Page 9 - Work Force April 2026

Our union fighting to preserve services amid staffing concerns
MINEOLA — Critical services that
CSEA Nassau County workers
provide could be reduced or
eliminated due to a retirement
incentive that may cause more than
300 CSEA members to vacate their
positions.
The county is already
experiencing understaffing in several
departments, including
911, whose workers
must be employed
for more than a
year before they are
allowed to receive
calls. A lack of workers
will increase hold
times for incoming
calls.
Coming out of one
of Long Island’s worst
winters in recorded
history has made
possible issues in the Public Works
Department glaringly obvious.
The group is currently down 25
snowplow drivers. Unless more
drivers are hired, roadways will take
longer to clear.
Child protective services has had
ongoing problems with recruitment
“We’re going
to stay on top
of the county
by having daily
conversations,
asking them what
their plans are
for understaffed
departments.”
because of low pay. Those issues
will only be made worse by losing
existing staff, which is alarming
considering their work, much like
that of 911 operators, is sometimes a
matter of life or death.
To prevent the county from
undercutting current positions, CSEA
Nassau County Local representatives
negotiated an agreement
with the county that
prevented that from
happening. Under the
terms of the agreement,
the county will promote
workers from within and
backfill vacant positions.
Initially, the county
drew up an agreement
and handed it to local
representatives with
the expectation that
the local would sign it,
which they refused to do. To reach
a fair agreement, our union’s Nassau
County Local officers continuously
asked Nassau County Executive
Bruce Blakeman to schedule
meetings; Blakeman repeatedly
ignored the requests. The local
board had to be very persistent to
keep negotiations with the county
moving forward.
“We’re going to
stay on top of the
county by having
daily conversations,
asking them what
their plans are
for understaffed
departments,” said
Nassau County
Kalender
Local President Kris
Kalender.
The agreement also allows
the county to defer employees’
separation from county service
for up to a year in departments
like Social Services to maintain
continuity.
Retirees are happy to have
received a signing bonus as part of
the agreement CSEA made with the
county. Active members are happy
that the local fought to make sure
the staffing issues were addressed.
To keep members informed during
meetings with the county, the local
sent out emails to the membership
at least once per week.
At first, some members were
upset that the local refused to sign
the first agreement the county
presented to CSEA. After seeing the
impact retirements were beginning
to have on remaining staff, one of the
members who was upset contacted
the local to apologize for their initial
criticism.
The local increased its advocacy
profile by speaking at the Nassau
County Legislature, which attracted
press and led to publicly highlighting
departments that would be the most
impacted by mass retirements.
“Now that we’ve
done the work
on the front end,
should something
negative happen,
there’s less the
local has to do to
bring our message
to the public,”
Wakefield
said CSEA Nassau
County Local Vice President Garrett
Wakefield. “I think the county is
taking our concerns more seriously
because of the publicity as well. Now
it’s just a matter of waiting to see if
the county will do the right thing.”
— Wendi Bowie
CSEA member honored
after helping rescue
resident from house fire
LITTLE VALLEY — On February 11,
Cattaraugus County Department of
Public Works employee and CSEA
member Adam Chudy was out on
his snowplow route when he noticed
something unusual.
A 71-year-old resident he often saw
outside shoveling during snowstorms
was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, Chudy noticed smoke
coming from the man’s home.
Chudy immediately pulled over
and began banging on the windows
to alert the resident. He also called in
the emergency.
His quick response helped get the
resident safely out of the home before
the situation worsened.
For his actions, Chudy was
recognized by the Cattaraugus
County Legislature.
Chudy was joined at the
recognition by CSEA Cattaraugus
County General Unit President
Sheri Ambuske, General Unit
Representative Chris Conkey,
Cattaraugus County Local Vice
President Adrian “Buzz” Phearsdorf,
Cattaraugus County DPW
Commissioner Michael Pirnio, and
Cattaraugus County Legislature
Chairman M. Andrew Burr.
CSEA leaders praised Chudy’s
actions as an example of the
From left, Cattaraugus County General Unit Representative Chris Conkey,
Cattaraugus County General Unit member Adam Chudy, Cattaraugus County
General Unit President Sheri Ambuske and Cattaraugus County Local Vice
President Adrian “Buzz” Phearsdorf.
dedication public employees bring to
their communities every day.
His actions highlight the important
roles CSEA members play not only
in maintaining services like snow
removal, but also in looking out for
the residents they serve.
— Sara McNicholas
April 2026 9 9
The Work Force