WESTERN REGION PRESIDENT, continued from Page 13 that we can succeed. It is public services that provide good care to our disabled and our elderly, who protect our safety, who plow our roads and repair our bridges. It is public education that gives our children a chance to move ahead in life and be better than the generation before them. I am particularly angered by those who blame Public workers for all the financial problems. The high and mighty politicians who have no idea what it is like to live in a world where a paycheck does not stretch very far. Politicians who pretend to know what is like to be middle class but will never experience the pain of a retiree having to make a choice between food and medical care or wonder how they provide for their families. We in CSEA understand very well the hardships of being a Public worker. The sacrifices we have made over the years, the things we have given up to provide the service that our citizens deserve. Now they even want our pensions. The very life’s blood that we have worked for to have some dignity in our later years. It is unconscionable that Corporations are controlling the economy of this county and I might add not doing a very good job. They are lining their own pockets but forget it is the workers that keep that corporation running. It is you who provide public services that are the true heroes of this state. Hillary Clinton wrote a book many years ago titled, “It Takes a Village.” She was criticized for that concept. I truly believe that to be true. It is all of us, rich, poor, business or public service that keeps this country strong. I am a firm believer that we are responsible for our neighbor and that thought is lost in the mentality that exists. Of course we in New York State know firsthand thanks to the Governor of this State. A person who talks a good game but behind the scene is gutting important State Services. Services to the Developmentally Disabled by turning over our Individuals to private agencies that pay their employees half of what a State Worker makes and has no investment in their job. He has announced closures of 4 Correction facilities across the state. Cuomo is consolidating Mental Health Services which are the basis of his “SAFE ACT.” OCFS has been gutted and of course with no hiring in the State, additional burdens are placed on existing employees. Whether you work for the State, Local Government, School Districts, Private Sector or are trying to survive in your retirement years, Cuomo spares no one. Our Convention theme this year is Leading Together, Facing our Future. To me, that means that each and every one of us needs to be a part of our Union team. A team that uses all resources. Of course our greatest resource is you, our CSEA members. Whether it be fighting to keep our Nursing Homes public, fighting to maintain important services in our communities, caring about our politicians and being aware of what effect their actions have to working families, being involved on all levels of government and showing genuine care and concern about our brothers and sisters. What a world we would live in if we all took a leadership role and participated in the things that really mattered. This Union is an inspiration. It can’t be an inspiration if you don’t pull out all stops to save the essential services in this state. CSEA does that. It leads the way on the right path. We in CSEA will stand together and fight together. We may not win all our battles but all will know we worked hard to win. I have always said, “I don’t care if you love me or hate me, but you will know I was here.” CSEA certainly has taken its abuse but by God, we all know CSEA is here. I again look up to the challenges ahead. Join us in those battles. We work hard but we have fun, especially when we win. We look forward to working together in Solidarity. Bless you all. Flo Western Region President CENTRAL REGION PRESIDENT, continued from Page 13 conference when I was at a dance at the same venue and they were so happy to meet me and wish me well. I realized what Grandma meant when she said these people were like family to her, not only there to uphold and promote union contracts and values in the work place, but to support one another and their loved ones personally. That’s when I realized unionism is a way of living one’s life, a philosophy, not just part of one’s work life… From my grandmother I have come to realize the importance of a life of service, of giving back to the community, and looking out for the welfare of my family, friends and neighbors… I will remember the lessons I have learned from my grandmother about human dignity, safety in the work place, the importance of public service, all values of CSEA, and strive to always incorporate them in my life.” It is obvious that Daniel has learned very well from his grandmother, Beverly Centers, who served as an activist and leader from Cayuga County for many years, and still serves as a retiree activist. I am proud to call her my friend. I am also proud to announce that with this essay, Daniel was selected as one of our four region college scholarship winners, and I wish him well as he heads off to Siena College this fall. Finally, I am happy to say that as of Bev’s last report, Daniel is not showing any signs of cancer right now. Hopefully, he never will. For this young man to be able to recognize the value our union has provided his family, it gives me tremendous hope for our future. Surely, the union we look at in five years will look somewhat different than the union we have built over the last hundred years. We certainly have our challenges cut out for us, but I have renewed faith that with the strong support of young people like Daniel, and maybe your own children and grandchildren, there will always remain a place for organized labor to keep making a positive difference in people’s lives and families. In solidarity, Colleen Wheaton Central Region President CAPITAL DISTRICT REGION PRESIDENT, continued from Page 13 those with mental illness? And, what of the programs facilities like McGregor provide to the public? The wood program at McGregor, for example, provides wood to hundreds of families in Saratoga County who can’t otherwise afford to heat their homes. The slated closures of the Office of Mental Health facilities, like O.D. Heck are baffling. Prisons is New York State already have an alarmingly high rate of persons with mental illness who would be better treated in programs like those offered through OMH. These reckless closures crafted by Governor Cuomo and his team of bureaucrats will have a devastating impact on a vulnerable group of people and will have repercussions for the communities and the programs they will be directed to. It is time that we stood up and yelled a little louder over these flawed decisions and the fallout that is a shrinking middle class. People like Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged the status quo and agitated for change, bringing people together. This is the work of leaders and activists who ask members of a movement to persevere when things seem futile, to make demands, but also seek consensus. As delegates to this convention you are here today because of your activism and because of your leadership. Many of us here today just can’t sit quietly when people around us are not being treated fairly. Somewhere along the way each of us made a decision to stand up even though it would have been a hell of a lot easier to sit down. We make demands in the interest of fairness and respect. And, we will continue to make demands. Indeed, there are many qualities shared by activists of the civil rights movement that are carried out by labor activists today. That heartens me. And on the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s speech, it also awakens in me, and hopefully you too, a rededication to the work we do as members of the labor movement. President Obama, in a recent interview, said that while King “would be amazed in many ways about the progress that we’ve made,” with respect to jobs and justice that King spoke about, “When it comes to the economy, when it comes to inequality, when it comes to wealth, when it comes to challenges that inner cities experience, he would say that we have not made as much progress as the civil and social progress that we’ve made.” So, on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, I challenge each of us to renew our commitment to the labor movement and to the tenets of workers’ rights, equity, access and respect. That is how we can move beyond commemoration and move toward honoring the legacy of activists like Martin Luther King. In solidarity, Kathy Garrison Capital District Region President November 2013 The Work Force 15
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