Page 15 - Work Force July-August 2021

Report your tick bites, check yourself
If you are bitten by a tick on the job, make sure you report it to your supervisor as you would any other injury.
If the bite makes you sick and your work status changes, you will have proof that it occurred
on the job and the appropriate documentation if you need to take Workers’ Compensation.
Follow up with your doctor, even if you are not exhibiting symptoms of illness, and if possible, remove and save the tick for testing. If the tick tests positive for Lyme disease, you can begin treatment much sooner and perhaps limit your illness.
Check yourself and your clothing when your shift is done
or soon after. Ticks are notorious hitchhikers, and while you may not get bitten, you may be bringing an infected tick into your home where it could bite other family members or pets.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the bite of an infected deer tick.
Common symptoms of Lyme disease include a rash often called a “bullseye” because of the way
it presents with red or purple rings, fever, body aches, flu-like symptoms, fatigue, headaches and arthritis-like joint pain.
Ticks can also transmit other
Deer tick
disease such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, so it’s important to be alert for any symptoms that follow a tick bite.
Nearly 35,000 cases
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2019 (the most recent year statistics are available), the majority of Lyme disease cases were reported from 16 states, including New York, which had 4,243 confirmed and probable cases — the second highest total among states. Nearly 35,000 confirmed cases were reported.
Eastern and southern regions in New York are at the highest risk, though the disease is prevalent throughout the state. Contracting Lyme disease from a tick bite depends on the type of tick, where you are located, and how long it was attached to you.
Visit https://cseany.org/safety for more information on preventing Lyme disease and how your employer should protect you.
15
Nassau Local secures big subcontracting win
MINEOLA — CSEA Nassau County Local activists successfully fought back against the county’s brazen subcontracting violations, securing a $375,000 judgement from an arbitrator on behalf of members working at the Nassau County Sewage Plant.
“The county has a manager from private industry running the sewage plant and that manager was hiring workers from his employer, rather than delegating responsibilities to CSEA sewage plant workers,” said CSEA Nassau County Department
of Public Works Unit President Jack Cloudman. “That blatant violation of our contract is what led us to file a grievance.”
CSEA won a grievance in
2016 related to the sewer plant subcontracting. In that decision, the county was ordered to stop giving work to outside companies, and hiring protocols for the sewage plant were explained in detail.
Instead of abiding by the decision, the county ignored it, which led the union to refile the grievance.
This time, local officers sought a monetary award, to make the county understand that the union had no intention of accepting any further disregard for grievance decisions.
As part of the research into this issue, the Nassau County Local did
a cost analysis and determined that the county spends millions of dollars on subcontracting fees every year, when in-house county staff can do high-quality work at a lower cost.
CSEA staff was there to lend their expertise to local officers, every step of the way.
“It was a long project, and it took a coordinated effort between CSEA’s Legal Department, the LRS [Labor Relations Specialist] and the local
to see this through,” said Cloudman. “We had to pull a lot of information to get this done and as a team, we worked together well for the benefit of the membership.”
On average, CSEA members at the sewage plant received $8,000 in back pay for the work that was wrongfully given to private industry workers.
The big takeaway from this victory is the importance of member participation in their own fight.
“This subcontracting win could not have happened without the membership,” said Cloudman. “Their written records and testimonies are what put us on top.”
— Wendi Bowie
Above, CSEA Nassau County Local 6th Vice President Yvette Gaynor, standing, and Department of Public Works Unit President Jack Cloudman discuss details of the sewer plant subcontracting victory.
July-August 2021
The Work Force