Page 6 - Work_Force_May_2018

Enacted state budget includes positives for working families, retirees
The enacted, $168.3 billion, 2018-19 New York State Budget addressed in a positive way many of our union’s concerns about adequate public services and resources.
Within the spending plan were changes to the Taylor Law that will help protect CSEA members from
the negative implications of Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, which the U.S. Supreme Court will decide later this spring. This is a major win for CSEA, and shows the power and strength of our union. (See more, page 3.)
The enacted budget helps safeguard key public services that New Yorkers rely on every day.
“This budget is a step in the right direction toward protecting the vital public services that New Yorkers
rely on every day,” CSEA President Danny Donohue said. “Under tough circumstances, this budget takes into account the need to find solutions other than cutting services even more. Public services have long been stretched too thin, and our members
who provide these services keep having to do more with less.”
The final budget includes funding for the 400 state Office of Mental Health (OMH) inpatient beds that were proposed to be cut. The legislature and executive reached an agreement
that will keep facilities open, and will require OHM to increase its reporting on future bed reductions.
Legislators
also rejected
the proposal
to close the
Office of
Children and Family Services’ (OCFS) Ella McQueen Reception Center in Brooklyn with only 30-days notice and restored the center’s funding. If the state intends to close the facility,
it must do so with the required one-year notice.
The legislature restored the
$78.6 million operating subsidy to the state’s three safety-net, State University of New York (SUNY) hospitals, which protects vital health
care services, particularly for our state’s poor, indigent and uninsured citizens.
Education and library aid also got a boost in the enacted budget. School district aid
increased by about $1 billion over last year. The final plan restores $12 million in community college aid that was initially proposed to be cut. The enacted budget increases library
funding by $1 million and library construction aid by $10 million over last year.
Also rejected were proposals
that would have capped the reimbursement of Medicare Part
B premiums for retirees in the
New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) and eliminate
the state’s reimbursement of the Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA) for higher-income retirees.
The final budget also includes several proposals meant to
mitigate the negative impacts
of federal tax reform on New Yorkers, raises $100 million
through an opioid “stewardship” payment on manufacturers and distributors, increases resources
to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and creates a new optional retirement savings program for private-sector employees.
For more details on the state budget, visit cseany.org.
“Under tough circumstances, this budget takes into account the need to find solutions other than cutting services even more. Public services have long been stretched too thin, and our members who provide these services keep having to do more with less.”
Enacted 2018-19 New York State Budget, by the numbers:
400 inpatient beds from Office
of Mental Health facilities preserved.
$168.3 billion budget
state total
$1 billion
Increase in school aid over last year.
$1 million
Increase in library funding.
$10 million
Increase in library construction aid.
Labor, community activism stops psychiatric center move
WEST SENECA — Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center will remain in its current West Seneca location, thanks to activism by many of our Western Region members and community members who strongly opposed the center’s move.
The governor cited community input as the reason for the decision.
The state Office of Mental Health had proposed closing the center and moving its young patients to the grounds of Buffalo Psychiatric Center, which treats adults.
Community members strongly opposed the plan, noting the potential risks of having children in close proximity to adult patients. State officials promised that the children would never be in contact with the adults at the Buffalo
Psychiatric Center and began renovating a section of the adult facility to keep the child and adult patients separate.
Despite this, community members still opposed the plan. Over the past several years, our members, other center employees, former patients, family members
of patients and other stakeholders strongly urged state officials to stop the plan.
“This is clearly a big win for
the people of Western New York,” Western Region President Flo Tripi said. “Our members can continue to offer a high quality of mental health care to children and their families near their homes, which is a major factor in the children’s treatment of mental illness.”
— Ove Overmyer
6 The Work Force
May 2018