Page 2 - Work Force October 2016

Photo of the Month
New ‘Slow Down to Get Around’ law protects sanitation workers
Photo by Jessica Ladlee
Stay connected on state contract negotiations
For state contract negotiation updates go to:
cseany.org/state-contract-update
You will need your CSEA ID to access the page.
To look up your ID click the red button at the top of the page.
Once you input your CSEA ID you will have access to the state contract update page.
cseany.org/state-contract-update
Stay connected further by taking the survey and signing up for email updates.
CSEA SUNY Downstate Local President Althea Green marches
in the New York City Labor Parade recently, making clear her and other CSEA-represented state employees’ demand that they receive a fair contract. At present, CSEA is negotiating with the state. The previous contract expired in April.
The next time you encounter a sanitation or recycling truck on the road, Slow Down to Get Around.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed into law legislation (S.426B- Marcellino/A.7763B- DenDekker) to add sanitation and recycling vehicles to the state’s “Move Over” law. Both legislative houses approved the bill in late June.
Under the new law,
motorists must move
over and slow down to an appropriate speed when
passing refuse
trucks, giving the
same treatment
as vehicles with
flashing red/ blue
or amber lights
that were already
covered under the
law. CSEA and our allies, including other waste industry organizations, lobbied strongly in favor of this legislation.
“This legislation is a big step toward minimizing the potential hazards that sanitation workers face on the job,” CSEA President Danny Donohue said. “Sanitation workers provide a crucial public service
for our communities, and this law will finally provide them with the same protections afforded to other important public servants. However,
we have much more work to do to ensure that everyone is safe.
Along with passing legislation such as this law, CSEA had launched our “Slow Down to Get Around” campaign to boost potential hazard awareness for those employed
in sanitation, increase public awareness of the dangers that
face sanitation workers and increase the state
Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau’s enforcement
of sanitation standards.
Sanitation
is among the
most dangerous work that public employees perform. The U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported that
in 2014, the latest year statistics were available, sanitation workers had a fatality rate of 33 per 100,000 workers, the fifth most fatal occupation that year.
Closer to home, three CSEA members have lost their lives since 2013 while performing sanitation work. We will Never Quit this fight until everyone can go to work — and go home — safely.
See Marcellino story on page 15.
ALERT
CSEA President Danny Donohue to meet Southern Region members on Oct. 12
President Danny Donohue will visit the CSEA Southern Region on Wednesday, Oct. 12, to meet with members. The meetings will be held at the CSEA Southern Region Office, 568 State Route 52, Beacon. Donohue will meet with union members from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Please call the region office at: 845-831-1000 for an appointment and directions.
NEW YORK’S LEADING UNION
2 The Work Force
October 2016