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“I was actually surprised to hear what our union can do for us. There was never a sense that CSEA would give up on this and that’s awesome.”
Sherman: ‘I’m just glad my union had my back’
CATSKILL — Deb Sherman won’t soon forget the day in December 2014 when she was fired from her job as an emergency services dispatcher for Greene County.
Sherman
would be eligible for full-time work and overtime.”
Her supervisor promptly fired her, explaining that she “wasn’t the right fit.”
When Sherman asked for more details, her supervisor said she was being treated fairly and she was “lucky.”
“He said, ‘We could have just
sent you a letter stating you were terminated,’” she said. “I didn’t even have words. I was devastated.”
“I thought they would at least give me two weeks and here he is acting like he has extended me some kind of courtesy,” Sherman said.
Sherman has moved on to another job at a school district not far
from her Catskill home and wasn’t interested in returning to her old position.
Sherman is happy about getting her pension credits and some back pay, but mostly, she is relieved that the legal wrangling is over and she can move on with her life.
“I’m just glad my union had my back,” she said.
“People always ask, ‘what do we need a union for?’” she said. “Well, I have a story for them!”
—Therese Assalian
“I got called in to a meeting
the day before my one-year anniversary,” she said. “I was excited because I thought it meant I was passing my probation and then
11
Laramore: ‘It’s a David v. Goliath story’
William Laramore meets with CSEA Senior Associate Counsel Jennifer C. Zegarelli. Laramore marks the worker’s victory.
ice in job return
Senior Associate Counsel Jennifer C. Zegarelli contacted him.
“She explained that there was a lawsuit that CSEA was taking on and asked if I wanted to be part of it,” he said. “[I told her] Absolutely.”
“She asked for all my documents that I saved,” he said.
“Whatever I had, I gave her.”
Coyne returned to his Greene County job in August. He will get retirement credit, as well as the accruals due to him had he not been terminated.
Asked to describe his thoughts on the whole experience, Coyne responded with one word: ”Karma.”
—Therese Assalian
ALBANY — As a caseworker trainee at the Greene County Department of Social Services, William Laramore dealt with many cases involving children and parents trying to reunite.
He said the job could be difficult, but that he attended regular training meetings, and his managers at the county never gave him any indication that his performance was subpar.
“I had gotten to a comfort level where I was learning the job and getting much better at it,” he said. “I thought I was doing fine.”
Ten months and two days after he was hired, Laramore learned that he had been terminated.
“They essentially said, ‘we’re letting you go,’ Laramore said. “They gave me a lot of compliments (about my performance), but no real reason.”
“I was more stunned than anything,” he said of his reaction to the news.
While Laramore soon found another job, he still struggled to make ends meet. “I was fortunate that I had found another job, but it has lower pay and benefits,” he said. “Greene County gave me a lot of stability and job satisfaction.”
His surprise at losing his county job slowly turned to anger as the county dragged the case on for several years. “I got angry when the county refused to take responsibility,” he said. “There was no sense that they had made a mistake. They fought us every step of the way.”
Laramore, who was eventually hired at a state agency, is relieved that he and the other workers have now been made whole. The case also taught him more about the resources that unions can offer.
“I was actually surprised to hear what our union can do for us,” he said. “There was never a sense that CSEA would give up on this and that’s awesome.”
Laramore also credited CSEA Senior Associate Counsel Jennifer C. Zegarelli, who led the legal process on behalf of our union.
“Jennifer has been here throughout this process. Without her, we would have had no recourse,” he said. “It’s really a David v. Goliath story.”
— Janice Gavin
February 2018
The Work Force