Page 8 - Work Force September 2018

Our union ensures safety and consistency
PATTERSON — Like many brothers and sisters in other unions, our Town of Patterson Unit members have weathered good times and bad.
Sticking together — and sticking with our union — is just common sense for our members in this Putnam County town, who maintain 100 percent membership and have for many years. While they’ve worked to build a good relationship with the current town supervisor, they don’t take for granted that one election can swing a worker-friendly town board to an anti-union majority.
That’s one of many reasons why our Town of Patterson Unit members are sticking with our union.
“We weren’t caught off guard when the Janus case came up because
we knew there would be another attempt at using the courts to weaken workers’ rights,” said Unit President Gene Brandon. “Our labor relations specialist, Vinny Castaldo, has made sure everyone knows
these court cases have nothing to
do with helping us as workers, no matter what the plaintiffs say. We had a meeting to talk about Janus and were ready when the decision came down.”
With a group 17 strong between the town’s highway and sanitation departments, workers have had their own one-on-one conversations talking about why it’s better to be union.
“One of the biggest things is that we know non-union workers tend to make less and are more at the whim of the employer from year to year,” said unit activist Phil Capalbo. “When you’re union, management has to be more accountable. We have a contract backing us up and a voice on the job.”
Workers here saw the power of strong unions and solidarity when, several years back, management floated a proposal to privatize sanitation pickup. CSEA members, teaming up with our union staff and community allies, spent nights and
The Town of Patterson Unit is at 100 percent membership. Pictured standing, from left, are members Tim Whalen, Jay Tompkins and Phil Capalbo. Pictured behind them is Unit President Gene Brandon.
‘Members first’ guides local’s union building
PLATTSBURGH — Members first.
This motto guides Clinton County Local President Joe Musso’s activism.
A Long Island
native who
planted roots in
Plattsburgh after
graduating from
college there, Musso’s county career and union involvement run parallel and have spanned decades.
Musso recalls being selected to participate in a CSEA-sponsored LDI (Leadership Development Institute), a precursor to today’s Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Program back in the early 1980s.
The course material included a pyramid detailing CSEA’s union
structure with members on the bottom and AFSCME and the AFL-CIO parent unions on the top.
That didn’t sit right with Musso.
“The pyramid is upside down,” Musso recalled saying to other participants. “Members should be on the top!”
Musso’s “members first” motto also translates to “three Cs” that are essential to a strong union
— contact, communication and connections.
In Clinton County, new county hires are contacted by a local activist for orientation to our union and given the opportunity to learn the benefits of membership and to sign a card to join. The local’s membership committee provides context and continuity by hosting trainings and meetings.
Always dedicated to strengthening
the community, the local has an active Strong Communities Work committee that assists in community projects like Habitat for Humanity and a local backpack program providing nutrition to families
in need. The local also sponsors roadways and Little League teams.
Member communications happen through channels old and new, ranging from bulletin boards to Facebook.
These ongoing efforts to build our union have kept CSEA strong in the North Country.
This past spring, Musso took on a Herculean task: Run a member engagement outreach initiative to connect with every member in their homes over multiple weekends and weeknights.
“I always prided myself on knowing everyone, but with
people retiring and new employees coming in, it’s hard to keep up with everyone,” he said. “There were times where I would feel disconnected, but not anymore.”
The effort is powered by 40 member volunteers and the buzz surrounding the home visits has buoyed all involved.
“People have been saying, ‘we were waiting for you,’ or ‘when are you coming to my house?’” said Musso. Musso is seeing the benefits of multiple outreach efforts.
“You reach people at a personal level and everyone responds to that,” he said.
To date, the local’s effort has reached hundreds of members.
How long will it continue?
“Until we reach everyone,” said Musso, smiling.
— Therese Assalian
weekends knocking on residents’ doors.
When the time came for a public hearing, the room was jammed with about 150 supporters speaking in support of the five sanitation workers and the services they provide. Town leaders shelved the privatization plan.
Other perks of being union include the vast workplace safety resources offered through CSEA. Capalbo said he has brought back new information
from our Occupational Safety and Health Conference, held every other year, which have benefited workers and management alike.
“We weld continuously on the job, and we learned at the OSH conference about hazards from the fumes given off by welding,” he said. “Those resources, which help keep us safe at work, show us the value in sticking with our union.”
— Jessica Ladlee
8 The Work Force
September 2018
Musso