Page 3 - Work Force June 2021

Work zone incident intensifies push for legislation
MALTA — An April 27 accident in
a work zone on state Interstate 87
in Saratoga County left one CSEA member employed by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) in critical condition and two others injured.
According to New York State Police, Sherburne Hill III, 84, was traveling on I-87 north when his
car collided with another vehicle. He overcorrected and struck state DOT Highway Maintenance Worker 1 Alexander Marin, who was on foot in the work zone, seriously injuring him.
Hill then struck two DOT trucks occupied by David Curry and Aaron Gagliardi, also highway maintenance workers. Gagliardi was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, while Curry was transported to the hospital for treatment.
No criminal charges have been brought at this time and the crash remains under investigation.
New York State Department of Transportation Region 1 Local President Mike Garfolo has kept in touch with the injured workers.
“Each and every day, union members work hard to repair and maintain roadways to keep the traveling public safe,” Garfolo said. “Their goal is to make it home at the end of the day. On April 27, two CSEA members did not get to go home. Instead, they were in the hospital and both face long roads to recovery. CSEA members follow policies and procedures that are meant to keep them safe, but there is a variable we can’t control, the traveling public.”
“Too many highway workers
are injured or killed in work zones each year. If we are aware of proven methods to prevent accidents,
such as cameras, then we need the legislature to act,” said CSEA Capital Region President Ron Briggs. “What are we waiting for?”
One of the vehicles involved in the April 27 incident on Interstate 87. (Photo provided by the Round Lake Fire Department).
Taking action
CSEA is stepping up our efforts to push for state legislation to make work zones safer.
The legislation would implement a pilot program placing automated speed cameras in highway work zones that would slow down traffic and help save lives.
“How many more crashes, injuries, or deaths will union members have to endure before something is
done?” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. “I’m calling on the State Legislature to pass a law putting speed cameras in work zones to force drivers to slow down.”
You can help protect highway workers by sending a letter to your state legislators. To take action, visit: https://cseany.org/workzonesafety.
— Therese Assalian
State Contract negotiations process beginning
ALBANY — Now that New York State has paid the deferred
wage increases promised from
our previous (and now expired) contracts, our union is moving ahead to negotiate our next contracts for CSEA-represented state workers. President Mary E. Sullivan refused to begin negotiating new contracts until the state lived up to its prior obligations.
We’ve already selected the members of our Negotiating Team, with members chosen from around the state from a variety of agencies across our four bargaining units (Administrative, Institutional, Operational and Division of Military and Naval Affairs) to best represent the entire membership. Team members have met and
will continue to meet for training and are preparing to develop the proposals we eventually bring to the bargaining table.
They will be joined at the
bargaining table by CSEA staff professionals, including General Counsel and Lead Negotiator Daren Rylewicz, Deputy Counsel and Second Chair Negotiator Leslie Perrin and State Operations Deputy Directors.
To facilitate that process, beginning June 1, we will be requesting Executive Branch CSEA members to complete contract surveys. These surveys will directly assist the CSEA Team in formulating proposals in negotiations.
Starting in July, our Negotiating Team members will meet with members throughout the regions to hear from them directly.
Once our union proposals are finalized, our CSEA Team will schedule and conduct negotiations with the State’s Team, with the goal of reaching a fair contract that meets the priorities of the majority of members.
No one should expect this to be
a quick process. Negotiating fair contracts takes time and effort. The CSEA Team’s start was delayed by the pandemic and the economic instability it caused. The good news is that union members are still covered by the terms of our previous expired contracts, until new ones are in place. All your rights and protections from those documents remain enforceable.
Despite a delayed start and working under the terms of an expired contract, we will not rush to settle something quickly. We will take the time required to make sure we get a strong contract meeting the needs of members. No contract is complete until union members vote to approve it, so you have the final say on your contract.
What you can expect is that we will keep you informed with updates throughout the process. We urge
all state employees to login and update your user account at
https://cseany.org/register to ensure we have your most current personal email address on file.
We will email our State Contract survey to all state employee members who have previously registered personal emails with us. Those who have not yet registered accounts on the CSEA website must do so and can then fill out the form at: https://cseany.org/ state-contract-survey to request
a survey link. Note: survey may
only be completed once. Please
only use personal email addresses. Information about state contract negotiations will not be sent to state email addresses.
For members who do not have the ability to take the survey online, printed copies will be available upon request by calling our State Operations Department at
(518) 257-1279.
— Mark M. Kotzin
June 2021
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