Visit the improved CSEA eStore today! The CSEA e-Store offers you a fresh way to show your true CSEA colors! It’s a way to purchase CSEA branded clothing and other items that demonstrate your pride in being a part of this great union. Know that the items you are purchasing as an individual or for your local or unit are union made in the USA. It’s an important point as we make the case that STRONG COMMUNITIES WORK! The CSEA e-Store website product line has been revised to offer more of the apparel and items members and leaders have requested. The e-Store website has also been improved to make it easier for you to review products and make purchases. You can purchase single items or large quantities, tapping into the buying power of CSEA. You can also contact the e-Store for custom orders and special items. Visit www.cseastore.com today! Break in membership affects eligibility for union office, voting privileges A break in union membership status can have long-term future implications. Your membership status affects your eligibility with respect to: • Seeking or holding union office; • Signing nominating petitions for potential candidates; • Voting in union elections, and; • Voting on collective bargaining contracts. Only members “in good standing” can participate in these activities. To be in “good standing”, your dues cannot be delinquent. If you go on unpaid leave or for any other reason have a break in your employment status, your dues will not continue to be paid through payroll deductions. You must make arrangements to pay your dues directly to CSEA to continue your membership status. If you are either laid off or placed on leave without pay status due to becoming disabled by accident, illness, maternity or paternity, you may be eligible for dues-free membership status for a period not to exceed one year. If you are called up for active military duty you may also apply for dues-free status. Note, however, you must continue to pay dues to run for office. Dues-free or gratuitous membership allows members to continue their insurance coverage while out of work. It does not protect your right to run for or hold office. This does not apply to members who are on leave due to being called up for military duty. Members on active duty, upon return, are considered to have had continuous membership status for all CSEA election purposes. Please notify the CSEA Membership Department at 1-800-342-4146, ext. 1327, of any change in your status and what arrangements you are making to continue your membership in CSEA. Smith is PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month Gloria Smith of the SUNY Upstate Local in the Central Region is the PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month for December. “Every time we get another union member to join the PEOPLE Program, we get a little stronger and more powerful,” she said. “I remind my co-workers that there are bunch of powerful people with tons of money and influence trying to take away the things we’ve fought for, and we’ve got to be able to fight back. PEOPLE allows us to do that.” CSEA’s PEOPLE program protects and improves Smith our jobs, benefits and pensions in Washington, Albany and in your community. Your support and participation in PEOPLE strengthens CSEA’s clout in the workplace, in the legislature, in your community and in the labor movement. — Mark M. Kotzin Applications for CSEA’s Irving Flaumenbaum Memorial Scholarship will be available soon on CSEA’s website at www.cseany.org or through your region office. CSEA awards $1,000 scholarships each year to three eligible dependents of CSEA members in each region. The application deadline is April 15, 2015. Retiring soon? Join a CSEA Retiree Local! Considering retirement? CSEA locals may pay the first year of CSEA Retiree dues, which are only $24. Our efforts through the years have protected public pensions and Social Security against assaults by shortsighted politicians who want to dismantle the system that protects your standard of living. These days, you can’t take anything for granted. You need your union to protect what you have and likewise, we need you to maintain strength in numbers. Dues are only $2 per month and can be deducted directly from your pension check. Here is what you get: • Representation at the federal, state and local government levels to protect your interests; • Membership in a CSEA Retiree Local, as well as AFSCME Retiree Local 1000; • Local retiree meetings to socialize and get updates on retirement benefits; • Subscriptions to publications, including the CSEA Retiree News; and • Member-only benefits that can save you money on many consumer needs. To learn more, visit www. cseany.org and select “Retiree Members” from the “For Members” menu. February 2015 The Work Force 19
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