Page 19 - Work Force September 2016

TODAY
News briefs from around the state
CSEA members thwart sale of county nursing homes
Thanks to efforts by our members in Cattaraugus County, county officials recently tabled a proposal to sell two county-owned nursing homes, sending the plan back to a legislative committee for further study. The
move is a short-term victory for our Cattaraugus County members, who stood up to county officials to stop any such sale. More than 60 CSEA nursing home employees and supporters attended recent legislature meetings in force
to remind lawmakers of 77 cost-saving suggestions union employees brought forward in 2013 after a similar proposal to look into selling the nursing homes was first introduced. Our members, like all of our public health care employees across the state, provide high quality, vital services. Any sale of these homes would take away a vital safety net.
Town of Union members reach one-year pact
UNION — CSEA members employed by the Town of Union recently made public their fight for a fair contract. Dozens of unit members demonstrated outside town hall before a July town board meeting to protest low wages and a stalemate in negotiations in our blue-collar unit. A few
weeks later, both sides met with a neutral mediator.
Unit leaders brought the mediator’s recommendation back for a vote, resulting in a one-year contract.
Valley View turning a profit
While certain county leaders made several aggressive pushes in recent years to close
or privatize the Orange County-owned Valley View Nursing Home, our CSEA members working there have seen the positive results from several years of new management’s overhaul. The facility, which former county executive Ed Diana said portrayed as draining millions from county coffers, showed a $505,040 profit in 2015, according to a recently- released audit.
Members run and walk for veterans
HERKIMER — For the second consecutive year, our Herkimer County Local received recognition for raising more than $2,000
in last fall’s Stars and Stripes Run/Walk benefitting area veterans. Local Vice President Matthew Crim said the local took fourth place in the “friend and family” fund-raising category.
From left, Nina Petkovsek, Oneida Co. Local President Denise Golden, Lorraine Rumrill, Matthew Crim , a representative from the Stars and Stripes Walk/Run, Diana Toher, Herkimer Co. Local President Beth Hall.
Unit donates school supplies to children in need
KINGS PARK — Kings Park Central School District Unit members are making sure fewer students go without school supplies. For the second consecutive year, the unit
has held a school supply collection drive, during which CSEA members employed by the district donated the supplies to local students in need. For members who have daily contact with students, it’s particularly satisfying to be able to help.
Lights of Hope to fight cancer
ALBANY — CSEA Capital Region members will participate in the American Cancer Society’s Lights of Hope at the Empire State Plaza on Sept. 14. The event, which will
be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., will include
a Lights of Hope celebration around the plaza’s fountains, an optional memory mile, a survivor celebration and a luminaria ceremony at dusk to honor and celebrate friends and family. The event hopes to raise awareness about the groundbreaking advances and new treatments in cancer care stemming from research funded,
in part, by participants at events like this. For more details or to register, visit relayforlife.org/lightsofhopeny.
Additional relay events are planned around the state this fall. To learn more, visit cancer.org. CSEA is a longtime supporter of the American Cancer Society.
Members of the Kings Park School District Unit hand deliver school supplies to Kings Park High School. From left, Julie Pyz, Jenny Jones, Dave Guichard, Brenda Hetterich and George Finnin.
September 2016
The Work Force 19