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Sisters and Brothers: A critical moment in American History was commemorated in August. Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered one of the most memorable speeches of our time about civil rights and justice. His words that August day live on in our collective memory. In thinking about the men and women who came to the march to demand change, it becomes clear that the labor movement, and the activists who are part of it, have much in common with those who stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial that day in 1963. An end to segregation as well as access and equity with respect to jobs were the organizing goals of the march. Banners, signs and the program itself touted “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” CSEA members from across the state joined other activists throughout the country to commemorate and celebrate the anniversary. Participants were asked to go home and agitate elected officials and policy makers to ensure that working families have opportunities for good paying jobs. They were also asked to ensure that fairness succeeds at the ballot box and for immigrant workers. In the Capital Region, our activists continue to fight for fairness and are working to save jobs that provide adequate salaries and benefits in order to live life with dignity. These efforts are becoming increasingly more difficult with the policies and practices that the governor continues to implement. Services for children, the disabled, and the elderly have and continue to be the focus of outsourcing. Outsourcing public services undermines the safeguards that are inherent for public employees. Lack of oversight, financial accountability and quality service is lost to the public. What is also lost are fair wages to the people who provide the service. This equates with more dependency on public programs, a declining tax base, inadequate care to the most vulnerable in our society and ever increasing profits to CEO’s of companies who will gladly bid on our jobs. In the last year we have seen attacks on middle class jobs continue. In the capital region, we are working to expand our fight to include those activists from the community who care about the degradation of working families and the impact that will harm the communities where we live. Questionable policy and legislative decisions are being made everyday. Following the Sandy Hook tragedy, Governor Cuomo was motivated to tighten gun control laws while simultaneously planning to close prisons and developmental centers. Two such closings in the capital region will be deeply felt. Mount McGregor Correctional Facility and O.D. Heck Developmental Center are two facilities where jobs are slated to be lost, residents of the facilities transferred and communities left vulnerable. As it relates to DOCS closures, the public seems to buy into the governor’s mantra that relaxed Rockefeller Drug Laws mean less inmates in the system and less prisons needed to house them. But, is this really true? And, why is there no discussion of the dicey practice of double-bunking and what will surely be a dangerous mixing of serious and petty offenders as well as Brothers and Sisters in CSEA: What a year this has been. With all that is happening in the world, our country and especially this Western Region, we have held our own and are preparing for new challenges while still battling the old. I am amazed looking back as to what has happened to us in CSEA and how that has strengthened and motivated us to move forward. We have fought challenges with our Public Nursing Homes in Chautauqua, Steuben, Ontario, Wayne, Orleans, and Genesee Counties. We still fight against the contracting out of our Mental Health and Public Health Nursing Services in Steuben and Livingston Counties. These challenges are ongoing even though the sales of these facilities were moving quickly, we have slowed the process and hit legislators every step of the way. Exciting but frustrating. Our CSEA members have stepped up to the plate in a way that none of us could imagine. They have rallied, attended town and county functions, parades, summer fairs, attended legislative meetings, met with politicians, put ads in newspapers, and done all they can to make the community aware of the negative effects of the loss of public services to the community and the elderly and frail of our communities. Negotiating contracts is much more difficult than in the past. While negotiations have never been easy, our LRS staff and our Leadership have noted a distinct change in the attitude of management. We don’t certainly have to tell you what the current mentality is concerning Public employees, attitudes have changed significantly over the past few years. What is more interesting is when the citizens realize that certain services will be diminished, then comes the public outcry. Western Region has organized new units this year and brought several new members into our CSEA Family. Western Region has hosted successful Regional Conferences, many training workshops, informational meetings and continues to plan for our future and the future of our CSEA membership. The Annual Jim Jayes Golf Tournament was held in July and again raised significant funds for our Region Sunshine Fund. Every year our Veterans Ceremony becomes more meaningful and just gets better. Our Region is on the move and with all the hardships we have encountered…..we are still battling. Elections within our Locals and Units were completed with the new term of office beginning July 1st. I am particularly impressed with the interest and participation. I congratulate all who have stepped forward. I firmly believe that there are no losers in our elections. Thanks to all who have served and those who recently ran for CSEA office and wanted to serve. Hopefully, they will continue their interest in serving our members. Let me give a warm welcome to those who have taken on the important job of representing our CSEA membership and continuing the good work of CSEA. Many of you have already been trained and I look forward to the next years of working together. These are difficult times for working families, especially Union families. This great Union of CSEA has taken on those whose negativity continually puts down Unions and the important work we do every day. It is the Unions that keep the standard of living allowing our Middle Class to move ahead in life. It is the Unions that fight for the collective group so KATHY GARRISON Capital Region President FLO TRIPI Western Region President COLLEEN WHEATON Central Region President Sisters and Brothers: I am proud to once more report to you as we join together in renewing our commitment to leading this union, as we face a very uncertain future. I would like to welcome and congratulate all the new officers and delegates who are joining us for their first convention, and I look forward to meeting and working with you all. I would also like to once again thank all our Region Officers, staff and activists for the time and energy they tirelessly give to keep us advocating on behalf of our members, and indeed on behalf of a better New York for all. In the past, I have used this opportunity of speaking to our union leadership to discuss issues of statewide significance that matter to us all. Issues such as: • Working together as a team; • Overcoming our fears and not being silenced; • How our fights define us; • Lessons we have learned from the attacks on labor; and • Standing up for our rights and fighting back. The common theme throughout all of these reports is the ongoing struggles we face as we advocate for our members and against those who would choose to diminish our services or greedily line their own pockets while taking from Working and Middle Class families. I have spoken of our need to do what unions do, to come together and to fight for what we believe in. And I have done more than spoken about it, I have worked hard to lead by example. Over the years that I have been Region President, we have had numerous opportunities to unite and fight. We have won some, and we have lost some, but we have never shied away from fighting the good fight. And we still face many fights. Perhaps more now than ever before. With a Governor that wants to privatize everything that is not nailed down, and more consolidations than you can shake a stick at, we certainly have our work cut out for us if we want to maintain public services and good paying Middle Class jobs. But rather than dwell on all the negatives surrounding the fights we have fought, are fighting, or will fight in the future, I want to focus my address this year on the more positive aspect of what we do, and how, surprisingly enough, I still have hope for our future. For me, that hope was recently renewed after I read an essay from one of the high school students who was applying for one of our four college scholarships. His insight about what our sense of union family really means was inspiring, and I would like to read some of his words to you. The following are the words of 17-year-old Daniel Biljanoski of Auburn: “For as long as I can remember, I have heard my grandmother talk about her experiences in CSEA… When I was twelve years old, I experienced first hand the caring and generous nature of her union family when I was diagnosed with brain cancer. Grandma told me about the support and prayers our family received from her union brothers and sisters. Many came to a benefit for me while I was at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. These were people who traveled a distance and did not even know me! Then they were in Auburn for a Capital District President, continued on page 15 Central President, continued on page 15 Western President, continued on page 15 November 2013 The Work Force 13


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