Herzenberg receives Irene Carr Leadership Award for leading fight for workers’ rights as the White Plains School District Unit president, a unit member employed as an hourly lifeguard approached her with a problem. The woman desperately needed a mammogram, and lacked the insurance to cover the exam. “The fact that she had been working at the school for 11 years as an hourly worker, with no benefits, was completely unacceptable,” Herzenberg said. “It just blew my mind.” So Herzenberg set out to make sure that no other workers in her unit ever again faced that lifeguard’s scenario. She successfully fought for benefits for the hourly workers in her unit. “That was my first fight for somebody’s rights,” said Herzenberg. “I realized, ‘I am damn good at this. I can help people.’” And because of that determination and skill, Herzenberg was recently honored with this year’s CSEA Irene Carr Leadership Award, which CSEA President Danny Donohue awarded to her at the union’s recent Statewide Women’s Conference. Carr a ‘trailblazer’ Carr, a longtime CSEA activist who served as the union’s statewide secretary for 17 years, helped pave the way for women to serve in leadership roles on Carr CSEA President Danny Donohue, right, congratulates Southern Region activist Adele Herzenberg on receiving the Irene Carr Leadership Award. Shortly after Adele Herzenberg started every level of the union. She also helped lead numerous efforts to improve the lives of working women on and off the job, issues she referred to as “work and family issues.” “Irene Carr is the model for what women in our union are and should work to be,” Donohue said. “She was a trailblazer who represented the best in CSEA “It is so inspirational when we think about our own small world and how large it can become through meaningful change.” in that she not only worked for the members, but felt the responsibility to do so.” Donohue said that Herzenberg’s CSEA service represents many of the ethics and beliefs that Carr valued. “Adele understands that you have to be in the trenches with your members together,” he said. And Herzenberg has hardly stopped at her first victory. Honing her skills as a negotiator and tapping into a deep well of personal power, Herzenberg is a double threat at the negotiating table. “I’m just short and sweet,” said Herzenberg, with a devilish grin. Herzenberg is proud of her unit’s contract with the White Plains School District that went into effect last month. The agreement includes an extra personal day and reduced employee contributions to the benefit fund. She is especially happy that the deal didn’t touch retiree benefits, a platform of which Herzenberg is fiercely protective. “We had to get creative,” said Herzenberg about the agreement. Leader and mentor On top of contractual improvements, members benefit from Herzenberg’s guidance and empathy. Herzenberg goes out of her way to educate members about rights available to them including leave for cancer screening and FMLA. A Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program graduate, and treasurer of the Westchester County Local, Herzenberg extends her activism as a mentor to young girls through the Girl Scouts and volunteering for the Peace Outside Campus Foundation that advocates for student safety in college communities. Herzenberg said she was “floored” to have been chosen for the Irene Carr Leadership Award among “so many deserving sisters.” The award is a nod of encouragement from her union family and is also a reminder to not become complacent,” she said. She is grateful for the recognition and is also inspired. “It is so inspirational when we think about our own small world and how large it can become through meaningful change.” — Therese Assalian 12 The Work Force June 2015
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