r
tf^
GOV. HUGH CAREY
shakes hands with CSEA
retiree Betty Steenburgh,
left front, after the governor recently signed a
pension supplementation
bill for puÜic employees
who retired since April,
1970, as well as increasing
supplementation for preApril, 1970 retirees. Ms.
Steenburgh was one of the
initial retirees named to
the union's Political Action
Committee a decade ago.
Others on hand for the historic signing included,
standing from left, CSEA
Director of Member Services Thomas Whitney,
CSEA Coordinator of
Retiree Affairs Thomas
Gilmartin, CSEA Executive Vice President
Thomas McDonough,
retiree John Cheslin of the
union's Political Action
Committee, and CSEA Executive Director Joseph J.
Dolan Jr.
*
V
'p •
V
to join
solidarity marcli
CSEA members will join thousands of trade
unionists from across the nation as they gather
in the nation's capital September 19 to observe
the AFL-CIO sponsored Solidarity i>ay. — ^
The day-long demonstration in Washington has
been described as a march against peoplehurting budget cuts and for jobs and justice.
"Working people have long known that their
strength is in unity and solidarity," CSEA
President William L. McGowan said. ''Now we
are facing a challenge that requires all the unity
and solidarity that we can command.
"Social security cuts, set-backs for human
rights and social equity, abandonment of occupational safety laws, and undercutting of labor
laws are immediate threats. The results could be
financial despair, loss of dignity, lowered living
standards, and injury or even death to people
who are seeing the American dream fade.
"As public employees we have a direct stake
in decisions now being made in Washington. And
as members of the Jabor movement we have an
obligation to add our voices to those who will be
marching for jobs and justice on Solidarity
Day," McGowan declared.
AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland has issued
invitations to all American trade unionists, including those not currently affiliated with the
AFL-CIO. Joining the union members will be
organizations affiliated with the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights and nearly 200 groups
who are members of the Budget Coalition.
Represented prominently will be the NAACP,
who during their recent convention voted
enthusiastic endorsement of the Solidarity Day
demonstration and called on its more than 2,200
local branches to take part in the September
"Solidarity Day will show those who have
written off the labor movement that we have lost
none of our driving force," President Kirkland
l^^iliÄlllllHli^^SiliÄ^
Solidarity Day will mark the first national
""
'
AFJ
anniversary of the American labor movement.
CSEA members who wish to join the labor
march in Washington should immediately contact their Regional Presidents.
K'
1
i
v^'Wl
SIPaMS®
Official publication of
The Civil Service Employees
Association
SECTOR
Wednesday, August 5, 1981
Vol. 3, No. 42
(ISSN 0164 9949)
DOT flip-flop on policy
continues work hazzard
ALBANY — For a while it looked liked the
state Department of Transportation was about to
put safety ahead of economy, but within one
week of suspending a one-man response
procedure for traffic signal electricians, DOT
suddently changed its mind and reimplemented
the policy which CSEA says is dangerous and inefficient.
Several years ago the Department issued a
directive to its Regional Offices ending its practice of sending more than one electrician out on
calls for electrical repairs of signal lights. CSEA
objected to the change then and has been fighting
in labor-management meetings ever since to
have the new policy lifted. But until July 22, DOT
stood firm.
On that date, three days following the collapse
and death of a DOT signal repairman on a call in
the Town of Amhearst, DOT Traffic and Safety
Director J. H. Shafer issued a telex message to
all DOT Regions recommending they suspend
the one-man response procedure, "pending an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the
death of a signal crewman in Region 5."
CSEA Safety Coordinator Nels Carlson picks
up the story, "When an investigation by the
Labor Department's OSHA inspectors and the official autopsy report indicated that the death of
signal crewman Earl Manley was the result of a
heart attack, DOT immediately turns around and
reimplements the one-man response procedure.
We can only assume that they figured since this
death couldn't be blamed on the procedure they
could continue to use it until someone else's
death can be directly blamed on the procedure. I
suppose that they'll lift it again then."
Joan Tbbin, president of CSEA Local 687, and
the DOT Representative to the CSEA's Board of
Directors, says that CSEA has been arguing with
DOT for years that the one-man response is
dangerous. "These men are working with high
voltage and if one of them should make a mistake, it's very possible, particularly in rural
areas, that he could lie injured or dying and no
one would know about it until it was too late,"
she said.
As far as Ms. Tobin in concerned, there is only
one reason for the procedure and the reason is
money. "This is an economic issue for DOT,"
the^oard member said, "but its more than that
to us. The question is what exactly is a human
life worth? Is it worth waiting for someone to die
before we rescind this procedure? All that I can
say is that we have been lucky so far, but how
long is that luck going to hold out?"
Says Collective Bargaining Specialist Carlson,
"The fact that they suspended the procedure in
response to this heart attack indicates that they
have serious doubts about it. By reinstating a
questionable policy so fast, they have proven
that they would rather err on the side of money
and take another look at the procedure only after
a DOT worker's death can be directly linked to
it."
CSEA will protest the reinstatement of the
procedure at the next labor-management
meeting.
PERB win precedes second Suffolk vote
HOLISVILLE N e w York State Public
E m p l o y m e n t Relations Board last w e e k upheld a
CSEA improper practice charge and ordered the
Suffolk County Legislature to " c e a s e and d e s i s t "
f r o m unilaterally granting step a d v a n c e m e n t s and
r a i s e s t o e m p l o y e e s w i t h i n t h e C S E A b a r g a i n i n g units. T h e ruling s e t t h e s t a g e for a r e v o t e on t h e rej e c t e d 1981 c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g a g r e e m e n t a t a
s p e c i a l m e e t i n g of t h e L e g i s l a t u r e o n F r i d a y , J u l y
31, c a l l e d f o r b y C o u n t y E x e c u t i v e P e t e r F .
Cohalan.
The P E R B decision vindicated the CSEA cont e n t i o n t h a t o n l y t h e u n i o n a n d t h e c o u n t y o f f i c e of
e m p l o y e e r e l a t i o n s c o u l d t o g e t h e r i n i t i a t e upgradings and p a y raises. T h e Suffolk County
Legislature had r e j e c t e d the C S E A contract last
m o n t h o n t h e g r o u n d s t h a t it c o n t a i n e d p r o v i s i o n s
t h a t w o u l d h a v e e n d e d t h e L e g i s l a t u r e ' s p r a c t i c e of
r
ACTING W E S T C H E S T E R COUNTY UNIT
President Jerry Barbour, right, and CSEA
Employee Benefit Fund Assistant Director
T h o m a s L i n d e n m e e t in t h e C o u n t y U n i t ' s
o f f i c e in W h i t e P l a i n s . B a r b o u r i s a c t i n g
president while Unit President William
S m i t h i s o n a l e a v e of a b s e n c e f o r m e d i c a l
'reasons.
Barbour acting Local 860 pres.
WHITE PLAINS - "It's business as usual"
f o r t h e 5,000 m e m b e r s of t h e l a r g e W e s t c h e s t e r
County CSEA Unit, e m p h a s i z e s Acting President
J e r r y B a r b o u r , w h o s i n c e M a r c h h a s s e r v e d in
that c a p a c i t y while Unit P r e s i d e n t William
S m i t h r e m a i n s on l e a v e f o r m e d i c a l r e a s o n s .
S m i t h h a s b e e n o n l e a v e f r o m t h e p r e s i d e n c y of
t h e u n i t of W e s t c h e s t e r C o u n t y L o c a l 860 s i n c e
M a r c h 6.
"I s p o k e w i t h B i l l , a n d h e i n f o r m e d m e h e w i l l
b e e x t e n d i n g h i s l e a v e for t h e f o r e s e e a b l e f u t u r e
b a s e d o n t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n of h i s d o c t o r , "
Barbour said.
The previous unit president, R a y m o n d J.
O'Connor, b e c a m e Southern Region
III
P r e s i d e n t f o l l o w i n g t h e d e a t h of J a m e s L e n n o n
o n F e b . 10, 1981. A t t h a t t i m e . S m i t h w a s
recovering from surgery.
S m i t h w a s o f f i c i a l l y i n s t a l l e d a s unit p r e s i d e n t
on M a r c h 2 a n d w e n t o n l e a v e f r o m t h a t o f f i c e o n
M a r c h 6, B a r b o u r s a i d .
Barbour, the unit s e c o n d v i c e president, m o v ed up to first v i c e p r e s i d e n t w h e n S m i t h b e c a m e
president and b e c a m e acting president w h e n
S m i t h w e n t on l e a v e .
granting raises and upgradings to e m p l o y e e s and
e m p l o y e e groups.
D a n n y D o n o h u e , p r e s i d e n t of R e g i o n O n e h a i l e d
the P E R B ruling as, "gratifying. N o w that P E R B
has spoken w e would hope that the Suffolk County
L e g i s l a t u r e w o u l d a c t r e s p o n s i b l y a s t h e y h a v e in
t h e p a s t , a n d a p p r o v e t h e c o n t r a c t w e n e g o t i a t e d in
good faith with the county."
F o l l o w i n g t h e c o n t r a c t r e j e c t i o n o n J u l y 7, t h e
C S E A r e a c t i v a t e d its i m p r o p e r p r a c t i c e c h a r g e
a g a i n s t the Legislature for granting p r o m o t i o n s and
r a i s e s . T h e I P h a d b e e n f i l e d w i t h P E R B in
D e c e m b e r 1980 a n d t h e n h e l d b a c k b y t h e C S E A
a f t e r l a n g u a g e w a s p l a c e d in t h e c o n t r a c t w h i c h
w o u l d h a v e e n d e d the p r a c t i c e by the L e g i s l a t u r e .
C S E A w a s s o c o n f i d e n t of a P E R B v i c t o r y t h a t
e v e n b e f o r e the ruling w a s announced, Charles
N o v o , L o c a l 852 p r e s i d e n t , r e q u e s t e d S u f f o l k
County E x e c u t i v e P e t e r Cohalan to call the s p e c i a l
m e e t i n g of t h e L e g i s l a t u r e s o t h e c o n t r a c t c o u l d b e
voted on again.
" O u r m e m b e r s h a v e b e e n m o r e t h a n p a t i e n t . It i s
t i m e w e w r a p t h i s c o n t r a c t up, a n d g i v e t h e
m e m b e r s their m o n e y ; then w e c a n m o v e on to
negotiations for a n e w contract," Mr. N o v o said.
T h e o n e - y e a r c o n t r a c t c o n t a i n s r a i s e d f r o m 7.5 t o 23
p e r c e n t f o r a p p r o x i m a t e l y 7,500 c o u n t y w o r k e r s .
T h e P E R B ruling, written by h e a r i n g o f f i c e r
L o u i s J . P a t a c k , f o u n d t h a t t h e L e g i s l a t u r e , in m a k ing upgradings, "signaled e m p l o y e e s that they
need not rely solely on their representative to imp r o v e t e r m s a n d c o n d i t i o n s of e m p l o y m e n t a n d
s u c h a c t i o n i s i n h e r e n t l y d e s t r u c t i v e of e m p l o y e e s '
Taylor Law rights."
The ruling ordered the Suffolk County Legislature
to " c e a s e and d e s i s t f r o m granting s t e p adv a n c e m e n t within the CSEA negotiating units, or
p a s s i n g L e g i s l a t i v e r e s o l u t i o n s of s i m i l a r i n t e n t . "
In a d d i t i o n , t h e d e c i s i o n a l s o b a r r e d
the
Legislature f r o m unilaterally granting raises to
e m p l o y e e s a n d o r d e r e d it t o " n e g o t i a t e in g o o d
f a i t h w i t h t h e C S E A o v e r t e r m s a n d c o n d i t i o n s of
e m p l o y m e n t of e m p l o y e e s in t h e t w o n e g o t i a t i n g
units."
Erie Co. tightens security;
corrective measures underway
B U F F A L O — T h e f i r s t in a s e r i e s of
safety
and
security
measures
d e s i g n e d to b e t t e r p r o t e c t
Erie
County w e l f a r e c a s e w o r k e r s b e c a m e
e f f e c t i v e this week, with another set
for next w e e k . The c h a n g e s had been
demanded
by C S E A and
later
a p p r o v e d by E r i e County E x e c u t i v e
E d w a r d Rutkowski after Erie County
Social
Services
Department
e x a m i n e r s w e r e a t t a c k e d by w e l f a r e
r e c i p i e n t s in r e c e n t w e e k s .
CSEA Statewide President William
L. M c G o w a n ,
Western
Region
President Robert Lattimer,
Erie
C o u n t y L o c a l 815 o f f i c i a l s , a n d u n i o n
staff toured the facility for a firsth a n d look a t t h e u n s a f e w o r k i n g
conditions before demanding a series
of c o r r e c t i v e m e a s u r e s .
caseworkers
instead
of
simply
d r o p p i n g in u n a n n o u n c e d . On A u g u s t
10, 17 m o r e e x a m i n e r s a r e s c h e d u l e d
t o b e h i r e d t o b r i n g t h e s t a f f u p t o 152
examiners. Additionally,
recipients
now m u s t enter the R a t h Building by
the Pearl Street entrance only,
where they receive a pass before
being
allowed
to s e e
their
caseworker. Open corridors leading
to w e l f a r e d e p a r t m e n t o f f i c e s a r e
b e i n g c l o s e d off a s an added s e c u r i t y
m e a s u r e under the a g r e e m e n t .
And w h i l e union officials e x p r e s s
general pleasure with the county's
r e s p o n s e to the union d e m a n d s , t h e
Local
815 s a f e t y and
health
c o m m i t t e e is s c h e d u l e d to m e e t
s h o r t l y to d i s c u s s the o v e r a l l s i t u a t i o n
a n d d e t e r m i n e if a d d i t i o n a l m e a s u r e s
are necessary.
On A u g u s t 3, t h e c o u n t y ' s 25,000
w e l f a r e recipients started having to
make
appointments
to
see
DISCUSSING
UNSAFE
C O N D I T I O N S ( r i g h t p h o t o ) ^during
t o u r of S o c i a l S e r v i c e D e p a r t m e n t
f a c i l i t i e s in R a t h B u i l d i n g a r e , f r o m
left, CSEA Field Rep Bob Massey,
J o h n D a l e o a n d C h a r l e s C a r p e n t e r of
L o c a l 815, C S E A W e s t e r n
Region
President
Robert
Lattimer,
and
CSEA
President
William
L.
McGowan.
VfT. «
Page 2
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, August 5, t 9 8 1
C S E A P R E S I D E N T W I L L I A M L. M c G O W A N , l e f t , a n d J o h n D a l e o a n d
C h a r l e s C a r p e n t e r of E r i e C o u n t y L o c a l 815, l i s t e n a s a n E r i e C o u n t y d e p u t y
s h e r i f f d i s c u s s e s s e c u r i t y m e a s u r e s f o r e m p l o y e e s a t t h e R a t h B u i l d i n g in
Buffalo.
Hew Board sworn in
Directors re-elect
Pat Grandau and
Mary Sullivan
CSEA PRESIDENT WILLIAM L. McGOWAN addresses members of the Board of Directors. At left,
taking notes, is Statewide Secretary Irene Carr, and to President McGowan's left are Statewide Executive Vice President Thomas McDonoogh and newly-elected Metropolitan Region 11 President
George Caloumeno.
LISTENING INTENTLY to a presentation, above photo, during
July Board of Directors meeting are Board member Jane Lewis
from Orange County and William Harris, a delegate from Orange
County Local 836.
LEGAL INTERPRETATION of an issue under discussion is
given by CSEA Chief Counsel James Roemer, left photo.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES CHAIRPERSONS — Awaiting a chance to address
members of the statewide poard of Directors are newly re-elected County Division
Executive Committee Chairperson Mary
E. Sullivan of Herkimer County, left, and
State Division Executive Committee
Chairperson Patricia Crandall of State
University at Cortland.
ALBANY — One hundred and fourteen
members of the Board of Directors of the Civil
Service Employees Association were sworn into
office by CSEA President William L. McGowan
on July 22.
The Board, comprised of representatives of
CSEA rank and file members from all segments
of the union, took their oath of office during a
two day Board meeting held at the Thruway
House here to orient new members to their new
responsibilities as the financial decision-makers
of the union and to thank members who were
leaving the Board.
CSEA is incorporated under the not-for-profit
laws of the State of New York which provides, in
part, that a Board of Directors shall control the
hscal expenditures of the union. Under the
union's Constitution and By-Laws, the Board has
additional responsibilities for guiding the
operation of CSEA.
During a special orientation session
preceeding the new Board's first official
business meeting. President McGowan,
Statewide Secretary Irene Carr, Chief Counsel
James Roemer, Executive Director Joseph
Dolan and other CSEA officials briefed the new
Board members on the operation of CSEA and
the interaction of the Board with other segments
of the union.
During organizational elections held the
following day. Board member Patricia Crandall,
representing State University members, was
reelected as Chairman of the Board's State
Division. Board Member Mary Sullivan,
Herkimer County Representative, was reelected
as Chairman of the Board's County Division.
Other organizational activities were held to
select various Committees of the Board and to
elect its representatives to other CSEA functions
such as the Political Action Fund and the
Employee Benefit Fund. Results of these elections will be reported in a future edition of The
Public Sector.
NEW MEMBERS of the statewide Board of Directors stand to take oath of office. Standing, from left in
front row, are Joann Lowe, representing Public Corporations; Eva Katz, a Mental Hygiene representative
from Region III; Pat Mascoli of Westchester County; and Harold Ryan, a Region III Mental Hygiene
Board representative.
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wedn^sdqy, August 5, 1981
Page 3
SPublic—
SSECTOR
Official publication of
The Civil Service Employees
Association
33 Elk Street, Albany, New York 12224
The Public Sector (445010) is published every Wednesday
weekly except for Wednesdays after New Years, Memorial
Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day for $5 by the Civil Service
Employees Association, 33 Elk Street, Albany, New York
12224.
Second Class Postage paid at Post Office, Albany, New York.
Send address changes to The Public Sector, 33 Elk Street,
Albany, New York 12224.
Publication office, 75 Champlain Street, Albany, New York
12204. Single copy Price 25$
T h o m a s A. d e m e n t e — P u b l i s h e r
Roger A. C o l e — E x e c u t i v e Editor
Dr. Gerald Alperstein—Associate Editor
Gwenn M. Bellcourt — A s s o c i a t e Editor
Deborah Cassidy—Staff Writer
D a w n LePore—Staff Writer
John L. Murphy—Staff Writer
Arden D. La wand—Graphic D e s i g n
Dennis C. Mullahy—Production Coordinator
'NÜr
A LABOR PRESSH
Ii
' p
Published every Wednesday by Clarity Publishing, Inc. Publication
Office, 75 Champlain Street, Albany, N.Y. 12204 (518 ) 465^1
McDermott addresses prestigious conference
Unions to grow as future toughens
SILVER BAY — "The outlook as we see it is for collective bargaining to
become tougher, with management less flexible and employees feeling that
their backs are up against the wall — the precise ingredients for increased conflict in the public sector," said AFSCME Vice President Joseph McDermott.
McDermott, who also serves as CSEA Region IV President, recently discussed the outlook facing public sector unions as he addressed the 63rd annual
Silver Bay Conference on Human Issues in Management.
Appearing at the prestigious five-day conference, he listed a number of
factors that "established the general state of affairs that will affect public sector bargaining in the next several years." These factors include:
• The American public's historical distrust of public employees.
• The public's disenchantment with government generally, as evidenced
by low voter turnouts and growing tax revolts.
• Deterioration of state and local government finances, and growing local
dependence on federal funds, now threatened with massive cut-backs.
• An aging population, which will dictate a changing mix of public services
(fewer schools, more services for the elderly).
• Concentration of the poor in older inner-cities, with growing potential for
a resurgence of civil disorders.
• Population shift from the Northeast and Midwest to the Sunbelt and West
Coast, resulting in still more stress on the nation's older cities.
• And finally what McDermott referred to as the "hodge-podge of laws or
legal silence on collective bargaining itself, on the right to strike, on union
security, arbitration and other elements crucial to workers' interests."
In light of these factors, McDermott painted for conference participants
the following picture of the coming years:
"As the fiscal squeeze tightens, pressures to cut services and lay off
employees will increase. Collective bargaining will become tougher, and
management less flexible. Public employee unions will give increasing
attention to job security issues such as layoff and recall, seniority and bumping
rights, transfers and retraining. Management, in turn, will press for higher
productivity."
"Contracting out will probably look increasingly attractive to public
managers, even though the experience has been that this usually results in
higher net costs and reduced quality and accountability, and often leads to corruption as well.
' "Finally, for public employee unions layoffs will create tough problems of
seniority vs. affirmative action. At the same time, however, because job
security will be increasingly an issue, we expect that more public employees
will turn to unions as a means of protecting their personal livelihoods," he concluded.
HUMAN ISSUES in management was the topic recently addressed by Region
IV President Joseph McDermott, right, at the 63rd annual Silver Bay conference. Seated to the far left is John Schappi, associate editor for labor services — bureau of national affairs. In the center is William Keele, Grand Lodge
representative, International Association of Machinists.
Life insurance conversion plan
The Civil Service Employees Assn. has announced that certain
members who are insured under the Basic Group Life Insurance Program
are eligible to convert part of their coverage (without medical information)
to an individual form of insurance with the Travelers Insurance Company.
The Basic Group Life Program is a term insurance plan which provides for
in-service conversion privileges.
The in-service conversion privilege allows any actively employed
member participating in the Group Life Program, who is age 50 or older, to
convert up to $5,000 of their term insurance to an individual form of
coverage, other than term insurance. Application must be made by August
31,198L The amount of the group term insurance the employee is insured for
will be reduced by the amount converted.
Those interested may request information on the conversion privilege
by returning the coupon on the page. The effective date of the converted insurance will be November 1,1981. Premium payments for the converted insurance will be made directly to Travelers Insurance Company.
Page 4
THE PUBÜC SECTOR, Wednesday, August 5/ 1981
Joining President McDermott in discussing labor relations issues in the 80s
was William Keele, a grand lodge representative of the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Conference participants
also heard addresses on employee relations trends, stress in work life, and new
directions in management development.
The Civil Service Employees Association
33 Elk Street
Albany, NY 12224
Please send me information concerning the Conversion Privilege for
the CSEA Basic Group Life Insurance Program.
NAME:
Last
First
Middle Initial
Maiden
HOME ADDRESS:
Street
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT:
City
State
Zip Code
_
SOCIAL SECURITY NO:
SEX:.
DATE OF BIRTH:
1
Kingsboro director's home is glorified while Building 10 is nullified
A'scandalous' sacrifice
By Richard Chernela
NEW
YORK
CITY
M e t r o p o l i t a n R e g i o n II d i r e c t o r
George Bispham has blasted the
p l a n s of t h e O f f i c e of M e n t a l
H e a l t h ( O M H ) to c l o s e B u i l d i n g 10
o n t h e g r o u n d s of
Kingsboro
P s y c h i a t r i c C e n t e r a n d t r a n s f e r 300
patients from the institution.
" T h e s i m p l e f a c t is t h a t c l o s i n g
B u i l d i n g 10 i s
unnecessary,"
B i s p h a m said. " T h e n e t r e s u l t of
c l o s i n g t h e building w o u l d be inc o n v e n i e n c e to p a t i e n t s a n d t h e i r
f a m i l i e s and t h e l o s s of j o b s a t
K Kingsboro. "
t
OMH c l a i m s t h a t a r e p o r t by t h e
I O f f i c e of G e n e r a l S e r v i c e s ( O G S )
I d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t B u i l d i n g lO's
I e l e c t r i c a l s y s t e m is u n s a f e . In s p i t e
of s e v e r a l r e q u e s t s by R e g i o n II
J f i e l d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s to s e e t h e
report. OMH h a s y e t to s h o w t h e
OGS report to a n y C S E A r e p r e s e n tative.
i
" W e h a v e our d o u b t s t h a t t h e
e l e c t r i c a l s y s t e m is in s u c h bad
^ s h a p e that the b u i l d i n g h a s to be
iä c l o s e d d o w n , " B i s p h a m s a i d . "It
I w o u l d be m u c h m o r e c o s t - e f f e c t i v e
to s i m p l y r e p a i r t h e s y s t e m than to
c l o s e t h e building a n d c a u s e s o
m u c h disruption to p a t i e n t s and
staff."'
B i s p h a m a c c u s e d O M H and t h e
Kingsboro administration
of
n e g l i g e n c e in not u t i l i z i n g f u n d s
a l l o c a t e d by t h e L e g i s l a t u r e to
r e p a i r B u i l d i n g 10. H e p o i n t e d out
that s i n c e 1971, t h e L e g i s l a t u r e h a s
b u d g e t e d m o r e than $3.1 m i l l i o n to
r e n o v a t e t h e building, y e t n o n e of
t h e s e funds w e r e s p e n t .
" W e re t a l k i n g a b o u t a h o r r i b l e
w a s t e of public f u n d s , " B i s p h a m
said. " T h e building c o u l d ' v e l:^een
c o m p l e t e l y r e n o v a t e d f o r $3.1
m i l l i o n . H o w m u c h w i l l it c o s t to
t e a r d o w n B u i l d i n g 10 and build a
n e w building? $20 m i l l i o n ? $30
m i l l i o n ? A n d h o w m u c h is it
c o s t i n g t h e m n o w to m a i n t a i n the
director s residence, a residence
used e x c l u s i v e l y for V . l . P . g u e s t s
and o f f i c i a l r e c e p t i o n s ? "
As for e l e c t r i c a l
repairs,
B i s p h a m n o t e d t h a t in M a r c h , 1979,
t h e l e g i s l a t u r e a l l o c a t e d $276,000
for e l e c t r i c a l r e p a i r s a t K i n g s b o r o .
In D e c e m b e r 1979 t h e l e g i s l a t u r e
a l l o c a t e d an a d d i t i o n a l $1.2 m i l l i o n
for t h e s a m e p u r p o s e . T h e c u r r e n t
s t a t e b u d g e t i n c l u d e s $242,448 f o r
electrical repairs at Kingsboro.
In a d d i t i o n t o q u e s t i o n i n g t h e
n e c e s s i t y of c l o s i n g B u i l d i n g 10,
B i s p h a m called O M H ' s plans for
THE OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH has chosen not to spend funds
allocated by the legislature for the maintainence and renovation of
Building 10 on the grounds of Kingsboro Psychiatric Center, but the
director's residence in Building 10 is being used to house official guests
and is very well maintained, as the photos on this page show. OMH claims
that Building 10 is unsafe and patients must be transferred out of the
building.
t h e t r a n s f e r of p a t i e n t s f r o m the
building " s c a n d a l o u s . " '
" O M H p l a n s t o t r a n s f e r 180
p a t i e n t s f r o m B u i l d i n g 10 t o
Middletown
Psychiatric
Center,
s o m e 80 m i l e s f r o m t h e s e patients"
families, " he said. "This transfer
will not o n l y c r e a t e a g e n u i n e
hardship, but it w i l l a l s o c o s t N e w
York C i t y b a d l y n e e d e d j o b s , j o b s
p r i m a r i l y h e l d by m i n o r i t i e s . It
s e e m s OMH has an unstated policy
of r u n n i n g d o w n
psychiatric
c e n t e r s in N e w Y o r k C i t y to b o l s t e r
c e n t e r s u p s t a t e thusj t a k i n g j o b s
a w a y f r o m t h e City."'
P l a n s f o r t h e o t h e r 120 p a t i e n t s
also drew fire f r o m Bispham. He
questioned
the wisdom
of
t r a n s f e r r i n g 50 p a t i e n t s to Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, a facility
p l a g u e d by u n d e r s t a f f i n g . T h e
r e m a i n i n g 70 p a t i e n t s a r e s c h e d u l ed to be t r a n s f e r r e d to L i n c o l n
M a n o r in B r o o k l y n , a n u r s i n g h o m e
c u r r e n t l y in r e c e i v e r s h i p by t h e
c o u r t s d u e to b a n k r u p t c y .
" T h e w h o l e p l a n is scandalous,""
B i s p h a m s a i d . " P a r t i c u l a r l y in
v i e w of t h e f a c t t h a t O M H h a s adm i t t e d t h a t t h e r e is s p a c e a v a i l a b l e
a t K i n g s b o r o f o r s o m e of t h e
p a t i e n t s f r o m B u i l d i n g 10, s p a c e
now b e i n g u s e d a s r e s i d e n c e s for
d o c t o r s . In t h e w o r d s of o n e OMH
o f f i c i a l , " s p a c e is b e i n g u s e d . . .
for d o c t o r s m a k i n g u p w a r d s of
$50.000 p e r y e a r . "
B i s p h a m a d d i t i o n a l l y n o t e d that
K i n g s b o r o h a s b e e n " a d i s g r a c e for
years
because
o f an* i n e p t
m a n a g e m e n t w h o has treated the
f a c i l i t y ' s e m p l o y e e s like s l a v e s . "
M e t r o p o l i t a n R e g i o n II P r e s i d e n t
George
Caloumeno
supports
B i s p h a m ' s c h a r g e s and h a s p r o m i s ed to t a k e O M H to t a s k in an e f f o r t
to a s s u r e all e m p l o y e e s in R e g i o n
H adequate representation.
" S o m e b o d y m u s t be c a l l e d on the
c a r p e t to e x p l a i n t h e r a t i o n a l e
behind t h i s s e n s e l e s s m o v e . " he
said.
Creedmoor staff w rkers use theatrics
to educate public*aieut mental illness
By Richard Chernela
N E W Y O R K CITY - T h e r e is a c o m m o n thread that f l o w s
t h r o u g h t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n of t h e C r e e d m o o r M e n t a l H e a l t h P l a y e r s
a s t h e y d i s c u s s t h e i r r e a s o n s f o r p a r t i c i p a t i n g in t h e g r o u p :
" I t g i v e s m e a n o p p o r t u n i t y to d o t h i n g s I c a n ' t d o a s p a r t of m y
job, " s a y s Isabel Dent, a r e c r e a t i o n therapy a s s i s t a n t at C r e e d m o o r
P s y c h i a t r i c C e n t e r . " I t ' s n o t l i k e w o r k i n g on t h e w a r d s w h e r e y o u
feel like you're hitting your h e a d a g a i n s t a brick wall. It's r e w a r d i n g
b e c a u s e you know y o u ' v e done a good job, y o u ' v e gotten a m e s ^ g e
across, you're appreciated."
THE CREEDMOOR MENTAL HEALTH PLAYERS - Left to right, front row, Margaret
King and Jamaal Adams; second row, Doris Hoell John Royall, Isabel Dent and Mira
Hewangpra; third row, Dorothy Curtis, Jose Diaz, Debra Covner and Thomas Duckett.
Not pictured: Alma Owens, Gloria Bolton, Elise Davis, Elizabeth Dowell, Arlene
Beverly, and Steven Melton.
T h e P l a y e r s a r e m o r e than just a p p r e c i a t e d by the a u d i e n c e s
for w h o m they p e r f o r m w h a t their director John Royall d e s c r i b e s a s
"socio-drama. " The P l a y e r s w e r e recently recognized by the
A m e r i c a n P s y c h i a t r i c Association, r e c e i v i n g the Association's Cert i f i c a t e of S i g n i f i c a n t C o m m u n i t y A c h i e v e m e n t in a n a t i o n a l c o m petition.
T h e C r e e d m o o r M e n t a l H e a l t h P l a y e r s a r e s t a f f m e m b e r s of
C r e e d m o o r P s y c h i a t r i c C e n t e r w h o h a v e v o l u n t e e r e d to p r o v i d e a
u n i q u e f o r m of t r a i n i n g f o r m e n t a l h e a l t h p r o f e s s i o n a l s a n d
education for the c o m m u n i t y about m e n t a l illness a n c ^ i t s
relationship to h u m a n b e h a v i o r and d a i l y living.
*
E i g h t of t h e 15 m e m b e r s of t h e g r o u p a r e m e m b e r s of C S E A ,
C r e e d m o o r P s y c h i a t r i c C e n t e r L o c a l 406. T h e o t h e r s a r e m e m b e r s
of t h e P u b l i c E m p l o y e e s F e d e r a t i o n .
While the P l a y e r s c e r t a i n l y p r o v i d e a s e r v i c e to the c o m m u n i t y
and to p r o f e s s i o n a l s , t h e m e m b e r s a g r e e that their p e r f o r m a n c e s
a r e b e n e f i c i a l to t h e m s e l v e s .
"I s e e a m e s s a g e g e t t i n g a c r o s s , " r e c r e a t i o n w o r k e r D o r i s
Hoell s a y s . "I s e e s o m e t h i n g v a l u a b l e happening. It's a b o o s t for
m y s e l f . T h e k i n d of b o o s t I n e v e r g e t o n t h e j o b . "
"I w a s r e a l l y b o r e d w i t h m y j o b , " M H T A J o s e D i a z s a y ^ "I
w a n t e d t o d o s o m e t h i n g w o r t h w h i l e o f f t h e w a r d e v e n if I d i d n J ^ e t
p a i d f o r it. I r e a l l y g o t s e r i o u s a b o u t t h e g r o u p . W e d e l i v e r a v e r y
positive m e s s a g e during our p e f o r m a n c e s . "
The m e s s a g e s that c o m e a c r o s s during the group's perform a n c e s a r e a s c o m p l e x a s t h e p r o b l e m s of m e n t a l i l l n e s s .
" T h e s u b j e c t s w e d e a l w i t h c o v e r t h e w h o l e r a n g e of h u m a n
problems," Players' director Royall says. "We're simply given a
t o p i c a n d w e d e v e l o p a s k i t a r o u n d it. O u r o b j e c t i s t o g e t t h e
a u d i e n c e i n v o l v e d and to f u n c t i o n a s a m i r r o r for their p r o b l e m s . "
T h e P l a y e r s r e c e n t l y p e r f o r m e d f o r t h e s t a f f of t h e G r o v e s
Therapeutic Counseling Service.
About an hour b e f o r e " s h o w t i m e , " the S e r v i c e ' s d i r e c t o r A l i c e
Groves m e t with the group to discuss that evening's topic —
" H u m a n S e x u a l i t y : P r o b l e m s of C o u p l e s . " S h e o u t l i n e d f o r t h e
P l a y e r s various p r o b l e m s c o u p l e s f a c e today and then left the group
alone so that t h e y could p r e p a r e for their p e r f o r m a n c e .
Working without a script, the P l a y e r s p r o c e e d e d to d e v e l o p t w o
skits d r a m a t i z i n g that e v e n i n g ' s topic. The skits that e m e r g e d conv e y e d a s e n s e of a u t h e n t i c i t y o n e w o u l d e x p e c t o n l y f r o m
l^)fessional actors.
The first skit c e n t e r e d around a conflict b e t w e e n a separated
couple. Isabel D e n t p l a y e d a w o m a n s e e k i n g to p e r s u a d e her estranged husband, p l a y e d by J a m a a l A d a m s , to return to her. D e b r a
Covner played Isabel's friend and neighbor and D o r o t h y Curtis
played J a m a a l ' s n e w - f o u n d love. T h e skit f o c u s e d on a c o n f r o n t a t i o n
between Isabel and J a m a a l .
In t h e s e c o n d s k i t , T h o m a s D u c k e t t a n d M a r g a r e t K i n g p l a y e d a
couple w h o s e sex life had b e c o m e non-existent. T o m d i s c u s s e s the
p r o b l e m w i t h a c o - w o r k e r p l a y e d by D o r i s H o e l l . A h e a t e d d i s cussion between T o m and Margaret follows.
•
A f t e r e a c h s k i t t h e P l a y e r s s t a y in r o l e t o a n s w e r q u e s t i o n s
f r o m the a u d i e n c e . J o h n R o y a l l joins to m o d e r a t e .
" T h e q u e s t i o n and a n s w e r s e s s i o n is w h e n the r e a l t h e r a p y occ u r s , " R o y a l l s a y s . " A m e m b e r of t h e a u d i e n c e s e e s a c h a r a c t e r
and thinks 'hey, that's how m y m o t h e r or father or s i s t e r acts.' "
They can't ask s o m e o n e close to t h e m why he acts a certain way,
i S t t h e y c a n a s k a c h a r a c t e r a n d f e e l s a f e . It h e l p s t h e m u n d e r s t a n d
people's motivations."
" E v e r y b o d y gains s o m e understanding through a p e r f o r m a n c e ,
yet everyone l e a v e s with good feelings because they can relate to a
situation honestly and s a f e l y . "
E s t a b l i s h e d t w o y e a r s ago, the C r e e d m o o r Mental H e a l t h
P l a y e r s h a v e g i v e n m o r e t h a n 100 p e r f o r m a n c e s . G i v e n t h e q u a l i t y
of t h e i r p e r f o r m a n c e s a n d t h e i r d e d i c a t i o n i t ' s e a s y t o u n d e r s t a n d
why they are so popular.
- ."There's nothing phony about our p e r f o r m a n c e s , " J o s e D i a z
s a y s . " T h e y c o m e f r o m t h e b o t t o m of o u r h e a r t s . "
1 see something valuible happening . . /
riiiirttoM—
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, August 5, 1981
I had to leave. Haven't you
The question and a n s w e r s e s s i o n s at the G r o v e s S e r v i c e that
night w e r e indeed lively. T h e a u d i e n c e treated the P l a y e r s a s the
characters they portrayed, questioning, arguing with, and at t i m e s
e v e n i n s u l t i n g t h e c h a r a c t e r s w h o r e s p o n d e d in t h e i r r o l e s .
•YOU STILL THINK he's your husband, huh? You know he's not
coming back. Why don't you go around the corner and see him
. . . see the chick he's running around with now?'
Page 6
'I JUST GOT FED UP. I couldn't take it no more
ever felt that way?"
i
It helps them understa
.
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, August 5, 1981
Page 7
Goshen security response draws praise
Beefed up employee safety measures
demanded by union are now provided
G O S H E N — In D e c e m b e r of 1978, t e n i n m a t e s a t t h e G o s h e n C e n t e r f o r
B o y s a s s a u l t e d a p a i r of g u a r d s , s t o l e t h e i r k e y s , a n d b r o k e f r e e f r o m t h e ins t i t u t i o n . All t e n e s c a p e e s , i n c l u d i n g a 1 6 - y e a r - o l d c o n f e s s e d d o u b l e m u r d e r e r ,
w e r e quickly recaptured.
That incident d r e w i m m e d i a t e r e a c t i o n f r o m C S E A , s p e a r h e a d e d by the
l a t e C S E A R e g i o n III P r e s i d e n t J i m L e n n o n a n d C S E A F i e l d R e p r e s e n t a t i v e
F l i p A m o d i o w h o d e m a n d e d n e w m e a s u r e s b e t a k e n t o i n s u r e t h e s a f e t y of
e m p l o y e e s a t t h e c e n t e r , t h e l a r g e s t s e c u r e D i v i s i o n f o r Y o u t h i n s t i t u t i o n in t h e
state.
T o d a y , t w o a n d o n e - h a l f y e a r s l a t e r , A m o d i o s a y s t h a t m o s t of t h e
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s p r e s e n t e d t o t h e s t a t e on F e b r u a r y 26, 1979 by C S E A a s a 12p o i n t s e c u r i t y p l a n f o l l o w i n g t h e e s c a p e h a v e b e e n i m p l e m e n t e d , a t a c o s t of
probably s e v e r a l hundred thousand dollars. T h e plan w a s d r a w n up by a s p e c i a l
CSEA advisory committee.
L o c a l P r e s i d e n t Sol W i l l i a m s p u t s it in p l a i n l a n g u a g e ; " t h e s t a t e h a s d o n e
d a m n e d near everything w e d e m a n d e d . " As a result, both W i l l i a m s and
A m o d i o h a v e p r a i s e f o r t h e r e s p o n s i v e n e s s a n d s e n s i t i v i t y of C e n t e r D i r e c t o r
J o s e p h B e r t h o l f . T h e y a g r e e that t h e C e n t e r i s t h e f i n e s t of i t s kind in t h e s t a t e .
A m o d i o s a y s the following i m p r o v e m e n t s r e q u e s t e d by the union h a v e b e e n
i m p l e m e n t e d to d a t e : a d d e d s t a f f , i m p r o v e d k e y and lock
systems,
r e p l a c e m e n t of g l a s s w i n s l o w s w i t h u n b r e a k a b l e m a t e r i a l , r e p l a c e m e n t of
w o o d e d c e l l d o o r s w i t h m e t a l d o o r s . A l s o , i m p r o v e d o u t s i d e l i g h t i n g a n d ins t a l l a t i o n of a f e n c e a r o u n d t h e e n t i r e f a c i l i t y , i n t r o d u c t i o n of p o r t a b l e m e t a l
d e t e c t o r s , a r e v i s i o n of p o l i c i e s d e s i g n e d t o e l i m i n a t e t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of c o n t r a b a n d i n t o t h e c e n t e r . A n d , t h e s t a t i o n i n g of s e c u r i t y a i d e s in t h e h a l l s d u r i n g
s c h o o l h o u r s , p l u s a d e c i s i o n t o s o u n d a s i r e n t o a l e r t n e i g h b o r s in t h e e v e n t of a
breakout.
It's all working, A m o d i o s a i d , a n d t h e r e h a v e not b e e n a n y e s c a p e s f r o m
t h e C e n t e r s i n c e t h e 1978 b r e a k o u t w h i c h l e d t o t h e u n i o n d e m a n d f o r g r e a t e r
security measures.
O N E N E W S E C U R I T Y M E A S U R E at the Goshen Center for Boys is an a l a r m
s y s t e m that can be t r i g g e r e d to flash a red light on control panel to indicate the
l o c a t i o n of t r o u b l e . C e n t e r D i r e c t o r J o s e p h B e r t h o l f , r i g h t d i s c u s s e s t h e p a n e l
s y s t e m with CSEA Field Representative Flip Amodio, left.
Charge discrimination in Connecticut
AFSCME charges
women employees
paid lower than men
H A R T F O R D - A F S C M E , the largest public
e m p l o y e e u n i o n in t h e n a t i o n a n d C S E A ' s I n t e r n a t i o n a l a f f i l i a t e , h a s f i l e d c h a r g e s of s e x d i s c r i m i n a t i o n with the Equal E m p l o y m e n t Opport u n i t y C o m m i s s i o n ( E E O C ) o n b e h a l f of f i v e
f e m a l e clerical e m p l o y e e s alleging that the State
of C o n n e c t i c u t h a s d i s c r i m i n a t e d a g a i n s t i t s
w o m e n w o r k e r s o n t h e b a s i s of c o m p e n s a t i o n ,
promotional opportunities and other t e r m s and
c o n d i t i o n s of e m p l o y m e n t .
" T h e u n i o n b e l i e v e s t h a t t h e s t a t e i s in
v i o l a t i o n of t h e C i v i l R i g h t s A c t b y e m p l o y i n g
d i s c r i m i n a t o r y w a g e s c a l e s f o r m a n y of i t s w o r k ing w o m e n , " d e c l a r e d Winn N e w m a n , G e n e r a l
C o u n s e l of t h e A m e r i c a n F e d e r a t i o n of S t a t e ,
County and Municipal E m p l o y e e s .
"The issue here is equity and equality. We are
a s k i n g t h e E E O C t o i n v e s t i g a t e o u r c h a r g e s of
pay discrimination, w e believe that the state has
under valued and under paid job classifications
t r a d i t i o n a l l y h e l d b y s o m e of i t s
women
employees."
A F S C M E ' s a c t i o n c o m e s o n t h e h e e l s of a
h i s t o r i c c o n t r a c t n e g o t i a t e d l a s t w e e k in S a n
J o s e , C a l i f o r n i a in w h i c h w o m e n w o r k e r s t h e r e
won salary u p g r a d e s b a s e d on the union's contention that the pay s c a l e s for clerical and other
t r a d i t i o n a l l y f e m a l e j o b s a v e r a g e d 15 p e r c e n t
less than pay r a t e s for equally valuable jobs held
l a r g e l y by m e n .
T h e u n i o n n o t e d t h a t o n J u n e 8th of t h i s y e a r
t h e U . S . S u p r e m e C o u r t r u l e d in f a v o r of a g r o u p
of w o m e n p r i s o n m a t r o n s in O r e g o n w h o h a d
charged s e x discrimination, contending that
t h e i r j o b s , t h o u g h n o t i d e n t i c a l t o t h o s e of h i g h e r
p a i d m a l e g u a r d s , w e r e of c o m p a r a b l e w o r t h .
"The S u p r e m e Court has opened the door for
w o m e n and their unions to sue e m p l o y e r s based
on t h e c o m p a r a b l e w o r t h t h e o r y , " s a i d N e w m a n ,
O F F I C E R S O F S Y R A C U S E C I T Y L O C A L 013 of C S E A w e r e r e c e n t l y i n s t a l l e d a t a n o u t i n g
m North Syracuse. Shown, left to right, H e l e n Hanlon, S e c r e t a r y ; Julie F a r r , T r e a s u r e r ;
R o s e m a r i e Rächt, Third V i c e - P r e s i d e n t ; J a m e s Moore, Region V P r e s i d e n t , Installing
O f f i c e r ; D i c k R o b e r t s , S e c o n d V i c e - P r e s i d e n t ; Clair M c G r a t h , P r e s i d e n t ; Carrie Izzo,
Center, First Vice-President.
Page 8 ) 3 : 1
THE PUBLIC 'SECTOR, We<inesdaV, VHugust '5,-
w h o h a s b e e n e n g a g e d in s e v e r a l l a n d m a r k s e x
discrimination c a s e s , including a m a j o r c o m parable worth c a s e recently d e c i d e d by the
S u p r e m e Court. " Y o u can't put a p r i c e t a g on
discrimination. The state ought to have
r e m e d i e d the situation itself. The E E O C c h a r g e
is an e f f o r t to win justice on the job for
t h o u s a n d s of s t a t e c l e r i c a l w o r k e r s . "
A F S C M E has recently filed a petition with the
S t a t e Labor B o a r d to r e p r e s e n t all adm i n i s t r a t i v e a n d c l e r i c a l e m p l o y e e s in C o n n e c t i c u t . A l l of t h e w o m e n f i l i n g c h a r g e s w i t h t h e
E E O C a r e e m p l o y e e s w i t h i n t h a t 7,220 p e r s o n
unit.
The specific complaints w e r e filed by w o m e n
e m p l o y e e s w h o a l l e g e d in t h e E E O C c h a r g e s f i l e d b y A F S C M E t h a t t h e j o b s in w h i c h t h e y a r e
e m p l o y e d are significantly underpaid because
these jobs are performed by w o m e n . The c o m plaint a l s o a l l e g e s that w o m e n e m p l o y e d by the
s t a t e h a v e b e e n d e n i e d p r o m o t i o n s a n d o t h e r s opportunities for better pay.
N A S S A U C O U N T Y L O C A L 830 P r e s i d e n t J e r o m e D o n a h u e ,
l e f t , a c c e p t s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 200 c o m p l e t e d
CSEA
m e m b e r s h i p a p p l i c a t i o n s f r o m S o l o m o n F i s h m a n , M . D . of
the N a s s a u County M e d i c a l Center H o u s e Staff A s s o c i a t i o n .
T h e h o u s e s t a f f d o c t o r s w i l l b e m e m b e r s of t h e M e d i c a l
C e n t e r U n i t of L o c a l 830, D o n a h u e s a i d .
Despite a 'do nothing' iegislative session
CSEA bills fare remaricably well
ALBANY T h e 1981 l e g i s l a t i v e
s e s s i o n has been w i d e l y d e s c r i b e d a s
a "do n o t h i n g " s e s s i o n , with only
about 600 of the 16,000 bills introduced
u l t i m a t e l y being p a s s e d . T h e s e s s i o n
began late, ended late, and spent
m u c h oi its t i m e s t a l e m a t e d o v e r the
s t a t e budget.
" C o n s i d e r i n g t h e n a t u r e of t h e
s e s s i o n , C S E A ' s p r o g r a m bills fared
pretty w e l l , " c o m m e n t e d the union's
chief lobbyist J a m e s
Featherstonhaugh. " W e a r e e s p e c i a l l y pleased with the v i c t o r i e s w e s c o r e d on our
retiree bills, and in s e v e r a l c a s e s , w e
w e r e s u c c e s s f u l in d e f e a t i n g bills w e
opposed."
Although C S E A supported or opposed literally h u n d r e d s of bills, the
S t a t e w i d e L e g i s l a t i v e and P o l i t i c a l
Action C o m m i t t e e a p p r o v e d a list of
a b o u t 40 k e y b i l l s of i n t e r e s t to
m e m b e r s . C o m m i t t e e m e m b e r s and
s c o r e s of m e m b e r - v o l u n t e e r s joined
staff l o b b y i s t s in urging l e g i s l a t i v e
p a s s a g e or d e f e a t of bills C S E A had
targeted.
F o l l o w i n g is an e n d - o f - t h e - s e s s i o n
wrapup on how m a n y of t h e s e C S E A
p r o g r a m bills fared.
proposal," Featherstonhaugh
said,
"but the Legislature has recognized
that its retired public s e r v a n t s c a n ' t
continue to live on s t a t i c p e n s i o n s in
t h e s e i n f l a t i o n a r y t i m e s . And a f t e r his
r e j e c t i o n last y e a r , I ' m s u r e the
G o v e r n o r ' s s i g n a t u r e on this y e a r ' s
bill o c c a s i o n e d c o n s i d e r a b l e r e j o i c i n g
a m o n g our r e t i r e e s . "
$2,000 D e a t h B e n e f i t
This bill p r o v i d e s a $2,000 d e a t h
b e n e f i t for e m p l o y e e s of the S t a t e
who retired b e f o r e O c t o b e r 1966. T h i s
m a r k e d the third t i m e the bill had
p a s s e d the L e g i s l a t u r e ; it w a s v e t o e d
by the G o v e r n o r in 1979 and 1980, and
is still a w a i t i n g his s i g n a t u r e this
y e a r . O n e of C S E A ' s l e g i s l a t i v e
priorities this y e a r , the bill will e x tend d e a t h b e n e f i t e l i g i b i l i t y to
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5,600 r e t i r e e s .
20-Year
Retirement
for
DA
Investigators
This bill, w h i c h p a s s e d both h o u s e s
only to be v e t o e d by the G o v e r n o r ,
w a s intended to apply p r i m a r i l y to
Suffolk County, w h e r e the c o n t r a c t
provides that C S E A and the County
will jointly p r o p o s e l e g i s l a t i o n to
provide a 20-year r e t i r e m e n t plan for
district a t t o r n e y i n v e s t i g a t o r s .
C o u r t E m p l o y e e s Bill ( L o n g B e a c h
and Glen Cove)
The L e g i s l a t u r e p a s s e d this pay bill
to i m p l e m e n t the c o l l e c t i v e bargaining a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n C S E A and t h e
O f f i c e of Court A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
Agency Shop
The l e g i s l a t u r e e x t e n d e d the a g e n c y
shop bill in its p r e s e n t f o r m for an additional t w o y e a r s . C S E A had lobbied
to have the provision m a d e both perm a n e n t and m a n d a t o r y a s to the t I
Parity
political s u b d i v i s i o n s . "Our proposal
The C S E A - s p o n s o r e d bill, a l s o enw a s supported by o t h e r public s e c t o r
unions,"
Featherstonhaugh
s a i d , dorsed by the N e w York S t a t e School
B o a r d s A s s o c i a t i o n and N Y S U T ,
"and although w e ' r e disappointed
that w e w e r e n ' t a b l e to a c h i e v e our ul- would h a v e provided a m o r e fair s t a t e
t i m a t e goal, w e a r e g r a t i f i e d that a i d r e i m b u r s e m e n t f o r m u l a f o r
a g e n c y shop a s w e now know it w a s school d i s t r i c t s that run their o w n
transportation s y s t e m s i n s t e a d of
extended. "
c o n t r a c t i n g out. T h e bill w a s not passPension Supplementation
ed in this f o r m . But p r o g r e s s w a s
Under this l a w , public e m p l o y e e s m a d e on the parity i s s u e in the local
who retired b e t w e e n 1970 and 1979 will a s s i s t a n c e budget, w h i c h added all
r e c e i v e pension s u p p l e m e n t a t i o n for s a l a r i e s r e l a t e d to transportation.
the first time. The Legislature also inc r e a s e d the s u p p l e m e n t a t i o n of preRelease f r o m 7 Percent Cap
1970 r e t i r e e s ' p e n s i o n s . " T h e bill
CSEA had p r o p o s e d a bill to r e l i e v e
which u l t i m a t e l y p a s s e d w a s n ' t a s school d i s t r i c t s f r o m an aid r e i m generous as CSEA's
o r i g i n a l b u r s e m e n t c a p of s e v e n p e r c e n t . T h i s
proposal w a s i n c o r p o r a t e d
local a s s i s t a n c e budget.
into the
Military Leave
This bill, a w a i t i n g the G o v e r n o r ' s
s i g n a t u r e , c h a n g e s the result of a
r e c e n t N e w Y o r k S t a t e C o u r t of
A p p e a l s d e c i s i o n r e l a t i n g to t h e
m a n n e r in w h i c h t i m e for m i l i t a r y
l e a v e is c o m p u t e d for S t a t e and local
employees.
Library System Funding
A l s o w a i t i n g to be s i g n e d is this bill
which p r o v i d e s m i n i m u m funding for
c e r t a i n library s y s t e m s and g e n e r a l l y
i n c r e a s e s funding to v a r i o u s kinds of
libraries.
Political Subdivision Indemnification
S e v e r a l y e a r s a g o , the L e g i s l a t u r e
provided a m o r e
comprehensive
s y s t e m of e n s u r i n g t h a t S t a t e
e m p l o y e e s a r e p r o p e r l y d e f e n d e d if
they a r e s u e d for t o r t s c o m m i t t e d in
the c o u r s e of t h e i r e m p l o y m e n t . T h e
G o v e r n o r h a s s i g n e d this m e a s u r e
providing the s a m e s y s t e m for
e m p l o y e e s of t h e p o l i t i c a l s u b divisions. T h e s y s t e m would take
e f f e c t in p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n s a s local
l e g i s l a t i v e b o d i e s e l e c t to utilize it.
Thruway Employees Indemnification
T h e L e g i s l a t u r e a l s o v o t e d to e x tend a s i m i l a r s y s t e m of i n d e m n i f i c a t i o n t o e m p l o y e e s of t h e
T h r u w a y Authority. T h e bill h a s been
t r a n s m i t t e d to the G o v e r n o r for
signature.
Correction Employees Death Benefit
Under federal law, a uniformed
e m p l o y e e killed in the line of duty is
entitled to a $50,000 d e a t h b e n e f i t , in
addition to o t h e r b e n e f i t s provided by
the S t a t e . T h e L e g i s l a t u r e voted to
provide the s a m e b e n e f i t s , by S t a t e
. s t a t u t e , for n o n - u n i f o r m e d c o r r e c t i o n
e m p l o y e e s w h o d i e under t h o s e circumstances.
Bills S u c c e s s f u l l y D e f e a t e d
E q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t in t e r m s of lobbying is securing defeat of bills which
CSEA o p p o s e s .
r^ublic e m p l o y e r s w a n t e d to a m e n d
last y e a r ' s public e m p l o y e e OSHA
law, but C S E A w a s s u c c e s s f u l in ensuring that no s u c h a m e n d m e n t s w e r e
p a s s e d . M a y o r Koch had proposed a
s e r i e s of 26 bills w h i c h he c a l l e d civil
s e r v i c e r e f o r m , but w h i c h C S E A
Legislative
Update
branded a s civil s e r v i c e " d e f o r m . "
T h e union w a s a l s o s u c c e s s f u l in
p r e v e n t i n g p a s s a g e of a n y of t h e s e
bills.
O t h e r Bills
C S E A e n d o r s e d a n u m b e r of o t h e r
bills which, although they saw
s i g n i f i c a n t m o v e m e n t during the
l e g i s l a t i v e s e s s i o n , did not p a s s both
houses.
Although C S E A and other m e m b e r s
of the P u b l i c E m p l o y e e C o n f e r e n c e
p r o p o s e d a s e r i e s of e i g h t b i l l s
providing for T a y l o r L a w r e f o r m ,
only the a g e n c y s h o p bill d i s c u s s e d
e a r l i e r p a s s e d and w a s s i g n e d into
law. A second measure,
the
Triborough
Bill, passed
the
Assembly.
T h e C S E A p r o p o s a l to p r o v i d e
public e m p l o y e e s with a s u b s t a n t i a l
v o i c e o v e r i n v e s t m e n t of the $12-$14
b i l l i o n a s s e t s of t h e
common
r e t i r e m e n t fund got a boost w h e n the
Governor proposed a similar concept.
But although t h e r e w a s c o n s i d e r a b l e
d i s c u s s i o n and s o m e
movement
toward this c o n c e p t of a Board of
T r u s t e e s for t h e r e t i r e m e n t s y s t e m ,
the bill w a s not v o t e d on.
T h e S e n a t e p a s s e d a bill on h e a l t h
i n s u r a n c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n for r e t i r e e s ,
but the bill r e m a i n e d in an A s s e m b l y
c o m m i t t e e at the end of the s e s s i o n .
A l s o r e m a i n i n g in c o m m i t t e e w a s a
bill w h i c h would c o r r e c t
the
t e c h n i c a l i t y in the l a w w h i c h d e p r i v e s
e m p l o y e e s of the R o m e C o m m u n i t y
Store of c r e d i t in the E m p l o y e e s
R e t i r e m e n t System. The Assembly
killed t h e bill w h i c h would h a v e perm i t t e d e m p l o y e e s of the D e p a r t m e n t
of Mental H y g i e n e to s e r v e on Community Service Boards.
A N a s s a u County bill to t r a n s f e r
some Sheriff's department employees
to a c o m m i s s i o n e r of c o r r e c t i o n s , and
a C S E A - s p o n s o r e d a m e n d m e n t to
p r e s e r v e d i s a b i l i t y b e n e f i t s for t h o s e
e m p l o y e e s , p a s s e d the A s s e m b l y but
failed to p a s s in the S e n a t e . If both
had been p a s s e d and s i g n e d , disability
benefits would have been extended
a l s o t o e m p l o y e e s of t h e C o m missioner
of C o r r e c t i o n s
in
W e s t c h e s t e r and M o n r o e c o u n t i e s .
A bill w h i c h w o u l d h a v e c h a n g e d the
s y s t e m by w h i c h local school b u d g e t s
m a y be a d o p t e d p a s s e d the S e n a t e .
But its p a s s a g e w a s f r u s t r a t e d at the
last m o m e n t by a battle o v e r w h e t h e r
the S e n a t e or A s s e m b l y v e r s i o n would
pass.
"Although w e w e r e n ' t s u c c e s s f u l in
a c c o m p l i s h i n g all our l e g i s l a t i v e obj e c t i v e s , our i m p a c t w a s f e l t , "
Featherstonhaugh said. "It's important that C S E A c o n t i n u e its a c t i v e
i n v o l v e m e n t in the l e g i s l a t i v e and
political a c t o n p r o c e s s at all l e v e l s to
e n s u r e that t h e c o n s e r v a t i v e t r e n d s so
d r a m a t i c a l l y i l l u s t r a t e d by r e c e n t
e v e n t s in W a s h i n g t o n do not result in
an e r o s i o n of the rights of public
e m p l o y e e s and s e r v i c e s provided by
t h e m to t h e public.
" W e e x p e c t that the n e x t y e a r will
be a d i f f i c u l t o n e b e c a u s e of the
R e a g a n budget and funding c u t s , " he
added. " T h r o u g h our c o n t i n u e d
political a c t i o n , w e m u s t work to ens u r e that anti-public e m p l o y e e f o r c e s
do not s u c c e e d in s w e e p i n g N e w
York. '
THE PUetlC «SECTOR. Wednesday, August 5, 1981
i
Page 9
INSURANCE
C
X
A
i
n
r
v
n
m
r
i
1
ir
9 A A f w MTMMßV MM^ML
DEPARTMENT
The Civil Service Employees Assn. is an extremely diverse
organization. Its membership of upwards of a quarter of a million
workers perform thousands of different jobs at hundreds of work
locations throughout New York State. The needs of those members
can vary as much as the members themselves, and it takes a
sophisticated staff organization to meet those needs. CSEA employs
a professional staff of more than 200 people to provide services to the
membership. Slightly more than one-half of that total are assigned to
statewide headquarters at 33 Elk Street, Albany, with the remainder
assigned to the six regional headquarters maintained by CSEA
throughout the state. "Staff Profiles" is an informational series
designed to acquaint members with staff departments and personnel.
A matter of great importance
Insurance — w h e t h e r a negotiated benefit or a
' v o l u n t a r y p u r c h a s e — i s a m a t t e r of g r e a t i m p o r t a n c e to C S E A m e m b e r s . D e a l i n g d a i l y w i t h this
a s p e c t of t h e m e m b e r s ' n e e d s i s T i m M u l l e n s
and his s e v e n - p e r s o n I n s u r a n c e D e p a r t m e n t
staff.
"We're primarily involved with
adm i n i s t r a t i o n of t h e b a s i c g r o u p l i f e i n s u r a n c e
p l a n , w h i c h h a s b e e n in f o r c e s i n c e 1939,"
M u l l e n s s a i d . " S o m e 80,000 C S E A m e m b e r s a r e
insured through this p r o g r a m , which is the m o s t
popular i n s u r a n c e plan the union e n d o r s e s . "
C S E A is the m a s t e r p o l i c y h o l d e r and adm i n i s t r a t o r of t h e p r o g r a m , w h i c h e n a b l e s t h e
staff to respond i m m e d i a t e l y to inquiries,
problems and c l a i m s . All record m a i n t e n a n c e ,
cost determinations and death c l a i m s processing
are handled by the staff at Headquarters.
Mullens pointed out that when c l a i m s are
moderate, m e m b e r s reap the benefits. "We pass
f a v o r a b l e e x p e r i e n c e o n t o t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s b y inc r e a s i n g benefits, either t e m p o r a r i l y or perm a n e n t l y . A n d in D e c e m b e r , w e i s s u e d a
p r e m i u m r e f u n d f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e in o u r h i s t o r y .
W e r e f u n d e d m o r e t h a n $2 m i l l i o n t o m o r e t h a n
65,000 p l a n p a r t i c i p a n t s . "
M u l l e n s e x p l a i n e d t h a t m o s t of t h e p r o b l e m s
that a r i s e a r e d u e to t h e f a c t that his d e p a r t m e n t
i s n ' t k e p t i n f o r m e d of c h a n g e s in m e m b e r s
addresses, n a m e s and e m p l o y m e n t status. "It is
a b s o l u t e l y e s s e n t i a l t h a t w e b e a d v i s e d of a n y
c h a n g e s o that our r e c o r d s m a y be kept up-todate," he stressed.
C S E A o f f e r s a w i d e r a n g e of i n s u r a n c e
p r o g r a m s to its m e m b e r s including s u p p l e m e n t a l l i f e i n s u r a n c e , a c c i d e n t a n d s i c k n e s s insurance, homeowners, auto insurance, and the
n e w F a m i l y P r o t e c t i o n P l a n . P e r m a n e n t l i f e ins u r a n c e a n d a hospital i n d e m n i t y plan a r e a l s o
a v a i l a b l e to r e t i r e e s .
All p l a n s e x c e p t t h e b a s i c g r o u p l i f e p l a n a r e
administered by CSEA's insurance broker,
Bache Ter Bush & Powell,
"All of our i n s u r a n c e plans a r e c o n s t a n t l y
e v a l u a t e d by the C S E A Standing Insurance C o m m i t t e e a n d b y t h e B o a r d of D i r e c t o r s , " M u l l e n s
said.
Mullens is also available to offer a d v i c e and
technical e x p e r t i s e on insurance m a t t e r s w h e n
locals and units a r e negotiating contracts.
" T h e r e is a g r o w i n g trend for local
g o v e r n m e n t s to withdraw f r o m the Statewide
Health P l a n , " Mullens said. "We're not opposed
to a public e m p l o y e r s a v i n g m o n e y , but w e a r e
concerned about our m e m b e r s . We w a n t to m a k e
sure that the r e p l a c e m e n t plan o f f e r s b e n e f i t s
that a r e a s good a s the f o r m e r plan. S o m e t i m e s
health plan administrators promise e m p l o y e r s
t h a t t h e r e w i l l b e s i g n i f i c a n t s a v i n g s , but w i t h o u t
adequate s a f e g u a r d s and guarantees,
these
p r o m i s e s m a y turn out to be m e a n i n g l e s s . "
S t r e s s i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e of a d e q u a t e insurance c o v e r a g e , Mullens also pointed out that
people have different insurance requirements,
" T h e r e a r e h u n d r e d s of i n s u r a n c e c o m p a n i e s
a n d t h o u s a n d s of a g e n t s t h a t w o u l d b e g l a d t o s e l l
y o u i n s u r a n c e , a n d s h o p p i n g for i n s u r a n c e c a n b e
extremely confusing," Mullens commented.
"That's where CSEA can offer m e m b e r s a
valuable service. Insurance plans offered to our
m e m b e r s h i p a r e e v a l u a t e d by other C S E A
m e m b e r s — the Insurance C o m m i t t e e and the
B o a r d of D i r e c t o r s . If p r o b l e m s a r i s e , t h e u n i o n
is t h e r e to h e l p out. Y o u ' r e not l e f t t o f i g h t a
large insurance c o m p a n y on your o w n . "
TIM MULLENS, Director of Group Insurance
Programs, checks data with Supervisor Jean
O'Hagan.
Mullens pointed to p r e - r e t i r e m e n t c o u n s e l i n g
a s a n e w s e r v i c e that C S E A is m a k i n g a v a i l a b l e
to m e m b e r s . T h e f r e e p r o g r a m , which m e m b e r s
s h o u l d t a k e a d v a n t a g e of a b o u t s i x m o n t h s
before retirement, is m a d e available through
Bache Ter Bush & Powell's Retirement Counseling S e r v i c e , h e a d e d by R o b e r t Cory.
INSURANCE CLERKS Jane Frederick,
foreground, and Debbie Phillips track CSEA life
insurance active files.
" T h e c o u n s e l o r s h a v e a w e a l t h of i n f o r m a t i o n
on Social Security, M e d i c a r e , e s t a t e planning,
tax strategy, health insurance and r e t i r e m e n t
option s e l e c t i o n , " Mullens said. "Consulting an
e x p e r t , l i k e o n e of t h e s e c o u n s e l o r s , c a n m a k e
retirement planning m u c h simpler."
Calendar
of EVENTS
AUGUST
'
8~ Capital Region IV Treasurer's Seminar, Westport Hotel, Westport.
8—Central Region V Treasurer's Seminar, Northway Inn, Syracuse.
8—Local 335 Board of Director's meeting, Treadwoy Inn, Botavia, 10 a.m.
15—Local 335 General Meeting, Best Western Highland Inn, 3300 Henrietta Rd.,
Rochester Exit 46, 10 a.m.
22—Local 335 General Meeting, Howard Johnson's, 475 Dingens St., Buffalo Exit 53, 10
Page
6
SENIOR CLERK Sally Ann Colbert uses
microtape reader to locate information on
payroll records.
24—Southern Region III Treasurer's Seminar, Fishkill Holiday Inn, Fishkill.
26—Region V EAP training session for committee members from Marcy, Utica, CNY
Psychiatric Centers and the Rome Developmental Center. 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Alfredo's
Restaurant, Route 5, Utica.
29—Local 615 Upstate Medical Center summer dinner dance, 6:30 p.m., Raphael's
Restaurant, State Fair Blvd., Lakeland.
SEPTEMBER
11—Tax Locol 690 and Insurance Local 666 hosts 23rd annual clomsteam Krouse's
Halfmoon Beach, Halfmoon.
20—Suffolk County Local 852 picnic, Southhaven Park, Yaphank.
21—Long Island Region I Executive Board meeting, 7:30 p.m., 300 Motor Parkway,
Hauppouge.
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, August 5, 1981THEPUBLICSECTOR,Wednesday,August5,1981Page10
^ t
ULM
^
S
m
v
-
v-,--MW.r'i,
, ^ T f W t ••
" :- ^V N P M M H B g B M M B R I W i f n a K m » ' '
II
Ii • 7 X r ^ f W S f t W W W W - a S i l i ^ i •
Deputies: a matter of principle
ALBANY It s t a r t e d w i t h a
g r i e v a n c e and stopped at the
s t a t e ' s h i g h e s t c o u r t . In t h e e n d ,
the original arbitration a w a r d w a s
upheld, but only a f t e r
going
through t h e full c i r c u i t — D u t c h e s s
County S u p r e m e Court, Appellate
Division (Second
Department),
C o u r t of A p p e a l s .
The issue w a s simple. The thenDutchess County Sheriff assigned
s e v e r a l of h i s d e p u t i e s e x c l u s i v e l y
to t r a n s p o r t i n g a n d
guarding
prisoners to — and f r o m — court.
The assignment w a s grieved, based
on t h e c o n t r a c t u a l d e f i n i t i o n of a
grievance, and a l s o on a section
w h i c h said", " e m p l o y e e s w i l l n o t b e
r e q u i r e d t o w o r k o u t s i d e of t h e j o b
description against their wish exc e p t in t h e c a s e of e m e r g e n c y . "
The m a t t e r went to arbitration,
and a favorable d e c i s i o n
was
rendered, noting that the grievant
w a s being, "continuously assigned
involuntarily to duties w h i c h a r e
n o t w i t h i n t h e s c o p e of t h e v a r i o u s
duties outlined
in t h e
job
description for the D e p u t y Sheriff
classification."
The county, then, w e n t to state
S u p r e m e Court to overturn the
award, and succeeded. The judge
ruled the arbitrator,
"violated
public policy."
CSEA went next to the Appellate
D i v i s i o n , w h i c h u p h e l d the arb i t r a t o r , n o t i n g , " I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of
a t e r m o r c o n d i t i o n of e m p l o y m e n t
i s g e n e r a l l y w h a t a r b i t r a t i o n in
m o s t public e m p l o y e e c o n t r a c t s is
a b o u t . " F i n a l l y , o n J u l y 7, t h e
C o u r t of A p p e a l s a g r e e d , s a y i n g ,
"Public policy does not preclude a
sheriff f r o m a g r e e i n g to submit for
resolution by arbitration questions
a s to w h e t h e r a s s i g n m e n t s to a
d e p u t y s h e r i f f v i o l a t e p r o v i s i o n s of
their
collective
bargaining
a g r e e m e n t concerning out-of-title
work a s s i g n m e n t s . "
A l t h o u g h t h e p r a c t i c e c e a s e d in
Dutchess County when a new
sheriff took o f f i c e , an important
principle w a s won for deputy
sheriffs.
McGowan urges restoration
of political action in Region II
N E W Y O R K C I T Y — C S E A S t a t e w i d e P r e s i d e n t W i l l i a m L. M c G o w a n told a
m e e t i n g of M e t r o p o l i t a n R e g i o n II l o c a l p r e s i d e n t s t h a t t h e r e g i o n ' s L e g i s l a t i v e a n d
political A c t i o n C o m m i t t e e w o u l d b e r e v i t a l i z e d .
" I w a n t a n a c t i v e P o l i t i c a l A c t i o n C o m m i t t e e in t h e r e g i o n . It i s e s p e c i a l l y
i m p o r t a n t b e c a u s e of t h e h a r d f i g h t w e a r e g o i n g t o h a v e f o r t h e n e x t t h r e e
y e a r s b e c a u s e of p r e s i d e n t i a l e c o n o m i c s , " M c G o w a n s a i d .
He said CSEA Chief Lobbyist J a m e s F e a t h e r s t o n h a u g h and the union's
P o l i t i c a l A c t i o n D e p a r t m e n t w o u l d b e s e n d i n g in s t a f f t o h e l p t r a i n R e g i o n II
members.
M c G o w a n a l s o s a i d t h e r e w o u l d b e a n i n c r e a s e in l e a d e r s h i p a n d g r i e v a n c e
t r a i n i n g f o r C S E A a c t i v i s t s in t h e r e g i o n . H e s a i d t h e t r a i n i n g w o u l d b e c o o r dinated through the regional office.
A m o n g t h o s e a t t e n d i n g t h e m e e t i n g w e r e M e t r o p o l i t a n R e g i o n II P r e s i d e n t
G e o r g e C a l o u m e n o , R e g i o n II D i r e c t o r G e o r g e B i s p h a m , F e a t h e r s t o n h a u g h ,
CSEA Collective Bargaining Specialist Jase McGraw, Field Representatives
Charles Bell, Bart Brier and Marcia Schiowitz and C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Associate
Richard Chernela.
FigM ends;
Fulton oks
ratro pact
F U L T O N — A f t e r nine m o n t h s of
hard-fought
negotiations,
culminated by an informational
picket
line
protesting
a
m a n a g e m e n t r e j e c t i o n of t h e f a c t
f i n d e r ' s r e p o r t , m e m b e r s of t h e
C i t y of F u l t o n U n i t of C S E A L o c a l
838 O s w e g o C o u n t y h a v e v o t e d unanimously to a c c e p t a n e w twoyear contract, retroactive
to
J a n u a r y 1, 198L
According to Ron Smith, CSEA
Field R e p r e s e n t a t i v e and Chief
Negotiator for the Unit which
r e p r e s e n t s n e a r l y 100 e m p l o y e e s ,
the n e w a g r e e m e n t calls for salary
i n c r e a s e s o f 10 p e r c e n t t h e f i r s t
year, and an additional 9 percent
the second year.
Other n e w benefits include: an
a d d i t i o n a l Vz d a y h o l i d a y in 1982;
t i m e and one half pay for holiday
work; o v e r t i m e p a y for all hours
w o r k e d i n e x c e s s o f 8 h o u r s o r 40
h o u r s ; i n c r e a s e in s h i f t d i f f e r e n t i a l
p a y a l s o ; p a y f o r out-of-title w o r k ;
new disciplinary procedure ending
in b i n d i n g a r b i t r a t i o n ;
est a b l i s h m e n t of s t a r t i n g r a t e s of p a y ,
and other contract language changes,
changes.
TWO LOCAL P R E S I D E N T S
att e n d i n g a m e e t i n g of M e t r o p o l i t a n
R e g i o n II l o c a l p r e s i d e n t s a r e , f r o m
left, J a m e s Harrison, Waterfront
C o m m i s s i o n of N e w Y o r k H a r b o r
L o c a l 066; and D e n n i s
Tobin,
D e p a r t m e n t of L a b o r L o c a l 350.
In a c o m m e n t f o l l o w i n g t h e
ratification announcement, Smith
s a i d , " O n e of o u r p r i m e c o n c e r n s
during these negotiations w a s to
s t r e s s the n e e d to c h a n g e the
s t a r t i n g r a t e of p a y . In t h e past, t h e
City (Fulton) hired discriminately
at different rates. There w a s a
d e f i n i t e f l a v o r of f a v o r i t i s m a n d
l a c k of e q u i t y w i t h t h e r a t e s . It w a s
w r o n g , a n d t h e City k n e w it w a s
wrong, I w a n t to personally thank
t h e m e m b e r s of t h e n e g o t i a t i n g
t e a m for their dedication, and the
entire m e m b e r s h i p for
its
solidarity throughout those tough
nine m o n t h s , " Smith concluded.
M e m b e r s of t h e n e g o t i a t i n g c o m mittee include: David Ritchie,
Unit P r e s i d e n t and T e a m Chairman, John Allen, Gary Firenze,
Donna
Dlugozima,
William
Dickens, Thomas Dann,
and
Richard Rice.
The City of F u l t o n C o m m o n
Council also approved the contract
unanimously.
JOiN iaiior's march
for jolis, justice.
Be part of the
Soiidarity Day
demonstration in
Wasiiington D. C.
on Saturday,
SEPTEMBER 19
A M O N G T H O S E A T T E N D I N G T H E R E G I O N II l o c a l p r e s i d e n t s m e e t i n g a r e
C l i n t o n T h o m a s , C r e e d m o o r P s y c h i a t r i c C e n t e r L o c a l 406; a n d L e o n o r a L e e ,
N e w Y o r k P a r o l e D i s t r i c t L o c a l 259.
METROPOLITAN
REGION
II
President G e o r g e Caloumeno, right,
s p e a k s w i t h M e t r o p o l i t a n A r e a Arm o r y E m p l o y e e s L o c a l 254 P r e s i d e n t
C a s s e l l B r o c k e t t a t t h e R e g i o n II l o c a l
presidents meeting.
Interested CSEA members should
i m m e d i a t e l y c o n t a c t your
Regional president for details.
'THE PUBLIC SECTOR, V\/ednesday, August 5, 1981
Page 11
Juvenile counselor now paid the going rale
Union strength prevails
in case of Gregory Zimei
V A L H A L L A — T h e c o l l e c t i v e s t r e n g t h of a u n i o n c a n a c c o m p l i s h w h a t
an individual w o r k i n g a l o n e s o m e t i m e s c a n n o t a c h i e v e . That b a s i c labor
t r u t h is p e r s o n i f i e d in t h e c a s e of W e s t c h e s t e r C o u n t y e m p l o y e e G r e g o r y
Zimei.
A f t e r trying u n s u c c e s s f u l l y on his o w n , Z i m e i turned to t h e Civil S e r v i c e
E m p l o y e e s A s s n . f o r h e l p . A n d t o d a y h e i s $1,477.62 r i c h e r , a n d h a s h a d h i s
p a y r a t e a d j u s t e d a s a r e s u l t of C S E A ' s e f f o r t s o n h i s b e h a l f .
Z i m e i , a c c o r d i n g to W e s t c h e s t e r County C S E A U n i t G r i e v a n c e C o m m i t t e e C h a i r m a n J o h n W h a l e n , w a s h i r e d b y W e s t c h e s t e r C o u n t y in 1977 a s a
per d i e m e m p l o y e e . He b e g a n a s a group c o u n s e l o r at the W o o d f i e l d
Juvenile Detention Cottage.
H e w a s h i r e d full t i m e in 1978 a n d p l a c e d i n c o r r e c t l y a t t h e h i r i n g p a y
r a t e i n s t e a d of a t t h e S t e p I r a t e .
H e tried on his o w n to h a v e his p a y r a t e c o r r e c t e d for a p p r o x i m a t e l y
t w o y e a r s w i t h o u t s u c c e s s . In A u g u s t 1980, h e w e n t t o h i s u n i o n , t h e
W e s t c h e s t e r C o u n t y U n i t of C S E A .
Whalen, handling Z i m e i ' s c a s e , filed a g r i e v a n c e w h i c h C S E A w o n on
t h e t h i r d s t e p w h e n t h e c o u n t y D e p a r t m e n t of L a b o r R e l a t i o n s a g r e e d w i t h
t h e p o s i t i o n of t h e u n i o n a n d Z i m e i .
WOODFIELD JUVENILE DETENTION COTTAGE Group Counselor
Gregory Zimei, left, shows Westchester County Unit Grievance Committee
Chairman John Whalen the check for $1,477.62 in back pay he received as the
result of a grievance filed by the unit. Westchester County had been paying
Zimei at the wrong pay rate.
Nick Cimino: a 'modest' record
By Tina Lineer First
Nick Cimino's record is rare a m o n g C S E A
members.
H a v i n g r e c e n t l y c o m p l e t e d 27 y e a r s a s P r e s i d e n t
of L o c a l 505, D e p a r t m e n t of T r a n s p o r t a t i o n D i s t r i c t
N o . 2, U t i c a , h e m a y b e t h e l o n g e s t c o n t i n u a l l y s e r v i n g l o c a l p r e s i d e n t in t h e u n i o n .
L o n g r e g a r d e d a s o n e of t h e m o s t r e s p e c t e d a n d
k n o w l e d g e a b l e union o f f i c e r s , C i m i n o , a g r a c i o u s ,
m o d e s t m a n of 61, p r e f e r s t o l e t h i s r e c o r d s p e a k
for itself.
" I ' m not going to go around patting m y s e l f on the
A PRESIDENTIAL LINE UP representing six (6)
CSEA State Locals, and two (2) Statewide Officials,
turned out to surprise Local 505 outgoing President,
Nicholas J. Cimino, at a recent outing near Utica.
Shown, left to right are Frank Zammiello,
President of Local 502 Barge Canal District No. 2;
John Giehl, President of Local 425 Utica
back for doing s o m e t h i n g for this guy or that g u y , "
he said.
" W e didn't w i n e v e r y battle w e w e n t to bat for —
y o u j u s t c a n ' t w i n ' e m all — but I h o n e s t l y think I
did e v e r y t h i n g t h a t w a s r e q u i r e d of m e a s a l o c a l
president. I a l w a y s liked to help people and the
b i g g e s t p r i d e w a s in w i n n i n g s o m e ,
getting
something a c c o m p l i s h e d for people."
A principal s t o r a g e clerk with DOT, Cimino will
r e t i r e n e x t y e a r a f t e r 35 y e a r s o n t h e j o b . H e s a y s
his m o r e than a quarter century s e r v i c e to CSEA
w e n t by quickly.
Psychiatric Center; Charles Whitney, incoming
President of Local 505, NYSDOT; Ed Lavin,
President of Fort Schuyler Local 014; Nicholas J.
Cimino; CSEA Statewide Executive Vice-President
Thomas McDonough; Edward "Bud" Mulchy,
President of Local 414 Marcy Psychiatric Center
and CSEA Statewide Treasurer Jack Gallagher.
" I w a s q u i t e s h o c k e d t o s e e t h a t 27 y e a r s h a d
elapsed," he said.
C i m i n o l i v e s in U t i c a w i t h h i s w i f e of 35 y e a r s a n d
i s t h e f a t h e r of a s o n , 33 a n d a d a u g h t e r , 25, a n d t h e
g r a n d f a t h e r of t w o b o y s . H e s a y s it w a s n o t b y
d e s i g n that h e g a v e nearly half his life to b e i n g local
p r e s i d e n t — t h e y e a r s j u s t s t a r t e d a d d i n g up.
H e b e g a n as local treasurer and v i c e president,
a n d t h e n in 1954 " t h e v a c a n c y f o r p r e s i d e n t c a m e
up, I r a n , w a s e l e c t e d , a n d f o r f o u r o r f i v e t e r m s I
ran unopposed."
B e c a u s e of h i s p e n d i n g r e t i r e m e n t , h e did n o t
c h o o s e to run again this year. The s e c o n d v i c e
president, Charles Whitney, b e c a m e president.
"I c o u l d n ' t s e e running a g a i n and l e a v i n g a m a n
h a n g i n g in t h e m i d d l e , " s a i d C i m i n o . " T h i s w a y , I
c a n h e l p h i m ( W h i t n e y ) f o r t h e n e x t n i n e o r 10
months."
C i m i n o i s r e m a i n i n g a c t i v e in t h e u n i o n in m o r e
o v e r t w a y s . H e is still on the Constitution a n d B y L a w s C o m m i t t e e , and is s e r g e a n t - a t - a r m s
at
m e e t i n g s of t h e B o a r d of D i r e c t o r s .
W h i l e in o f f i c e , h e s e r v e d o n t h e G r i e v a n c e C o m mittee, a special DOT c o m m i t t e e , the Charter
C o m m i t t e e and the Statewide Layoff C o m m i t t e e .
H e a l s o s e r v e d m a n y y e a r s on the S t a t e w i d e B o a r d
of D i r e c t o r s .
What w e r e his biggest challenges over the years?
" A l o t of g r i e v a n c e s a n d l a b o r - m a n a g e m e n t
m e e t i n g s , " he said.
S o m e of h i s j o y s i n c l u d e d t r a v e l i n g t h r o u g h o u t
the s t a t e on official C S E A business.
" Y o u know, having a little t i m e a w a y f r o m
h o m e , " h e s a i d . " A n d , I m i g h t a d d , m o s t of t h e
t i m e I t o o k m y w i f e w i t h m e . It w a s a l i t t l e r o u g h a t
first b e c a u s e t h e kids w e r e s m a l l , but a s t h e y got
o l d e r w e k i n d of t o o k o f f o n c o n f e r e n c e s a n d c o n ventions."
D e s p i t e all his dedication to C S E A , the hazeleyed, m u s t a c h i o e d m a n w h o served under four
C S E A s t a t e w i d e p r e s i d e n t s did s a v e s o m e t i m e for
himself.
" I d o l i k e t o t a k e c a r e of t h e g a r d e n in t h e
s u m m e r t i m e , " h e s a i d of h i s h o b b i e s , " a n d d o proj e c t s a r o u n d t h e h o u s e m o r e than a n y t h i n g . "
C S E A L O C A L 505 N Y S D O T D i s t r i c t 2 r e c e n t l y ins t a l l e d n e w O f f i c e r s a t a d i n n e r m e e t i n g in U t i c a .
S e a t e d in l e f t p h o t o f r o m l e f t t o r i g h t a r e , M i c h a e l
S t a n e k , B o a r d of D i r e c t o r s ; C h a r l e s W h i t n e y , Inc o m i n g P r e s i d e n t ; N i c h o l a s J. C i m i n o , O u t g o i n g
P r e s i d e n t ; Carol Entwistle, Secretary. Standing,
l e f t t o r i g h t , J o s e p h D z i o k , B o a r d of D i r e c t o r s ;
Anthony Cimino, Treasurer; Albert
Patterson,
S e c o n d V i c e - P r e s i d e n t ; L y i e E v a n s , B o a r d of
Directors.
Page 12
THE PUBLIC SECTOR, Wednesday, August 12, 1981