ALBANY — CSEA members who are U.S. military veterans have not only served their country with honor, but have served their communities with essential services.
That is one of many reasons why CSEA worked so hard for years to get the state to enact the Veterans Equality Law.
The new law gives veterans who were honorably discharged the option to buy back up to three years of military service for pension credit. The law only covers veterans who are still actively employed.
Playing a key role in getting the legislation passed were CSEA Statewide Veterans Committee members, who along with region Veterans Committees advocated for the law.
For their important work, CSEA President Danny Donohue, on behalf of our union, recognized the Veterans Committee at the recent 106th Annual Delegates Meeting.
Accepting the citation on behalf of the committee was Statewide Veterans Committee Chair Maryann Phelps, who also chairs the Long Island Region Veterans Committee.
“Every time the Veterans Committee had an information table, the No. 1 question was ‘Why can’t I buy back my time?’” Phelps said. “We knew we had to continue to fight for this bill because it was so important to so many people.”
Before the new law was passed, only public employees who served during conflict could buy back their time for pension credit. Now, all honorably discharged veterans, including those who served during peacetime, have the same option.
“Before the law was passed, veterans who didn’t have their boots on the ground were not able to get the benefit that the new law allows,” said Phelps. “Just because you served on a boat, you were a cook or a woman (women were banned from serving in combat positions until 2013) doesn’t mean you didn’t serve.”
CSEA members enlisted the help of veterans throughout the state, including CSEA Retiree members, to help with the campaign to get the bill passed.
“We had people sending postcards, emailing, making phone calls and even faxing the governor’s office to urge him to pass the bill,” said Phelps.
For Phelps, the successful campaign is evidence of what can happen when CSEA members work together.
“I didn’t do this by myself; a lot of people came together to make this happen,” she said. “Working together makes us strong and we can make great things happen.”
— Wendi Bowie
