Photo of the Month Photo by Mark M. Kotzin State Department of Transportation workers Dave Dery, center, and Tom Flander, left, blast mud away from a road with water from a truck driven by co-worker Melinda Gardner as they clean up flood damage in the Village of Fort Plain. All three workers are members of the state Department of Transportation Region 2 (Utica) Local and are based at the Fultonville Residency. Dery, Flander and Gardner are among the hundreds of CSEA members who responded to the recent flooding in the Mohawk Valley and Central New York. (See page 12 for more.) Need your CSEA ID number? Access your CSEA ID number for union elections, contract ratification votes, and member-only benefits offers by clicking on the “Look up your CSEA ID!” tab at www.cseany.org. ALERT NEW YORK’S LEADING UNION CSEA President Danny Donohue to meet Southern Region members on Oct. 2 President Danny Donohue will visit the CSEA Southern Region on Oct. 2 to meet with members. The meetings will be held at the Southern Region Office,568 State Route 52, Beacon. Donohue will meet with union members from 1 to 7 p.m. Please call the region office at (845) 831-1000 or 1-800-757-CSEA for an appointment and directions. CSEA to Cuomo: suspend Close to Home initiative ALBANY — CSEA is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to suspend the state’s Close to Home juvenile justice reform program in light of mounting evidence the initiative to move juvenile offenders from state run facilities into ill-equipped New York City programs is putting New Yorkers in danger. Citing recent murder charges against a New York City teen-ager who had escaped from a non-secure residence under the initiative, and reports of residents being able to walk away from such facilities at will, CSEA President Danny Donohue wrote the governor urging him to act before further tragedy strikes. As Cuomo was fast tracking the initiative through the legislature last year, CSEA questioned the wisdom of putting dangerous individuals back into the same neighborhoods where they got in trouble. The union also warned lawmakers against rubberstamping the proposal without more details. The governor and state legislators ignored the union’s request and warnings. Donohue also scolded the governor for doubling down on bad policy by continuing to close state OCFS facilities, making a bad situation worse. “Instead of dumping more offenders into inadequate city-based programs, and putting more people at risk, we urge you to stop ignoring legitimate concerns and develop a more responsible approach to New York’s juvenile justice system,” Donohue said. — Ed Molitor CSEA, PESH investigating death of Palisades Park Commission Local member HARRIMAN STATE PARK — CSEA is mourning the death of Palisades Interstate Park Commission Local member Lance Gayton, 61, a crane and shovel operator who died on the job Aug. 7 after a 3,500 lb. rock-hammer he was working with apparently tipped over on him and crushed him. Gayton was working alone at the Youmans Flats transfer station when a co-worker arrived and found him calling for help. Other workers soon arrived and tried to stabilize Gayton, who was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. CSEA occupational safety and health officials are investigating the incident along with the state Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau. “This is a horrible tragedy that did not have to happen,” said Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo. “It is totally unsafe in these vast state parks for our members to be working alone. It should not take a loss of a beloved husband and father to get our statelevel parks management to get its act together.” Gayton, of Highland Mills, is survived by his wife, Linda, two grown children and two grandchildren. His co-workers described Gayton as a devoted family man and consummate professional. “Lance was a real gentleman,” CSEA Palisades Parks Local President Danny Corigliano said. “He had a lot of experience in his job and was generous about helping our younger workers learn about the equipment.” Corigliano said Gayton was one of four workers based out of Bear Mountain State Park who responded to the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and worked several days on recovery efforts there. — Jessica Ladlee Gayton 2 The Work Force September 2013
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