Page 4 - Work Force April 2020

4 The Work Force
April 2020
President Mary E. Sullivan in touch with
Long Island Region: WENDI BOWIE (631) 462-0030
Metropolitan Region: DAVID GALARZA (212) 406-2156
Southern Region: JESSICA LADLEE (845) 831-1000
Capital Region: THERESE ASSALIAN (518) 782-4400
Central Region: NICHOLAS NEWCOMB (315) 728-3375
Western Region: OVE OVERMYER (716) 691-6555
Headquarters: JILL ASENCIO (518) 257-1276
WorkForce ISSN 1522-1091
Official publication of
CSEA Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO 143 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12210-2303
Mary E. Sullivan, President
MARK M. KOTZIN
Director of Communications and Publisher
MATHEW L. CANTORE Deputy Director of Communications
JANICE GAVIN Editor
JASON D. HOSIER Graphic Production Specialist
BETH MCINTYRE Graphic Production Specialist
JOELLE LUCENTE Communications Assistant
CommuniCations speCialists
Monica Berkowitz Karen Bright Tim Finnigan
Marie Snyder Rick Stahl Christopher Vogel
The Publications Committee:
The Work Force (USPS 0445-010)
is published monthly by
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and additional mailing offices.
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The
WorkForce
Our union is at forefront of workplace safety and health
With all the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of a global pandemic, we are all on a heightened state
of alert as we deal with all the questions and potential risks of exposure. Simply put, health and safety are certainly at the forefront of everyone’s minds right now.
working hard to get them for you. Ironically, due to the threat posed by the
That’s why I’m proud to acknowledge how advanced our union is when it comes to worker safety and health. Many unions don’t have their own experts in those fields, but we do, with
outbreak, we were forced to indefinitely postpone our biggest safety and health event our union puts together every two years, our Statewide Conference on Occupational Safety and Health. We already had nearly 700 union activists registered to attend this always-popular event, but we knew with the current situation, we could not afford to put people at risk. This is unfortunate, but we will find a way to share our knowledge and expertise with those who would have attended.
our staff professionals in CSEA’s Occupational Safety and Health Department, which as far as I’m concerned, is the best in the entire country. We have a dedicated staff of highly trained professionals, including four occupational
safety and health specialists, an epidemiologist, an industrial hygienist and our peer trainer program coordinator. They know the laws,
rules and regulations and have the specialized training to work with our leadership, activists, union staff and regulatory agencies to make sure our members are safer and healthier in their workplaces and regularly work to spread their safety knowledge, promote hazard awareness and prevention and train our activists to do the same. I also want to show my appreciation for all the dedicated member activists who serve
In April, we recognize Work Zone Safety Awareness Week, and I want to commend our legislative leaders for considering the pending “Slow Act” legislation that CSEA wrote and introduced which would increase the penalties for intrusions into roadside work zones. CSEA supports any measures that would make our highway and transportation workers safer as they work in such challenging and dangerous conditions. We will continue to dedicate our resources to make our work zones safer.
on their unit, local or region safety committees, or as peer trainers, who are so passionate about advocating for safety and health in the workplace.
At the end of the month, we will also remember those we’ve lost to workplace deaths as we join our brothers and sisters throughout the Labor Movement in observing Workers Memorial Day. See our coverage in this issue.
We are rightly proud of our Occupational Safety and Health Department. They have been at the forefront working with our entire union staff and officers to make sure that we offer the best and most accurate information as we deal with this never seen before public health crisis. They helped us develop our online coronavirus information page, full of links, information
and resources that our members can use to get answers to their questions and keep updated
on a situation that changes rapidly. We are swimming in uncharted waters here, but we should all feel better knowing we have these staff professionals and everyone who works for our union, who have our backs when it comes to dealing with this outbreak. We know we don’t have all the answers, but with their help we are
Finally, I would like to acknowledge and congratulate our union sister Jane Meunier, who serves as our Putnam County Local President, who I recently appointed as the first female chair of our Statewide Safety and Health Committee. Jane has served for years on this committee
and I’m pleased to have her step up to this new role. I know she will bring a lot of expertise, enthusiasm and passion to this position, which will benefit all our members.
I urge you all to be safe, this month and always.
In solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan, President