Page 1 - Retiree News Winter 2022

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NEWS Mary E. Sullivan, President WINTER 2022
Zabinski: Let’s get younger retirees active
SYRACUSE — As a lifelong activist and champion for workplace safety, Syracuse Area Retirees Local 913 President Kathy
Zabinski is prepared to take on the challenge of serving as Vice Chair of our union’s Retiree Executive Committee and keep CSEA Retiree members active in union causes.
In 2017, Zabinski retired from a 31-year career with the Onondaga County Department of Corrections, where she represented the membership in numerous roles at every level of the organization.
“I became an activist because I didn’t like the way we were being treated like stepchildren by the
county,” Zabinski said. “Being up at the Jamesville Correctional Facility, we were out of sight and out of mind not being attached to the Civic Center.”
Becoming a strong advocate
for workplace safety was a combination of her professional and personal experiences. After the passing of her father, it was found he had suffered from asbestos poisoning due to exposure at his workplace.
“They just didn’t know those kinds of things back then,” Zabinski said. “That really got me into safety in the workplace and I’ve rolled that into safety at home and in public places for retirees.”
The next chapter
Immediately following her retirement in 2017, Zabinski joined the Syracuse Area Retirees Local 913 and soon became the local treasurer. In 2021, she was elected Local 913 President.
While beginning retired life, she also began her political life.
“I was never interested in public office before, but these local governments have no transparency and communication that it was like working for the local government all over again trying to get answers for anything,” Zabinski said.
Zabinski ran for Town of Salina Supervisor in 2021, but unfortunately fell short on Election Day.
She credited her union experience as a big help in running a campaign.
Kathy Zabinski speaks at a 2018 Syracuse Retirees Local 913 meeting.
In this 2016 file photo, Kathy Zabinski makes phone calls to get out the vote and to urge voters to vote. (Photo by Mark M. Kotzin.)
(Photo by Mark M. Kotzin.)
“As a union leader, you know
a lot of the (political) players, you’re speaking to members,
door knocking, and making phone calls,” Zabinski said. “We did it
all as union leaders and activists. You run a campaign and you’re basically doing the same thing just at a different level.”
Zabinski said she isn’t interested in running for public office again, but has not shut the door on the idea completely.
Without being tied up with local politics, she’s excited to be able to dedicate 100 percent of her time to CSEA Retiree members.
“We want to continue our fights about [some elected leaders] going after Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and our pensions,” Zabinski said.
Zabinski said it’s important to remind retirees that for just $36 a year, CSEA Retiree members can keep member benefits and continue to have a voice in how their pension is being run.
“My biggest push is to awaken the younger retirees because they don’t always want to hear about Social Security, because it seems too far down the road,” Zabinski said. “We really need to make the younger retirees more excited about the retiree locals.”
With CSEA pushing back against the New York Health Act, Zabinski hopes having a cause to rally around will help to excite and energize the younger retirees she hopes to reach.
—Nicholas Newcomb