Page 9 - Work Force January 2025

Political action secures unit’s power
PATCHOGUE — CSEA Patchogue- Medford [Pat-Med] School District Operational Unit President Peter Starken began attending CSEA Long Island
School Districts
Committee
meeting with
the intention of learning strategies that would help his unit with its upcoming contract negotiations.
Little did Starken know that he was about to gain information that would change the trajectory of his unit.
“During one of the meetings, Jarvis [CSEA Long Island Region President Jarvis Brown] and Pat [CSEA Long Island Region School Districts Committee Chair Patricia Davilla] led a conversation about the importance of establishing a political action committee as one of many levels of activism to bettering school districts,” said Starken. “I took notice of that immediately because I knew the district board of education
had three primary seats up for reelection.”
The next day, Starken contacted CSEA Suffolk Educational Employees
CSEA Pat-Med School District Operational Unit President Peter Starken attends a Long Island Region School Districts Committee meeting.
January 2025
Local 2nd Vice President John DeSantis, who was then the Pat-Med District Operational Unit president, to share what he learned at the meeting and to urge DeSantis to start a unit political action committee.
Starken, DeSantis and the rest of the unit’s executive board soon held a meeting, at which they agreed to start the political action committee and discuss potential committee members.
Starken was eventually appointed as the committee chair, and two other unit board members also agreed to be on the committee.
Growing relationships
CSEA Long Island Region Political Action Coordinator Sue Castle was the first person the newly formed committee contacted. Castle guided the committee through the entire endorsement process.
According to CSEA’s political action guidelines, when a district
has multiple units, all units must come to an agreement before CSEA can publicly endorse a candidate. To get that consensus, the unit political action committee reached out to the two other CSEA unit presidents in the school district.
The unit officers communicated regularly through the entire endorsement process, which
has opened up the lines of communications between the units, creating a larger support system for CSEA members across the district.
Specifically, the Pat-Med School District Operational Unit officers gained valuable information that helped them going into contract negotiations.
“We got to hear directly from potential board members without creating a direct dealing issue, circumventing the negotiation process or undermining the administrators that are appointed by the board,” said Starken. “We were also able to grow our relationships with potential board members by getting to know them and their personalities.”
The Pat-Med School District
Board of Education president personally contacted Starken to voice his happiness with CSEA’s district political action committee. He expressed that the interviews with the candidate
spoke to the spirit of teamwork the district hoped to achieve by developing a better working relationship with CSEA members.
“We were thankful
that the candidates
were willing to be
interviewed on short
notice,” said Starken.
“It shows the value of
having CSEA members’ endorsement in the community.”
Additionally, CSEA’s Legislative and Political Action Department helped the group secure posters, postcards and robocalls to support
the endorsed board of education candidates.
The Pat-Med School District’s endorsement was so influential that another union in the district began
endorsing the unit’s candidates and also sent out mailers.
All of CSEA’s endorsed candidates won their elections. The Pat-Med Pac Committee was able to organize and orchestrate their plan in four weeks.
“The candidates were blown away
with how much support they received,” said Starken. “Now, there’s no mistaking how strategically important CSEA is for them.”
— Wendi Bowie
Starken
“We were thankful that the candidates were willing to be interview on short notice. It shows the value of having CSEA members’ endorsement in the community.”
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Cottrell named November PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month
SYRACUSE — Ali Cottrell, president of the SUNY Upstate Local
in the Central Region, is the PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month
for November, recruiting 26 new PEOPLE members.
Cottrell
be prepared to fight for our union and the issues and concerns of our members. Without the funding from the PEOPLE program, none of that would be possible.”
The CSEA PEOPLE program protects and improves our
jobs, benefits, and pensions
in Washington, Albany, and in your community. Your support and participation in PEOPLE strengthens our union’s power in the workplace, in the legislature, and the greater labor movement.
— Nicholas Newcomb
“The PEOPLE program equates to power for our union.” said Cottrell. “There are going to be
a lot of changes in our federal government soon and we need to
The Work Force 9