Page 2 - Work Force April 2016

Photo of the Month
Photo by Jill Asencio
“The response of our members
to the ‘Never Quit’ campaign has been overwhelming. Whether we
are speaking to members at a work site meeting or at their homes or
by phone, we are learning that our members are”strong, resilient and will ‘Never Quit!’
CSEA Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley speaks with Metropolitan Region members at a Never Quit work site meeting. See page 3 for more.
Onondaga County members band together, achieve better contract
CSEA opens negotiations with
New York state on contract for 66,000 Executive Branch employees
ALBANY — CSEA has begun negotiations with the Cuomo administration on a new contract for 66,000 New York State Executive Branch employees. The current agreement expires March 31.
“CSEA members are on the job for New Yorkers and we never quit when there is work that needs to be done,” said CSEA President Danny Donohue. “CSEA members also know from experience that contract negotiations are always challenging. Our team of 17 members and professional staff are approaching this round with eyes wide open and a resolve to deliver an agreement that CSEA members will support.”
CSEA members make New York
state work every day, performing many essential jobs including around-the-clock health care and human services for many of New York’s most vulnerable people, safe road maintenance in all kinds of weather and record keeping, licensing, administrative and operational responsibilities.
Under very different economic circumstances, CSEA members ratified a five-year agreement
in 2011 to avert a projected 10,000-employee layoff.
To get the latest news on state contract negotiations, visit cseany.org/state-contract-update. Please note that you will need your CSEA Member ID to access this page.
2 The Work Force
April 2016
SYRACUSE — After three years, patience, standing strong, and utilizing our union’s resources finally resulted in a contract settlement for Onondaga County workers.
By more than a 2-1 margin, union members recently voted to approve a settlement offer providing partially retroactive wages for 2013-2015.
The settlement offer came in response to CSEA filing charges after county administration attempted
to illegally impose a three-year agreement.
Onondaga County Local President Kathy Zabinski said CSEA filed charges to ensure union members decided the fate of their contract, not elected officials.
The overwhelming membership approval puts to rest this phase
of a historically lengthy contract impasse, which included three membership votes rejecting contracts linking wage increases
to significant health insurance increases. The recently approved offer contained no change to health costs.
“This was a win for our members, who stuck together to reject the county’s attempts to reduce wage increases with cost-shifts in health insurance,” Zabinski said. “When our legal actions forced them to bring back a wages-only offer, the majority of our members approved.”
Zabinski noted the three-year process relied heavily on many of CSEA’s in-house resources, including labor relations, communications, political action and legal staff.
“This was always a team effort, with our local, region and statewide union staff supporting us,” she said.
CSEA will soon return to
the bargaining table for 2016 and beyond. Zabinksi said the union plans to build upon their momentum.
“We saw our members stick together proudly for what they believed during this difficult time,” she said. “We intend to unite even stronger as we move forward.”
— Mark M. Kotzin
Official publication of
CSEA Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO 143 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12210-2303 Danny Donohue, President
The Work Force (USPS 0445-010)
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