Page 13 - Work Force March 2023

Cottrell honored as PEOPLE Recruiter
SYRACUSE — SUNY Upstate Medical University Local President Ali Cottrell is the PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month for January 2023. He recruited 33 new PEOPLE members at the MVP level, and one new PEOPLE member at the VIP level.
Cottrell was also
honored as the
PEOPLE Recruiter
of the Year, which
honors the member
who recruits the
most new PEOPLE
members. He recruited 48 new PEOPLE members from Aug. 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022. He received the award during our union’s 112th Annual Delegates Meeting, held in October.
“The award was a nice thing, but
I don’t do it for the awards,” said Cottrell. “I do it to educate members in the hopes that they’ll go out and educate others. At the end of the day, we want people at all levels of government who are going to stand
up and fight for unions.”
CSEA’s PEOPLE program protects and improves
our jobs, benefits and pensions
in Washington, Albany and in your community.
Your support and participation in PEOPLE strengthens CSEA’s clout in the workplace, in the legislature, in your community and in the labor movement.
— Nicholas Newcomb
From left to right, SUNY Upstate Medical University Local President
Ali Cottrell and CSEA PEOPLE Coordinator Kim Wallace-Russo speak with Cattaraugus County Employees Unit activist Richard Dayton, front right, about the PEOPLE Program at the 2022 Statewide Conference on Occupational Safety and Health.
Davis: ‘You have to follow in order to lead’
ALBANY
— Activist,
mentor and
leader are
just a few
words CSEA
President
Mary E.
Sullivan used
to describe
Capital
Region
Executive
Vice
President
Shana Davis before presenting her with our union’s Danny Donohue Leadership Award for State Government.
“Few leaders are as humble
as Shana is while providing the knowledge, wisdom and guidance she does on a regular basis,” said Sullivan.
Davis received the award at the 112th Annual Delegates Meeting in New York City in October.
Davis played a key role in our
union’s state contract negotiating team for the last three contracts.
In addition to working with other team members and CSEA staff on the agreement, which was ratified last year, Davis met with members both online and in person
to discuss the contract details.
A state Department of Taxation & Finance employee, Davis became active in our union in 1989.
She quickly
became involved in
union efforts that set
her on a leadership
path that today finds her active
on numerous committees, both statewide and in the Capital Region as well as board seats, including serving as an AFSCME delegate and as state Department of Taxation & Finance Local Secretary. Davis also serves as president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists’ (CBTU)
Capital District Chapter.
With so many avenues of activism,
Davis is guided by a core set of leadership principles.
“You have to follow in order to lead,” said Davis. “Knowing you are not in this alone and
there is always a level of accountability, I urge leaders to be susceptible to it and be intentional in your leadership.”
Sullivan praised Davis’ approach to leadership.
“She’s not afraid to speak up and let you know exactly
what she thinks while still being respectful,” said Sullivan. “She has risen through the ranks by listening, really understanding what the issues and challenges are, and using her powerful voice to make positive changes that make a difference.”
— Therese Assalian
March 2023
The Work Force 13
Davis
“Knowing you are
not in this alone and there is always a level of accountability, I urge leaders to be susceptible to it and be intentional in your leadership.”
Capital Region Executive Vice President Shana Davis makes a point on the convention floor with great support from CSEA officers and delegates at the 2022 AFSCME International Convention.