Page 19 - Work Force March 2016

TODAY
News briefs from around the state
Contract for Village of Penn Yan strengthens unity
PENN YAN — A new four-year contract for village workers brings some improvements to the previous contract and
has helped build unity in the unit. “The recent contract negotiations team was made up of a representative from each department. At first, having so many people at the table may have seemed unwieldy at the time, but it gave us depth and immediate facts and insight when the village representatives raised issues from particular departments. The management negotiators soon realized that our stewards and members knew just as much if not more about the actual operation
of each department than they did,” said Unit President
Bengt Sward. “More importantly, having reps from each department at the negotiations table has really improved
our communication with the membership. It also has strengthened their confidence that their concerns are being addressed in the workplace.” The pact includes pay raises, no changes to health insurance expense for members, additional comp time language, and an increase in a clothing allowance.
Members of Clinton County’s Strong Communities Work Committee rolled up their sleeves recently and got to work on some house building. The three house projects currently underway in Chazy are being coordinated the Champlain Valley Habitat for Humanity.
Clinton County General Unit Member Debi Guynup is all business as she saws some wood down to size in one of three Chazy houses that she and other members of Clinton County’s Strong Communities Work Committee are helping build through Champlain Valley Habitat for Humanity, which is coordinating the projects.
Photo by Therese Assalian
Paving the way to praise
WAMPSVILLE — Madison County leaders were recently singing the praises of CSEA members working in the county Highway Department, after the county decided to contract-in the paving of a bridge resurfacing project. County leaders invited the highway workers to the ribbon cutting ceremony reopening the bridge, noting that thanks to their work, the project came in under-budget and was completed well in advance of its original timetable.
NCew pact in Cornwall-On-Hudson
ongratulations to members
of the Village of Cornwall-on- Hudson Unit in Orange County,
whose perseverance and solidarity has yielded a nine-year contract that workers unanimously approved after five years of challenging negotiations. The deal, retroactive to 2010, includes wage increases in eight of the nine years, increases in longevity and hikes in meal and boot allowances.
Growing stronger at hospital
Thanks to their union strength, CSEA members at Westchester Medical Center Unit are now taking home more in their paychecks. Members overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract recently, which included the extension of a no-layoff clause that CSEA negotiated in the previous contract. That contractual protection is especially important at Westchester Medical Center, where management has in the past vigorously pursued layoffs and outsourcing.
Metropolitan Region Secretary Delphine Moultrie has been working to organize members to work at local food pantries and organizations like the Common Food Pantry and Bye Bye Baby, which provide food, supplies and clothing, respectively,
to families in need. The Metropolitan Region Women’s and Education Committees recently distributed hundreds of toys to churches in four boroughs for families
in need. They are currently working with NY Cares to engage more members to volunteer in community organizations. Also, the committees are in the midst of collecting toiletries to donate to women living in shelters, for Mothers Day, and used cell phones and eyeglasses for seniors. Any of these items may be dropped off in care of Delphine at the Metropolitan Region office, 125 Maiden Lane, Manhattan.
March 2016
The Work Force 19