SOUTHAMPTON — CSEA Village of Southampton members recently held a rally in front of village hall to ask that they be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
CSEA members keep the village in pristine condition.
CSEA Nassau County Local Vice President Joe McGahan, Village of Southampton Unit President Maurizio Espinoza and unit member Brenda Pinckney all attended the rally for fairness.
Members’ hard work is why Southampton has become one of the United States’ premier beach attractions during the summer and a year-round home for many.
Unit members say the village is disguising retaliation against members for challenging the district with instituting cost-saving measures.
Village of Southampton administrators are cutting back on overtime, which has caused village streets to look unkempt. Local business owners have complained that overflowing garbage cans are causing an eyesore that is chasing customers away.
And that is only the beginning.
“The village has been breaking the Taylor Law by hiring nonunion members to do our bargaining unit work,” said CSEA Village of Southampton Unit President Maurizio Espinosa. “Management is also deterring workers from becoming or staying CSEA members.”
To make matters worse, management has been misrepresenting members’ work duties to civil service to deny the salary raises of hardworking CSEA members.
CSEA Village of Southampton Unit Vice President Maryanne Wright stands proudly at the rally.
“They want a laborer with a CDL license,” said CSEA Village of Southampton Unit Vice President Maryanne Wright. “Nothing crafty about that, right?”
However, nonunion members are being rewarded with promotions and financial stipends.
Management continues to stall on signing agreements, like waiting to sign the contract with the village that unit members ratified a year and a half ago.
It appears that fear of exposure is the only thing that motivates the village to do the right thing for workers.
“They came to us 10 minutes before the rally started and told us that they wanted to sign the agreement,” said Wright. “All of a sudden.”
Unit members are understanding of the village’s duty to save money, but they are feeling the workplace is becoming increasingly hostile.
“Even small things, like taking away the coffee machine and cups and plates,” said Wright. “Those are low-cost items that mean a lot to workers who are coming in at 2:00 a.m. to clear snow.”
“We’re out here because we want the village to do the right thing,” said Wright. “I’ve been working for the village for 25 years and I feel like I am just a number to them. It didn’t used to be like that.”
Village of Southampton Unit member Lura Sikarski asks passersby to honk in support of CSEA.
Southhampton workers say that if the village really wants to save money, they would stop greeting workers with hostility. CSEA has had to file improper practice charges against the village. Southhampton village administrators have had to pay a lawyer to help them navigate around legal proceedings, which does not save local residents money.
Despite their anger, CSEA members mean no harm to the village or its residents.
“We want the village to know that we are not their enemies,” said Espinosa. “We are not an expense to villages; we are an investment.”
— Wendi Bowie
Top photo: CSEA Village of Southampton members Jim Nanos, James Farrell, Bob Hand, and Lura Sikarski stand in solidarity on the steps of village hall.
