Page 13 - Work Force October 2019

‘I am proud to grow up in a union household’
Son of CSEA member among Union Plus Scholarship recipients
OGDENSBURG — Connor Sibley’s mother, Stacy Sibley, a teacher aide at the Ogdensburg City School District, was laid off not once, but twice, in the early 2000s.
Connor Sibley is among the 12 AFSCME recipients of the 2019 Union Plus Scholarship, which awards college scholarships annually to eligible union members and their dependents. He discussed his mother’s fight for justice in his application essay.
In 2003, the Ogdensburg City School District made budget cuts and Stacy Sibley’s position was on the chopping block.
While her position was reinstated and Stacy Sibley
returned to her job,
she found herself in
the same situation a few years later.
Stacy Sibley and
her co-workers were
laid off again in
2006 and were hired
back as per diems
for substitute work
throughout the year.
Those substitute and
part-time positions
became full-time
positions, but Stacy Sibley and
her co-workers weren’t getting the contractual benefits they once had.
They turned to our union to fight for fairness.
“Thanks to representation
from our union and our fellow
union employees, [our union representatives] got together with the district for a meeting, and we had all our benefits and pay reinstated,” Stacy Sibley said. “Especially being
a parent, you need those benefits to raise your children. I was so thankful for the union representation that I had received.”
Connor Sibley, who is attending SUNY Oswego and studying business administration, learned a lot about the benefits of unions throughout the
union scholarship process. “When I learned of [my mom’s]
experiences in a union, I couldn’t help but feel thankful,” Connor Sibley wrote in his scholarship essay. “I realize how much I benefited from the fact that my mother makes a
fair wage, receives medical benefits, has job security, and is allowed sick leave to manage her work and family life. Unions are essential, as they are the voice for all working people.
“Thanks to these organizations, my mother was given the opportunity to stand up, speak
out, and have her voice be heard,” Connor Sibley wrote. “For that reason, among others, I am proud to
grow up in a union household.”
By telling his mother’s union victory story, as well as having a strong high school resume, Connor Sibley was selected as a Union Plus Scholarship recipient, the only one from CSEA this year.
“I remember getting the letter and
I was jumping up and down because there were so many students who applied for it that I was shocked he was selected,” Stacy Sibley said. “I was so grateful to our union for this opportunity.”
Connor Sibley, who received a $1,000 scholarship, used the award for a laptop computer that will greatly help him with his studies.
Our union has affected Connor Sibley’s perspective on what he’s going to be looking for when he joins the workforce after college.
“For the union, it definitely kind of makes me pinpoint what I want when I’m looking into a job,” he said. “I like [the benefits a union provides]. I’d like to have a union behind my back for support, and make sure I get the
Ogdensburg City School District teacher aide Stacy Sibley and her son Connor Sibley.
pay, the work environment, and just everything a worker needs. I think the union is definitely helping me set a path for where I want to go job-wise.”
And Stacy Sibley likes to remind everyone of the importance of labor unions like CSEA.
“I believe unions are important even to nonunion workers,” she said. “I like to remind people that unions benefit everybody, not just the people in the union.”
— Nicholas Newcomb
“I believe unions are important even to nonunion workers. I like to remind people that unions benefit everybody, not just the people in the union.”
Weaver is PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month for July
BUFFALO — Michele Weaver, recording secretary of
our Erie County Local in the Western Region, is our PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month for July. She recruited 17 new PEOPLE members.
Weaver
This fund is supported by many small contributions from our members, but collectively it creates a lot of leverage for CSEA at the state and national level.
“I became a PEOPLE recruiter because I understand the importance of political action
and protecting our hard-earned benefits,” Weaver said. “Being
able to connect with members to explain the advantages of belonging to the program is very rewarding.
I also know it goes a long way to securing a brighter future for all our families.”
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.
“It is extremely important that our union has a voice in Albany and Washington,” said Weaver, who Erie County Department of Social Services for more than 17 years and also serves in Erie County Unit and section leadership positions. “A vibrant PEOPLE program
is essential to CSEA’s overall health, especially when it comes
to creating policy that affects
how we deliver services to our communities.”
— Ove Overmyer
13
October 2019
The Work Force