1. Write a Letter on CSEA-Supported Bills
Fair Retirement for Court Officers
A bill has passed both houses of the legislature to allow court officers and peace officers employed by the Unified Court System to retire at age 55 with 30 years of service. This legislation takes a big step towards pension parity for these law enforcement personnel. Improving the pension will help the Unified Court System recruit and retain sufficient staff to keep facilities safe and secure.
Write a letter to Governor Hochul urging her to sign this bill!
Support Child Care Providers
A bill has passed both houses of the legislature to align supervision requirements for CSEA’s home-based child care providers with what is required in child care centers. Right now, home-based childcare providers must have one caregiver for every two children under 24 months old. However, childcare centers are only required to follow this ratio for children under 18 months. This bill which would fix this by aligning the standard of supervision for children under 18 months. This simple change will create more childcare slots, which will support home-based childcare providers and increase access to affordable infant care for New York families.
Write a letter to Governor Hochul urging her to sign this bill!
2. Federal Shutdown Updates
Today is day 23 of the federal government shutdown. Today would otherwise be payday for most federal workers, but due to the shutdown, these workers are set to miss their first full paycheck. Speaker Mike Johnson says he does not plan to reconvene the House until Senate Democrats agree to the Republican’s “clean” spending bill. Democrats continue to insist that any agreement must include an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits that help working families afford coverage.
CSEA supports all sides entering negotiations to both reopen the federal government and ensure that working families do not see their health insurance premiums double because of Congress’s failure to extend these critical tax credits.
You can send a message to your member of Congress urging immediate action here.
3. Election Highlight: Nicole Aloise for Nassau County District Attorney
CSEA has endorsed Nicole Aloise for Nassau County District Attorney (DA). Nicole was formerly Senior Litigation Counsel in the Nassau DA’s office, where she worked side-by-side with CSEA members. Nicole understands the value of our members’ work: she has been a vocal critic of the current DA’s use of Artificial Intelligence to perform CSEA duties, against which Local 830 has filed an Improper Practice Charge.
CSEA has endorsed candidates in all six regions across the state. You can find a list of our endorsed candidates here.
4. Social Security Benefits Increase
The Social Security Administration has announced that Social Security benefits, including Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income payments for 75 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2026. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $56 per month starting in January.
5. Early Voting Begins
Early voting runs from October 25 – November 2. Election Day is November 4. Tomorrow is also the final day to register to vote in the 2025 elections. Locate your early voting polling place here.
6. Take the Tier 6 Survey
CSEA has been fighting to reform Tier 6, securing big wins including reducing the vesting period from ten to five years; basing final average salary on highest three, rather than 5, earning years; and excluding overtime pay from employee contribution calculations. In the upcoming legislative session, we’ll once again be fighting to make improvements to Tier 6, and we want to hear from you! If you’re a Tier 6 member, take the survey here.
7. CSEA Legislative Toolkit
We’re encouraging members to get the word out about our legislative successes. Click the icons below for informational documents that you can print, share, and post on social media to spread the news. You can also check out our summary of the 2025-2026 New York State Budget.
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