t e d
anti-CSEA c a n d i d a t e J o y c e Gordon.
CSEA Local 860 in W e s t c h e s t e r
C o u n t y , w o r k e d h a r d for t h e
election of Sullivan.
A f t e r the votes w e r e counted.
Ms. Gordon, s p e a k i n g on radio,
b l a m e d her d e f e a t on Sullivan's
support by the public e m p l o y e e
union.
Local 860 proved that a conc e r t e d efft)rt by a CSEA local can
play an i m p o r t a n t p a r t in the
r e s u l t s of an election.
The Sullivan victory also has
wider i m p l i c a t i o n s for the politics
of W e s t c h e s t e r C o u n t v . While
L o c a l 860 a c t i v e l y
supported
Sullivan. County E x e c u t i v e Alfred
DelBello a c t i v e l y s u p p o r t e d Ms.
Ciordon.
The W e s t c h e s t e r County Unit,
which m a k e s up m o r e than half
the local s m e m b e r s h i p , f a c e s a
n u m b e r of layoffs proposed by
DelBello whicli the Countv Board
of L e g i s l a t o r s m u s t a c t on
shortly.
To s o m e e x t e n t , the SullivanG o r d o n r a c e w a s a t e s t of
s t r e n g t h b e t w e e n the unit and the
county e x e c u t i v e . The legislators,
who f a c e re-election next y e a r ,
probably w e r e w a t c h i n g closely
the r e s u l t s . (G.A.)
in our
Opinion
Closed negotiations best
The age-old d e b a t e over the
m e r i t s of c o n d u c t i n g negotiations
u n d e r a n e w s " b l a c k o u t " is
c e r t a i n to r e v i v e itself again with
the s t a r t this week of f o r m a l
b a r g a i n i n g b e t w e e n the Civil Service E m p l o y e e s Assn. and the
State of New York.
T h e r e a r e those who feel that
b a r g a i n i n g should be conducted
"in the open. " c o m p l e t e with
r e l e a s e of initial positions by both
sides and daily r e p o r t s a s the
talks p r o g r e s s . O t h e r s feel j u s t a s
strongly that c o n t r a c t talks a r e the
responsibility
of
union
p r o f e s s i o n a l s and negotiating t e a m
m e m b e r s and t h a t their e f f o r t s
s h o u l d n o t b e h a m p e r e d by
"negotiating through the news
media."
We a g r e e c o m p l e t e l y with the
l a t t e r position. Anyone who has
e v e r p a r t i c i p a t e d in the bargaining p r o c e s s knows that initial
positions a r e only s t a r t i n g points;
t h a t both s i d e s t e n d to w o r k
t o w a r d m i d d l e g r o u n d ; and t h a t
r e l e a s i n g of daily i n f o r m a t i o n of
p r o g r e s s or lack of p r o g r e s s
would only be d e t r i m e n t a l to the
process.
I*
L e t ' s not m a k e a difficult task
even h a r d e r . (R.A.C.)
N
Directory of Regional Offices
R E G I O N 1 — Long Island Region R E G I O N 4 — C a p i t a l Region
(516) 6 9 1 - 1 1 7 0
(518) 4 8 9 - 5 4 2 4
Irving F l a u m e n b a u m , P r e s i d e n t
Joseph McDermott, President
Ed Cleary, R e g i o n a l D i r e c t o r
John C o r c o r a n , R e g i o n a l D i r e c t o r
R E G I O N 2 — M e t r o Region
(212) 9 6 2 - 3 0 9 0
Solomon B e n d e t , P r e s i d e n t
G e o r g e B i s p h a m , Regional D i r e c t o r
R E G I O N 3 — Southern Region
(.914) 8 9 6 - 8 1 8 0
J a m e s Lennon, P r e s i d e n t
T h o m a s Luposello, Regional Director
R E G I O N 5 — C e n t r a l Region
(315) 4 2 2 - 2 3 1 9
J a m e s Moore, P r e s i d e n t
F r a n k M a r t e l l o , Regional D i r e c t o r
R E G I O N 6 — W e s t e r n Region
(716) 6 3 4 - 3 5 4 0
Robert Lattimer, President
Lee F r a n k , R e g i o n a l D i r e c t o r
LET'S HOPE THE SERVICE IS GOOD AT THIS T A B L E .
Published every Wednesday by Clarity Publishing, Inc.
Publication Office, 75 Champlain Street, Albany, N.Y. 12204 (518) 465-4591
Official publication of
The Civil Service
Employees Association
33 Elk Street,
Albany, New York 12224
Thomas A. demente—Publisher
Roger A. Cole—Executive Editor
Dr. Gerald Alperstein — Associate Editor
Oscar D. Barker—Associate Editor
Deborah Cassidy-Staff Writer
Susan A. Kemp—Staff Writer
Arden D. Lawand—Graphic Design
Dennis C. Mullahv—Production Coordinator
4
Page 2
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, W e d n e s d a y ,
November
15,,
1978
The Public Sector is published every
Wednesday except December 27, Jan. 3
July 4 and August 8 for $5.00 by the Civil
Service E m p l o y e e s Association, 33 Elk
Street, Albany, New York, 12224.
Application to mail at Second Class
Postage Rates pending at Albany, N e w
York.
Send address changes to The Public Sector, 33 Elk Street, Albany, N e w York
12224.
Publication office, 75 Champlain Street,
Albany, N e w York, 12204. Single copy
Price 25'.
(»w^riifiiMmiriiwaRrM»»«»«^^
"Local Government Report" will appear regularly in "The Public Sector." The column is prepared and edited by
Joseph Lazarony, chairman of the CMvil Service Kmployees Assn. County Division, and contains information of interest for all CSF^A m e m b e r s in general and e m p l o y e e s of local government jurisdictions in particular. Comments
and questions pertaining to this column may be addressed to Mr. Lazarony c o "The Public Se<'tor."
CSEA has a new paper, and it is
a good one. I am appreciative of
the opportunity to write an occasional column. Hope you enjoy
it.
C o n v e n t i o n "78 is now a
memory. At best the memories
are mixed.
One certainly has to be impressed w i t h t h e s p e a k e r s w h o
presented their ideas to us. Of
p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t w e r e the
several AFSCME officials who
spoke — and spoke in terms that
all of us are familiar with.
F o r m a n y y e a r s t h o s e six
letters, the acronym for
American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees,
were disliked, feared, avoided and
ignored by most of us in CSEA. In
truth, it was hard to realize that
this union represented tens of
thousands of employees who do
EXACTLY the kind of work CSEA
m e m b e r s d o . L i s t e n i n g to
speeches from AFSCME officials,
hearing them talk about school
bus d r i v e r s , county highway
employees, clerks in Social Services, etc. — Tielps one to realize
that CSEA and AFSCME are in
the same business, and have been
for many years! One comes to
realize that school bus drivers in
Minnesota have about the same
problems as do our school bus
drivers.
President J e r r y W u r f s address
s t r e s s e d t h e s e r i o u s n e s s of
problems facing public employees
everywhere, and of the need for
all of us to work together to meet
these problems.
International
Vice-President Victor Gottbaum
discussed the enormous opportunity this affiliation presents for
all of us to move forward in
public employee unionism. Executive Assistant Bill Hamilton
spoke of t h e m e t h o d s being
developed to inter-face CSEA with
AFSCME.
These speakers certainly convinced me, (and others I'm sure)
that public employees need each
other and can succeed only if we
have each other.
So, one memory, and probably
my most important one, is that
the AFSCME-CSEA affiliation has
much going for it. We are in the
same business, speak the same
language and, together, are better
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
REPORT
able to do our job than we were
before.
Another memory — those ten
huge signs on the dias. Each
labeled the s a m e — " P u b l i c
p]mployees — where would you be
w i t h o u t t h e m . " E a c h sign
develops the importance of a
different type of public employee,
and reminds all who read it that
we (public employees) do important work. I hope CSEA and
AFSCME greatly expand this
p r o g r a m . The
developing
animosity to public employees is
unfair, but there will always be
opportunists ready to degrade us.
And the song— we have a song
on the same theme. Every unit
and chapter meeting should open
with the song that tells us why we
are important. Pretty catchy tune
too!
Other m e m o r i e s include the
n e w w o r d s t o " D e a r Old
Donnegal" sung at the banquet,
the Irish Revolution and their
great music, the long, ineffective
dues discussions, the difficulties
political action can produce, and
the made-house on check-out day.
I have attended a lot of these
Joseph Lazarony
Chairman, CSEA County Division
conventions. Each has had its own
thrust. This one stressed unity for
CSEA with AFSCME. U n f o r tunately. it did not stress unity
within CSEA. All of us who were
privileged to be there, owe our
m e m b e r s a r e p o r t on w h a t
happened. I hope this column has
created interest in these reports.
See you soon
State Police communicators win upgrading
ALBANY — The Civil Service
Employees Assn. has won a major
u p g r a d i n g f o r s o m e 100 c o m munications specialists With the
New York State Police.
The employees w e r e f o r m e r l y
Grade-8 radio operators, but have
been reclassified as Grade-10 communications specialists as the result
of an effort by CSEA.
CSEA R e s e a r c h Analyst T i m
Mullens made the formal application
for the upgrading, noting that the socalled "radio operators" are really
"specialists in the field of law enforcement communications." Among
other duties, Mullens said, the
employees in question operate ä
c o m p u t e r with t e r m i n a l s
at
hundreds of locations statewide. This
computer, the RCA Spectra 70/6, is
known as the New York State Police
Information Network. It puts the
state police employees in instant
c o m m u n i c a t i o n with teletype
operators from such agencies as the
National Crime Information Center;
County workshop
set in Oswego
OSWEGO - Representatives from
20 counties of the Central Region of
the Civil Service Employees Assn.
will participate in a 2-day workshop
for county members November 17-18
at the Captain's Lounge, 27 East
First Street, Oswego.
Francis G. Miller, chairman of the
regional county executive committee
and c h a i r m a n of t h e w o r k s h o p
p r o g r a m , announced that the
program will begin with a 2-hour
discussion November 17 on the
CSEA-AFSCME affiliation. Irving
Flaumenbaum, CSEA Long Island
Region President as well as an
AFSCME International
Vice
President, will be guest speaker. On
Saturday, November 18, CSEA consultant Joseph Watkins will speak on
Civil S e r v i c e Law r u l e s and
regulations. Robert Lattimer, CSEA
W e s t e r n Region P r e s i d e n t and
Carolyn R u s h , d i r e c t o r of the
Oswego County CETA program, will
speak on the topic, "CETA. Putting
It In Perspective."
Chairman Miller has issued an invitation to CSEA county officers
from throughout the state to attend.
For additional information, he may
be contacted by phoning (315) 5922333.
ALBANY — The Civil Service Employees Assn. presented a check
for $1,250 to the Very Special Arts Festival last week, making the
union the m a j o r contributor in a fund raising campaign that resulted in
contributions of over $10,000 to help promote arts for the handicapped.
In the above photo, CSEA President William L. McGowan, who is
a member of the committee organizing the fund-raiser, holds a poster
with Jean Kennedy Smith, chairperson of the Very Special Arts
Festival Committee. The organization promotes the arts as an aid to
helping mentally handicapped individuals.
the Department of Motor Vehicles;
the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the National Law Enforcement Teletvpe System.
"The advent of NYSPIN made the
so-called ' r a d i o o p e r a t o r s ' into
teletype operators." Mullens said,
"but operating the computer is just
one of dozens of job duties the communications specialists p e r f o r m
daily. The new responsibilities taken
on by these employees over the
years have made the old title ~ and
the old pay — ridiculous."
Mullens was notified by the Department of Civil Service last week of
the department's approval of the
reclassification and reallocation for
the employees. The new pay will
take effect only after it has been
approved by the Division of the
Budget.
Under the new plan, future hires
will be appointed to a Grade 8, State
Police communications specialist
trainee position, ^nd
will
a u t o m a t i c a l l y be advanced to a
Grade 10 pay after one year's experience. All incumbents will be
reclassified and reallocated immediately upon Budget Division
approval.
"This is a step in the right direction." Mullens said. "Credit should
be given to Peter S. Carpenter of
Troop K in P o u g h k e e p s i e , t h e
applicant who represented the entire
group in the upgrading procedure,
and also to all the communications
specialists who helped win the upgrading by providing the union with
information
and
background
material.
"I am glad the state has finally
recognized that the duties these
employees perform are much more
difficult and comprehensive than the
former job specs would lead one to
believe. "
Page2THE PUBLIC SECTOR, W e d n e s d a y ,
November
15,,
1978
Will those political lOUs be paid back?
With m o d i t i c a t i o n ot the inf a m o u s T a y l o r Law still a top
priority in the next session of the
S t a t e i.egislatiire. it is i m p o r t a n t
to e v a l u a t e
the
expected
relationship b e t w e e n the Civil Service K m p l o y e e s Association and
m e m b e r s of t h e S e n a t e a n d
A s s e m b l y . Did t h e
union's
c h a n c e s for a b r e a k t h r o u g h inc r e a s e or d e c r e a s e on N o v e m b e r
If political e n d o r s e m e n t s m e a n
anything at all. and they usually
a c c o u n t for s o m e t h i n g . CSP]A
should be held in high e s t e e m by
m e m b e r s of the next L e g i s l a t u r e .
In l e g i s l a t i v e e l e c t i o n s
last
week. 51 out of 54 CSEA-endorsed
S t a t e S e n a t e c a n d i d a t e s won. a
s p a r k l i n g 94' f. And over in the
A s s e m b l y . 124 out of 141 CSEAendorsed c a n d i d a t e s won s e a t s , an
excellent
88'r . And
most
s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i d a t e s in both
houses r e c e i v e d not only financial
backing, but a v a r i e t y of s e r v i c e s
as well f r o m the union.
While it is obvious t h a t CSEA
CAN pick up s o m e l O U s based on
its e n d o r s e m e n t r e c o r d , it rem a i n s t o ' be seen w h e t h e r cand i d a t e s a r e willing to pay up on
such an e m o t i o n a l and c o n t r o v e r sial issue a s m o d i f i c a t i o n of the
Taylor Law. In y e a r s p a s t , when
CSEA did about a s well in endorsing s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i d a t e s , it did
not pay off in t e r m s of significantly changing t h e T a y l o r Law, but
(iid have a recognized e f f e c t in
other key legislative goals. But
CSEA did work h a r d e r this p a s t
election for m o r e s u c c e s s f u l cand i d a t e s than e v e r b e f o r e , so the
debt b e c o m e s a bit g r e a t e r .
Still, a s u r v e y r e l e a s e d j u s t
prior to E l e c t i o n Day by the
Citizens Public
Expenditure
Survey, Inc. ( C P E S ) showed a
m a j o r i t y of l e g i s l a t o r s who did
respond do not s u p p o r t c h a n g e s in
the T a y l o r L a w , e s p e c i a l l y the 2for-1 s t r i k e p e n a l t y . So it s h a p e s
up a s a n o t h e r difficult session on
that p a r t i c u l a r legislation. But
p e r h a p s the e x t r a e f f o r t displayed
by the union this p a s t election will
m a k e the possibility for c h a n g e
g r e a t e r . (R.A.C.)
CSEA endorsement helps
The e n d o r s e m e n t and the support of CSEA proved to be an important f a c t o r in the r e s u l t s of
m a n y S t a t e S e n a t e and A s s e m b l y
elections. One especially good exa m p l e of this w a s in the 92nd
A s s e m b l y District in W e s t c h e s t e r
C o u n t y , w h e r e R e p u b l i c a n inc u m b e n t P e t e r Sullivan d e f e a t e d
anti-('SEA c a n d i d a t e J o y c e Gordon.
CSEA Local 860 in W^estchester
County, worked hard for the
election of Sullivan.
A f t e r the votes w e r e c o u n t e d .
Ms. Gordon, speaking on radio,
b l a m e d her d e f e a t on S u l l i v a r ' s
support by the public e m p l o y e e
union.
Local 860 proved that a conc e r t e d effort by a CSEA local can
play an i m p o r t a n t part in the
r e s u l t s of an election.
The Sullivan victory also has
w i d e r i m p l i c a t i o n s for the politics
of W e s t c h e s t e r C o u n t v . While
L o c a l 860 a c t i v e l y s u p p o r t e d
Sullivan. County E x e c u t i v e Alfred
DelBello a c t i v e l y s u p p o r t e d Ms.
Ciordon.
The W e s t c h e s t e r County Unit,
which m a k e s up m o r e than half
the local s m e m b e r s h i p , f a c e s a
n u m b e r of layoffs proposed by
DelBello which the Countv Board
of L e g i s l a t o r s m u s t a c t on
shortly.
To s o m e e x t e n t , the SullivanG o r d o n r a c e w a s a t e s t of
s t r e n g t h b e t w e e n the unit and the
county e x e c u t i v e . The legislators,
w^ho f a c e re-election next y e a r ,
probably w e r e w a t c h i n g closely
the r e s u l t s . (G.A.)
in our
Opinion
Closed negotiations best
The age-old d e b a t e o v e r the
m e r i t s of conducting negotiations
u n d e r a n e w s " b l a c k o u t " is
c e r t a i n to revive itself again with
the s t a r t this week of f o r m a l
b a r g a i n i n g b e t w e e n the Civil Service P]mployees Assn. and the
S t a t e of New York.
T h e r e a r e those who feel that
b a r g a i n i n g should be conducted
"in the o p e n . " c o m p l e t e with
r e l e a s e of initial positions by both
sides and daily r e p o r t s as the
talks p r o g r e s s . O t h e r s feel j u s t a s
strongly that c o n t r a c t talks a r e the
responsibility
of
union
p r o f e s s i o n a l s and n e g o t i a t i n g t e a m
m e m b e r s and t h a t t h e i r e f f o r t s
s h o u l d not be h a m p e r e d by
"negotiating through the news
media."
We a g r e e c o m p l e t e l y with the
l a t t e r position. Anyone who h a s
e v e r p a r t i c i p a t e d in the bargaining p r o c e s s knows t h a t initial
positions a r e only s t a r t i n g points;
t h a t both s i d e s t e n d to w o r k
t o w a r d m i d d l e g r o u n d ; and t h a t
r e l e a s i n g of daily i n f o r m a t i o n of
p r o g r e s s or l a c k of p r o g r e s s
would only be d e t r i m e n t a l to the
process.
L e t ' s not m a k e a difficult task
even h a r d e r . (R.A.C.)
Directory of Regional Offices
R E G I O N 1 — Long Island Region R E G I O N 4 — C a p i t a l Region
(516) 6 9 1 - 1 1 7 0
(518) 4 8 9 - 5 4 2 4
Joseph McDermott, President
Irving F l a u m e n b a u m , P r e s i d e n t
John Corcoran, Regional Director
Ed C l e a r y , Regional D i r e c t o r
R E G I O N 2 — M e t r o Region
(212) 9 6 2 - 3 0 9 0
Solomon Bendet, P r e s i d e n t
G e o r g e B i s p h a m , Regional D i r e c t o r
R E G I O N 3 — Southern Region
(.914) 8 9 6 - 8 1 8 0
J a m e s Lennon, F^resident
T h o m a s Luposello. Regional Director
R E G I O N 5 — C e n t r a l Region
(315) 4 2 2 - 2 3 1 9
J a m e s Moore, P r e s i d e n t
F r a n k M a r t e l l o , Regional D i r e c t o r
R E G I O N 6 — W e s t e r n Region
(716) 6 3 4 - 3 5 4 0
Robert Lattimer, President
Lee Frank, Regional Director
LET'S HOPE THE SERVICE IS GOOD AT THIS T A B L E .
Published every Wednesday by Clarity Publishing, Inc.
Publication Office, 75 Champlain Street, Albany, N.Y. 12204 (518) 465-4591
Thomas A. demente—Publisher
Roger A. Cole—Executive Editor
Dr. Gerald Alperstein — Associate Editor
Oscar D. Barker—Associate Editor
Deborah Cassidy-Staff Writer
Susan A. Kemp-Staff Writer
Arden D. Lawand—Graphic Design
Dennis C. Mullahv—Production Coordinator
Official publication of
The Civil Service
Employees Association
33 Elk Street,
Albany, New York 12224
Page
2
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, W e d n e s d a y ,
November
15,,
1978
The Public Sector is published every
Wednesday except D e c e m b e r 27, Jan. 3
July 4 and \ u g u s t 8 for $5.00 by the Civil
Service E m p l o y e e s Association, 33 Elk
Street, Albany, New York, 12224.
Application lo mail at Second Class
Postage Rates pending at Albany, New
York.
Send address changes to The Public Sector, 33 Elk Street, Albany, New York
12224.
Publication office, 75 Champlain Street,
Albany, N e w York, 12204. Single copy
Price 25'.
"Local (iovernment Report" will appear regularly in "The Public Sector." The column is prepared and edited by
Joseph Lazarony, chairman of the Civil Service Employees Assn. County Division, and contains information of interest for all CSEA members in general and employees of local government jurisdictions in particular. Comments
and questions pertaining to this column may be addressed to Mr. Lazarony c o "The Public Sector."
CSEA has a new paper, and it is
a good one. I am appreciative of
the opportunity to write an occasional column. Hope vou enjoy
it.
C o n v e n t i o n '78 is n o w a
memory. At best the memories
are mixed.
One certainly has to be impressed w i t h t h e s p e a k e r s w h o
presented their ideas to us. Of
particular interest were the
several AFSCME officials who
spoke — and spoke in terms that
all of us are familiar with.
F o r m a n y y e a r s t h o s e six
l e t t e r s , the a c r o n y m for
American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees,
were disliked, feared, avoided and
ignored by most of us in CSEA. In
truth, it was hard to realize that
this union represented tens of
thousands of employees who do
EXACTLY the kind of work CSEA
m e m b e r s d o . L i s t e n i n g to
speeches from AFSCME officials,
hearing them talk about school
bus d r i v e r s , c o u n t y highway
employees, clerks in Social Services, etc. — Tlelps one to realize
that CSEA and AFSCME a r e in
the same business, and have been
for many years! One comes to
realize that school bus drivers in
Minnesota have about the same
problems as do our school bus
drivers.
President J e r r y W u r f s address
s t r e s s e d t h e s e r i o u s n e s s of
problems facing public employees
everywhere, and of the need for
all of us to work together to meet
these problems.
International
Vice-President Victor Gottbaum
discussed the enormous opportunity this affiliation presents for
all of us to move forward in
public employee unionism. Executive Assistant Bill Hamilton
spoke of t h e m e t h o d s being
developed to inter-face CSEA with
AFSCME.
These speakers certainly convinced me, (and others I'm sure^
that public employees need each
other and can succeed only if we
have each other.
So, one memory, and probably
my most important one, is that
the AFSCME-CSEA affiliation has
much going for it. We are in the
same business, speak the same
language and. together, a r e better
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
REPORT
able to do our job than we were
before.
Another memory — those ten
huge signs on the dias. p]ach
labeled the s a m e — " P u b l i c
F^mployees — where would you be
without t h e m . " E a c h sign
develops the i m p o r t a n c e of a
different type of public employee,
and reminds all who read it that
we (public employees) do important work. I hope CSEA and
AFSCME greatly expand this
p r o g r a m . The
developing
animosity to public employees is
unfair, but there will always be
opportunists ready to degrade us.
And the song— we have a song
on the same theme. Every unit
and chapter meeting should open
with the song that tells us why we
are important. Pretty catchy tune
too!
Other m e m o r i e s include the
n e w w o r d s t o " D e a r Old
Donnegal" sung at the banquet,
the Irish Revolution and their
great music, the long, ineffective
dues discussions, the difficulties
political action can produce, and
the made-house on check-out day.
I have attended a lot of these
Joseph Lazarony
Chairman, CSEA County Division
conventions. Each has had its own
thrust. This one stressed unity for
CSEA with A F S C M E . U n f o r tunately. it did not stress unity
within CSEA. All of us who were
privileged to be there, owe our
m e m b e r s a r e p o r t on w h a t
happened. I hope this column has
created interest in these reports.
See you soon
State Police communicators win upgrading
ALBANY The Civil Service
Employees Assn. has won a m a j o r
u p g r a d i n g f o r s o m e 100 c o m munications specialists \vith the
New York State Police.
The employees w e r e f o r m e r l y
Grade-8 radio operators, but have
been reclassified as Grade-10 communications specialists as the result
of an effort by CSEA.
CSEA R e s e a r c h A n a l y s t T i m
Mullens made the formal application
for the upgrading, noting that the socalled "radio operators" are really
"specialists in the field of law enforcement communications." Among
other duties, Mullens said, the
employees in question operate ä
c o m p u t e r with t e r m i n a l s
at
hundreds of locations statewide. This
computer, the RCA Spectra 70/6, is
known as the New York State Police
Information Network. It puts the
state police employees in instant
communication with teletype
operators from such agencies as the
National Crime Information Center;
County workshop
set in Oswego
OSWEGO — Representatives from
20 counties of the Central Region of
the Civil Service Employees Assn.
will participate in a 2-day workshop
for county members November 17-18
at the Captain's Lounge, 27 East
First Street, Oswego.
Francis G. Miller, chairman of the
regional county executive committee
and c h a i r m a n of t h e w o r k s h o p
p r o g r a m , announced that the
program will begin with a 2-hour
discussion November 17 on the
CSEA-AFSCME affiliation. Irving
Flaumenbaum, CSEA Long Island
Region President as well as an
AFSCME International
Vice
President, will be guest speaker. On
Saturday, November 18, CSEA consultant Joseph Watkins will speak on
Civil S e r v i c e Law r u l e s and
regulations. Robert Lattimer, CSEA
W e s t e r n Region P r e s i d e n t and
Carolyn R u s h , d i r e c t o r of the
Oswego County CETA program, will
speak on the topic, "CETA, Putting
It In Perspective."
Chairman Miller has issued an invitation to CSEA county officers
from throughout the state to attend.
F'or additional information, he may
be contacted by phoning (315) 5922333.
ALBANY — The Civil Service Employees Assn. presented a check
for $1,250 to the Very Special Arts Festival last week, making the
union the m a j o r contributor in a fund raising campaign that resulted in
contributions of over $10,000 to help promote arts for the handicapped.
In the above photo, CSEA President William L. McGowan, who is
a member of the committee organizing the fund-raiser, holds a poster
with Jean Kennedy Smith, chairperson of the Very Special Arts
Festival Committee. The organization promotes the a r t s as an aid to
helping mentally handicapped individuals.
the Department of Motor Vehicles;
the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the National Law Enforcement Teletype System.
"The advent of NYSPIN made the
so-called ' r a d i o o p e r a t o r s ' into
teletype operators," Mullens said,
"but operating the computer is just
one of dozens of job duties the communications specialists p e r f o r m
daily. The new responsibilities taken
on by these employees over the
years have made the old title — and
the old pay — ridiculous."
Mullens was notified by the Department of Civil Service last week of
the department's approval of the
reclassification and reallocation tor
the employees. The new pay will
take effect only a f t e r it has been
approved by the Division of the
Budget.
Under the new plan, future hires
will be appointed to a Grade 8. State
Police communications specialist
trainee position, ^nd
will
automatically be advanced to a
Grade 10 pay after one y e a r s experience. All incumbents will be
reclassified and reallocated immediately upon Budget Division
approval.
"This is a step in the right direction." Mullens said. "Credit should
be given to Peter S. Carpenter of
Troop K in P o u g h k e e p s i e , the
applicant who represented the entire
group in the upgrading procedure,
and also to all the communications
specialists who helped win the upgrading by providing the union with
information
and
background
material.
"I am glad the state has finally
recognized that the duties these
employees perform are much more
difficult and comprehensive than the
former job specs would lead one to
believe."
Page2THE PUBLIC SECTOR, W e d n e s d a y , November 15,, 1978
iwwwHisanwreWfiewa ' i i m i M a w i i W W M W
CSEA backs
most winners
Involvement heavy
in key local issues
HOWARD JARVIS, credited with bringing Proposition 13 to California, also
pushed tor initiative and referendum on
Long Island recently. Suffolk County
voters followed his lead and approved a
law there November 7. Now he might be
back to push for similar legislation in
neighboring Nassau County, using Long
Island as a base of operation to preach his
brand of legislation across New York
State.
While the Civil S e r v i c e F ] m p l o y e e s A s s n .
w a s k e e p i n g a c a r e f u l e y e on s t a t e w i d e ,
l e g i s l a t i v e and local political r a c e s in w h i c h
the union had e n d o r s e d c a n d i d a t e s and, o v e r a l l ,
c o n t r i b u t e d s o m e $400,000 to h e l p e l e c t t h o s e
selected candidates, attention w a s also riveted
on i m p o r t a n t p r o p o s i t i o n s w h e r e t h e union had
t a k e n a s t r o n g stand.
P a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n w a s d r a w n to v o t i n g on
a p r o p o s i t i o n 13-type i n i t i a t i v e and r e f e r e n d u m
p r o p o s a l in Suffolk County; a c i t y w i d e t a x c a p
p r o p o s i t i o n in P o u g h k e e p s i e ; and t w o count y w i d e p r o p o s i t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e o p e r a t i o n of
the T o m p k i n s County H o s p i t a l .
When the b a l l o t s w e r e t a b u l a t e d in all
t h r e e l o c a t i o n s , the union found little to be
thankful for. I n t e n s i v e e f f o r t s by C S E A in all
three instances proved fruitless as voters
d e c i d e d in o p p o s i t i o n to t h e union's s t a n c e . A s
a r e s u l t of t h e v o t i n g o u t c o m e , t h e r e is t h e
p o s s i b i l i t y of f u t u r e l a y o f f s a n d / o r d i f f i c u l t
c o n t r a c t b a r g a i n i n g in t h e a r e a s i n v o l v e d .
In all t h r e e i n s t a n c e s , the union had b a t t l e d
hard for its position. Without q u e s t i o n the union
a c t i v i t y in e a c h c a s e n a r r o w e d the m a r g i n of
support for t h e p r o p o s a l s that p a s s e d , but t h e r e
c a n be little s o l a c e in that. N o w C S E A i n t e n d s
to r e m a i n a c t i v e a s i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of t h e
p r o p o s a l s a r e s t u d i e d to c o n t i n u e to h a v e input
into the c h a n g e s a p p r o v e d by the v o t e r s .
Poughkeepsie voters approve
decrease in property tax limit
Suffolk County voters approve
initiative and referendum law
R I V P : R H E A D — A proposition 13type initiative and referendum which
the Civil Service Elmployees Assn.
had bitterly opposed was approved
overwhelmingly by Suffolk County
voters on Election Day, giving it the
dubious distinction of being the first
county in New York State with such
a law on the books.
CSEA's Suffolk .County Local 852
had filed a law suit to keep the
proposal off the ballots, charging the
county l e g i s l a t u r e violated the
County C h a r t e r in placing the
referendum on the ballots. Justices
in the State Supreme Court and the
Appellate Division both upheld the
union lawsuit, but the proposal was
placed back on the ballots just days
before the election when the State
Court of Appeals overturned the two
lower court verdicts.
The Suffolk County proposal allows
changes and amendments in the
county charter to be considered upon
presentation of only 1,000 signatures
of county residents, including just 50
from each of the county's 10 towns.
Even if the legislature were to reject any such proposed changes,
residents still could force changes
by submitting new petitions with
signatures of 5 percent of the county's last gubernatorial vote total,
leading to a countywide referendum.
A disappointed William E. Lewis,
president of CSE]A Local 852, said,
"We still feel the original resolution
was poorly and illegally drafted, and
might now be used by political
bosses and special interest groups to
further their own interests rather
than the public's. We hope we're
wrong." Mr. Lewis also noted that
the union was never against the initiative and referendum idea per se,
but felt it was improperly prepared
and did not allow enough time for
study by the public.
He said the union is fearful that
the law will enable anti-government
groups to " d i s m a n t l e c o u n t y
government."
Page 6
The proposal received support and
the personal attention of Howard
Jarvis, credited with bringing the
disasterous Proposition 13 to California. Jarvis spoke recently in Commack and clearly had selected the
Long Island counties of Suffolk and
Nassau as his base to push that type
of legislation in New York State.
R e c e n t l y the Nassau County
legislature voted down a proposal of
that kind, but indications now are
that efforts to revive the proposal
can be expected again in Nassau.
CSEA Nassau County Local 830 was
instrumental in the earlier rejection,
and is already starting to prepare
for new battles to keep initiative and
r e f e r e n d u m f r o m s p r e a d i n g to
Nassau County.
POUGHKEEPSIE - In spite of an
all-out campaign by the Civil Service
Employees Assn. that included radio
and n e w s p a p e r a d v e r t i s i n g , a
citywide proposal to decrease the
limit that the City of Poughkeepsie
can tax p r o p e r t y owners was
approved by a margin of 54% to 46%
on November 7.
CSEA, joined by other unions
representing city employees, conducted a campaign seeking to defeat
the proposal since it results in less
DISCUSSING THE COMMON ENEMY — Initiative and referendum is a major
threat to public employees on Long Island. Nick Abbatieilo, left, president of Nassau
County Local 830, and Bill Lewis, president of Suffolk county Local 852, discuss the
potential impact upon their members following passage of the law in Suffolk County
on November 7 and the possibility of reviving the proposal for Nassau County in the
coming weeks.
Tompkins union effort not enough
ITHACA — A difficult, courageous
campaign by the Tompkins County
Unit of the Civil Service Employees
Assn. Local 855 to keep the new
Tompkins County Hospital a public
facility operated by the county suffered defeat November 7 when
voters approved two propositions
enabling the hospital to be turned
over to a private corporation.
CSEA unit members had obtained
enough signatures on petitions to
force the issue onto the ballots,
preventing the county legislature
from simply turning the operation of
the public hospital over to the
private contract earlier this year.
The defeat at the polls was a bitter
one for the county employees at the
Tompkins County Hospital since they
had succeeded in obtaining the
referendum and had conducted an
extensive advertising campaign urging rejection of the referendum
proposals. If and when the new
county hospital is turned over to the
private corporation, employees of
the hospital will lose their status as
p u b l i c e m p l o y e e s and b e c o m e
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, November
15,
1978
THE POUGHKEEPSIE MANDATE, approved by voters to lower the percentage of
property taxes to be levied, may have a serious effect upon public employees. Unions
representing city employees campaigned against the proposal. Shown going over the
proposal are, from left, AI Gallo, president of the Poughkeepsie CSEA Unit (front);
John Dakin Sr., president of the firefighters union; Jerry Grammas, president of the
Poughkeepsie PBA; CSEA Collective Bargaining Specialist Phil Miller; and Ellis VV.
Adams, president of the Dutchess County CSEA Local 814,
(Photo by Ted Kaplan)
p r i v a t e e m p l o y e e s of the corporation. However, it is not known
how many of the present employees
will be retained, and the employees
also believe they will suffer reduced
w a g e s and b e n e f i t s under the
transfer.
Voters on E l e c t i o n Day c a s t
ballots on two different proposals
concerning the possible transfer,
a p p r o v i n g both
countywide
propositions by a vote of approximately 9,000 to 7,500.
The d r i v e to r e t a i n c o u n t y
ownership of the county hospital was
spearheaded by CSEA County Unit
President Lou Nayman and Local
855 Political Action Committee
Chairman John Wyrough, augmented
by a referendum committee of mostly union members who participated
in the successful signature drive.
Just prior to election day, an independent citizens committee came
out with a strong recommendation to
defeat the proposals also.
D e s p i t e t h e a p p r o v a l l of t h e
proposal, the various applications
necessary before the changeover can
be accomplished have not yet been
approved. CSEA representatives
said they intend to continue as a
watchdog during that phase to be
certain the welfare of the public and
the employees are considered.
Union officials also expressed dismay that some 7,000 Tompkins
County voters who voted in the other
elections for offices on the ballots
failed to vote at all on the referendum.
tax revenue to the city and could
lead to relatively large scale layoffs.
The union campaign was conducted
on the theme that reduced revenue
means reduced numbers of city
employees, which means reduced
public services.
Following approval of the proposal
by the voters, the unions are now expected to prepare for ways to work
within the limited r e v e n u e s to
prevent or lessen potential layoff
impact.
Tax revolt unclear
Proposals which would limit taxes
or governmental spending are not
yet universally accepted by the
general public, as evidenced by
voting on such proposals in various
states where major money issues
were on the ballots November 7.
Based on incomplete voting results
from around the country, voters
were supporting, narrowly in some
cases, proposals to limit taxing or
spending in 10 of 16 states where
such major money issues appeared
on the ballots.
TOMPKINS COUNTY HOSPITAL
Voters decided to allow the county to
turn this new facility over to a private
corporation. CSEA employees had conducted a massive effort to retain the
facility as a public hospital.
In Arkansas, a measure exempting
drugs and groceries from the state's
3 percent sales tax was trailing
badly, and Colorado voters were saying " n o " to a proposal to the
spending increases to increases in
population and the Consumer Price
Index.
Nebraska voters were almost
evenly split on a spending ceiling, as
were residents of South Dakota.
In Idaho, a m e a s u r e closely
patterned after California's
Proposition 13 was ahead by 15
percentage points in early returns.
Initial returns showed Oregon
voters narrowly favoring a
Proposition-13-style proposal.
Michigan voters had a choice of
three constitutional a m e n d m e n t s
affecting taxes and spending. The
amendment linking state spending to
personal income, led by a margin of
59 percent to 41 percent. Two others
trailed.
Spending ceilings also were
favored in e a r l y r e t u r n s f r o m
Illinois, Arizona and Texas. The
Illinois referendum was advisory in
nature only. A measure also was on
the ballot in Hawaii.
P r o p o s a l s designed to lower
p r o p e r t y a s s e s s m e n t r a t e s for
h o m e o w n e r s led in A l a b a m a ,
Massachusetts and Missouri; a cut
in the state income tax was favored
by more than 2-1 in North Dakota.
ALBANY - The Civil Service
Employees Assn. came out well in
last week's elections for the State
Senate and for the Assembly. Hernie
Ryan. CSEA director of legislative
and political action, said.
Ryan said the union has a lot of
friends elected in both state houses
and many of the legislative leaders
and committee chairmen will have
good relationships with CSP:A.
He is h o p i n g to s e e s o m e
modification in the Taylor Law during the new legislative session. The
area of major concern is monetary
penalties, including the two-for-one
and injunctive relief
In the Senate. 51 of the 60 elected
w e r e CSEA e n d o r s e d . In t h e
Assembly. 124 of the 150 elected
were CSEA endorsed.
Among CSEA endorsed candidates.
94 percent of the senate candidates
(51 of 54) were elected and 88
percent of the assembly candidates
(124 of 141) were elected. CSEA did
not endorse in all races.
Ryan explained that in past years,
while CSEA-endorsed candidates
won with the same frequency, the
union did little more than go on
record with the endorsement. He estimated that in 1976. only about 10
candidates received active support.
This is whv he believes CSEAr e l a t e d l e g i s l a t i o n only w a s
moderately successful in the last
legislative session.
This year CSEA worked actively
for more than 100 candidates in the
primaries and in the general election. It is based on this active support that Ryan believes CSEA will
fare better in the future.
Among the political activities
w e r e s e t t i n g up and m a n n i n g
telephone banks, sending letters to
CSEA members, door-to-door canvassing. printing and passing out
literature and cash contributions.
One state senator to receive considerable CSEA help was Republican
John Marchi of Staten Island and the
lower end of Manhattan, who is
chairman of the finance committee.
CSEA, along with some other public
employee unions, opened a storefront and manned telephone banks to
build support for Marchi in normally
Democratic areas of his district.
Another Republican state senator,
Fred Water, who represents the
area east of Rochester, has been a
strong supporter of CSEA during his
16 years in the Senate and the
Assembly.
Water's opponent spent approximately $100.000, the most ever in an
upstate campaign. Ryan said. CSEA
countered with support from headquarters. Region V and a number of
locals in Regions V and VI.
Among the successful Democratic
candidates who received CSEA help,
either in the primaries or in the
general election were Assemblymen
Dan Walsh. F r a n k l i n v i l l e ; Mel
Miller, Brooklyn; Alan Hevesi.
Queens; Robin Schimminger, Buffalo; Mel Zimmer, Syracuse; Neil
Kelleher. Troy; and Jim Tallon,
Binghamton.
In the State Senate, where the
Republicans hold the majority, there
will be eight vacant leadership
positions. Below majority leader
Warren Anderson are vacancies for
deputy majority leader and five
committee chairmanships, because
of either retirement or death. Al.so
two new posts, majority whip and
assistant majority leader, are slated
to be filled. Ryan said.
Among the 35 elected Republicans.
28 were endorsed by CSEA. Ryan expects a number of those eight
leadership positions to be filled by
legislators with which CSEA has a
good relationship.
Also in the Senate. 23 of the 25
elected Democrats were endorsed by
CSEA.
In the Assembly, where the
Democrats hold the majority. 81 of
the 95 elected Democrats were endorsed by CSEA and 43 of the BH
elected Republicans were endorsed
by CSEA.
With the defeat of Assembly
Speaker Stanley Steingut and the
retirement of minority leader Perry
Duryea. there will be new leadership
in the Assembly on both sides of the
aisle. Ryan expects CSEA will have
good r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e new
Assembly leaders.
Among the Democrats, he said
CSEA has an excellent relationship
with the probable new Speaker.
Stanley Fink of Brooklyn, who has
been the majority leader.
Among those assemblymen who
most likely will become the new majority leader and or chairmen of the
banking and government employees
committees, where vacancies exist,
according to Ryan, are:
Oliver Koppeil, the Bronx; Walsh;
Arthur Eve. Buffalo; Jerry Krem er,
Nas.sau County; Bill Passannente.
Manhattan; Miller and Alan Hevesi.
R y a n s a i d CSP:a h a s good
relations with all seven of the
as.semblymen listed above.
On the Republican side. Ryan said
the three most likely candidates to
succeed Duryea as minority leader
are Dom DiCarlo, Brooklyn; Charles
H e n d e r s o n . H o r n e l l ; and J i m
Emery. Geneseo.
Ryan said that CSEA has not had
too much dealing with any of the
three to date because the major cont a c t had b e e n w i t h D u r y e a .
However, none of the three have
voting records that can be called
anti-CSEA.
Return
forms
A reminder has been issued to
union members to return the contest forms associated with a
recently conducted
voter
registration drive sponsored by
the Civil Service Employees Assn.
CSEA's Director of Legislative
and Political Action Bernard
Ryan said forms should be returned by November 22 to be considered eligible.
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, November
15,
1978
Page 7
"aBssa"
Fight against layoffs opens in Westchester
By Dr. Gerald Alperstein
WESTCHESTER
The
Westchester County Unit of CSEA
Local 860 launched its campaign to
try to prevent massive layoffs of
county workers at a meeting of the
W e s t c h e s t e r C o u n t y B o a r d of
Legislators on Nov. 6.
Approximately 300 members of the
6,000-member unit, using their lunch
time or personal time, packed the
l e g i s l a t i v e c h a m b e r to p r o v i d e
moral support for unit President
Labor
Department
employees get raises
NEW YORK CITY - An effort by
the Civil Service Employees Assn. to
extend negotiated salary increases
to certain hourly employees of the
Department of Labor has paid off.
The department has notified William
D e M a r t i n o , p r e s i d e n t of t h e
Metropolitan Department of Labor
CSEA Local 350, and CSEA Collective Bargaining Specialist Paul
Burch that the matter raised at
recent labor-management meetings
has been resolved.
Agency Manpower Management
Director Gerald E. Dunn, said hourly workers in the Department of
Audit and Control and in t h e
Division of the Budget not employed
during the week of March 31, 1977,
but "who were employed during the
1967-77 S t a t e f i s c a l y e a r a n d
reemployed a f t e r April 1, 1977,
should be eligible for the five
percent increase on April 1, 1977,
and for the subsequent increases if
they continue to meet the tests established in the 1977 legislation."
Raymond J. O'Connor,
who
presented the unit's position to the
legislators. It was standing room
only with people sitting on stairs and
on window sills.
The 1979 proposed budget was
p r e s e n t e d this week, and the
legislators must vote final approval.
Included in that budget will be a
number of layoffs. County Executive
Alfred DelBello told O'Connor last
month.
O'Connor said the layoffs are in
violation of a verbal a g r e e m e n t
between the unit and the county that
there would be no large layoffs
because earlier this year the unit
accepted a small, approximately 10.5
percent pay increase over three
years. He said DelBello claimed the
no-layoff agreement was for 1978
and not for 1979 and 1980.
Region III Third Vice President Stan Boguski expresses support from the region to
the Westchester County Unit of Local 860 at a recent unit membership meeting and
rally. Boguski's comments were followed by enthusiastic applause. Unit president
Raymond J. O'Connor (left) listens attentively. The unit faces possible large layoffs
next year.
As an attempt to provide a broad range of services to its membership, The Civil Service Employees Association will run a bi-weekly column to be known as the "Insurance
Advisor." The purpose of this column will be to make all our members aware of the
benefits available to them and to anwer as many questions as possible concerning the
provision of these benefits. We encourage you to submit your inquiries directly to The
Civil Service Employees Association, c ^ Michael Carroll, 33 Elk Street, Albany, New
York 12224. We pledge to answer these questions as quickly as possible.
An often overlooked benefit of
participating in CSEA sponsored
life insurance programs is the opportunity to convert all or a
portion of the coverage to an individual form of coverage with
the insurance carrier. The right of
conversion is particularly important for those individuals who
do not have a permanent form of
life insurance coverage.
It should be remembered that
both the Basic Life Plan and the
Supplemental Life Plan are term
insurance programs. This means
that at some point (i.e. age 70 or
75) c o v e r a g e will t e r m i n a t e .
Term policies do not have a paid
up life insurance benefit nor do
they a c c u m u l a t e c a s h v a l u e .
Through the right of conversion,
however, continuity of coverage
can be maintained. Most importantly, when you convert you will
not be required to submit medical
evidence of insurability to the insurance company.
Through negotiations with the
insurance carriers, a variety of
conversion options have been
developed. These options allow
participants the opportunity to
continue coverage after coverage
in the group plan terminates. The
various options are explained in
Page 2
Unit officials said a number of
legislators are
noncommital
because, as of last week, the number
of layoffs in DelBello's proposed
budget was not known-. The officials
reported that there was some sentiment for freezing hiring rather
t h a n l a y i n g off and t h a t o n e
legislator was against all layoffs in
the budget.
Also reported by unit officials was
that some legislators were already
feeling heat about the layoffs, even
though the layoffs are only in the
county executive's proposed budget.
In O'Connor's a d d r e s s to the
legislators, he was specific about
why the unit is aiming its campaign
at the legislators to save the jobs.
"The Board of Legislators is our
court of last resort. We do not
blame you. We are not confronting
more detail in the following
paragraphs.
(1) If you terminate your government employment for any reason
(including retirement) you may
convert all or any portion of your
coverage to an individual type of
permanent insurance offered by
the carrier.
(2) In the calendar year an active employee attains age 50 and
any year thereafter, the employee
may convert f r o m $1,000 up to
$5,000 of his coverage to an individual policy other than term insurance. The amount of term
coverage the employee is insured
for will be reduced by the amount
of the converted policy.
(3) When an active employee
has attained age 60 or age 65 he
may convert the total amount of
coverage in force to an individual
policy other than term insurance.
Application must be made within
31 d a y s of t h e 60th or 65th
birthday. Your term insurance
will terminate on the effective
date of the converted policy.
(4) At retirement an employee
may elect to convert only one half
(y-i) of his coverage to an individual policy. The remaining
one half ('2) may be continued at
the group rate until attainment of
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, W e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 15,, 1978
insurance
advisor
age 70.
(5) At age 70, all or any portion
of the employee's coverage may
be converted to an individual
policy, other than term insurance.
As with any form of life insurance as your age increases,
the cost of coverage also increases. So if you do not have a
permanent form of individual insurance, I would suggest you convert at the earliest opportunity.
F u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n on conversion privileges can be obtained
from CSEA Headquarters, Ter
Bush and Powell, Inc., P.O. Box
956, Schenectady, New York 12301
or the Travelers Insurance Company, c/o Walter Novak, 80 Wolf
Road, Albany, New York 12205.
you. I am appealing to you to save
jobs," O'Connor said.
The a c t u a l h e a r i n g a t which
O'Connor and other CSEA m e m b e r s
spoke, was on a proposed pay increase of approximately $4,000 for
DelBello and for lesser increases to
the budget director, the social services director, the commissioner of
hospitals and the commissioner of
health.
In addition to those pay raises,
also criticized were the alreadyp a s s e d a p p r o x i m a t e 18 p e r c e n t
($2,300) p a y i n c r e a s e f o r t h e
legislators, to almost $15,000 a year.
Unit officials said the wording of
that proposal was so vague that two
of the legislators who had voted in
favor of it in its 10-6 passage, unsuccessfully tried to have a revote
so they could change their vote. The
officials also said the vague wording
prevented the unit from mounting
opposition to the increase.
O'Connor said the proposed pay increase with the proposed layoffs
were ill timed. "The consideration
of raises and the creation of new executive positions is an affront to
working people. . . . Do not cut jobs
from people who have to work to
support families."
Unit m e m b e r Rick P a r i d i s o
pointed out to the legislators that a
new $40,000 executive position was
just added to the county, which
could pay the salaries and benefits
of three county workers.
The legislators are expected to
vote on the raises for the county executive and the other administrators
later this month.
Court to rule
on old exams
ALBANY - The State Civil Service Department, which is trying to
unsnarl mass confusion and scores
of complaints surrounding other
p r o m o t i o n a l e x a m s h e l d on
September 30, has another hornets
nest to contend with involving civil
service exams given nearly a year
and a half ago for permanent appointments of attorneys in several
state departments.
S t a t e S u p r e m e Court J u s t i c e
Edward S. Conway last week signed
a show cause order and stayed any
permanent appointments from a list
compiled as the result of a June 18,
1977 examination pending a hearing
scheduled to be held as "The Public
Sector" was going to press.
Some 165 attorney positions still
remain to be made under that list in
numerous state departments. The
positions involved are associate and
senior attorney posts. At the time
t h e s t a y w a s o r d e r e d , 21 a p p o i n t m e n t s had been m a d e to
associate attorney positions and
about 30 to senior attorney positions.
It is uncertain how the recent court
action will a f f e c t a p p o i n t m e n t s
already made.
The tests last year were reportedly the first civil service exam for
associate and senior attorneys given
in about eight years. The halting of
appointments was on a suit filed by
five a t t o r n e y s in d i f f e r e n t s t a t e
departments who were scheduled to
be dismissed as replacements were
made from the eligibility list. Some
of the plaintiffs reportedly had served provisionally as long as six years.
Region V I
students
SUCCESSFUL
CANDIDATES
Three ot the successful State Legislature candidates in the November 7
general election Irom the L'tica Flome area take time out to pose with two
otticials of Civil Service Employees Assn., which endorsed all three. Trom
left are Senator J a m e s Donovan of the 46th Senate District ; James Currier,
c h a i r m a n of the CSKA LUica R o m e P o l i t i c a l Action Coalition;
Assemblyman Nicholas Calogero of the 116th Assembly District; CSKA
Central Region President James Moore; and Assemblyman William Sears ol
the 115th Assembly District.
Course deadline
November
30
November 30 is the deadline to register for Spring 1979 Employee Benefits Training Courses. All
State employees in State-CSEA Administrative, Institutional, Operational, Professional. Scientific and
Technical negotiating units may apply.
Courses are held at colleges, schools and other educational facilities throughout the State. I pon
successful completion of each course, students will receive continuing education units ( C E l 's). Classes
begin as early as January 2, 1979.
For application cards, check with your facility's Personnel or Training Office.
The courses are supported by funds negotiated between CSEA and the State, and are administered by
the Training Section of the Department of Civil Service.
Here is a list of courses being offered:
(Not all courses are being offered at each facility. Please check the
facilities in your area for specific courses being announced.)
Fundamentals of Supervision
Administrative Supervision
Supervisory Management
Administrotive Analysis Techniques
Introduction to Public Personnel Administration
Concepts of M o d e r n Public Administration
Case Studies in Supervision
Human Services Administration
Principles of Accounting, Port I
Principles of Accounting, Part II
Principles of Accounting, Part III
Elementary Accounting II
Intermediate Accounting II
Taxation
Income Tax Accounting II
Auditing
Business Law
Principles of Economics II
Governmental Accounting, Part I
Governmental Accounting, Port II
Administrative Law
Basic Statistics
Basic Mathematics
Introduction to the Metric System
Computer Techniques Workshop
Fundamentals of Electronic Data Processing
Fundamentals of Stationary Engineering, Part I
Fundamentals of Professional Engineering Series
I—Review of Engineering Mathematics
II—Statics
III—Strength of Materials
IV—Dynamics
V—Electricity and Thermodynamics
VI—Economics
VII—Fluid Mechanics
V I I I — H y d r o l o g y and Hydraulics
IX—Thermodynamics
Basic Carpentry Skills
Basic Electricity, Part I
Basic Electricity, Part II
Refrigeration Mechanics
Basic Arc W e l d i n g
Basic Welding
Small Engine Workshop
Blueprint Reading
Blueprint Reading — Building Trades
Mechanicol Drafting II, Part II
Human Motivation
Introduction to General Psychology
The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations
Behavior Modification
Individual and Intergroup Relations
Abnormal Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Deviance and Normalization
Child Psychology
Personality
Introduction to Developmentol Disabilities
Human Loss and Grieving,/Death and Dying
Social Psychology
The W o r l d of Work
Introduction to Sociology
i
Human Development I
Retirement Planning
The Family
Effecting Change in Yourself and Others
Introduction to Social Work
Institutionalization vs. Normalization
Sociology of Human Service Organizations
Field Work in Human Services I
Basic Principles of Mental Retardation
Understanding & Treating the Geriatric Patient
Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Aging: An Overview
Introduction to Health & Mental Health Administration
Introduction to Mental Health
Nursing Phormocology for the Licensed Practical Nurse
Nutrition and Dietics I
Inroduction to Human Services
Mental Health Se»vices and Systems
Family Therapy I
Applied Mathematics
Intermediate Mathematics
Introduction to Cobol Programming
Fundamentals of Stationary Engineering, Part II
Plumbing and Heating
Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Part 1
Basic Arc Welding II
Intermediate Welding
Heating and Air Conditioning II
Small Engine Workshop-Advanced
Basic Counseling Techniques
General Psychology II
Introduction to Exceptionalities II
Education of exceptional Individuals
Introduction to Social Work Practices
Sociology II
Fundamentals of Stationary Engineering, Part III
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning II
Advanced First Aid
Advanced Group Counseling
Oral Communications
Effective Speaking Techniques
Efficient Reading
Understanding & Interpretation of Written Materials
Freshman English I
Freshman English II
Basic Conversational Spanish
Basic Conversational French
Beginning Sign Language
Improving Reading and Writing Skills
Technical Writing
Report Writing
Communication Skills
Intermediate Conversational Spanish
Intermediate Conversational French
Intermediate Sign Language
Freshman Composition and Literature II
Beginning Typing
Beginning Shorthand
Intermediate Typing
Intermediate Shorthand I
Intermediate Shorthand 11
Understanding Medical Terminology, Part I
Refresher in Secretarial Techniques
Secretarial Procedures and Administration
BUFFALO Civil S e r v i c e
Employees Assn. members from the
union's Western Region comprise
the largest contingent of students
from any union at all locations in
programs of labor studies offered by
the School of Industrial and Labor
Relations of Cornell University in
the western section of the State.
According to Celeste Ro.senkranz.
chairman of CSEA's Education Committee. this fall s enrollment of 45
( ' S E A m e m b e r s is a r e c o r d
enrollment. They include members
taking courses at Buffalo (23).
Alfred-Hornell (16) and Rochester
(3).
Separations
cut by state
The rate of separation from State
service decreased slightly last year,
according to the Employee Relations
Section of the State Department of
Civil Service. The rate in fiscal year
1977-78 was 11.6 percent, down
slightlv from the 11,7 percent for
fiscal year 1976-77.
The figures cover separations
from the classified service due to
resignation, retirement, death and
layoff. During each of the five years
such data have been reviewed the
separation rate ranged between 11.1
percent and 11.7 percent, except in
1974-75 when it was 9.9 percent. The
rate is based on the number of
separations divided by the total
work force.
Local gets raise
ALDEN — A raise of 33-cents per
hour is retroactive to last .June 1st
for the Village of Alden Department
of l U i b l i c W o r k s e m p l o y e e s
represented by Erie ('ounty Local
815. Civil Service Employees Assn.
under terms of a new two-year
contract.
They will receive another 30 cents
hourlv increase beginning June 1.
1979."
J o i n i n g CSEA F i e l d
Repres e n t a t i v e R o b e r t E. Young on
the negotiating team were Francis
Pierce, unit president, and Robert
Holtz.
NEW
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
Y O R K S T A T E ELIGIBLE LIST
Motor Equipment S t o r ^ e e p e r •
( O p e n C o m p e t i t i v e E x a m No. 2 4 6 7 4 )
Test H e l d A u g u s t 12, 1 9 7 8
Jones, David R., Adams Center
91.6
Sherv/ood, R., Hillsdale
89.4
Broos, John E., Glenham
89.4
Kopkin, Jock R., Queens Village
88.2
Koehring, Edward N., Syracuse
86.8
Wimer, G. T., E. Rochester
85.6
Dreisenstock, R., Nassau
85.6
Kasmarcik, S. D., Binghomton
84.6
Rogers, Clark W., Warners
84.4
Spencer, Robert, Albany
83.2
Holbrook, Albert, Rochester
82.0
Scordo, James F.^ W o t e r t o w n
80.8
Spera, James, M i d d l e Is
78.6
Perlman, Herald, Albany
78.6
Smith, Donald A., Newark
78,4
Bennet, W . L., W . Coxsackie
77.2
Pawlowicz, E. D., Ballston Spa
77.2
Moier, Alfred E., W o p p i n g e r Falls
76.2
Zaremski, George, Cheektownga
76.0
Debraccio, V. W., Delonson
74.8
Zimmer, William, Scotia
74.8
Petraclia, R., Bronx
73.6
M o l n a r , Joseph T., Buffalo
73.6
Supper, William, Lake Carmel
73.6
Cimino, Anthony, Utica
72.4
Caputo, Ceraro, Buffalo
72.4
Gentz, Robert J., Cheektowoga
70.0
Page2THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, November 15,, 1978
Disputes
charge of
$ waste
By Daniel X. Campbell
ALBANY - The Capital Region of
the Civil Service Employees Assn.
and the Court of Claims Local of
CSEA have taken exception to the
statements of State officials concerning the alleged waste of taxpayer money in the Court of Claims
due to a clause in the CSEA/State
Agreement which prevents the contracting out for goods and services
already being provided by State
employees.
"If the State had presented all the
facts concerning the work that Court
of Claims typists do, compared to
the possible costs of contracting this
workload out to a private contractor,
t h e g e n e r a l public would h a v e
saluted the job being done on their
behalf by these public employees.
Instead, the State officials only told
part of the story and attempted to
, smear the image of their employees
while threatening their job
security," Julie Filippone exclaimed
as she began to defend the workers
in the Court of Claims CSEA LocaL
Ms. Filippone, Judiciary Local
President, went on to explain that
the Court of Claims serves the
general public as a clearing house
for financial c l a i m s against the
State or business within the State
which can be brought by the largest
to the smallest business in the State
or by individual citizens.
Recently a major Capital Region
Newspaper alleged that the Court of
Claims was wasting taxpayer dollars
by u s i n g f o u r t e e n t y p i s t s t o
t r a n s c r i b e the Court R e p o r t e r s '
notes. State officials claimed that
outside private contractors could do
the job for $.50 per page instead the
State was paying nearly $2.50 per
page for the work produced by the
fourteen typists in one year. The
salary of the typists totaled $149,000
without including benefits. The State
c l a i m e d t h e w o r k e r s had only
produced 60,000 pages of transcript
during the last year.
P r e s i d e n t Filippone
presented
facts which proved that the value of
these public employees was f a r
more than the State wanted the
general public to believe since both
State
and
Court
contract
negotiations are about to begin.
" F i r s t , " Ms. Filippone s t a t e d ,
" t h e 60,000 page f i g u r e is only
courtroom work; it does not include
the figure for day to day work
produced both for the Court of
Claims and also the Office of Court
A d m i n i s t r a t i o n to which t h e s e
typists are also assigned. That
figure, which the State could develop
if it wanted to, was never given to
thp reporter.
Second, no mention was made of
the transcription work done by the
Court of Claims typists in the recent
hearings into judicial conduct concerning the fixing of traffic tickets
which was conducted by the Office
of Court Administration.
Third, the State officials conveniently forgot to tell the reporter
that the typists are also responsible
t o r t h e a c c u r a t e c o p y i n g of
Page
2
A LARGE CONTINGENT of delegates from Suffolk County Local 852 were on hand
at the 68th Annual Meeting in Kiamesha Lake last month, including (from left):
(Back row) Bob Maletta, AI Sein, Ray Sexton, Charles Novo Jr. and James Davour.
(Front row) Dotty Victoria, Janet Madlon, Kitty Sexton, Bob Kolterman, Nick
Marrano and Sid Gossman. (Sitting) Gloria Shove, Aileen Ronayne, Catherine Green,
Barbära Rotunno, Therese Ribaudo, Ruth Keppf and President Bill Lewis.
AMONG THE DELEGATION FROM
NEW YORK CITY Local 010 at the 68th
Annual Meeting last month in Kiamesha
Lake was Dr. and Mrs. Canute Bernard.
ROCHESTER PSYCHIATRIC CENTER, CSEA Local 420, was represented by (from
left) Jack Fishill, Loretta Taylor, Willie Rutherford and Robert Donaldson at the
68th Annual Meeting last mongh in Kiamesha Lake.
ONE OF THE SERGEANTS AT ARMS
at the 68th Annual Meeting last month
in Kiamesha Lake was Moira B. Greiner
of CSEA Local 635, SUNY Oneonta.
forty-eight hours was $5.00 per page
of testimony or $3,000. The outside
contractors' extra charge for this
one service alone in any given year
could run from an additional $50,000
for only 10,000 pages of testimony to
$150,000 if 30,000 pages were required under expeditious service.
The present typists perform this extra service at no additional cost, no
additional overtime. The outside
contractor would add all of this additional work on top of his original
contracting cost."
Ms. Filippone concluded, "The
State officials again conveniently
forgot to tell the reporter that the
60,000 page production used in their
comparison was reached with only
t w e l v e of t h e s e v e n t e e n j u d g e
positions being filled. The five new
judges have already increased the
production of typists by 7,000 pages
of courtroom work, not including increased regular daily assignments,
and the addition of additional judges
will certainly not decrease this work
load.
One point the news article made
was that the State had kept eight additional typists positions frozen to
stop the additional waste of taxpayer
money. In reality, the public needs
the service of these eight additional
typists so that justice can be provided to the average taxpayer in a
timely manner. If the positions are
not filled, the increased work load
might possibly hold up the system to
the detriment of the citizens of the
State," Ms. Filippone concluded.
CSEA contacted the reporter involved in the story. After listening
to the points presented by Ms. Filippone, the reporter indicated that he
would ask the State officials involved, Howard Rubenstein and
Richard Cominsky, why they failed
to provide a clear and complete picture of the work done by the Court
of Claims typists. Also, the reporter
indicated that he would check with
the CSEA f r o m now on before
writing a one-sided story on public
workers of any level of government.
Capital Region CSEA President
Joseph E. McDermott, reacted
swiftly to ensure that State officials
were put on notice by CSEA that
this Region will be monitoring their
statements to the press from now on
so that an accurate presentation of
the facts of public service by public
s e r v a n t s will become the norm
rather than the exception.
Mr. McDermott stated, "The State
and Court may be trying to gain
public support by painting a bad picture of public workers, however,
CSEA will act to correct the half
truths and distortions of the facts
presented by the 'honorable' State
officials. The Court of Claims typists
provide a service which, when really
researched, could not be duplicated
by contracting out. The general
public must be educated to the fact
that public workers
provide
necessary services, generally at cost
much less than the public is constantly duped into believing should
be expended."
transcripts and the integrity of the
copied c a s e s . This m a y sound
trivial, 'Ms. Filippone noted', but in
a legal procedure, every word of
testimony is very important and if a
copy of a transcript was inaccurate,
the validity of the whole legal
procedures in both cases could be
brought into question by the parties
involved. Since the Court of Claims
provides three additional copies of
each original page of transcript, the
correct typist production should be
60,000 original pages of courtroom
testimony and 180,000 accurate and
reliable copies.
Fourth, the State officials, Howard
Rubenstein and Richard Cominsky,
both of whom know the daily working and special services available
from the typists, forgot to tell the
reporter about 'expeditious service'.
This is an extra, no-cost service in
which a transcript and the required
three copies is produced by the
typists in as little as twenty-four
hours; usually in one or two working
days, so that's really 15 hours."
Ms. Filippone continued, "The State
never told the reporter about the existence of this service. In a normal
year, anywhere from a few thousand
pages of testimony to one-half of the
full case load or more could be done
under expeditious service. CSEA
called an outside contractor to find
out the cost of such a service by
these supposed cheaper agents. The
cost of one original and one copy of
a normal two hundred page transscript produced in twenty-four to
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, November 15,, 1978
O P I N C0NTIHU0U8
STATE JOB CALENDAR
Title
Pharmacist (salary varies with location)
Assistant Sanitary Engineer
Senior Sanitary Engineer
Clinical Physician I
Clinical Physician II
Assistant Clinical Physician
MEMBERSHIP AT ALL TIME HIGH — The CSEA special membership committee
reported recently that the union's membership has reached an all-time high of 220,697
full-time members and 17,969 retiree members. Shown discussing the membership
growth pattern are, from left, committee member Salvatore Butero; Dave Sparks,
CSEA computer services manager; committee chairman Samuel Emmett; Jack Carey,
CSEA director of member services; committee members Cindy Noble and Dorothy
Penner; and Ellalouise Wadsworth, CSEA supervisor of membership records.
I
Negotiation problems reported
JOHNSTOWN - The Fulton County
area of the Capital Region of the Civil
Service Employees Association has
become a hot-bed of union activity
r e c e n t l y a s both t h e J o h n s t o w n
C e n t r a l School D i s t r i c t noninstructional employees and the
Fulton-Montgomery
Community
College non-instructional employees
r e p r e s e n t e d by the Civil Service
Employees Association become inv o l v e d in c o n t r a c t n e g o t i a t i o n
problems.
Recently the Fulton-Montgomery
Community College administration
rejected a fact-finder's report which
supported the position of the noninstructional employees one hundred
More seniority credit
In a recent change benefitting
lon^-time state employees, Civil Service Regulations have been revised
to a l l o w s e n i o r i t y c r e d i t s in
promotion examinations
to
successful candidates regardless of
their length of service. Formerly,
only the first 20 years of service
were counted
p e r c e n t . The e m p l o y e e s w e r e
p r e p a r e d to begin informational
picketing to make their situation
known to the college community and
the area residents, but once College
officials learned of this possible
development they quickly moved to
reopen communications with CSEA
and expressed belief that meaningful
n e g o t i a t i o n s could be r e o p e n e d
shortly.
In the Johnstown Central School
District, CSEA Fulton County Local
has already sponsored a series of
local n e w s p a p e r a d v e r t i s e m e n t s
which have informed District
residents of the happenings at the
bargaining table. Harm Swits, CSEA
Collective Bargaining Specialist,
commented on the School District
problem. "The School District has the
money to settle the contract problems
but it doesn't realize it. CSEA can
make suggestions on how to modernize the present salary schedule at no
cost to the school district. But right
now the District isn't listening to the
workers, so we are taking our case to
the public."
STATE OPEN COMPETITIVE
'
JOB CALENDAR
The f o l l o w i n g jobs ore open. Requirements vary. A p p l y with the state Civil Service Department, 2
W o r l d Trade Center, M a n h a t t a n ; State Office Building Campus, Albany, or 1 West Genesee St., Buffalo.
FILING ENDS NOV. 16
Program Research — Specialist II
(Housing & Community Development)
Program Research — Specialist III
(Housing & Community Development)
$14,275 No. 24-851
$18,501 No. 24-852
FILING END NOV. 20
Associate Criminal Justice Program Analyst
Associate Criminal Justice Program Analyst
(Juvenile Delinquency)
Business Service Ombudsman
Principal Criminal Justice Program Analyst
Principal Criminal Justice Program Analyst
(Juvenile Delinquency)
Associate Research Analyst (Criminal Justice)
Principal Criminal Justice Program Analyst (Police)
Assistant in Library Services
Associate in Library Services
Senior Hydraulic Engineer
Assistant Hydraulic Engineer
Assistant Pharmacy Consultant
Pharmacy Consultant
FILING ENDS DECEMBER II
Boiler Inspector
Senior Social Services Program Specialist
Electronic Computer Operator
Assistant Signal Engineer
Senior Chemical Engineer
Senior Electronics Laboratory Engineer
PrinvCipal Economist (Regulatory Economics)
$22,623 No. 27-798
$22,623 No. 27-800
$22,623 No. 27-708
$25,095 No. 27-799
$25,095 No. 27-801
$22,623
$25,295
$17,365
$21,450
$18,301
$14,850
$14,075
$16,868
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
27-802
27-803
27-820
27-821
27-825
27-824
27-829
27-830
$11,250
$18,301
$8,950
$14,850
$18,301
$18,301
$22,623
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
24-814
24-859
24-871
27-826
27-832
27-833
27-846
You con also contact your local M a n p o w e r Services Office for examination information.
Salary Exam No.
$14,388-$15,562 20-129
$14,142 20-122
$17,429 20-123
$27,942 20-118
$31,055 20-119
$25,161 20-117
Attorney
$14,850 20-113
Assistant Attorney
Attorney Trainee
Junior Engineer
(Bachelor's Degree)
Junior Engineer
(Master's Degree)
Dental Hygienist
Licensed Practical Nurse
Nutrition Services Consultant
Stationary Engineer
Senior Stationary Engineer
Occupational Therapy Assistant I
Occupational Therapy Assistant I
(Spanish Speaking)
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Trainee
Medical Record Technician
Histology Technician
Professional Positions in Auditing and Accounting
Computer Programmer
Computer Programmer (Scientific)
Senior Programmer
Senior Computer Programmer (Scientific)
Mobility Instructor
Instructor of the Blind
Health Services Nurse
(salary varies with location)
Senior Heating and Ventilating Engineer
Senior Sanitary Engineer (Design)
Senior Building Electrical Engineer
Senior Building Structural Engineer
Senior Mechanical Construction Engineer
Senior Plumbing Engineer
Assistant Stationary Engineer
Electroencephalograph Technician
Radiologic Technologist
(salary varies with location)
Medical Record Administrator
Food Service Worker
Mental Hygiene Therapy Aide Trainee
Mental Hygiene Therapy Aide Trainee
(Spanish Speaking)
Associate Actuary (Casualty)
Principal Actuary (Casualty)
Supervising Actuary (Casualty)
Assistant Actuary
$12,397 20-113
$11,723 20-113
$11,904 20-109
$12,890 20-109
$8,950
$8,051
$13,404
$10,042
$11,250
$9,029
$9,029
20-107
20-106
20-139
20-100
20-101
20-174
20-174
$14,142
$11,983
$9,481
$8,051
$11,250
$11,250
$11,250
$14,075
$14,075
$11,904
$11,250
$11,250-$12,025
20-140
20-140
20-143
20-170
20-200
20-220
20-222
20-221
20-223
20-224
20-225
20-226
$18,301
$18,301
$18,301
$18,301
$18,301
$18,301
$7,616
$7,616
$8,454-$10,369
20-227
20-228
20-229
20-230
20-231
20-232
20-303
20-308
20-334
$11,904
$6,148
$7,204
$7,204
20-348
20-352
20-394
20-394
$18,369
$22,364
$26,516
$10,714
20-416
20-417
20-418
20-556
Nurse I
Nurse H
$10,624 20-584
$11,904 20-585
Nurse H (Psychiatric)
Nurse II (Rehabilitation)
Medical Specialist II
Medical Specialist I
$11,904
$11,904
$33,705
$27,942
Psychiatrist I
Psychiatrist II
$27,942 20-842
$33,705 20-843
Social Services Management Trainee
Social Services Management Specialist
Social Services Management Trainee
(Spanish Speaking)
Social Services Management Specialist
(Spanish Speaking)
Industrial Training Supervisor
(salary varies depending on specialty)
Physical Therapist
Physical Therapist (Spanish Speaking)
Senior Physical Therapist
Senior Physical Therapist (Spanish Speaking)
Speech Pathologist
$10,824 20-875
$11,450 20-875
$10,824 20-876
20-586
20-587
20-840
20-841
$11,450 20-876
$10,624-$12,583 20-877
$11,337
$11,337
$12,670
$12,670
$12,670
20-880
20-880
20-881
20-881
20-883
Audiologist
$12,670 20-882
Assistant Speech Pathologist
Assistant Audiologist
Dietician Trainee
$11,337 20-884
$11,337 20-885
$10,118 20-888
Dietician
$10,714 20-887
Supervising Dietician
$12,670 20-886
Stenographer
Typist
Senior Occupational Therapist
Senior Occupational Therapist
(Spanish Speaking)
Occupational Therapist
Occupational Therapist (Spanish Speaking).,
k
$6,650 20-890
$6,071 20-891
$12,670 20-894
$12,670 20-894
$11,337 20-895
$11,337 20-895
You may contact the following offices of the New York State Department of Civil Service for announcements, applications, a n d other details concerning examinations for the positions listed above.
State Office Building Campus, First Floor, Building I, Albany, New York 12239 (518) 457-6216.
2 W o r l d Trade Center, 55th Floor, New York City 10047 (212) 488-4248.
Suite 750, Genesee Building, West Genesee Street, Buffalo, New York 14202 (716) 842-4260.
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, November
15, 1978
Page 11
'Xolby's
OYSTER BAY - Faced with
proposed subcontracting of their
jobs, more than 150 Civil Service
Employees Assn. members of the
Oyster Bay Sanitation Department recently demonstrated
before the Oyster Bay Town Hall.
The angry workers were accompanied by wives and children as
well.
Carrying
placards,
the
L E A D I N G T H E OYSTER BAY
demonstration were Nicholas Abbatiello, Nassau County Local 830
president, and Pat D'Alessio, Oyster
Bay CSEA unit president.
got to go"
demonstrators kept up a steady
stream of chants and slogans,
most aimed at Oyster Bay Town
Supervisor Joseph Colby. "Colby's
got to go" echoed as a popular
c h a n t a s the w o r k e r s vowed
political revenge at the polls.
E a r l y last month Colby announced he had hired a consulting
firm to study the cost savings of
subcontracting out to private
CSEA DEMONSTRATORS show their displeasure with Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Colby. The sanitation department employees pledged to remember
the supervisor at the polls in the next election.
firms the work of the 180-membcr
sanitation department.
CSEA m e m b e r s c l a i i n t h e
reason that Colby ordered the
study was to punish and threaten
the union and the s a n i t a t i o n
d e p a r t m e n t in particular. Acc o r d i n g to t h e e m p l o y e e s ,
differences between management
and the CSEA over additional
compensation for. the extra time
allotted to pick and place in
s p e c i a l r e c e p t i c a l s the newsp a p e r s for the t o w n ' s p a p e r
recycling plant has caused bad
feelings on both sides. That issue
is currently before the State
Public Employment
Relations
Board.
Some union members say Colby
has continually harrassed the
department and the union since
the rift over the paper pickup,
and said a recently ordered study
into a residency law for all town
employees was nothing more than
a pattern of harassment and intimidation.
The recent demonstration was
led by Pat D'Alessio. Oyster Bay
CSEA unit p r e s i d e n t , and
Nicholas Abbatiello. Nassau
County CSEA Local 830 president.
Westchester local shows muscle with endorsement
WHITE PLAINS - The political
potential of CSEA was realized last
week when a defeated Assembly
candidate blamed her loss on her opponents support by a CSEA local.
The 92nd A s s e m b l y s e a t w a s
r e t a i n e d by R e p u b l i c a n P e t e r
Sullivan, who defeated Joyce Gordon, 22,214-15,607. The district includes White Plains, Harrison and
s o m e s m a l l e r c o m m u n i t i e s in
Westchester County.
In a radio interview after the
election on WFAS-White Plains,
Ms. Gordon said the reason she lost
was because of the efforts of the
public employee union, according to
C a r m i n e DiBattista, chief shop
steward of the Westchester County
Unit of CSEA Local 860.
Among the strong support afforded
Sullivan by Local 860 were the
m a n n i n g .of t e l e p h o n e b a n k s ,
mailings to m e m b e r s h i p , informational talks to membership at
meetings and word-of-mouth campaigning.
Local 860 consists of about 10,000
members in approximately 90 units.
The county unit has about 6,000 of
the membersCounty unit President Raymond J.
O'Connor said Sullivan had been a
strong supporter of CSEA in the
Assembly. DiBattista said Ms. Gordon. a White Plains councilwoman,
had been an opponent of the White
Plains unit in its negotiations with
the city.
In a letter being sent to members
of the county unit this week, O'Connor said: "The lesson is obvious. We
can be a decisive factor in local
elections if we work together for a
common goal."
The election of Sullivan and the
defeat of Ms. Gordon might have
significance beyond the Assembly.
While Local 860 actively supported
Page 12
the winner, Westchester County Executive Alfred DelBello actively supported the loser, with radio advertisements strongly backing Ms. Gordon.
DelBello will unveil a proposed
1979 budget this week which will
contain the layoff of a large number
of county workers. The County
Board of Legislators must ultimately decide whether to endorse the
proposed budget or to restore the
positions.
"We hoped to send a message to
the administration that we support
our friends. The reverse also is true.
We work against our e n e m i e s , "
DiBattista said.
/T
The biggest
of the biggest
The Civil Service Employees Assn., then the
nation's largest independent public employee
labor union, a f f i l i a t e d with the A m e r i c a n
F e d e r a t i o n of State, County and Municipal
Employees union (AFSCME), the largest public
employee union in the AFL-CIO, in April, 1978.
The altiliation jumped AFSCME from the third
largest to the largest union of any kind in the
AFL-CIO and made it the only union in the
federation with more than one million duespaying members. As Local 1000, CSEA became
the largest of more than 2,500 locals and councils
within AFSCME. This is another in a series of
articles designed to inform CSEA members about
AFSCME and the affiliation.
Numbers are important because only large
organizations have the power needed to produce
results for their members. But structure and participation are equally important.
The Washington Post cited AFSCME as the
union that tries hardest to communicate with and
s e r v e its m e m b e r s . AFSCME, said that
prestigious newspaper, is "a model of vitality and
democracy. . . . It's a union that works incessantly at communicating with its members and in espousing causes that many other unions shun."
Organized into more than 2,500 locals and councils, AFSCME is a democratic union. Each of these
bodies has its own constitution, its own elected officers, stewards and priorities.
Two full-time officers, the president and the
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, V^ednesday, November
15, 1978
/MmmM
AFLCJO
COUH'
secretary-treasurer, administer the International
Union. Jerry Wurf, a New Yorker, has served as
president during AFSCME's phenomenal growth
period commencing in 1964. William Lucy, a
product of California, b e c a m e the union's
secretary-treasurer in 1972.
International Union policy is set by biennial
conventions that bring together delegates from
every local. Between conventions the International Executive Board — made up of unsalaried vice presidents who come from local
unions and councils—direct the union's activities.
CSEA recently selected William McGowan and
Irving Flaumenbaum as its two representatives on
the Board.