Rosemarie Kukys stepped up as Southern Region 3 President in 2026 following a long history of leadership within our union. During that time, she’s held a variety of roles in CSEA along with a busy career as a registered nurse at the Orange County-owned Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation.
Since the beginning of her nursing journey, Rosemarie’s focus has been on ensuring our most vulnerable residents have access to the highest quality of care. She’s leaned on those strengths of care and consideration as a union activist, beginning as a shop steward at Valley View and on a national level while representing nurses’ interests on a federal level with AFSCME.
Rosemarie joined CSEA as a licensed practical nurse at Valley View after completing initial nursing training at Orange-Ulster BOCES. Several years later, she became a registered nurse after studying at Orange County Community College. After many years as a staff RN and nursing care manager, Rosemarie stepped into a role at Valley View as clinical instructor, overseeing in-house staff training.
As busy as her career has been at Valley View, Rosemarie has made our union a priority. After bolstering her leadership skills as a shop steward, she became secretary of the Orange County Unit. That was the first of many CSEA officer roles, with her stepping up as vice president and president of the Orange County Unit. Rosemarie has also been an officer in the Orange County Local, most recently serving as local president, and has been a member of the CSEA Board of Directors. Beyond CSEA, she has been active with the Hudson-Catskill Central Labor Council and the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation.
Kukys has deep roots within Orange County, as a lifelong resident and as part of a proud union family.