Photo of the Month Photo by Bess Watts Members of the CSEA Monroe County Local joined U.S. Postal Service workers for a rally recently outside a Rochester Staples store. Postal workers are protesting against plans for post office counters in Staples stores. USPS workers are screened and trained. Staples workers may not ask the required security questions and may accept hazardous packages, postal workers at the rally said. Protestors carried signs that said “Saving the Middle Class = Priceless,” and “Save America’s Postal Service.” See story, Page 5 Need your CSEA ID number? Access your CSEA ID number for union elections, contract ratification votes, and member-only benefits offers by clicking on the “Look up your CSEA ID!” tab at www.cseany.org. ALERT NEW YORK’S LEADING UNION CSEA President Danny Donohue to meet Capital Region members on June 24 President Danny Donohue will visit the CSEA Capital Region on June 24 to meet with members. The meetings will be held at the Capital Region Office, 1 Lear Jet Lane, Suite No. 2, Latham. Donohue will meet with union members from 1 to 7 p.m. Please call the region office at 1-518-782-4400 for an appointment and directions. Pension fund growth a record ALBANY — The New York State Common Retirement Fund’s value has hit $176.2 billion for the state fiscal year that ended March 31, 2014, a record total, according to a recent report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The state’s pension fund, one of the largest in the country, remains one of the nation’s best-managed and bestfunded pension plans and has been since its inception in 1920. The New York State and Local Retirement System provides benefits to more than 1 million state and local government employees, retirees and beneficiaries. “This is good news for our members and retirees, but our elected leaders now have an obligation to properly fund the system in the coming years. We’ve seen all too often how providing politically appeasing tax breaks and under-funding the system during CSEA Yonkers Educational Unit President Lionel Turner, at podium, and CSEA Westchester County Local President John Staino, left of podium, take part in a news conference joined by members of a newly formed community coalition, including CSEA members, to fight for fairness, transparency, and a public voice in the school budget process in Yonkers. The Yonkers school district faces a deep deficit that will likely require deficit bonding to fix. good times has led to unnecessary expenses, and attacks on the fund and public employees during economic downturns,” said CSEA President Danny Donohue. “It was a stellar year for us. The strength of the domestic equity DiNapoli market, coupled with strong private equity and real estate returns, drove much of our growth. The financial markets have given investors a wild ride the last few years but our investment strategy has allowed us to capitalize on opportunities and minimize risks,” DiNapoli said. Last year, the fund earned a 10.38 percent return on investments, and was valued at $160.7 billion. Missing any money? There’s nothing like found money, and the state comptroller may be able to help you find some you didn’t know you had. New York state has $12 billion in lost money, according to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. On average, DiNapoli’s office returns $1 million a day. Visit http://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/index.htm or call 1-800-221-9311 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) to see if some of that money is yours. 2 The Work Force June 2014
June_14_WF
To see the actual publication please follow the link above