Page 14 - Work Force July-August 2024

State legislative session includes gains for CSEA
CSEA had a successful 2024 New York State legislative session, including a massive Tier 6 victory in
the state budget.
Our union was also successful
in getting several positive bills
done after the budget, including substantive changes to the civil service system, a first-in-the-nation law to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) in the public sector and several bills to protect and support workers.
Below is a summary of key legislation passed by both houses.
All the passed bills await Gov. Kathy Hochul’s action. For more information about the bills, visit cseany.org.
The Legislative Oversight of Automated Decision-making in Government (LOADing) Act
S.7543 (Gonzalez) / A.9430 (Otis) This first of its kind legislation
aims to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the public sector. Specifically, this bill includes groundbreaking employee protection language that will prohibit the displacement of state employees when a state agency uses an AI
program or system. No other state has similar protections.
Crediting Provisional Time for Promotional Exams
S.8557 (Jackson) / A.9386 (Pheffer Amato)
This legislation allows time spent by an employee in provisional status
to count towards time required for
a promotional exam if the employee becomes competitive in the same title without a break. This legislation will give CSEA members who were provisional the ability to take promotional examinations faster than they currently are able and grow their career in the public sector.
Age & Education Requirements for Civil Service Exams
S.8216 (Jackson) / A.8876 (Pheffer Amato)
This legislation allows individuals who are within 12 months of meeting the age or education requirements of a given civil service job to take
an exam for that position. This legislation will allow prospective employees to reduce the time they
need to wait between meeting the job requirements and beginning a career in the public sector.
Updating Civil Service Exams S.8551 (Jackson) / A.9349 (Pheffer
Amato)
This legislation requires the state Department of Civil Service to review and update civil service exams every five years. This will help ensure that exams remain relevant to the jobs for which they are seeking candidates.
Virtual Training for CPS Workers S.6357B (Mannion) / A.7341B
(Hevesi)
This legislation allows Child Protective Services caseworkers
to complete certain training requirements, excluding the annual in- service training requirement, virtually, rather than in-person, removing a costly and time-consuming burden on caseworkers and employers.
Maximum Temperature in School Buildings and Indoor Facilities
S.3397A (Skoufis) / A.9011A (Eachus) This legislation sets maximum
temperature thresholds in K-12 classrooms. If a classroom reaches 82 degrees, school administration must reduce the room temperature. If a classroom reaches 88 degrees, it can no longer be occupied for educational and support services.
Expanded Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Mental Injury
S.6635 (Ramos) / A.5745 (Reyes) This legislation prohibits the Workers' Compensation Board from dismissing an employees’ claim of mental health injury caused by work-related stress solely because the injuries arose
from “normal work” conditions. An employee may only currently access benefits if their otherwise legitimate mental health injuries are related
to extraordinary conditions and stressors. For many CSEA-represented jobs, “normal work” conditions are extraordinarily stressful. This bill will ensure that all employees can access workers' compensation for legitimate work-related mental health claims and receive the treatment and care that they require.
City of Fulton Unit President Tom Schimpff addresses the City of Fulton Common Council.
on top of the world right now, but he’s already looking toward 2027, when negotiations will begin.
— Nicholas Newcomb
Watch Tom Schimpff’s full speech to the City of Fulton Common Council: https://tinyurl.com/CSEA-Fulton
Schimpff: ‘We are THAT union’
City of Fulton Unit reaches new contract through unity, accountability
FULTON — Tom Schimpff has only been the City of Fulton Unit president for eight months, but in that time, he has been key to raising the level of accountability and unity of the city workforce to new heights.
This solidarity culminated in an impressive speech to the city’s common council, as well as a contract victory that will benefit workers for years to come.
“We started with morale, unity, and started getting members to work together as a team,” said Schimpff. “Then, we shifted to accountability.”
After months of tracking missed pickup calls and stepping up their game, Schimpff knew it was time to take action.
The general feeling was that the CSEA unit was a “little sibling” to
the other city employee unions. After a six-month process of unifying the unit board and membership, Schimpff worked with his CSEA labor relations specialist to open their contract and gain substantial raises that made the city’s wages competitive with those in Oswego County, in which the city is located.
Schimpff noted that the catalyst to the change was the loss of plow drivers from seven drivers to only two.
Using the relationships he built with city council members, Schimpff explained his case.
“I told [councilors] that you can
have as many police and firefighters as you want and give them all the money you want, but if those roads aren’t clear, you’re not getting out and your services aren’t getting done,” said Schimpff.
Schimpff said this helped highlight our union members’ true strength. While the members’ union power was always there, it had not previously been fully leveraged.
“We got $8 per hour in three years and gave up minimal [contract items], which is a milestone for our unit,” said Schimpff. “You could take our last 10 contracts and add them together and it doesn’t add up to that.”
Schimpff said the unit feels like it’s
14 The Work Force
July-August 2024