Page 12 - Work Force January 2017

Flanagan ‘goes above
and beyond’ for high
school athletics
LONG LAKE — No matter the weather or the season, CSEA Long Lake Central School District bus driver Jerry Flanagan is dedicated to student athletics.
That is why he was recently honored with the Excelsior Award, which honors a CSEA member who displays extraordinary dedication to school athletics. The award is jointly sponsored by the New York
State Public High
School Athletic
Association
and our
union.
Flanagan
received the
award during
the association’s
Football Championships
at Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome in late November.
“Jerry Flanagan represents
the very best in CSEA — he is dedicated to his work, cares about the young people he works with, and contributes to the quality of life in his school district,” said CSEA
President Danny Donohue. “It is great to partner with the New York State Public High School Athletic Association because it helps ensure people like Jerry are recognized
for their outstanding character and service.”
Flanagan is a Western New York native who grew up vacationing in Long Lake with his family, a tradition
he continued with his own four children. A U.S. Army
veteran with a strong work
ethic, Flangan also has six grandchildren.
In 2000, he moved to Long
Lake as a permanent resident and began working
for the Long Lake Central School District as a cleaner in 2001. Over the next two years, he earned his commercial driver’s license and became a district bus driver in 2003.
In the spirit of the award, Flanagan exemplifies “going above and beyond.”
Flanagan recently received the New York Public High School Athletic Association’s 2016 Excelsior Award.
CSEA legal corner
He soon incorporated his new job with his love of sports, driving students from Long Lake and other Mountain Valley Athletic Conference schools to their soccer, basketball and baseball games, regardless of weather.
While North Country winters
can often lead to tough driving conditions, that hasn’t stopped Flanagan from giving his all. In addition to driving students to and from the games safely, he keeps score and records statistics for the teams.
failed to perform his overall job duties. State officials interviewed 25 other staff members present at the scene of the alleged incident, none
of whom stated that they saw any of the alleged abuse take place. CSEA represented the member before a neutral arbitrator, who found it highly unlikely that there was “a widespread conspiracy among 25 people to cover up the truth.” The arbitrator found the member not guilty of the charges and returned him to work with full back pay and benefits.
Proper equipment training is not optional
CSEA alleged that the Town of North Castle violated the CSEA
Flanagan said that he loves the community and that the kids are fantastic. He marveled that despite the students’ dedication to athletics, all put academics first and are “scholar athletes.”
For his efforts, he was nominated for the Excelsior Award by two separate district athletic directors.
When asked about the award, Flanagan noted that “he gets more than he gives.”
— Therese Assalian
contract when town officials did not properly train union-represented employees on using a new front end loader, potentially putting members in danger. The contract specifically states: “When new or unproved equipment of a type similar to or normally used by employees within their classification is acquired,
they will be instructed and given reasonable training in the use of such equipment.”
CSEA argued that the new
loader had different capabilities
and features and employees never received training on it. The arbitrator agreed and ordered the town to train employees on operating the new equipment.
Editor’s Note: Your CSEA Legal Department is a team of 10 in-house attorneys and regional attorneys who represent members across New York state. The department handles more than 1,000 cases each year, including grievance arbitrations, court actions and administrative proceedings. Here are some recent victories your legal team secured for CSEA members.
Abuse charges tossed
In this state Justice Center
case, a state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) employee was charged with abuse for allegedly falsifying a report
of physical intervention that was performed on an individual, and for
making false statements during an investigation on the intervention. CSEA represented the employee at a hearing before an administrative law judge, who found that it could not be concluded that the employee’s statements were intentionally false. The judge ordered that the report
of alleged abuse be amended and sealed.
Unlikely conspiracy theories
During a disciplinary case, the state sought termination of an eight-year Office of Mental Health employee and CSEA member. State officials claimed the member had pushed residents, used inappropriate language and gestures, and allegedly
12 The Work Force
January 2017