As our new statewide officers begin their elected terms, we would like to extend our appreciation and sincere thank you to three of our officers who recently left their CSEA leadership posts:
Bill Walsh, who served as our Statewide Treasurer. Walsh started his CSEA activism career in the Town of Brookhaven Blue-Collar Unit in 1982 and was elected unit president and Suffolk County Local President in 1989, serving in both posts for 26 years until his election as Statewide Treasurer in 2016.
Throughout his CSEA service, he also served in numerous region and statewide leadership posts, including as Chair of our Statewide Political Action Committee.
During his tenure as Statewide Treasurer, Walsh worked to modernize CSEA’s technology to improve our member services and make our union more accessible to younger members while spending member dues in an efficient manner. He also played a leading role in revising our union’s Treasurer Training class, overseeing training for more than 1,500 treasurers.
Nick LaMorte, who served as our Long Island Region President. LaMorte began his union career while employed at the Farmingdale School District as a custodian. He rose through the ranks before becoming president of the Nassau Educational Local. In 1993, he was elected Long Island Region President and served in that post until 2020.
As our union’s longest-serving Long Island Region President, LaMorte fought nonstop for working people in Nassau and Suffolk counties. He also fought for working people across our country through serving as an AFSCME International Vice President from 2016 to the present.
He also led efforts to help community members in need, most notably by serving the State Employees Federated Appeal, an annual fundraiser to benefit those in need, including as State SEFA Council Chair.
Bob Pyjas, who served as our Western Region President. Pyjas had served as an Erie County Local activist for more than 32 years, including as Local Treasurer, and held numerous region and statewide leadership posts. He became Western Region President in October 2019, serving until 2020.
