Dear CSEA830.org members:

The past few months have been some of the busiest since I have been in office. You should know that your union representatives have been very, very busy. That's a good thing because it means that we are doing what we were elected to do which is simply, to work for you. Sometimes it feels as though there are not enough hours in a day, and if it seems at all possible I find myself wishing the clock would slow up. I've long ago forgotten the notion of beating the rush hour traffic out of Mineola in order to get home at night. It's been a long time since I've been home at dinner time with my family. I think sometimes they like that.

But I digress…Currently we are in full blown contract negotiations with Nassau County. By the time you read this article CSEA and Nassau County will have already exchanged their respective proposals. I expect the negotiations to go on through the summer and I am sure there will be some aggravating days and nights for all of our negotiating team members. Your team has done an outstanding job working many hours to put together a great set of union proposals. I wish I could talk about them but I cannot. That could be perceived as an improper practice and I can't risk that. Just be aware that you have a bright, energetic and determined team of union activist working with me and our labor relations specialist Rigo Predonzan. Rigo is the most senior LRS within all of CSEA and we are fortunate to have his services.

The 'job title/compensation review' audit has had it's bumps in the road. This is unfortunate.  I knew there would be problems but I didn't figure on them coming so soon into the process. If any of you did not get the questionnaire, or received it later than April 1st 2007, contact me immediately. You should be given ample time to fill this out. Also, do not allow your supervisor to direct you in how to fill it out. That defeats the whole purpose of the questionnaire. I have had to intervene in a few departments already because of these situations.

Recently we have seen headlines over the use of county cars. Non-union employees were ordered to give back the cars and therefore the gas insurance and maintenance. CSEA has about 177 members who take home cars and they will keep their cars unless there are some kind of negotiations between management and us. I want the case workers and probation officers who must use their own vehicles to perform their duties to be given pool cars. We have been asking for this for two years and I am told we may actually be getting some for these employees. That's a win for them and for CSEA. It's the right thing to do, so I hope the county goes through with their plans.

Some of you may have heard that CSEA and another union in Nassau County have been at odds with each other. I have reported this in the past to our members and I want to clear up the rumors. The union representing correction officers has been working hard trying to harm some of our members by drastically altering their civil service titles. I have made every attempt possible to get them to rethink their mistakes but they refused to heed my advice. Therefore, I had little choice but to react in the way I know best. I fought them back at every level in Nassau Government and I am proud to say that they have not been successful in their endeavors. On Friday, April 6th 2007, the Nassau County Coalition of Labor, made up of the top public unions in Nassau County, voted unanimously to have that union removed from its organization. Today the coalition is a little slimmer, but a great deal stronger. Currently the coalition consists of the following unions; CSEA, PBA (Police), DAI (Detectives), SOA (Superior Officers) and AFA (Nassau Community College adjunct faculty). We have already planned a busy schedule of interviews with government officials. We strongly believe the coalition will provide a forceful entity of powerful unions, all working together for a common goal. I am excited about the future of the coalition.

Our members over at the Health Care Corporation should know that CSEA went to battle over the Governor’s proposed cuts in Medicaid and Medicare. With the help of our Statewide organization under the leadership of President Danny Donohue, CSEA successfully lobbied the NY State Senate leaders, assembly leaders and of course Governor Spitzer himself. Over $300 million was added on to Governor Spitzer's budget proposal for hospitals and nursing homes. This was a tremendous shot in the arm for our own Nassau University Medical Center.  The original cuts would have had a devastating effect on NUMC's ability to fight through the tough fiscal times ahead. Thank you to our statewide leaders and all the NY State elected officials who came through for us.

Yours in unionism,

CSEA Local 830 President Jerry Laricchiuta