Message from Long Island Region President Jarvis Brown
Bridging the communication gap
May was CSEA Member Appreciation Month. Allow me to thank Long Island Region members for their hard work, consistency and dedication to their positions. This year’s Member Appreciation Month theme was ‘You Get The Job Done’ and it’s for a reason – you always do. New York state, local government and the private sector are lucky to have you in the workforce.
In our first few months of being in office, the CSEA Long Island Region Board and I have already accomplished several of our goals, including bridging the gap between the Long Island Region office, local and unit officers and the general membership.
A testament to that would be the success of the region’s first bowling nights, which were held in honor of CSEA Member Appreciation Month. Hundreds of members responded to the raffle for a free night of bowling, food and socializing with their fellow members. Attendees commented on how much fun they were having and their hopes that CSEA holds similar functions in the future.
I would also like to thank everyone who made this year’s Region One Golf Classic a sold-out event. All proceeds from the day go to the Long Island Region’s first College Scholarship Fund.
On a more somber note, the CSEA Long Island Region participated in Workers’ Memorial Day observances at the New York State Offices in Hauppauge. The annual recognition day is when we honor workers that died, were disable or were injured on the job, and renew our dedication to fighting for a safe working environment for all.
The Region One Veterans Committee held their annual Memorial Day ceremony at Calverton National Cemetery. Committee members and guests met to honor members of the U.S. Armed Forces who died while serving.
After the ceremony, attendees posted flags at the gravesites of other CSEA-affiliated individuals.
Our region’s next big event is International Day on June 8. International Day is our region’s annual celebration of the various cultural backgrounds of Region One members. We are seeing a record number of RSVPs for the affair. The region board and I are pleased to see that so many members are eager to attend.
Your Long Island Region Board and I are continuing our efforts to expand the lines of communication between unit and local offices through our encouragement to share resources. That could mean anything from working in tandem to secure members to attend rallies to asking your unit and local presidents to sit alongside the membership when speaking with administration. There is always someone available to you that can provide assistance. Remember, our region is filled with tens of thousands of CSEA activists; you are never alone.
Understanding the responsibility that each local and unit officer has in the union movement, I, as the region president, will be responsible for ensuring officers have completed CSEA’s mandated training. Emails and phone calls to Long Island Region officers have begun and will continue as we work toward ensuring region officers are in full compliance with CSEA’s written standards.
CSEA’s constitution requires all officers to be trained in Discipline and Interrogation, every election cycle. One training has already been held. You will see more from that workshop in this newsletter.
I want to thank the officers that have responded to the training request and have either completed their training or will be attending the next region training on June 15. I commend them for being part of the new movement to develop our sense of community in Long Island Region One. It is our responsibility as officers to seek out the training that CSEA’s constitution obliges us to receive. Let’s keep moving forward in that strength.
We will be focusing more on our members out east. The region board is making good on its promise to be more present in that area by planning a meet and greet in Riverhead. The event is an opportunity for members to meet their region board and speak to us about issues they are facing at their worksite. We will also be reaching out to North Fork and South Fork unit officers to discuss the best ways to initiate contact with members in that area, meet and greet or otherwise. Please keep a look out for an email blast from CSEA that alerts members in the area of upcoming events.
The first Long Island Region One workshop to take place on Long Island will be held at the Huntington Hilton on November 2, 2024. The theme for the workshop is ‘Communicate to Educate.’ Save the date for the event. Your region board and I are working with CSEA Education and Training Department to create an informative curriculum.
As you can see, there are a lot of positive things happening in our region. The CSEA Long Island Region Board and I are looking forward to what is to come and all of you being a part of it.
