MINEOLA — Meeting college expenses recently got a little easier for the child of a Nassau County Local member.
Ben Caruso, whose father, Salvatore Caruso, is an engineer at the Nassau County Department of Health, is among the 10 children or other dependents of AFSCME members nationally who were recently awarded with the AFSCME Family Scholarship.
Recipients receive $2,000 toward their college studies, renewable annually for up to four years, provided they remain enrolled in a full-time course of study in any field. Scholarship applicants are required to submit an essay detailing what AFSCME membership has meant to their families.
Ben Caruso detailed how a school assignment to read E.L. Doctorow’s “Ragtime” led him to research his family labor history, including a great-grandfather who found security when he joined a union in the 1930s. Ben Caruso also discussed how our union’s negotiated benefits helped his family remain financially stable, even during a family crisis.
Caruso stresses the importance of our union fighting for strong benefits, particularly when an employer is trying to roll back health care. “My father has taught me that as an employer may try to take away benefits fully or partially, AFSCME will be there to hear our collective voice and try to protect our future … being part of a collective voice is much more powerful than an individual voice in the work force.
My family has and will continue to prosper because AFSCME will continue to negotiate to protect our benefits such as a health insurance plan, retirement pension and paid sick time.”
