Page 2 - Work Force November 2025

Photo of the Month
From left, Brooklyn Developmental Center Local 1st Vice President James
Arnett, Brooklyn Developmental Center Local Delegate Gregory Alphonso
and SUNY at Binghamton Local 1st Vice President Brendan Barnett discuss
what they had learned during a Today’s Takeaways session at the 115th
Annual Delegates Meeting. For more see pages 1, 3, 8-12. (Photo by Sara
McNicholas.)
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Workers in new school
district choose CSEA
LIVINGSTON MANOR — After two
small school districts in northern
Sullivan County were dissolved
and replaced with one new, larger
district, there were plenty of
decisions that needed to be made.
When it came to choosing a
union to represent non-teaching
employees, workers in the newly-
formed Rockland Central School
District didn’t hesitate – they
chose CSEA.
Workers voted
overwhelmingly
in a recent Public
Employment
Relations
Board (PERB)
administered
election to have
CSEA form a new
bargaining unit
representing
them.
The choice
was easy, said
CSEA activist
Nikki Rasnick.
Workers in the
former Roscoe
School District,
where CSEA
represented non-
instructional
staff, valued our
union and the
resources that come along with it, a
message they shared with their new
colleagues who previously worked
for the Livingston Manor School
District.
“We fought for CSEA because it
was the best choice for us and we
wanted to keep the representation
we’d had,” said Rasnick, who
works as a custodian. “CSEA did an
incredible job promoting [union]
benefits and showing people that
each department within our union
has their own specialty, and that
makes a difference because we have
those resources there for us.”
Rasnick knew the CSEA difference,
having served as a leader of the
Roscoe School District Unit.
When the time came to choose
representation in the new district,
she and her former Roscoe
co-workers shared their experiences
with our union. The regular
availability of both elected CSEA
leaders and their labor relations
specialist (LRS) was a major plus,
they said.
“We fought for CSEA
because it was the
best choice for us and
we wanted to keep
the representation
we’d had. CSEA did
an incredible job
promoting [union]
benefits and showing
people that each
department within our
union has their own
specialty, and that
makes a difference
because we have those
resources there for us.”
Since she
stepped up as a
leader, Rasnick
said her LRS has
been alongside her
every step of the
way, helping her
learn and making
sure members
knew of the
resources available
to them.
With
negotiations for
their first contract
beginning, Rasnick
said she and her
former Roscoe
co-workers
highlighted the
transparency in
past negotiations
and our union’s
solicitation of
member feedback before starting
negotiations.
Feeling like their voices are heard
as they head to the table is a good
feeling as they continue to adjust to
the larger district, Rasnick said.
“When our LRS was here for a
meeting, he stayed one day two to
three hours after the meeting to
make sure everyone’s questions
were answered,” said Rasnick. “We
have never felt like a number. When
you treat people like people, not a
number, it makes a difference.”
— Jessica Ladlee
2 The Work Force November 2025