Page 2 - Work Force January 2016

Outsourcing fight builds community allies
Photo
of the Month
“We knocked on doors and explained the costs involved in outsourcing. The support we got was huge, especially from other CSEA members and retirees living in Patterson and members of other unions. It
was clear that the community didn’t want to lose this town service and residents didn’t want people losing their jobs.”
Nassau County Department of Public Works’ facilities crew took on an enormous construction job to add an extended breezeway to the ice rink at Cantiague Park in Hicksville.
The 2016 CSEA calendar is
nTow available!
his year’s calendar shows
the strength of CSEA members building union
PATTERSON — Town leaders may have thought their study on outsourcing town garbage pickup would proceed as quietly as most business in the rural Putnam County community.
What transpired, however, was a community uprising that has affirmed support for the local CSEA-represented sanitation crew, strengthened ties between labor and community members and ultimately saved five middle-class jobs through 2016.
At a recent public hearing, mingling among workers clad in safety orange and neon green were community supporters passionately
defending their
community
members who pick
up their garbage
and recyclables.
They lauded the
CSEA-represented
workers as dedicated
employees who go
the extra yard in
providing a valuable
service.
“We work with
the residents, so we
have a good rapport,”
said CSEA activist
Phil Capalbo, who
worked behind the
scenes to get the
public engaged. “We
knocked on doors and
explained the costs
involved in outsourcing. The support we got was huge, especially from other CSEA members and retirees living in Patterson and members of other unions. It was clear that the community didn’t want to lose this town service and residents didn’t want people losing their jobs.”
When word of possible outsourcing came, workers found a valuable ally in Andy Falk, a local attorney who included saving town-run sanitation on his platform when he ran for town supervisor this
fall. While he ultimately lost his election by 17 votes, Falk’s teamwork with the CSEA membership, many of whom also
leafleted and spoke with residents along their routes, was a critical element in the sanitation success.
That teamwork, along with relationships built with other area unions, made a difference.
“Contacts are key,” said Capalbo, who serves as unit treasurer. “You have to make contacts with your different union members and different shops. Everyone has experienced something they can help you out with. We’ve turned out to support the teachers when they had a dispute with management, and they have supported us.”
CSEA had a seat at the table when town leaders formed a
sanitation subcommittee a year ago to study options for town sanitation that included outsourcing. One portion of the town was privatized years ago, while the remainder has town-run pickup. The options? Keep things status quo, make all pickup town-run or outsource entirely.
For now, things are status quo. Capalbo and his co-workers plan to keep pressing for cost savings measures that will make operations less costly, including grants that could improve efficiency, so
the department will continue beyond 2016.
That willingness to step up shows
the benefit in keeping CSEA-represented public workers on the job delivering public services, rather than handing work over to profit-centered privateers.
“We’ve been very cooperative and compassionate in negotiations during these last challenging few years,” said Capalbo. “That’s something you’ll never get when you outsource. You may get the lowball bid, but you can never get them at the table willing to help.”
— Jessica Ladlee
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Heidi Jo Brandt, a family day care provider in Ulster County, plays a game with children she cares for.
State contract negotiations: stay in the loop!
Go to cseany.org/state-contract-update.
2 The Work Force
January 2016