Page 2 - Work Force June 2025

2 The Work Force June 2025
The New York State Department of Transportation and state Thruway
Authority hosted the Fallen Workers Memorial at the New York State
Fairgrounds on April 29 to honor the workers who have lost their lives
or were injured while on the job. CSEA members from both agencies and
our union’s Central Region attended. We must all do our part to protect
the people who maintain and improve the roads we travel every day. Slow
down. Stay alert. Move over. Their lives depend on it. For more, see pages
14-15. (Photo by Nicholas Newcomb.)
Photo of the Month
New York’s local government
primary elections will be held on
June 24.
These primary elections decide
which candidates appear on the
November ballot. In this year’s local
government elections, many mayors,
town officials, and county legislators
will be on the ballot. These elected
leaders make decisions that affect
more than 100,000 CSEA members’
jobs, but voter turnout is often low.
Every vote counts and even
one vote can make a
difference. Here are a
few examples.
Union power
at the polls
In Monroe County,
member turnout made
a big difference. After
Democrats won the
County Legislature in
2019, four members
broke away and joined
the Republicans,
blocking the county
executive’s worker
friendly priorities.
In 2021, Democrats
challenged three of
those breakaways and
won all three races.
Look at the turnout
of CSEA members in
these races.
•
Legislative
District 22
– Mercedes
Vasquez-Simmons: 14% of
voters were CSEA.
•
Legislative District 28 – Ricky
Frazier: 18.3% were CSEA.
•
Legislative District 29 –
William Burgess: 19% were
CSEA.
The fourth breakaway wasn’t
challenged until 2023, when CSEA
endorsed Rose Bonnick in Legislative
District 27. With 25% of voters in that
primary race being CSEA members
or retirees, Bonnick won the race,
leading to a Democratic majority in
the county which helped advance a
labor friendly agenda led by Monroe
County Executive Adam Bello. Our
union made the difference.
Successful outreach
In 2023, CSEA endorsed Kingston
Mayor Steve Noble, who faced a
tough primary opponent. Of the
city’s 7,707 registered Democrats,
just 1,083 turned out to vote.
However, 15% of of them were CSEA
members, even though
our union members
only made up just
2.2% of registered
Democrats. Noble
won, thanks in large
part to member
turnout driven by
CSEA outreach. Our
union’s activists
volunteered to knock
on doors, make
phone calls and held
worksite meetings
to keep members
informed of this
important primary
race. Their work won
the day.
Why it matters
These are just
a couple of great
examples of CSEA
voters being more
informed and active
than the general
public. Our union members’ ability
to show up and vote has a dramatic
impact on elections and flexes our
union power.
CSEA rarely endorses in primaries,
but when our union does so, it’s
strategic. While we may not endorse
in every race, we urge ALL members
to stay informed and engaged to
their local elections. Our union’s
power is an informed, active
membership.
For a full list of 2025 endorsed
candidates, visit cseany.org/vote.
Primary elections:
When we show up, we win
GET
OUT
THE
VOTE
cseany.org/vote
STAY CONNECTED with CSEA
To better provide services to our
union members, CSEA needs to
ensure we have your most updated
contact information.
CSEA is encouraging members to
keep their information updated by
holding a contest throughout this
year. Any member who updates or
verifies their contact information
through the MyCSEA App, our
website at cseany.org or by filling
out a contact card will be entered
into the contest for a chance to win
a gift card.
At the end of each month, CSEA
will draw at random 12 members,
who will receive a $25 gift card.
Stay Informed. Stay Connected.
Keep Your Information Updated!
for a chance to win a gift card!
For more information about the MyCSEA App, visit cseany.org/mycseaapp.
3 ways to update or verify your contact information:
scan to update your
info on cseany.org MyCSEA App
Contact Information Update
Fill out and return to your CSEA representative OR (turn card over)
Name (print):
Address (print):
Personal Email:
Home Phone: Cell Phone:
*CSEA ID #: Local/Unit #:
* To look up your CSEA ID number, go to cseany.org and click on Get My Member ID icon at the top right of the page,
or download the MYCSEA app.
Last First
Street City Zip
fill out a contact card