CSEA AND STATE OFFICIALS BEGIN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS; MONROE COUNTY WORKERS IN A STALEMATE WITH MANAGEMENT

CSEA AND FSW WANT CONTRACTS NOW
CSEA and FSW Monroe County workers have been without
 a contract since Dec.31, 2008.  CSEA and state officials recently
begun negotiations to agree on terms of a new collective
bargaining agreement for state workers on March 23.
photo:  Ove Overmyer


























Albany, N.Y.-- CSEA, New York's leading union, and New York state have begun negotiations March 23 on a new contract to succeed the agreement that expires April 1, 2011.

"CSEA-represented state employees are on the front lines delivering essential services to New Yorkers every day under increasingly difficult working conditions," said CSEA President Danny Donohue. "Our expectation is to reach an agreement with the state that treats those rank and file workers with fairness and respect."

"CSEA is prepared for challenging discussions with the Cuomo administration," Donohue said. "CSEA members understand that these are not ordinary times, but collective bargaining requires both labor and management to come to the table in good faith to find common ground."

CSEA - New York state contracts cover about 66,000 state Executive Branch employees in the Administrative, Institutional and Operational Services units and the Division of Military and Naval Affairs.

Monroe County workers still in limbo

The negotiations team for Local 828 Unit 7400 met with management and three lawyers from the law firm Harris Beach on March 22. CSEA initiated this meeting in the hopes that through hard work and compromise, the County and CSEA can reach a fair agreement that we can all be proud of.

CSEA Unit President for the Monroe County workers Cris Zaffuto said, "We sat down with the County to work for an agreement. And, as of today, the hardworking employees of this county have been without a contract for 812 days.  To say that the session was productive would be an understatement."

CSEA Labor Relations Specialist Robert Leonard added, "Since the County has taken a hard and consistent stance against retroactive pay for any bargaining unit in Monroe County, it is imperative that we keep working for a settlement."

CSEA has worked hard to reach an agreement with the County and will continue those efforts. CSEA declared impasse in these negotiations and a mediator was appointed by the Public Employment Relations Board to work with the parties.

If additional attempts at negotiations fail, either party can make a request to PERB to go to fact-finding. CSEA sincerely hopes that the parties can reach an agreement and it will not be necessary to go to the fact-finding step in the negotiation process.