school districts wore identical T-shirts on the third Friday of every month to bolster morale and make a silent statement of solidarity. Themed “Where Teamwork Begins,” the drive drew a good deal of attention within those districts and continued throughout the 2012-13 school year. Deer Park School District Unit, Local 870, members fostered unity by marching in that community’s annual homecoming parade wearing CSEA T-shirts. More than 400 CSEA members working in Suffolk County school districts met in Wading River for their annual Membership Conference, sponsored by Suffolk Educational Local 870. More than 400 CSEA members working in Nassau County school districts met in Melville for the 2013 School District Career Conference, sponsored by Nassau Educational Local 865. The Long Island Region Human Rights Committee hosted an International Day Festival and Information Fair at the Region. More than 150 members attended. Nearly 150 members from OPWDD Local 430 attended a forum encouraging their participation in a grassroots campaign to save state jobs. Engaging the public and elected officials through the value of good jobs and work was emphasized. Women’s Committee Chair Cheryl Iannone and LONG ISLAND REGION PRESIDENT continued from Page 12 committee members coordinated the CSEA Region One 2012 Making Strides against Breast Cancer Walk at Jones Beach. Nearly every Region local was represented. CSEA presented its Nadra Floyd Award to Nassau Educational Local 865 President Monica Berkowitz at the 2012 Annual Delegates Meeting in recognition of her contributions to growing the union. The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) presented their Leadership Award to Region Veterans Committee Chair Maryann Phelps at their annual Awards Dinner, citing her charitable work on behalf of military veterans. The Region Veteran’s Committee conducted a ceremony outside the State Office Building in Hauppauge to honor veterans, coinciding with Veterans Day. I proudly accepted an award from the Long Island Federation of Labor for working to improve the lives of working men and women on Long Island at their annual awards reception. U.S. Rep. Steve Israel served as the evening’s keynote speaker. Long Island Region members working for DOT Local 508, along with highway departments in Nassau County, towns, cities and villages, as well as sanitation and parks departments, performed admirably before, during and after Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the area. Situations such as this demonstrate the tremendous value of public workers and underscore the positive effect they have in their communities. I was proud of CSEA members’ commitment and commend them once more. These same CSEA members rose again when a powerful storm dumped more than a foot of snow in Nassau County, and more than two feet in most of Suffolk County. Soon after, we submitted an opinion piece to Newsday to chastise the Brookhaven Town Supervisor for criticizing the public workers who were battling this historic blizzard, and for not drawing a distinction between the actions of highway department leadership and its workers. Members from the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department set the record straight at a news conference. Lastly, we honored the memory of two of our members at the 2013 Long Island Workers Memorial Ceremony, who passed away on-the-job. Daniel Methven, Suffolk Local 852, and Jorge Guevara, Nassau Educational Local 865. Respectfully submitted, Nick LaMorte Long Island Region President Summary of September 2013 Board of Directors Meeting Editor’s Note: The Work Force publishes a summary of actions taken by CSEA’s Board of Directors. The summary is prepared by Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley for union members. ALBANY — CSEA’s statewide Board of Directors met on Sept. 26. In official business, the board: • Approved a tentative agreement between CSEA and United Union Employees of New York (UUE-NY); • Approved the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc. pension plan amendments, as written; • Approved a temporary charter to CSEA Local 775 Golden Hill Nursing Home (Southern Region); • Approved a temporary charter to CSEA Local 774 Sodexo Senior Living Services at Wayne County Nursing Home (Western Region); and • Approved the following region Political Action Committee appointments: Long Island Region: Peter Marriott, Mike Canerossi, Jarvis (Tim) Brown, Millie Lucas, Eileen Moskowitz and Ken Nicholson; Metropolitan Region: Roy Lester; Central Region: Amy Simmons, Anthony Scalise, Sara (Sally) Heater; and Western Region: Marie Snyder and Daise Lockett- Todd. Questions concerning the summary should be directed to Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley, CSEA Headquarters, 143 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210, (800) 342-4146, ext. 1253 or (518) 257-1253 or denise.berkley@cseainc.org. 16 The Work Force November 2013
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