LONG BEACH — Long Beach recently made USA Today’s list of top beaches in the country, and much of the credit goes to CSEA City of Long Beach Unit members.
Unit members work hard year round to ensure residents have clean, safe beaches, particularly during the busy summer season.
CSEA City of Long Beach Unit members
say they owe much of the success of
their unit to camaraderie. From left,
CSEA activist Robert McKay,
Maintenance Superintendent Thomas
Canner and CSEA City of Long Beach
Unit Treasurer Sean O’Neill.
“We start summer beach prep by leveling out the sand and ridding it of debris with a barber surf rig,” City of Long Beach Unit member Robert McKay said. “Then, we use a sand sifter, which removes the smaller particles.”
Members describe the preparation work as a “seven-day ordeal,” which keeps six operators constantly running equipment for about 12 hours per day.
When beach season is in full gear, our members arrive on the beach at 5 a.m. to clear debris and empty about 400 garbage cans that line the beach. When windy weather occurs, cans are often strewn all over the beach and our members place them back into position.
Unit members also work to ensure city lifeguards have a safe way to run down the lifeguard mounds for potential rescues.
Our members also maintain an emergency ramp that allows lifeguards to have easy access to emergency responders on the boardwalk.
City of Long Beach Unit members are also key to the success of numerous beach events, including concerts, movie nights and other events that are held on the beach throughout the summer.
“When there are more people, there is more garbage,” said Maintenance Superintendent Thomas Canner.
“We still have to do our same job, but we have to prep the area and help contractors and event managers get equipment on the beach, set up and arrange access to power and water.”
Members also work on projects such as jetties, structures that help contain sand on the beach, and sand dunes, which keep water from rising to street level, with the United States Army Corp. of Engineers. These projects help keep the beach safe for the present and the future.
“This year, we worked in conjunction with the Army Corps. to create the dune, which stretches from the east side to the west side of the beach, by keeping the beach clean and making sure they put all of the walkways in the areas where we needed them,” said Canner. “We know this beach like the back of our hands. We were able to point out things like water mains to prevent potential issues.”
The approval of local residents is something that is never far from unit members’ minds.
“We want everything we do to be to the benefit of the residents,” said McKay. “We want to make sure all of our projects are at the high level that Long Beach residents have grown to expect.”
It’s members’ personal ties to the community that keep them going.
“Our CSEA unit is made up of a lot of locals that grew up in this town and we take care of our own,” said City of Long Beach Unit Treasurer Sean O’Neill. “Long Beach is the gem of the south shore. We work hard here and there’s a reason why Long Beach made USA Today’s list of top 10 beaches in the country.”
“What we do here isn’t just about us,” said McKay. “Our work in this unit will affect our children and our grandchildren. We have to set the bar high. We’re proud of the Long Beach Unit and we’re proud to be union strong.”
— Wendi Bowie
