MOBILIZATION!!!!

                                                            

Michael Ottaviano, CSEA Mobilization
Specialist explains how a
mobilization campaign can be effective.

September 17, 2010 – CSEA Monroe County Unit 7400 Stewards, Executive Board and Negotiation Team members attended a vibrant Negotiation Update/Mobilization meeting last evening. Michael Ottaviano, CSEA Mobilization Specialist led the meeting and described in detail how Unit Member involvement can improve the chances for a positive outcome in negotiations. Region President Flo Tripi, Region Director Roger Sherrie, Labor Relations Specialist Robert Leonard along with the Unit 7400 Officers participated in the program. The discussion was lively and all in attendance agreed it was time to get more member involvement in the collective bargaining process. The Negotiation Team has been working tirelessly for two years in an attempt to get a fair agreement. However, the Negotiation Team is only effective when the entire Union Membership get involved.

FOR MORE PHOTOS: CLICK HERE


Stewards listen attentively .

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE: Your CSEA Negotiation Team will be meeting with the County and a PERB appointed Mediator on September 29th in yet another good faith effort to get a fair agreement. To get the most up-to-date information on what is happening with negotiations; please make every effort to attend the Negotiation Update/Mobilization meeting on Thursday, September 30th from 7pm-9pm at the Diplomat Banquet Center, Lyell Ave Rochester, NY 14606. At this meeting you will also learn how the rank and file union member (YOU) can become part of an effective support system for the Negotiation Process presented by CSEA Mobilization Specialist Michael Ottaviano.

Negotiation Team Member Angela Muscianese urges the union

stewards to always keep the mobilization efforts positive.

CSEA UNIT 7400 - WE WORK FOR YOU!!

This is the Monroe County 7400 Unit Blog. We have a story to tell and here is where you can read it. Our LRS often tells me the one thing we need to improve on is letting people know what we do. Your Union Officers, your Union Negotiation Team, CSEA Attorneys, our Labor Relations Specialist and Stewards are engaged every day in an effort to improve your terms and conditions of employment and to guarantee union representation when YOU need it. First off: We have two to four arbitrations a month. These arbitrations involve contract violations that range from denial of time off to work load issues in the Probation Department and everything in between (for more info on the arbitration process read Article 47 of you Collective Bargaining Agreement*). Many arbitrations also involve disciplinary actions (Article 48 & 48A*) taken against CSEA members that we feel are unfair or have a penalty that is too severe. In addition we are involved in a lawsuit that has been filed to protect your benefits when you retire. The list above is far from complete but it gives you an overview of what CSEA is doing on your behalf.


As I am sure you know, negotiations have been long and tenacious. Despite our setbacks, your negotiation team remains committed to getting a fair and equitable agreement. We know in tough economic times that it will be hard to get everything our members deserve, but your negotiation team is committed to making progress. We meet with the County again on September 29th along with the PERB Mediator. To find out the specifics on how the Negotiations are proceeding, come to the Negotiation Update Meeting scheduled on September 30th (click here for more details). Our resolve is firm in that we need to get a fair contract and we are ready to move these negotiations along. We will enter the next negotiation/mediation session willing to compromise as long as our members are not adversely affected. We call on the County to have an open mind and hope they will consider our many ideas and reasonable proposals. It is not in anyone’s interest to have a “my way or the highway” attitude at this point in the negotiations.


On behalf of the Union Leadership, I would like to thank each and every one of you for the great job you do for the taxpayers of Monroe County. As a workforce, you are second to none. We know that you deserve a fair contract for the hard work you do every single day, and we are committed to getting an agreement we all can be proud of.


                                                                                                                                          - Cris




PS: If you are on facebook - CLICK HERE and join the cause for a fair contract now!!!!




• To get your copy of your Collective Bargaining Agreement – See your Steward or contact the Union Office.

Labor Day 2010 has special meaning as CSEA marks its centennial year

ALBANY - CSEA - New York's leading union - is marking Labor Day 2010 with an important recognition of its centennial anniversary. CSEA was the first known organization of state employees when it was founded at the state Capitol in 1910. Since then, it has grown to represent every kind of worker in every part of New York, including a growing private sector division.

"A benchmark event like a centennial anniversary provides an opportunity to look back at where we've come from and how we got to where we are today," said CSEA president Danny Donohue. "More importantly, it provides a chance to look forward and try to become better."

"CSEA has never been bigger, better, stronger at any point in our history, but the challenges we face today have never been greater," Donohue said. "We wouldn't be here for 100 years if not for the ability to grow, change and adapt to new circumstances and that must shape our future moving forward."

"People who bash CSEA don't know CSEA," Donohue said. "The vast majority of our members are dedicated to doing the best work possible and adding value to their communities on and off the job. The strength of CSEA is in our members and they are some of the greatest resources in all New York. No one should take that for granted."

Donohue has issued an op-ed article about CSEA's history for Labor Day 2010 use. It complements a CSEA book released earlier this year. A Century of Service: The Story of CSEA's First 100 years chronicles the history of CSEA and growth of New York decade by decade through the 20th century and into the present day. The limited-edition book can be ordered online through the CSEA e-store. There is a link from the home page of the CSEA website at www.csealocal1000.org. Soft cover editions are $20.99, while hardcover editions are $34.99 plus tax. The prices include shipping and handling. Order yours today while they last!

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WALK WITH CSEA WORKERS ON LABOR DAY

For additional information CLICK HERE!

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Check Out CSEA's Work Zone Safety and Distracted Driving Page -- CLICK HERE

Target Wall Street Greed, Not Public Employees

by Tula Connell, Aug 30, 2010 (from the AFL-CIO Blog)

Too often when economic times get tough, scapegoats are found in the wrong places.Wall Street greed and double-dealing sparked much of the nation’s recent near-financial collapse, yet many in the chattering classes instead are attacking public employees for this rolling recession.

Economist Dean Baker puts the situation in perspective:

Fifteen million people are not out of work because of generous public employee pensions. Nor is this the reason that millions of homeowners are underwater in their mortgages and facing the loss of their home. In fact, if we cut all public employee pensions in half tomorrow, it would not create a single job or save anyone’s house. The reason that millions of people are suffering is a combination of Wall Street greed and incredible economic mismanagement.

Even as a consensus is emerging among economists that the United States should put job growth ahead of deficit cuts, a new study focused on New England finds that the region no longer can afford to spend scarce resources on tax credits and other business giveaways. Instead, it needs to channel economic development efforts to rebuilding neglected infrastructure and improving education for people at all levels. “Prioritizing Approaches to Economic Development in New England” provides

ample evidence that infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, energy transmission systems, drinking water, and the like) and education are effective approaches for creating jobs and generating economic growth.

The study, by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, finds the New England states have too long viewed funding for public services and economic development as competing interests—and that’s a false dichotomy. Sounds like the study can apply to the rest of the country as well.

Demonizing the public sector harms the U.S. middle class, writes Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI) Research Director Amy Traub, who reminds us how fundamental the jobs they do are to our everyday lives:

It’s easy to lose sight of the other ways that a strong public sector supports our economy. Middle-class Americans and the businesses they work for rely on good schools, clean and safe streets, and high quality public services and infrastructure. In so doing, they depend on the dedicated teachers, police, firefighters, librarians, sanitation workers, parks employees, and support staff that keep states and cities running.

States and cities face very real fiscal challenges, but the cause is falling tax revenue due to the deepest recession in decades—not excessive spending or lavish compensation for public workers.

Further, Traub has a recommendation for Congress, some Democrats included:

Trashing our middle class in an effort to cut costs is short sighted. Downgrading the middle-class pay and benefits of public workers only speeds their erosion in the private sector, undermining everyone who works for a living….Rather than attacking public pensions that afford retirees a middle-class standard of living, [lawmakers] should be thinking about how to increase retirement security for millions of private-sector employees with meager savings.

As Progressive States Network points out, extremist anti-worker organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council have been trying to gut public employee pensions for years—and they are using the recession as a public relations platform.

There is no crisis in most state retirement systems, even according to the numbers of the researchers demanding state leaders take unneeded action to cut the incomes of retirees.  And despite the hype from a few carefully selected anecdotes of retirees gaming pension systems, the reality is that the overwhelming number of public employees receive pretty bare-bones benefits, in some cases not enough even to keep them out of poverty.

Corporate backed anti-worker groups are the winners when the public taps into public-employee blame game. Wall Street is another big winner. The CEOs of Big Banks and the financial industry are happy to see the finger pointed at public employees. It means America’s workers are fighting each other and not united in targeting the real culprit of our economic misfortunes.

Tula Connell - I got my first union card while I worked my way through college as a banquet bartender for the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee (we were represented by a hotel and restaurant local union—the names of the national unions were different then than they are now). With a background in journalism—covering bull roping in Texas and school boards in Virginia—I started working in the labor movement in 1991. Beginning as a writer for SEIU (and OPEIU member), I now blog under the title of AFL-CIO managing editor.

View all posts by Tula Connell.Contact Tula Connell at: blognews@aflcio.org

A Negotiations Update/Mobilization Meeting

(photos by Bess Watts and Ove Overmyer)

 Find out the latest on the current negotiations Between 
CSEA Unit 7400 and Monroe County.

Also learn how the rank and file union member  (YOU) can become part of  an effective support system for the Negotiation Process!

The Meeting will be 7pm - 9pm -- September 30, 2010,  at the Diplomat Banquet Center, Lyell Avenue, Rochester, NY 14606 (Unit 7400 Members Only) Refreshments will be provided.

CSEA and FSW members walk the walk in front of the Monroe County Office Building on August 10 to show support for their negotiation teams.

County CSEA Members and members of FSW let the county know “WE NEED A CONTRACT” and we “NEED IT NOW”.


NEGOTIATION UPDATE: While negotiations are ongoing, Your CSEA Negotiation Team needs the support of the members if we are going to get a new contract. The County has moved away from the previous Tentative Agreements and now is looking for bigger concessions than ever from the union. CSEA understands and is willing to work with the County to cut costs however, the sacrifices the County is now demanding is unacceptable to the CSEA Represented County Employees.

Despite the current economic climate, CSEA remains eager to work with the County to cut cost and get a fair agreement. It is now incumbent on the County to enter into realistic discussions with the Union Negotiation Team.

The parties have agreed to meet in September, please check this site for further negotiation updates. Remember, together we can get a good agreement!

ATTENTION MONROE COUNTY CSEA MEMBERS

(photos by Bess Watts and Ove Overmyer)

Join your union brothers and sisters from the Federation of Social Workers for a rally in front of

the County Office Building. Together we will demand fair contracts for county employees.

Together we will send a message that “We want justice now.”

WHAT: Rally for Justice in Monroe County

WHEN: 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10.

Stay for the County Legislature meeting if you can.

WHERE: County Office Building, 39 West Main St., Rochester