Page 12 - Work Force October 2024

2024 Annual Delegates Meeting Officer Reports
Jarvis Brown
Long Island Region President
Communicate to educate
Lester Crockett
Metropolitan Region President
Our CSEA Family gives to others
CISEA union family,
feel incredibly blessed to be attending my first Annual Delegates Meeting as CSEA Long Island Region One President.
When the CSEA Long Island Region One Board and I took office on March 1, we immediately began strategizing ways to bridge the gap between the Long Island Region office, local and unit officers and the general membership.
After several conversations, we decided that education is where we should start. My union motto has always been “communicate to educate.” If we are not talking with members and educating members on what they should and should not be doing, then shame on us as leaders for not respecting the policies and procedures that CSEA has set forth.
training, they represent a member at a discipline and interrogation hearing and the member does not receive a positive outcome, CSEA is liable. That is too high of a risk to take.
Those of us in leadership roles have to ask ourselves if we are doing everything we can to properly educate ourselves so that our knowledge can be passed on to the larger membership.
I believe it is the responsibility of a region leader to hold local and unit officers accountable for their actions, just as I, as Long Island Region One President, am held accountable for mine.
If a local or unit officer or a member wants to challenge me on my methods, that is fine; I welcome it. It shows me that they are informed about the happenings in our
GIreetings, Family,
t is always a pleasure to welcome you all
to our home, New York City. We hope you enjoy your time in the Big Apple.
Please reach out to the members of our host committee if there is anything that we can do to make your stay here safe and memorable.
Since we last met, our region has been busy supporting many union and community efforts and initiatives. Our region is always proud to support the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Central Park. Special thanks to the Women’s and Education Committees for coordinating.
We also sponsored a retirement seminar organized by Metropolitan New York Retirees Local 910 with assistance from staff from the office of New York State Comptroller Thomas P.
they also collected Thanksgiving Day baskets for families in the community. They were able to provide 40 people with a hearty Thanksgiving meal with the donated baskets.
Among the many Information Days held throughout the year, the event at the New York State Division of Human Rights in the Bronx was particularly exciting due to the participation of their Commissioner, Maria Imperial. A product of a union household herself, Commissioner Imperial was overjoyed to meet union officers, members and vendors and praised the benefits of union membership.
It is always a joy to visit South Beach Psychiatric Center during their holiday event and even better still spending some time with former Local President John O’Shea and the legendary CSEA OGs (retirees) Joel Schwartz
My focus is to make sure every member understands the inner workings of this organization and every officer is trained to do their job.
“If we are not talking with members and educating members on what they should and should not be doing, then shame on us as leaders for not respecting the policies and procedures that CSEA has set forth.”
region.
For me, how an
organization begins is less important than how a person or group currently moves within its structure. Without working knowledge of our union and our roles in it, we will lose the spark that gave working people the drive to form our union.
As you can see, education is very important to me, and I plan for it to be a main
DiNapoli.
Last November
marked 10 years since Lizette Serrano and Marion Anderson-Ryan went out of their way to make sure individuals
at Staten Island DDSO enjoyed a lovingly prepared Thanksgiving meal. The food service workers, members
“Since we last met, our region has been busy supporting many union and community efforts and initiatives. Our region is always proud to support the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Central Park.”
and Louis DelPozzo. The CSEA
Metropolitan Region 2 Executive Board ended the year on a festive note with region activists, officers, staff, vendors and statewide family. We were joined by the former Executive Vice President Denise Berkley, Secretary Richard Bebo, Treasurer Nicole Meeks and former Region 4 President and
With that in mind, I
decided to look into the
number of officers in our
region who have received
their required Discipline and Interrogation training. I was
surprised to find that many
officers had not attended the
class within the current election cycle.
point of my presidency.
The Region One Board and I are also
working on helping region officers and the membership develop a greater understanding of effective communication. I have noticed that some people expect to tell you their wants and needs without hearing feedback. That is not effective communication. I want to be able to talk with officers and the larger membership, hear their opinions and apply that to union building in our region. Putting that method into practice has allowed the Region One Board and me to soar since we took office.
I have also personally called every officer in Region One, from local leaders to unit
Long Island Region President, continued on page 15
of CSEA Local 429,
accomplished their mission but tragically never made it home. The two were struck and killed by a minivan on a dark, rain- slicked road as they tried to get to a bus stop and to their families for the holiday.
I joined CSEA Local 429 President Jeanette Mitchell, friends, family and co-workers on a brisk and sunny afternoon last November to honor them and to thank them for their many contributions, which included posthumous safety improvements to the dangerous road where they met their fate.
The CSEA Region 2 Education & Women’s Committees joined forces during the last holiday season and created special Thanksgiving Day baskets for some deserving families. The charity they chose was People United As One. In addition to a coat drive,
now Executive Vice President Ron Briggs. Attendees were also greeted by Vinnie Rossillo of Fine, Olin and Anderman and Eric Weiss of Pearl Insurance. It was a fine time to celebrate all that was accomplished in 2023.
CSEA Metropolitan Region 2 members who work for Tax & Finance and Kingsboro Psychiatric Center also celebrated the holidays with a feast! Special thanks to Local Presidents Felicia McCollough and Conrad Forsythe.
The CSEA Metropolitan Region
2 Education & Women’s Committees coordinated an extraordinary virtual celebration for Black History Month in
Metropolitan Region President, continued on page 16
After that discovery, the Long Island Region Board and I worked with CSEA’s Education and Training Department to arrange for Discipline and Interrogation Workshops to be held at the region office.
To date, more than 200 officers have updated their training.
There is a misnomer that CSEA members know exactly what CSEA and union membership is all about. That could not be further from the truth. Members often learn about CSEA when they are going through professional difficulties or based on their interactions with an officer or shop steward at their worksite, which is why being educated about CSEA is important.
If an officer does not have the proper
12 The Work Force
October 2024