Smith is PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month Gloria Smith of the SUNY Upstate Local in the Central Region is the PEOPLE Recruiter of the Month for January. She recruited 20 new PEOPLE members. “The members who I sign up tell me they’re concerned about the powerful interests that are trying to use their influence and money to take away our rights and benefits so they can get richer at our expense,” she said. “We have to fight back, and our members recognize that this is an important fight. That’s why they join the PEOPLE Program when I ask them to.” CSEA’s PEOPLE program protects and improves our Smith jobs, benefits and pensions in Washington, Albany and in your community. Your support and participation in PEOPLE strengthens CSEA’s clout in the workplace, in the legislature, in your community and in the labor movement. — Mark M. Kotzin Visit the improved CSEA eStore today! The CSEA e-Store offers you a fresh way to show your true CSEA colors! It’s a way to purchase CSEA branded clothing and other items that demonstrate your pride in being a part of this great union. Know that the items you are purchasing as an individual or for your local or unit are union made in the USA. The CSEA e-Store website product line has been revised to offer more of the apparel and items members and leaders have requested. The e-Store website has also been improved to make it easier for you to review products and make purchases. You can purchase single items or large quantities, tapping into the buying power of CSEA. You can also contact the e-Store for custom orders and special items. Visit www.cseastore.com today! Break in membership affects eligibility for union office, voting privileges A break in union membership status can have long-term future implications. Your membership status affects your eligibility with respect to: • Seeking or holding union office; • Signing nominating petitions for potential candidates; • Voting in union elections, and; • Voting on collective bargaining contracts. Only members “in good standing” can participate in these activities. To be in “good standing”, your dues cannot be delinquent. If you go on unpaid leave or for any other reason have a break in your employment status, your dues will not continue to be paid through payroll deductions. You must make arrangements to pay your dues directly to CSEA to continue your membership status. If you are either laid off or placed on leave without pay status due to becoming disabled by accident, illness, maternity or paternity, you may be eligible for dues-free membership status for a period not to exceed one year. If you are called up for active military duty you may also apply for dues-free status. Note, however, you must continue to pay dues to run for office. Dues-free or gratuitous membership allows members to continue their insurance coverage while out of work. It does not protect your right to run for or hold office. This does not apply to members who are on leave due to being called up for military duty. Members on active duty, upon return, are considered to have had continuous membership status for all CSEA election purposes. Please notify the CSEA Membership Department at 1-800-342-4146, ext. 1327, of any change in your status and what arrangements you are making to continue your membership in CSEA. Procedure protects rights AFSCME’s constitution includes a rebate procedure to protect the rights of members who disagree with how the union spends money for partisan political or ideological purposes. Article IX, Section 14 of the International Constitution, which establishes the procedure for dues rebates for members who object to AFSCME’s partisan political or ideological expenditures, was amended at AFSCME’s 33rd International Convention. The amended language requires those persons who object to the expenditure of dues for political or ideological purposes to submit their objection in writing to both the International Union and CSEA Local 1000 by certified mail between April 1 and April 16 (dates inclusive) each year for the prior year ending Dec. 31. The timing of the steps in the procedure is tied to the International’s fiscal year. The procedure, including the requirements for submitting a proper rebate request, is spelled out in Article IX, Section 14 of the International Constitution. THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. Here’s how it works. Members who object to the expenditure of a portion of their dues for partisan political or ideological purposes and want to request a rebate must do so individually in writing. Written requests must be postmarked between April 1 and April 16, 2015. That request must be timely filed by registered or certified mail with: the International Secretary-Treasurer and the CSEA Statewide Treasurer. The requests must contain the following information: name, CSEA ID number, home address, email address, if available, and the AFSCME local (CSEA Local 1000) to which dues were paid during the preceding year. This information must be typed or legibly printed. The individual request must be signed by the member and sent by the individual member to: International Secretary-Treasurer at AFSCME Headquarters, 1625 L St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036- 5687; and CSEA Statewide Treasurer, Empire State Plaza Station, P.O. Box 2611, Albany, N.Y. 12220- 0611. Requests for more than one person may not be sent in the same envelope. Each request must be sent individually. Requests must be renewed in writing every year the member wishes a rebate. Upon receipt by the International of a valid rebate request, an application for partisan political or ideological rebate will be sent to the objecting member. The objecting member will be required to complete and return the application within 30 days of its issuance. In accordance with the constitutional amendment adopted at the 1998 International Convention, the application will require the objecting member to identify those partisan or political or ideological activities to which objection is being made, and no rebate will be made to any member who fails to complete that portion of the application. In determining the amount of the rebate to be paid to any member, the International Union and each subordinate body shall have the option of limiting the rebate to the member’s pro-rata share of the expenses for those activities specifically identified in the application. Upon receipt by CSEA of the valid, certified request, the constitutional maximum of 3 percent rebate will be processed. No phone calls or e-mail correspondence will be accepted. Any member who is dissatisfied with the amount of the rebate paid by the International Union may object by filing a written appeal with the AFSCME Judicial Panel within 15 days after the rebate check has been received. Appeals should be sent to the Judicial Panel Chairperson at the AFSCME International Headquarters at the address listed above. The Judicial Panel will conduct a hearing and issue a written decision on such appeals, subject to an appeal to the full Judicial Panel. If dissatisfied with the Judicial Panel’s ruling, a member can appeal to the next International Convention. March 2015 The Work Force 19
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