Page 12 - Work Force February 2021

City of Long Beach Unit builds union strength with new hires
LONG BEACH — CSEA City of
Long Beach sanitation workers have braved the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic with extreme professionalism, with many of them employed part-time with the city between five and 10 years.
It is their dedication that motivated CSEA’s City of Long Beach Unit leaders to secure eight full-time sanitation jobs for the employees.
It took five long months for unit representatives to comb through the city’s budget to find the money to support eight new hires.
“The big selling point from CSEA
to city officials is that the new hires would fall within the city’s planned budget,” said CSEA City of Long Beach Unit President John Mooney.
Recognizing the importance of their
frontline workers, city management was very helpful and cooperative through the entire process.
As for the new hires, they are excited about the benefits that come along with full-time work.
“The big thing for me is the medical insurance,” said City of Long Beach Sanitation Worker Frankie Alvarado. “When I first started working for the city, I had just had my first child. He started having seizures when he was two years old. Then, I had another child and the medical bills just started piling up.”
“If I had medical insurance back then, most of my bills probably would have been covered,” said Alvarez. “Achieving full-time status is life changing for me and my family.”
Some workers are so excited about
joining their union that they are considering getting medallions made that say “CSEA.”
Mooney said the sanitation workers are the unsung heroes of this pandemic. Every day, they come to work and expose themselves to other people’s disposed items, which could easily infect them with COVID-19.
That is why getting the City of Long Beach to agree to make eight workers full-time was especially gratifying.
“Whenever people ask me why
I stay active in my union, it’s for moments like this,” said Mooney. “Being able to be a part of something that will change people’s lives for the better is inexplicable.”
The City of Long Beach Unit is not stopping with the eight new hires. They are in the process of working
with the city to get the remaining eight part-time sanitation workers to full-time status, along with a number of part-time workers in the city’s Highway and Recreation Departments.
Watching CSEA’s hard work come to fruition has been a morale booster for unit members who are excited to “watch their co-workers enter their brotherhood.”
“There is a special bond that forms when you go through an experience like this together,” said Devin Parker, CSEA City of Long Beach Unit 3rd Vice President and Superintendent
of Sanitation. “You may not have been friends before, but you become friends outside of work because the time you’ve spent together in the trenches.”
— Wendi Bowie
Summary of January Board of Directors Meeting
Editor’s Note:
The Work Force publishes a summary of actions taken by CSEA’s Board of Directors. The summary
is prepared by CSEA Statewide Secretary Richard Bebo for union members.
Bebo
• Approved the 2021 Maximum Miscellaneous Allowances, as contained in the Treasurer’s
Report to the Board of Jan. 14,
2021. •
• Approved Local 805 Cattaraugus County to enter into a lease
agreement between Hall • Development located at Fourth
and Maple Complex, 80 North Fourth Street, Room 206, Allegany, New York 14706. The lease is for 12 months commencing Dec. 1, 2020 to Nov. 30, 2021. As this lease term runs past the local officers’ current term, the Board’s approval is necessary for this lease.
• Approved Local 828 Monroe
County to enter into a lease
agreement between Hulsizer Management, 1354 Buffalo Road, Rochester, New York 14624. The
lease is for four years starting
March 1, 2021 until Feb. 28, 2025.
As this lease term runs past the
local officers’ current term, the
Board’s approval is necessary for • this lease.
• Approved Local 828 Monroe
County to enter into a copier agreement with BXI Consultants,
Inc., 1354 Buffalo Road, Rochester, • New York 14624. The lease is for
four years starting March 1, 2021
until Feb. 28, 2025. As this lease term runs past the local officers’ current term, the Board’s approval is necessary for this lease. Approved the Standing Legal Committee Report to the Board of Jan. 14, 2021.
Approved the appointments of Adrian Williams of Local 460 and Letitia Williams of Local 762 (Metropolitan Region); Matthew Critelli of Local 814 (Southern Region); Chantalise DeMarco
of Local 855, Jeremy Kuznia of Local 874, Lori Nilsson of Local 913, Jolene Radley of Local 187, and Casey Walpole of Local 913 (Central Region); Adam Hatch of Local 514, Tricia Korzelius of Local 335 and Diana Rose of Local 815 (Western Region) to the Region Political Action Committees
as referenced in the Standing Legislative Political Action Committee Report to the Board of Jan. 14, 2021.
Approved the amended budget
for FY 2021 as summarized in the Committee’s report to the Board of Jan. 14, 2021. The amended budget will not be reprinted.
Approved the Standing Election Procedures Committee report to the Board of Jan.14, 2021.
• Approved the adoption of the restated CSEA Employees Flexible Benefit Plan as presented in the report to the Board of Jan. 14, 2021.
• Approved conforming the Region, Local, Unit and Private Sector Constitutions to the changes made to the Judicial Board Article in the Statewide Constitution & By-Laws by the Delegates at the 2020 ADM, and as presented in the Standing Constitution & By-Laws Committee Report to the Board of Jan. 14, 2021.
• Approved amending the Election Procedures Articles in the
Local, Unit and Private Sector Constitutions to ensure safer nominations as proposed by the Standing Election Committee in response to the pandemic, and
as presented in the Standing Constitution & By-Laws Committee Report to the Board of Jan. 14, 2021.
Questions concerning the summary should be directed to Statewide Secretary Richard Bebo, CSEA Headquarters, 143 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210. (800) 342-4146 or (518) 257-1253.
ALBANY — To comply with state social gathering restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CSEA has canceled in-person meetings and this meeting was held via Zoom. In official business, the board:
• Swore in new Board of Directors members John Brown, Kenneth Crusie and Chris Myers.
• Endorsed the Capital Communications Federal Credit Union (CAPCOM FCU) Auto Refinance Program as a CSEA member benefit.
• Approved the tentative agreement between CSEA and The United Union Employees of New York (UUE-NY), effective Oct. 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2023.
12 The Work Force
February 2021