Page 2 - Work Force December 2016

Photo of the Month
Western Region member passes away from on-the-job injuries
Photo by Wendi Bowie
Long Island Region Veterans Committee member Bill Parente bows his head during a moment of silence for soldiers killed in the line of duty. See related stories and photos on pages 10-11.
Stay connected on state contract negotiations
For state contract negotiation updates go to:
cseany.org/state-contract-update
You will need your CSEA ID to access the page.
To look up your ID click the red button at the top of the page.
New ‘Slow Down to Get Around’ law takes effect
workers face on the job every day, but there is so much more to do,” CSEA President Danny Donohue said. “We will continue our efforts to ensure that everyone who provides this important community service is as safe as possible.”
Passing this law is only one part of CSEA’s Slow Down to
Get Around campaign, which aims to boost public awareness of potential hazards that
sanitation workers face on the job and increase the state Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau’s enforcement
of sanitation
standards. Sanitation duties are among the
most dangerous work that public employees perform. A 2014 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the latest year statistics were available, noted that sanitation workers have a fatality rate of 33 per 100,000 workers, the fifth most dangerous occupation ranked.
2 The Work Force
December 2016
WEST SENECA — CSEA is mourning the loss of Western Region member Donald F. Schultz, 53, who passed away on Oct. 29 from injuries sustained in an on-the-job incident.
On Oct. 25, Schultz, a West Seneca Highway Department employee who had worked for the town for nearly 30 years, was injured by a town sewer maintenance vehicle while flushing a sanitary sewer line.
A father of six children, Schultz died four days later of his injuries at the Erie County Medical Center.
CSEA, the state Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau
and West Seneca town police are investigating the incident.
Town of West Seneca Blue Collar Unit President Brian Cummins has worked with Schultz for many years.
“He was the type of guy who did
a lot of things for everybody else,” Cummins said. “Now, everybody
else is doing things for his loved ones, namely, reaching out with their wallets and helping the family cope with this tragedy.”
Cummins said during times of need, town highway department workers come together naturally; more like a family than a group of co-workers.
Friends and co-workers have set up a GoFundMe page to assist the Schultz family. To donate, visit gofundme. com/helping-don-schultz-and-his- family-2vzmjq9w.
— Ove Overmyer
A
are required to move over to
s of Nov. 1, motorists in New York
give sanitation and recycling workers enough room to safely do their jobs.
Sanitation and recycling vehicles are now covered under the state’s “Move Over” law along with emergency and construction vehicles. Earlier this year, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo signed the legislation
to cover sanitation vehicles.
CSEA and our
allies, including other
waste industry
organizations,
lobbied strongly
in favor of this
legislation. Three
of our members are
among the many
workers who have
lost their lives while
performing sanitation work in recent years.
Under the law, motorists must move over and slow down when passing sanitation and recycling vehicles, just as drivers have previously been required to do for emergency and construction vehicles.
“This legislation will help minimize potential hazards that sanitation
ALERT
CSEA President Danny Donohue to meet with Long Island Region members on Dec. 6
President Danny Donohue will visit the CSEA Long Island Region on Tuesday, Dec. 6 to meet with members.
The meetings will be held at the CSEA Long Island Region Office, 3 Garet Place, Commack. Donohue will meet with union members from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Please call the region office at 631-462-0030 for an appointment and directions.
NEW YORK’S LEADING UNION