Private Sector & Child Care Division
CSEA Private Sector members work in a wide range of industries, including food service, nursing homes and health care facilities, transportation, security services, human service agencies, child care, libraries and emergency medical services. Explore the resources available for private sector members below.
We Keep Our Communities Running
We don’t just work in our communities; we are our communities. We are parents, neighbors, volunteers and taxpayers. And when we come together through CSEA, we build power to protect what we’ve earned, improve our jobs and make sure our voices are heard at every level of government.
As union members, we organize to win strong contracts, safe working conditions and respect on the job. We know that when we stand together, we don’t have to accept less than we deserve. We have each other’s backs because no one understands the challenges we face better than we do.
Our work matters. Our voices matter. And through CSEA,
we make sure that everyone knows it.
Rapid Growth in Private Sector Membership
Thanks to successful organizing efforts, we now represent tens of thousands of private sector workers across New York State. CSEA’s Private Sector Division is committed to the dynamic growth of our union, and its active membership harnesses CSEA’s stellar negotiating power as well as advocates for progress at the state and national levels of government. Join CSEA to access these benefits.
Are you a Family or Group Family Child Care Provider outside New York City?
We are your health benefits resource
When it comes time to negotiate your next contract, health insurance will most likely be a primary issue at the bargaining table. Given the complexity, cost and rapidly evolving landscape of health insurance, employers often rely on benefit professionals to assist them in negotiations.
The CSEA Health Benefits Department’s Local Government & Private Sector Division is the advocate on behalf of CSEA members and serves as a vital resource to support our union members, leaders and negotiators across New York state.
Whether it’s contract negotiations, labor management meetings or concerns about the costs of your employer sponsored health benefits, a CSEA Health Benefits Specialist is YOUR resource, directly impacting and improving your negotiated benefits.
Benefit analysis and comparisons
When an employer proposes changes to the existing health plan, or suggests an entirely new plan, a Health Benefits Specialist will prepare a detailed side‐by‐side comparison to highlight any differences to health plans that will affect CSEA members. The goal is to ensure that CSEA member interests are represented at the bargaining table and to educate members on the impact of potential plan changes. Here is a sample Side by Side Benefits Comparison.
Premium and cost analysis
When comparing a current plan to a new plan proposed by an employer, a Health Benefits Specialist will analyze several cost components such as premiums, premium contributions, copayments, coinsurance, deductibles and the potential impact of health savings and/or health reimbursement accounts. This assists the Labor Relations Specialist (LRS) and negotiating team when developing an overall strategy for contract negotiations.
Participation in Contract Negotiations
Employers propose changes to your health insurance usually in consultation with an insurance broker or consultant. It is important that CSEA members have that same sort of representation. A Health Benefits Specialist provides the same level of consultation and works very closely with the LRS and negotiating team until management and CSEA come to a resolution on health insurance-related issues.
Presentations & Educational Seminars
The Health Benefits Department understands the complexities and confusion of health insurance. That’s why it’s imperative to educate our union membership on health care definitions, industry trends, product information and funding arrangements along with current legislative actions that impact the benefits that are provided to union members. We educate CSEA members, whether in a workshop/classroom setting, or membership meetings so they know the difference between myth and fact when it comes to their health insurance.
Labor/management health insurance committees
One of the most impactful strategies that every CSEA unit can employ is the creation of a Joint Labor-Management Health Insurance Committee. With a collaborative approach, both labor and management can review health plan performance and identify strategies to manage the overall risk of the health plan and improve the health and well-being of plan participants. Instead of typical employee cost shifting, a committee can explore different cost containment strategies as a more progressive approach to employee health care, creating a WIN‐WIN opportunity.
Informational Flyers on Health Benefits
Contact your health benefits department
Benefits and services for families of CSEA private sector employees who have passed
The death of a loved one brings sorrow to those they leave behind. It can also bring responsibilities you’ve never had before. It can get overwhelming at times.
Below are resources designed to help families of CSEA members who have died by making it easier to get the information you need about services and benefits that may be available to you through the union and other sources.
CSEA benefits may include life insurance, tuition assistance, legal services, continued health, dental and vision coverage, as well as an accidental death benefit.
Family members may also be entitled to additional benefits and services from the state and federal government, including pension and Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits, and Workers’ Compensation benefits.
Below are many of the benefits you may be entitled to and who to contact to help you get them. We hope it gives you the help you need in your time of need.
Insurance Department
1-800-342-4146, Ext. 5927
Call us to find out if you are the beneficiary of a life insurance policy your loved one may have had through CSEA, or the $10,000 Accidental Death Benefit that CSEA offers to all active members.
1-800-342-4146, Ext. 1292
When there is a workplace fatality, CSEA’s Occupational Safety and Health Department promptly investigates and communicates with New York State Department of Labor’s Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau, which regulates OSHA standards for NYS public employees. Please contact us if you have questions about the investigation.
We can help you file a Workers’ Compensation claim and can offer quality legal representation at little or no out-of-pocket cost for Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability or other personal injury or accident matters.
Call us toll-free at 1-800-342-4146 to speak to a representative from the CSEA-endorsed law firm of Fine, Olin & Anderman, LLP, who can answer your questions and assist you in filing a claim.
Visit CSEA Employee Benefit Fund’s website
Provides information and assistance on continuing coverage under COBRA for the surviving spouse and eligible dependents of those local government and school district employees who have negotiated dental, vision and/or other miscellaneous benefits through the EBF. For dental and vision benefits not administered through the EBF, please contact the employer.
1-800-286-5242 or 518-785-4774
Dependent survivors may be entitled to continued employer-provided health benefit coverage. If available, each employer has its own set of dependent survivor eligibility requirements. The specific criteria and coverage guidelines should be spelled out in either the CSEA Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Summary Plan Description or the Employee Handbook provided by the employer.
Please contact the employer’s personnel department or payroll/benefit office to see if you are eligible for extended coverage.
If you experience any difficulty in obtaining assistance from the employer, please contact the CSEA Health Benefits Department for help.
Website: https://www.osc.ny.gov/retirement/members/death-benefits
Toll Free Number: 1-866-805-0990
Albany Area: 518-474-7736
Call for information pertaining to New York State Pension and/or Survivor Benefits.
You may be eligible for an accidental death benefit from the New York State and Local Retirement System if your loved one passed away as a result of an on-the-job incident. You or the employer should submit an Accidental Death Application (RS 6046) within two years following the date of death.
Website: ssa.gov
Toll Free Number: 1-800-772-1213
Provides assistance and important information about Social Security benefits for which the surviving spouse and/or dependent children may be eligible. It is important to contact the Social Security Administration as soon as possible.
Website: irs.gov
Toll Free Number: 1-877-613-7846
Provides tax information on Social Security benefits.
Website: tax.ny.gov
Telephone Number: 518-457-5431
Provides assistance and important information pertaining to filing an income tax return for a deceased taxpayer.
Website: veterans.ny.gov
Toll Free Number: 1-888-838-7697
Provides state and federal benefits for veterans and their dependents. Financial assistance for burial and plot expenses are available for certain eligible veterans. Certain surviving spouses and children of a deceased veteran who served during a period of hostility may be eligible for a death pension.
Website: wcb.ny.gov
Toll Free Number: 1-877-632-4996
Albany Area: 518-462-8880
When a worker dies from a compensable injury, the surviving spouse and/or certain dependents are entitled to weekly cash benefits.
If there are no surviving children, spouse, grandchildren, grandparents or siblings entitled to compensation, the surviving parents or the estate of the deceased worker may be entitled to payment of a sum of $50,000. Funeral expenses may also be paid up to $6,000 in Metropolitan New York counties and up to $5,000 in all other counties.
Call us toll-free at 1-800-342-4146 to speak to a representative from the CSEA-endorsed law firm of Fine, Olin & Anderman, LLP, who can answer your questions and assist you in filing a claim.
Website: usmwf.org
USMWF is a support group made up of empathetic families who have been there and understand the emotions and questions you may have regarding the loss of your family member. We know and understand the devastation which takes place in the mind, body and soul and we strive to help you and others from having to go through the grieving process alone.
Please visit www.metlife.com/benassist for information about additional considerations during this difficult time.
CSEA offers a special scholarship program, the J.J. Kelly Memorial Scholarship Fund, for children of members killed or totally disabled in the course of performing their public service duties, who died while an active CSEA member. For more information on applying for this scholarship, contact CSEA at 1-800-342-4146. The application deadline is October 1 of the calendar year in which it will be rewarded.
Private Sector Workers Layoff Services & Resources
CSEA fights hard to prevent cuts to members’ jobs and public services. Despite our best efforts, and because the law gives employers the right to manage their workforce as they see fit, this sometimes means layoffs or furloughs are unavoidable.
When we can’t avoid layoffs, our Labor Relations Specialists work with your elected union officers to make sure that your employer follows both the law and our union contract to make sure they are properly administered. That means following seniority lists and Civil Service Law. We regularly work with the employer to try and find alternatives that will not put workers out of work and public services at risk.
We know that layoffs cause stress and confusion for union members looking at losing their jobs. To assist those who may be impacted by a layoff (also known as a Reduction In Force), CSEA has brought together a series of resources here to help guide you through the process.
Not sure which resources apply to you? Our union’s Research Department and Work Institute have developed this valuable learning tool that can assist in clarifying the process: