Page 2 - Retiree News Fall 2021

CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan: Every politician starts somewhere!
Sisters and Brothers:
I’d like to start by
congratulating
and welcoming
Bernie Giambra as
Chair of the REC,
Kathy Zabinski as
REC Vice Chair and Joan Bender
as REC Secretary. I look forward to working with these longtime activists in their new roles as they serve on behalf of CSEA Retirees.
As we approach Election Day, I wanted to reach out to all my friends in the Retiree Division to once again ask you to take action.
I know I’m mostly preaching to
the choir when I ask Retirees to vote, because you always do, in very large
ROetiree Executive Committee Chair Bernie Giambra: We will walk by your side
numbers. But every election season, we see participation numbers drop when we face an election year without a big national race to push people to the polls.
Yes, it is important to vote in the big national elections for offices like President and our representatives in Congress. But we need to make sure we focus not just on the big picture, but at the local level as well. I would argue that it matters more for our communities.
What some people forget is that those who run for the big offices usually start with the smaller offices first. The people who may end up your Senator, your Governor, your Congressperson or your President, may have started by serving on the local School Board, or on the City
or Town Council. When we as union retirees work to back a candidate at the local level, we start to establish a relationship that may last for decades. That person we supported when she ran for County Clerk may end up sitting behind the Governor’s desk!
My point is that those who have earned our support, no matter what office they start at, they remember who supported them, and WE remember who supports us. When we can establish a good working relationship with our elected leaders, we create the opportunity to have our voices heard by friendly ears. That goes a long way to getting our concerns addressed and our legislative goals achieved.
So when it comes to the local
elections, I urge you to please get involved. Help work to support local candidates who you believe will support your issues. Watch
for our union endorsements. Make sure you vote in EVERY election. The decisions made by candidates at the local level will impact our daily lives and our retirements just as much, if not more, than those holding top office. We must keep involved in these elections to keep our communities stronger.
In solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan, President
n behalf I am thrilled to introduce the (Local 950); Ellen Misita (Local including member-only benefits, an of myself new Vice Chair, Kathleen Zabinski, 951); Kathryn Albowicz (Local 952) in-house Legal Department and much and the who retired from Onondaga County and John “Jack” Rohl (Local 999). more. To learn more about these
Retiree Executive
Committee, I would
like to welcome
you to Retiree life.
I am Bernadette
Giambra, but please
call me Bernie. I am the new Chair of the REC.
I am a lifelong resident of the Rochester area, was employed
by Monroe County, and retired
as a Senior Probation Officer
with 35 years of service. My first “union” function was attending a membership meeting, then running the elections, and before long, I was getting elected to office in both the Unit and Local level, and then was President of Monroe County Local 828 for several terms. I was also Secretary for our local Labor Council, and it is really nice to have union friends.
When I retired, I continued
my union membership with all intentions of sitting in the back of meetings heckling but ended up as Vice President of my Local, Rochester Retirees Local 912 and I am now in my second term as President of Local 912.
2
Corrections as a Seargent. She jokingly notes that she was in jail for 31 years. She is the new President
of Syracuse Area Retirees Local 913. Our brand-new REC Secretary is Joan Bender, who is from the Buffalo area and was formerly President of Erie County Local 815. She is also the newly elected President of Buffalo- Niagara Frontier Local 903.
Here are the new Retiree Presidents: Robert Pflanz Jr. (Local 902); Darlene Krupp (Local 907); Dorothy Killmer (Local 909); Roslyn Taylor (Local 910); Ron Wilson (Local 918); Linda Bryant (Local 921); Mary Jo Tubbs (Local 922) and Colleen Wheaton (Local 923). Glad to have you on board.
Let’s welcome back our returning Presidents: Joseph “Joe” Coletta (Local 905); Catherine “Cathy” Barretta (Local 914), who is Chair
of the Retiree Sunshine Committee; Frederick “Fred” Gerloff (Local 915); Robert Poirier (Local 916); Juanita Johnson (Local 917); Dominic CiarameIla (Local 919); Carmela “Millie” Lucas (Local 920); Roslyn Warlik (Local 924); Grace Bevington- Eglin (Local 925); Barbara Adams
We appreciate your dedication and perseverance and depend on you to be our first line of defense.
Best wishes go out to our former Presidents: Dan Bettman (Local 902); Walter Sienkiewicz (Local 903); Valentine “Norma” Condon (Local 909); Barbara Rustin (Local 910), Charlotte Adkins (Local 913), who recently served as the REC Vice Chair; Nancy Hueben (Local 918); Cheryl Melton (Local 921); James Brand (Local 922) and Gerald “Joe” York (Local 923). Thank you all
for your service, leadership and commitment to our union. Don’t be surprised if we still call on you for your advice.
Over the past year, we lost former Local Presidents Joan Reinhart (Local 952) and Bruce Jamison (Local 907), but we will always keep them in our hearts.
To those of you who have recently retired, “YEAH!” To those of us whose goal is to be retired longer than we were employed, we need lots of benefits. Luckily, CSEA has many resources to help you save money and keep your retirement secure and strong,
resources, call our union at (800) 342-4146 or visit cseany.org.
What’s more, CSEA membership is also open to our spouses and significant others. Please boast to your retired co-workers and eligible friends what they are missing by not keeping up their union membership.
It’s election time again and remember, our votes count! CSEA has worked hard to endorse local government candidates from across the state who will support retirees and working people. Visit https:// cseany.org/vote to see our union’s endored candidates in your region.
I’m excited, and will try to keep us moving forward. I believe good leaders are open-minded, creative, flexible, have vision and goals, are supportive and dependable. This new REC will try to be all that, but more important we will walk by your side through our reentry into our new world. We are CSEA, and we are strong! Stay Safe.
Labor Never Quits, Bernadette Giambra
CSEA RETIREE NEWS