Page 19 - Work Force October 2016

ore than 60 CSEA Capital Region activists TODAY M
Standing with Honeywell workers
News briefs from around the state
CSEA Wayne Central School District members ratify contract
ONTARIO CENTER — CSEA Wayne Central School District Unit members ratified a new contract that will garner a cost of living adjustment over the life of the collective bargaining agreement. Starting salary and hourly rates will also increase in each year. Employees will also see a slight increase in health insurance costs.
CSEA members join labor brothers and sisters in fight for fairness
NIAGARA FALLS — CSEA Western Region members, union officers and staff recently joined private-sector union brothers and sisters at a rally to fight for a fair contract. Amalgamated Transit Union Local Union
1342 represents workers at the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, who have been working without a contract since 2009. Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley and Western Region President Flo Tripi were among the CSEA leaders who joined in the rally at the Niagara Falls Airport. CSEA joins our ATU 1342 brothers and sisters in their fight for a decent contract and a living wage, and we
are calling on the authority’s management team and the board of directors to finalize a fair deal with ATU 1342.
and officers, including Statewide
Secretary Denise Berkley and Capital Region
President Ron Briggs, recently joined on
the picket line United Auto Workers 1508
members who are employed by the Honeywell
Aerospace Plant in Green Island. Honeywell
officials have locked out since May more
than 40 UAW workers employed at the plant,
who have been fighting for a fair contract.
Capital Region members not only held signs and stood in solidarity with the Honeywell workers, but donated at the recent CSEA Capital Region Conference more than $1,500 to support the Honeywell workers and their families. (Photo provided by Colleen Laven.)
Pawling School District Unit members stuff the bus
Three CSEA members from the
Pawling School District Unit were a key part of a stuff-the-bus event aimed
at collecting food for families in need. District bus drivers Kevin Richard, Tammy Fielding and Colleen Washburn drove the buses to and from the local Hannaford supermarket, and stayed around to assist. The Pawling Rotary Club organized the event to benefit the Pawling Resource Center.
Activists hone labor relations skills
MANHATTAN — Several Metropolitan Region activists were recently awarded certificates upon completing an intensive labor relations course sponsored by the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies. Sheila Conroy, Staten Island DDSO Local president, Theresa Toliver, New York State Psychiatric Institute Local president and Kim Gore, a New York State Psychiatric Institute Local activist, studied the electoral process, redistricting and the role money plays in politics. They also analyzed union contracts
in the public and private sector, the dynamics of right-to-work states and
a host of issues that effect workers including climate change. “It was very enlightening,” said Conroy. “We touched on a lot of important topics that the average worker is not often aware of.”
Montgomery workers organize
Welcome to some of our newest CSEA members in the recently organized Town of Montgomery Clerical Unit in Orange County. These workers, previously not represented, sought out our union after their co-workers in the town highway department organized with CSEA earlier this year. Negotiations for their initial contracts are kicking off.
October 2016
The Work Force 19