Page 19 - Work_Force_June_2018

The Work Force, CSEA Communications staff honored
The Work Force and our CSEA Communications Department staff were honored in the
recent Metro New York Labor Communications Council contest. The following staff were recently presented with awards in the annual labor publications contest:
Metropolitan Region Communications Specialist David Galarza won 1st Place: Best News Writing for I just want to go home: OPWDD budget proposal harms individuals, families, which appeared in the February 2017 Work Force.
Statewide Communications Specialist Jill Asencio won 2nd Place: Best Feature for Beacon of light lifts up her community, which article appeared in the October 2017 Work Force.
Long Island Region Communications Specialist Wendi Bowie was honored with 3rd Place: Best Photograph, CSEA Power, which appeared as the cover photo for the December 2017 Work Force and featured CSEA members getting fired up over the constitutional convention vote.
Graphic Production Specialist Jason Hosier received 3rd Place: Best Graphic Design for his design of our June 2017 Work Force cover, Mission Possible: Strengthening Our Union, which depicted CSEA Statewide Women’s Conference attendees’ portrayal of Rosie the Riveter.
Congratulations to our Communications staff!
‘I just want to go home’
OPWDD budget proposal harms individuals, families
Chanda Brown outside the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities group home where she works. 10 The Work Force
BROOKLYN — Chandra Brown begins preparing for her workday at 3 a.m. and is never sure when her day will end.
In recent months, Brown, a direct support assistant (DSA) based at a state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities group home in Brooklyn, has been mandated to work two, three, and sometimes even
four consecutive shifts by her supervisors.
Tired and frustrated, she mostly worries about the time spent away from her 4 year old daughter, and not being able to give the individuals she cares for on the job the quality care they deserve.
“[My daughter is] at a young and impressionable age,” said Brown, 39, who drives from her Bronx home to Brooklyn after dropping her daughter with
a caretaker to take her to her Pre-K class. Brown’s daughter has already missed five days of
school due to her mother’s hectic work schedule.
Brown and many of her co-workers are facing similar scenarios throughout the state.
A report released by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in 2016 listed OPWDD as the state agency with the highest number of overtime hours at 4,566,814, with nearly 45 percent of its workers receiving $150 million in overtime pay.
Workers say mandatory overtime and time away from their families is becoming the norm. Because of minimum staffing levels at OPWDD residences and group homes that have replaced many centralized care facilities, workers have been told that they can’t leave the premises on their lunch breaks.
“We cannot work below our minimum [staffing levels],” said Brooklyn Developmental Center Local President Faye Wilkie- Fields. “It doesn’t leave room for
anyone to get a day off or even get out for lunch because the minimums are strictly enforced.”
Making a bad situation worse
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2017-
18 state budget proposal makes things even worse on OPWDD workers, who are already stretched too thin because of understaffing. The governor
is proposing to cut about 250 full-time positions in the agency through attrition.
While many of the cuts stem from the upcoming closure of Bernard Fineson Developmental Center in Queens, those who care for our state’s most vulnerable individuals are being unfairly asked to do more
with less once
again.
Bernard Fineson’s
impending closure,
as well as last
year’s closure
of Brooklyn Developmental
Center, are part of OPWDD’s plan to
close many of its
larger care facilities
and transition care
to community-
based services,
often provided by not-for-profit corporations.
As a result of policies at the state level over the last few years, the delivery of care for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness is dramatically changing.
Under the guise of the U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead decision, which holds that individuals in need of services must receive the least restrictive care option that is appropriate to one’s needs, the state has been reducing services it provides
to this vulnerable population and relying on community organizations and nonprofits
to provide care the state has traditionally provided.
OPWDD workers fear an increase in mandatory overtime, while families worry that the high level of care provided to their loved ones at state OPWDD facilities may be disrupted or reduced as the state transitions services.
Many workers have also expressed concerns over onerous and arbitrary disciplinary practices being meted out by the state’s Justice Center. In many cases, workers who had been suspended or disciplined have been vindicated and made whole.
In the meantime, the huge number of workers who get cited
The Accidental Death Benefit has been increased to $10,000!
• This valuable benefit is available to you as a member in good standing at no cost to you!
• Since the program began in 2014, this benefit has already helped 15 families recover from a sudden, tragic loss.
Go to cseany.org/10KAD
to fill out the beneficiary form.
• Be sure to complete the beneficiary form (online or download and print) so this benefit goes to who YOU designate as well as the Membership Verification/ Update form to ensure we have your most current information in the event of a claim.
• Return completed forms to:
CSEA Insurance Department 143 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12210
cseany.org/10KAD
ROCHESTER — A long-standing tenet of unionism is the belief that if those who are more fortunate reach out to help others who are struggling, they can lift them up and improve lives. Miriam Rodriguez, a CSEA/VOICE Local 100A member in Rochester, has taken this idea to a different level.
Contract boosts quality
care for children
For more than 20 years, Rodriguez
has worked hard as a child care provider, building a good reputation and a strong base of parents who trust her with the early learning and care of their children.
Since family child care providers joined CSEA in 2007, she has had access to resources and training through her union that she never had before.
Rodriguez took every training opportunity available through her labor contract, including the Tuition Assistance Program and Childcare Development Associate Credential (CDA) Scholarship Program.
“I learned so much in all the trainings and in getting my CDA.
October 2017
I was able to take what I learned
and apply it here in the daycare,” Rodriguez said. “I have been able
to do so much for my families [of children in my care].”
Rodriguez’s families directly benefited from her union membership, ensuring a high-quality educational foundation for the often- disadvantaged children in her care. She became a sought-after provider in her profession and duly respected in her community.
Her growth as an educator is
only unmatched by her passion for our union and helping struggling families, changing the path of disadvantaged children who would not have had access to her quality of learning and care.
Rodriguez became politically active in Monroe County, tirelessly advocating for access to affordable child care for low-income families.
Lifting her community
In 2015, with her small business now booming, Rodriguez was ready to reach out and lift others, thinking long and hard about the best way to do that.
even think about being grandfathered in for your pension – it’s not going to work.”
— Sally Heater, CSEA/VOICE Local 100A Secretary/Treasurer and CSEA Retiree
Beacon of light lifts up her community by Jill Asencio in the October 2017 Work Force.
June 2018
The Work Force 19
cseany.org
“
“I thought if I were to help heal this community, we could help him, too. Everyone has promise of a new start. Sometimes, it takes an act of kindness.”
We have to vote down the constitutional convention. As a retiree and a small business person, I cannot afford to lose what I have, and believe me, don’t
Rodriguez
She became a beacon of light in her community.
Rodriguez bought a house in
a neighborhood in the heart of Rochester struggling with drugs and gangs. She dropped herself right
in the thick of it, armed with her training, reputation, confidence to make it work and
her proven ability to
make a difference.
A fence along the side of the house was covered in graffiti art, including images of gang insignias
and explicit content. Rodriguez recognized the art and knew
of the man who painted the fence from his other work throughout the city.
“He is very talented,” she said.
“I didn’t want him to feel like
he was going to be erased from
the neighborhood. His art is his expression. I thought if I were to help heal this community, we could help him, too. Everyone has promise of a new start. Sometimes, it takes an act of kindness.”
to Rreopdariingtutehzeoffefenrced, athskeinargtihsitm$5to00
replace the explicit images with something appropriate for the kids. She spoke with him about the needs of the children in their community and why she decided to buy that home. She said she wanted to give him a stake in this new daycare.
He took the job, painting the
CSEA Power December 2017 Work Force cover photo by Wendi Bowie.
JUNE 2017 • Vol. 20, No. 6
December 2017 Vol. 20, No. 11
POWER!
See pages 2,3,10-11
MISSION: STRENGTHENING
OUR UNION
See pages 3, 10-12
fence full of colorful images of children playing outdoors.
He has been seen moving illicit activity off the block, and
he has told her that he is protecting the children.
The chain reaction started with a tenet of unionism. The resources that her union provided gave Rodriguez the means
to pay it forward, reach out and lift up those next to her who were struggling.
Our union was able to open the door for Miriam Rodriguez to act on the light in her heart and make profound difference for the children and the families in her community.
“I couldn’t have done this without my union,” she said.
— Jill Asencio
The Work Force 13
February 2017
Chandra Brown prepares a meal for individuals residing at the Brooklyn group home where she works.
February 2017
I just want to go home: OPWDD budget proposal harms individuals, families news story by David Galarza in the February 2017 Work Force.
‘Beacon of light’ lifts up her community
cseany.org
Mission Possible: Strenghtening Our Union June 2017 Work Force cover designed by Jason Hosier.
“I can’t see
the individuals being happy and I can’t see them getting the right and adequate amount of care. Our workers are suffering from fatigue. How can they offer their best?”
on a regular basis means fewer workers at OPWDD facilities, which translates into mandatory overtime.
Brown said she has always worked some mandatory overtime since starting at Brooklyn Developmental Center in 2010, but never at the present levels.
“I don’t mind working,” she said. “I know that I can do it on some weekends,
but during the week, it’s hard because of my child care.”
Citing some of the burdens
our members and the
individuals have had to endure since the closure of Brooklyn Developmental Center, Wilkie- Fields said workers are angry and tired.
“We are in such a deplorable situation,” said Wilkie-Fields. “I can’t see the individuals being happy and I can’t see them getting the right and adequate amount of care. Our workers are suffering from fatigue. How can they offer their best?”
— David Galarza
The Work Force 11
Photo by Jill Asencio
Photo by Wendi Bowie
City
State
% Share
Zip SSN
SECTION III – Signature & Attestation
Accidental Death (AD) Beneficiary Form
Group Policyholder Name: Civil Service Employees Association, Inc.
Customer Number TS 05050044-G
SECTION I – Insured Information
First Name
M.
Last name Non-Work Email State Zip
Date of Birth Phone Number SSN
Address – Street
City
SECTION II – Beneficiary Information
Complete the section that pertains to the type beneficiary you are designating.
PRIMARY BENEFICIARY - Your first choice to receive your life insurance proceeds in the event of your accidental death. If any primary beneficiaries predecease you, that person's share will be equally divided among any remaining primary beneficiaries.
First Name Address – Street City
M. Last name
Date of Birth
Relationship to Member
% Share
You MUST designate at least one primary beneficiary. A person may only be listed once. The sum MUST equal 100%.
Relationship to Member
MUST equal 100%.
State
Zip SSN
CONTINGENT BENEFICIARY - Your second choice to receive your life insurance proceeds if ALL of your primary beneficiary(ies) are not living at the time of your death. If any contingent beneficiaries predecease you, that person's share will be equally divided among any remaining contingent beneficiaries.
First Name
M. Last name
Date of Birth
Address – Street
Phone Number
If you need more space for additional beneficiaries, living trust, or estate, visit www.cseainsurance.com/Products-Forms/Term-Life to download the full form and submit to CSEA, Inc., ATTN: Insurance Dept., 143 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210.g
SECTION III – Signature & Attestation
I hereby authorize the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc. (CSEA), Local 1000 AFSCME, AFL-CIO, to be my exclusive representative for collective bargaining and therefore revoke any other representative that I may have previously designated. I also hereby authorize the fiscal or payroll officer of my employer to deduct CSEA dues from my salary in the amount certified by CSEA in this and succeeding years of my employment and membership. Dues, contributions or gifts to CSEA are not tax deductible as charitable contributions. However, they may be deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses.
I hereby revoke any previous designations, and I designate the person, people, or entity named in Section II as Beneficiary(ies). I reserve the right to change or revoke this designation at any time.
I acknowledge that my membership entitles me to this $10,000 AD policy.
Member Name (Please Print) Member Signature Date (Must be date form was completed)
Phone Number
The sum of the Primary & Contingent Beneficiary percentages
Dollar amounts, fractions and decimals will not be accepted.
Member Record Verification/Update
I hereby authorize the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc. (CSEA), Local 1000 AFSCME, AFL-CIO, to be my exclusive representative for collective bargaining and therefore revoke any other representative that I may have previously designated. I also hereby authorize the fiscal or payroll officer of my employer to deduct CSEA dues from my salary in the amount certified by CSEA in this and succeeding years of my employment and membership.
Dues, contributions or gifts to CSEA are not tax deductible as charitable contributions. However, they may be deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses.
Job Title
First Name Address – Street City
M.
Place of Employment/Location Last name
Non-Work Email Address Date of Birth
Phone Number
SSN
State
Zip
I acknowledge that I am a Member in good standing, which entitles me to this $10,000 AD policy.
Member Name (Please Print) Member Signature Date
POSSIBLE