Page 6 - Retiree News Fall 2021

Locals hold drive-thru meetings
Local 924 Treasurer, Lena Becker hands a lunch ticket to member Charlene Cornell at the local’s member luncheon on August 27.
After the late summer surge
of Delta variant COVID-19 cases, CSEA once again postponed most in-person events, including conferences and meetings.
But CSEA Retiree Locals didn’t let the pandemic get in the way of reaching members.
In the Capital Region, Schenectady County Retirees Local 924 recently held its first-ever drive-thru meeting and picnic at Mabee Farm in Rotterdam Junction. While the event was originally intended to be an in-person summer picnic, increased levels
of COVID-19 cases led Local 924 President Roslyn Warlik and other local officers to quickly adjust the event format to a drive-thru to ensure safety for all.
Members got a chance to
meet with local officers and get important updates and information from our union in a socially distanced manner. Members were
also treated to a takeout picnic luncheon.
In the Central Region, Syracuse Area Retirees Local 913 also recently held a drive-thru meeting and information day at the New York State Fairgrounds.
About 120 members turned out for the event, which gave local members a chance to meet local officers and get information on union issues and member-only benefits.
Local 913 members were also treated to a meal from a local
food truck. During the event, local members discovered that the truck’s owner was a retired state worker. Local members offered her a chance to join the CSEA Retiree Division.
She signed up to join on the spot.
— Therese Assalian and Janice Gavin
Schenectady County Retirees Local 924 President Roslyn Warlik, left, greets member Karen Peterson at the local’s drive-
thru member event in Rotterdam Junction.
Syracuse Area Retirees Local 913 officers and activists recently held a drive- thru meeting for local members. Seated, from left, are Local 913 activist Jeanette Engle, Local Secretary Sally Heater and Treasurer Lori Nilsson. Standing, from left, are local activist Mary Linnertz, activist Frances Sarsan, Local Vice President Casey Walpole and Local President Kathleen Zabinski. (Photo provided by Christine Meehan.)
Bender: ‘It’s more important than ever we stick together’
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County Local President in 2005, helping lead the local through difficult battles.
She served in that capacity until she retired in 2013.
She is quick to admit her CSEA union affiliation is very much a part of her identity and is optimistic about what the future holds.
“I am really looking forward to working on all the issues that matter to our members,” said Bender. “In troubling times like we are experiencing now, it’s more important than ever we stick together and advocate for each other.”
— Ove Overmyer
At the Fulton-Montgomery Counties Retirees Local meeting and picnic in late July, CSEA Capital Region President Ron Briggs, far left, back to camera, swears in Local 925 officers, from left, President Grace Bevington-Eglin; Executive Vice President Al Hayes; 1st Vice President Pat Beyer; 2nd Vice President Virginia Rockefeller; 3rd Vice President Nancy Peck; Secretary Linda Hayner and Treasurer Lillian Zippiere.
6 CSEA RETIREE NEWS