Page 2 - Retiree News Winter 2023

CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan:
AScam Alert: Don’t be fooled. Guard your personal information!
s you may your information, there’s no telling a form and sending their state workers at their job have heard, where and how they will use it. personal information to emails.
many Your membership may end up being non-CSEA addresses. We must work together to keep
of our union members have reported that they have
been receiving emails, direct mail, postcards, phone calls
and sometimes home visits by organizations seeking to get members to leave our union.
I want all of you to be aware and on the lookout. This has been an active and ongoing scam developed by out-of-state organizations (who sometimes pose as CSEA) to try to get you and other members across the state to leave our union.
Even though you are now Retirees, you could still be targets of these scams. Once they have
terminated from the union.
You more than anyone know the value of being a union member, so I
hope that you will stand in solidarity with us to combat these efforts. Also, please continue to spread the word about the many benefits and services that come with being a union member, both active and retired.
Here’s some key points in understanding the Scam
1. This is a scam and needs to be addressed as such; none of these groups care about our union members or their dollars. We need to avoid helping them spread their message inadvertently.
2. The current scam is a phishing program designed to trick members into completing
3. We have seen a variety of messaging on these cards from information about salaries, random social justice issue probing with the name
of organizations and the addresses changing from piece to piece.
4. The scam is persistent and ongoing. Expect to see it for a long time. Maybe in different forms, but it’s out there to stay. All members need to know IT IS A SCAM!
5. These groups have indicated that they will continue to
try and break our union by any and all means despite flouting norms and laws such as requesting home addresses from employers and emailing
our union strong and protect our rights and benefits. This is going
to be a long-term fight. But as we
all know – our strength is in our numbers, please continue with your recruitment efforts for other retirees.
If any Retiree has been targeted by one or more of these scam efforts, please contact Retiree Program Specialist Christine Meehan to let her know and/or call our Member Services Center at
800-342-4146.
For more information visit:
cseany.org/scam-alert. In solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan, President
voices heard on the importance of keeping Social Security and Medicare strong.
We may be retired, but we remain union for life. If we don’t continue to use our voices; if we are not as strong, then we risk losing everything we have spent years fighting to achieve.
Maybe you think it’s not as important because you already have your retirement benefits, but think
of the CSEA members who are still working and will retire years into the future, including many of the workers who spent their holiday season helping the Buffalo community get back to normal. We owe it to them to continue to fight and grow our union strong.
This year, we will have our work cut out for us, but together, we can make a difference.
Have a safe and healthy winter! In solidarity,
Bernie
Retiree Executive Committee Chair Bernie Giambra:
HThis year, resolve to help grow our union
ello, Hello! including all of the employed CSEA that employed members can have a What members who showed up to respond secure retirement, too.
a year. and didn’t leave until the work was You also are key to sharing with
We started out under pandemic conditions, finally figuring out
what all of the
functions were on
our phones and
computers when the doors reopened to in-person events.
Meetings, luncheons and picnics were all well received. Later in the year, we worried about our fellow retirees, friends and families in Florida and other southern states
as they faced Hurricane Ian. We watched and waited for them to mark themselves as “safe.”
To top that, the Buffalo area
got snowed under. Not long after residents dug themselves out, they faced an epic blizzard. We watched and shivered alongside everyone affected, including CSEA retirees and employed members. We are grateful to all who responded to the blizzard,
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done. Workers from outlying areas, both in our Western Region and across the state, also responded. Our gratitude goes out to all who responded, and it again shows that CSEA members are the backbone of our communities.
So, Happy New Year. I hope you are all safe and ready for what comes next. Do not ever minimize your worth. Your voice makes a difference and needs to be heard.
You tirelessly make the phone calls, engage your elected representatives to fight to protect and improve our pensions, and volunteer in your communities.
You hold our former employers responsible to ensure we continue to get the benefits we worked so hard to have in retirement. You play a
key role in our union’s work to elect candidates who will stand with you. This work isn’t just to preserve your retirement security, but to make sure
newer members your experiences, wisdom and history so that they can continue making our union strong.
But to keep our Retiree Division strong, we need to commit to growing our membership.
We all know that when CSEA members retire, they are focused
on pursuing their plans for the rest of their lives, which can sometimes include moving to a new location. So, with this in mind, we want to make sure we recruit them to become retiree members before they retire.
As a union family, we often stress the importance of staying connected and this doesn’t end at retirement. In fact, being connected as retirees is more important than ever. Our union offers retiree members CSEA member-only benefits that truly help save you money.
We have all worked for many years for our guaranteed pensions and health care. We have made our
CSEA RETIREE NEWS