Page 2 - Retiree News Winter 2021
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 Retiree Executive Committee Chair Millie Lucas:
A new year gives us hope
Sisters and Brothers,
Happy New Year! I hope you and yours have all had a happy and safe holiday season.
A new year always provides
us with not only new hope and optimism, but with a chance at reflection at the year that has gone.
In my first message to you
in 2020, I discussed our union’s efforts in ensuring an accurate count in the 2020 U.S. Census to allow our communities to have the correct levels of public funding and political representation. Union leaders not only urged members to be counted, but to join the U.S. Census team. This project was one of CSEA’s biggest priorities.
Little did we realize that we would soon all have our lives changed by a worldwide pandemic that is still raging through our communities, taking people’s health, livelihoods and lives.
Within weeks of the first COVID-19 headlines, we found public gatherings canceled, businesses closed and public employees working endlessly maintain essential services as most people were directed to stay home.
Retirees soon became especially impacted as public health
officials learned that older people were more likely to contract complications from COVID. For us, staying home and social distancing became literally a matter of life and death.
While some of you faced the effects of COVID-19 on yourselves
or loved ones, so many more of us also faced social isolation.
In addition to providing members with important information about our union, member benefits and opportunities to keep up the fight for retirement security, the CSEA Retiree Locals provide members with a chance to socialize with former co-workers and friends. Most CSEA Retiree Locals did not hold in-person meetings in 2020 to ensure the safety of members and staff. The separation was tough, but necessary to keep us safe.
While we didn’t meet in person, we still kept our union active and strong. The Retiree Executive Committee met virtually, ensuring that important business got done. Retirees also held or participated
in socially distanced drive-through information days that allowed us
to meet with union leaders, get important information and socialize with other members from the safety of our vehicles.
While COVID numbers have recently resurged, there is reason to hope in the new year. For those who choose to receive it or can safely do so, a COVID vaccine has recently become available. A new administration who has pledged a strong response to the pandemic, as well as strong support for retirees and working people will be coming to Washington as you read this. No matter your opinion on the vaccine or how you voted, we have reason to hope that 2021 will bring more positive things to us all.
Stay safe and healthy.
In solidarity,
Millie
  CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan:
A year of sadness and pride; hope and challenges ahead
Sisters and Brothers:
Welcome
to 2021.
Like
many, I am
glad 2020 is
over with,
after the year
we’ve all had. I know that Retiree members have faced an especially challenging year related to the pandemic, and I am so hopeful that 2021 will be better for us all.
I look back at 2020 with mixed feelings. On one hand, I remain deeply saddened by the impact the pandemic has had on all of our lives. I mourn for the CSEA members who lost their lives from the virus, some of whom died from being exposed at work. With seniors especially vulnerable,
we lost multiple members of our Retiree union family as well.
I also mourn the loss of personal contact with friends, family and fellow union members. The isolation we have all endured from the virus has only increased the lonliness that many were already feeling, and it is so important that we keep active and involved to keep our spirits up during these very dark times. Our union has been working to come up with safe online activities to keep members engaged.
I also reflect with distress
over the economic condition the pandemic has left us in. Heading into a difficult state budget situation, we are fighting to avoid layoffs and service cuts as budget deficits have skyrocketed. We continue to fight for the needed federal relief that will sustain needed public services and the jobs of CSEA members. New Yorkers, already struggling to recover, should not have to face cuts to public services we depend upon. We must keep up the pressure on our federal elected
officials to deliver needed aid to get our state and localities through this crisis.
On the other hand, I continue
to look back on 2020 with a sense of amazement and pride in how
so many of us successfully rose to overcome the challenges we faced. We relied on the staff professionals in our union’s Occupational Safety and Health Department like never before to help us advocate for safety during the most unsafe times. More than anything, we proved that when we unite together, even virtually, there is nothing we can’t overcome.
As we begin 2021, we anticipate interesting times ahead. We will certainly see continued fallout from the Coronavirus, as we try and keep each other safe and hope that the availability of vaccines will protect us and eventually return us to more normal times.
We also look forward to an incoming administration in Washington DC that promises
to be more worker-friendly and labor-friendly. Instead of an administration trying to take away workers’ rights, we will have one that believes in strengthening workers’ rights and the power of unions to improve our livelihoods. That should be good for us all.
Yes, the year ahead will be
full of challenges, but I choose
to be optimistic that we will overcome them. As much as I miss the opportunities for us to gather together in person as union members, I know we will continue to unite virtually, and work hard collectively to make things better in 2021. I wish you all a safe, healthy, and happy year ahead.
In solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan, President
    To read tributes to the CSEA members around the state who passed away due to COVID-19 complications,
visit https://cseany.org/member-tributes.
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