Page 6 - Retiree News Fall 2020

her devotion to
another cause close to her heart.
The White Plains Democratic Committee recently awarded Melton, president of Westchester County Retirees Local 921, its Marilyn Stagg Award, recognizing Melton’s many years of service to the committee. As this edition went to press, she was set to receive
the award Oct. 18 during the committee’s annual dinner, which will be held this year on the Zoom videoconferencing platform due to the pandemic.
Melton became active with
the committee during the 1990s, when she agreed to serve as a district leader. She’s kept busy since collecting petition signatures for candidates, handing out campaign literature at the nearby train station and even serving as
a moving billboard of sorts for Democratic candidates.
“Because I walk all over White Plains, I put posters for candidates on the shopping cart I use,” said Melton. “People often stop and ask
Local holds drive-thru information day
COMMACK — Suffolk Area Retirees Local 920 recently held its first drive-thru information day.
In recent months, many CSEA regions, locals and units have been holding drive-thru information days, a format that allows members to get important information about the union while complying with social distancing protocols. For retirees, who are at a higher risk for contracting COVID-19, the drive- thru format is especially important to keep CSEA members safe.
CSEA Long Island Region office to facilitate the event. Local members who stopped by the event collected a bag full of important information on benefits, union updates and CSEA giveaways. The biggest hit of the day was the CSEA Suffolk Area Retirees Local 920 mask, which was included in every giveaway bag.
CSEA Long Island Region President Jerry Laricchiuta attended the event.
“What a pleasure it was to be amongst CSEA’s most important members, our retirees,” said
Laricchiuta. “Your Region 1 officers have been working very hard to figure out the new ways to communicate with their members. A drive-thru has become one of the more popular events for CSEA members throughout New York State. It works and it’s fun. We
also visited dozens of worksites all summer long with food and smoothie trucks and this was a big hit as well.”
— Wendi Bowie
Suffolk Retiree Local member Rochelle Davidson takes note that Sandy Caravousanos attended the drive-thru info day.
6
CSEA RETIREE NEWS
Volunteers gathered at the
Melton honored for years of activism
CSEA mourns passing of former State Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno
ALBANY —
CSEA is
mourning
the passing
of former
State Senate
Republican
Majority Leader
Joseph Bruno,
who was an
amazing leader for New York State and a strong supporter of working men and women.
Bruno came from very humble beginnings in a large, poor family in Upstate New York. A Korean War veteran, he was initially elected to the State Senate’s 43rd District in 1976 and served as State Senate Republican Majority Leader from 1994 to 2008.
“He never forgot the struggles hardworking people have as he rose to become one of the most influential leaders in New York,” CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan said. “He took his experiences with him as he fought hard to secure the rights and respect that he knew working people deserve.”
Bruno fought alongside CSEA for fairness and justice for working people, including during the union’s protracted battle for
a fair state contract in the late 1990s and early 2000.
As the State Senate Republican Majority Leader, Bruno was also
a powerful ally in our fights to preserve vital public services, including our fight for fair education and local government funding in 2003, when he helped lead a series of vetoes against proposed cuts that would have devastated school services across the state, as well as our fight to provide quality care to our state’s most vulnerable people.
Likewise, Bruno fought for our state’s eldest citizens in driving the passage of the EPIC program, ensuring seniors receive the pharmaceutical coverage they
so desperately need. He was also influential in passing a permanent COLA for public retirees, helping ensure their retirement security.
“Joe Bruno was a great man and an incredible leader who always stood by working people and never forgot his roots,” Sullivan said. “Joe was a true friend to CSEA, working men and women and retirees in New York. On behalf of CSEA, I extend my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Bruno
WHITE PLAINS — Between her working years and retirement, Cheryl Melton has been a staunch union activist, but she was recently honored for
Melton
me questions about the candidates. I’ve even made business cards
that I hand out with the names of important candidates and issues, because it’s easier for people
to hold onto. I did that for the Constitutional Convention vote because it was so important.”
Melton found being politically active to be helpful in building her power as a CSEA leader. Having previously served as president of both the Westchester County Unit and Westchester County Local, as well as sitting on the CSEA Board of Directors, Melton noted the importance of connecting with elected officials on both sides of the aisle in order to get contracts passed and issues resolved.
The seeds for that activism were planted during the Civil Rights Era, when Melton moved to Yonkers from West Virginia as a young teenager.
“We had Mrs. [May Morgan] Robinson, an activist in our neighborhood who was involved with the NAACP and was very well known,” said Melton. “She would gather all the kids and get them involved in what the NAACP had going on during the Civil Rights Era. My first vote was for John
F. Kennedy. I’ve been active ever since.”
— Jessica Ladlee