Despite a strong fight by CSEA and community supporters, lawmakers in several cashstrapped counties put the well being of the elderly at risk by selling county nursing facilities. Bucking the trend, Erie County officials demonstrated their commitment to do better for seniors by opening a new state-of-the-art nursing home on the Erie County Medical Center Campus. Legislative session ends with mixed results, Pages 3, 4 R The July-August 2013 Vol. 16 No. 7 Canal keepers Photo by Mark KotzinSee pages 10, 11 R September 2013 Vol. 16 No. 8 The See pages 4, 9, 10, 11 Getty Images R November 2013 Vol. 16 No. 10 The Getty Images Mobilizing for communities, families See pages 3, 9 Photo by Mark Kotzin R The October 2013 Vol. 16 No. 9 Getty Images There are better ways... See pages 3, 4, 10, 11 Photo by Rich Impagliazzo CSEA will continue fighting these misguided policies with all our resources — everything and everyone. In the meantime, CSEA members continue to demonstrate their commitment to their jobs, their communities, and fairness for all working people. There are members such as those helping to rebuild their communities after the devastation brought a year ago by Hurricane Sandy. Or, like the VOICE/CSEA child care providers who, shortly after forming their own union with CSEA, volunteered to help AFSCME organize 12,700 more. Or the more than 1,000 union leaders and activists at CSEA’s 2013 Annual Delegates Meeting who vowed to defend the labor movement, hardworking families, and strong communities. Solidarity can lead to better times ahead. December 2013 Vol. 16 No. 11 R The See Special Report inside Photo by Jill Asencio A misguided property tax cap and more tax giveaways are also hurting local government workers and the services we provide. For example, the Tax Free New York scheme is not only unfair to businesses and workers who do pay taxes; it will cost taxpayers more than $300 million over the next three years alone. Additional bad policy decisions include the failed “Close to Home” juvenile justice initiative, which moved youthful offenders from state facilities into the hands of ill-equipped private contractors, and has been exposed as a dangerous threat to public safety. Correctional facility closures pose similar risks. The planned closure of four upstate prisons not only will be devastating to the communities whose economies depend on them, but will also turn the lives of 700 workers upside down as they may be forced to move away from friends, relatives and the places they call home to continue earning a paycheck. It’s bad management and possibly illegal to lay off hundreds of union members as punishment for refusing to bow to demands for concessions in contract talks such as the state Thruway Authority and Canal Corp. did last summer. CSEA filed a federal lawsuit contesting the constitutionality of the layoffs, arguing the fact that highly paid management employees and political appointees were spared, which proves the state’s real motive was to bully union members to get what it wanted in negotiations.
Jan_14_WF
To see the actual publication please follow the link above