SENATE VOTE FOR EQUAL MARRIAGE BILL DOWN TO THE WIRE; LABOR PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS

MARRIAGE EQUALITY SUPPORTERS RALLY FOR EQUAL RIGHTS
On May 9, well over 1,200 labor and progressive activsts came to Albany to
advocate for workplace rights.  The event was sponsored by Empire State Pride Agenda.
photo:  Ove Overmyer

New York-- Seven powerful labor unions have thrown their support behind same-sex marriage in the Empire State. They join 56 other labor organizations that have sided with marriage equality proponents in support of marriage equality legislation.  The legislative session is scheduled to end June 20.

ESPA Ex. Dir. Ross Levi, Esq. rallies
Equality and Justice Day attendees
on May 9.  photo: Ove Overmyer

Last week, Ross Levi, the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, appeared with representatives of the Capital District Area Labor Federation, Civil Service Employees Association, Public Employees Federation, New York State United Teachers, Service Employees International Union, Bricklayers and Allied Craft workers Local #2 and Capital District Chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement to announce their support for a same-sex marriage law this session.

"Unions stand for fairness for all New Yorkers of all backgrounds and for ensuring that our society treats everyone with dignity and justice and respect," said Levi to labor leaders. "Unions stand for taking action and making sure that our voices are heard by the powerful, and you provide the leadership and resources to make that happen. In short, unions stand for doing the right thing, and marriage equality is the right thing for New York."

Some of the union representatives called same-sex marriage one of the defining civil rights issues of this age.

"On behalf of the 120,000 union members and their families here in the Capital District that we represent as a federation, we today strongly urge the members of the New York state Legislature to do the right thing-- as we are-- and adopt the marriage equality act now," said Mary Sullivan, president of the Capital District Area Labor Federation.

The Public Employees Federation says marriage equality legislation would eliminate a divide in the state based on sexual orientation. SEIU, in addition to affirming its position in favor of same-sex marriage, announced that as a union, it is pushing for pension benefits for same-sex couples.

"We will not accept anything less than total equality," said Mike Lonigro, the secretary-treasurer of SEIU Local 200. "As we speak, we are in contract negotiations where we are demanding, among other things, the right for employees to make their same-sex partners in life eligible pension beneficiaries. Marriage equality in New York state would make this a non-issue and would free us up to negotiate for other important matters."

"The Public Employees Federation strongly supports the passage of the marriage bill," said PEF Vice President Thomas Comanzo. "The time is now for the New York state Legislature to pass this law and eliminate the second-class citizen status forced upon tens of thousands of people who are law-abiding, tax-paying voters who support the localities, counties and cities where they live in our fair state."

CSEA reaffirms its commitment to all its members

CSEA has also affirmed its position in favor of same-sex marriage and called on the Legislature to pass marriage equality legislation.

"This is a defining civil rights issue of our time," said CSEA President Danny Donohue in a prepared statement. "We are announcing our support of the marriage equality act in the hope that it will encourage state lawmakers to search their consciences and do what is right to approve this legislation."

"Our president stated yesterday, and he's right, this is the defining civil rights issue of our time, we absolutely agree with that. We are hoping and praying that the legislators will do the right thing." said Denise Berkley, the statewide secretary of CSEA.

A Quinnipiac University poll just released shows 58 percent of New Yorkers are in favor of same-sex marriage, whereas 36 percent are opposed, compared to the 56-38 split reported by Quinnipiac in April.

This change of 2 percent represents the highest support for same-sex marriage in New York, but statistically the change means little. While support for same-sex marriage is up, same-sex marriage is not the constituents' biggest priority for the remaining days in this session.

"New Yorkers support same-sex marriage, but their top priorities are the property tax cap and ethics reform," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The poll of 1,257 registered voters has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

New York State United Teachers members said they support same-sex marriage legislation because of the consistent message it sends to the children they teach.

"We educate children about civil rights and about basic fairness, about equality and non-discrimination, and this is the opportunity that we ask our legislators to walk the walk and do the right thing," said NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer Lee Cutler.

Local labor unions will hold a press conference in Rochester June 9

The Rochester labor community will be holding its own Marriage Equality press conference on June 9 at NYSUT, 30 Union Place, Rochester, N.Y. at noon.  Details of the event are still in development.  Sources tell the Voice Reporter that this press conference will be a direct appeal to area state senators, warning them that union support in future elections is contingent on their vote to pass a marriage equality bill.

PROTECT WORKING FAMILIES: GET INVOLVED WITH CSEA POLITICAL ACTION

Why should public workers get involved in political action?

Western New York--  Simply put, CSEA members need to have their voices heard.  We are critical stakeholders in the political process and have an obligation to help create a better world.  Whether it’s a city, county, school district, town, village or state employer, CSEA members can increase our clout in our workplace and in our community by getting involved in the electoral process. 

Where else on earth but the public arena can workers choose our supervisors and managers?  By exercising our political muscle, we can shape and mold who controls our very own public budgets and our very own workplaces.  Political action is one powerful way for working people to strengthen their union and their communities.

Political action is also an opportunity for CSEA members to act together to influence decisions at the bargaining table and to influence elected officials who pass laws that affect our co-workers, families, neighbors and friends. It’s how we secure legislation that protects our jobs, pensions and how we can secure contracts that protect our salaries and health benefits. Political action is the means by which we elect officials who will represent our best interest.

Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality (P.E.O.P.L.E.) is CSEA / AFSCME's legislative / political action fundraising program. The PEOPLE committee is responsible for raising money to promote the interest of the membership on legislative issues.

How does the endorsement process work?

CSEA’s Statewide President makes endorsements for:

*All federal offices (U.S. President, U.S. Senate, House of Representatives)
*Statewide offices in NY (Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller, Attorney General)

The Statewide Poltical Action Committee (PAC) makes endorsements for:

*State Assembly and State Senate
* Region PAC does the interviews, and sends recommendations to the Statewide PAC

The Region PAC makes endorsements for all local races:

*County executive and county legislature
*Mayor and city council
*School boards/budgets/propositions
*Town/village supervisor and town/village board
*Unit/Local PAC does the interviews and sends recommendations to the Region PAC

Why do candidates seek our endorsement?

The CSEA endorsement is valued by candidates because of our union’s resources. The most valuable of these resources are the members themselves who volunteer through Political Action Committees. In addition, candidates know that we will contact our members with our endorsements and we will encourage our members to vote. We work in coalition with other unions, our international union AFSCME and our AFL-CIO brothers and sisters. Labor is the most valuable resource a campaign can have.

What are CSEA’s endorsements based on?

*Candidates voting records
*Questionnaires we ask them to fill out
*Personal interviews with our PAC committee
*PAC's meet to discuss candidates records, and to interview candidates. Through our questionnaires, we consider only issues of interest to the union but not limited to: workers rights, workplace safety and social justice issues.

Get Out The Vote
photo:  Ove Overmyer

How do we help labor’s candidates win?

It's important to note the distinction between first supporting issues that matter to working families rather than relying on the identity, political affiliation and character of the candidate in question. 

It's all about our issues-- it's not about the people in office. 

And with that in mind, we encourage our members to vote for pro-labor candidates through:

*Postcards and mailers
*Phone banks
*Labor walks and door-to-door

We also:

*Give monetary contributions to their campaigns
*Encourage our members to vote union through newspaper or media ads
*Invite candidates to meet our membership at union meetings

Want to get involved by interviewing candidates and campaigning for pro-labor electeds?

Contact Region 6 PAC Coordinator Courtney Brunelle at 716-691-6555 or by email.  You can also find CSEA Political Action on the web for updates on our activities throughout the summer and fall.  Check us out and bookmark our facebook and twitter accounts today!

CSEA Monroe County Local 828 PAC Co-Chairs for the 2011 election cycle are Cris Zaffuto and Ove Overmyer.  If you have any other questions about CSEA's political process, feel free to contact them at any time.

THIS WEEK IN ALBANY

Time Left to Defeat Property Tax Cap

As we previously reported, a tentative agreement has been reached on a property tax cap. However, we still have time to make our opposition known.

The Governor’s proposed property tax cap will cripple the ability of local governments to provide essential services and will necessitate layoffs for hard working New Yorkers. All the while, it will do nothing to lower property taxes.

Call Governor Cuomo at 1-877-255-9417 to oppose his job killing property tax cap.

Deal On Ethics Reform

It is also being reported that the Governor and the Legislature have reached a tentative deal on the major elements of an ethics package and that a bill could emerge shortly. Sources claim that the legislation would replace the existing Commission on Public Integrity with a new agency that would, for the first time, be allowed to police both the executive and legislative branches.

Senator Young Introduces "Renee's law"

Sen. Cathy Young (R-Olean) introduced legislation entitled “Renee’s Law”. The bill stems from the murder of youth counselor Renee C. Greco who was brutally beaten to death while working at a Lockport group home in June 2009.

The bill intends to place juveniles in OCFS operated programs and facilities where they will not be a threat to society and provide a safe environment to both residents and staff. The bill also includes new trainings for staff and provides more disclosure of information about juvenile delinquents and youthful offenders to employees that are placed in their facilities.

Senator Young has always been a leading advocate on OCFS issues and this bill is a step in the right direction to avoid preventable tragedies like the unfortunate incident in Lockport.

CSEA, Organized Labor call for Marriage Equality

CSEA and other unions (NYSUT, PEF, and SEIU) joined with Empire State Pride Agenda at a Capitol news conference this week to express support for the Marriage Equality Act now pending before the state legislature.

The union has long worked against discrimination in many ways and CSEA convention delegates are on record in favor of marriage equality.

“This is a defining civil rights issue of our time,” said CSEA President Danny Donohue. “We are announcing our support of the Marriage Equality Act in the hope that it will encourage state lawmakers to search their consciences and do what is right to approve this legislation.”

CSEA Executive Vice President Mary Sullivan and Statewide Secretary Denise Berkley participated in the news conference, saying marriage equality is long overdue.

If you are interested in lending your support to the effort, please visit www.prideagenda.org. You can plug in by helping to phone bank, attending Pride festivals, sending a photo letter to your senator (take a photo of you and your family and let your senator know that you support marriage equality for all loving couples), volunteering to meet with your senator in their district or calling the Pride Agenda (212.627.0305 in New York City, 518.472.3330 in the Capital District, 585.271.2420 in Western New York) to find out other ways to get involved.

CSEA MEMBERS WELL REPRESENTED AT MCC CHANCELLOR'S AWARDS CEREMONY

Tom Pollizi receives Chancellor's Award from Heze
Simmons, CFO and Vice President for
Administrative Services.  photo:  Bess Watts

Rochester, N.Y. -- In a jovial celebration scheduled earlier today, CSEA Monroe County Local 828 was well represented at the Annual Employee Recognition Ceremony at the Brighton, N.Y. campus of Monroe Community College.

Unit 7402 Unit President Thomas Pollizi, proudly sporting his CSEA polo shirt, was awarded the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Classified Service. The State University of New York awards this distinction to a university classified staff member who has demonstrated outstanding performance both within and beyond their job description.

Former Local 828 Treasurer Pat Wolff
photo:  Bess Watts

Also at today’s ceremony, two other CSEA past officers were recognized for their service to the MCC community. Former Local 828 Treasurer and past MCC Unit Vice President Pat Wolff and former MCC Unit Treasurer Marilyn Christian were honored as well.

Pat Wolff is a long time CSEA activist. Since 1983, Pat served in several different capacities representing members for the Monroe County Local 828, Unit 7400 and the Monroe Community College Unit 7402. Moreover, Pat was a graduate of the rigorous CSEA LEAD Program (Leadership, Education and Development), a training module designed to identify and utilize future leaders of our union.

 Pat also had the unique experience of working at both the Brighton and Damon campuses as well as working for President Flynn in the Office of the President.

Marilyn Christian
photo:  Bess Watts


Marilyn Christian worked for MCC for over 25 years. She started her career at MCC in the Health Services Department on April 1, 1985. She then joined the Telecommunications Department as a Clerk II and was promoted to a Telecommunication Analyst. Marilyn is best known as the “voice of MCC” for her Automated Call Distribution (ACD) voice recordings throughout the college.

While at MCC, Marilyn created phone and voice mail training manuals for all new employees. She played an intricate roll in the deployment of the Rolm phone system and again with the Cisco VoIP phone system deployment. She was a member of several college committees including the Diversity Council team for many years. Marilyn loved challenges and truly enjoyed helping her fellow co-workers. In retirement, she is looking forward to spending more time with her husband, family and four grandsons. In retirement, Marilyn expects to continue traveling, line dancing, golfing and catching up on several projects at her home. She also will be staying in touch with all her friends here at MCC.

Bess Watts, president of CSEA Monroe County Local 828 said, “It was a good day for CSEA and MCC. I am very proud of my MCC colleagues and can’t thank them enough for contributing so much to the quality of life at our college and in their communities. Congratulations to Tom, Pat and Marilyn.”

NYS LABOR UNIONS URGE LAWMAKERS TO PASS MARRIAGE EQUALITY; ROCHESTER AREA PRESS CONFERENCE SLATED FOR JUNE 9 AT NYSUT

NEW YORKERS RALLY FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY
Labor union advocates rally in Albany on May 9 in support of legislation
that will improve the lives of LGBT working families in New York State.
photo: Ove Overmyer

 Rochester, N.Y.-- New York state's biggest labor unions are pressing for passage of marriage equality this legislative session which ends on June 20. 

The Public Employees Federation, CSEA, New York United Teachers and four other unions will join with Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Ross Levi this afternoon at the Capitol to call on the Legislature to pass a same-sex marriage bill.

Many unions in the state have already declared support for same-sex marriage legislation, including the AFL-CIO, United Federation of Teachers, Communication Workers of America and the Teamsters.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has warned state lawmakers that they'll be remembered as civil rights obstructionists if they block attempts to legalize gay marriage, which is already allowed in Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and the District of Columbia.

photo:  Ove Overmyer

This comes at a time while Gov. Cuomo is ramping up his own efforts as well. Lawmakers, faith groups, celebrities, the young and old, the union movement and almost every progressive group imaginable are now meeting up together to discuss not only marriage, but how LGBT issues affect all our working families and our workplaces.  And with citizen's approval ratings for marriage equality through the roof (a 22 percent spread, according to a April 2011 Siena Poll), Cuomo’s progressive post-budget policy agenda is clearly instigating a rallying point for civil rights advocates and our NYS unions.

Marriage advocates say this recent kind of coalition building is unprecedented in New York state civil rights history. As part of this effort, Mr. Cuomo and his aides are working on assembling an effective team of union and progressive activists who, despite a shared agenda, have not always coordinated well together.

Stu Appelbaum
photo: Anne Tischer

"Marriage cannot be seen as just an issue for the LGBT community," RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum told reporters on April 25.  "It is a union issue as well, as demonstrated by the support that has been shown by New York's labor movement. And most importantly it is an issue of importance for anybody who cares about justice. Justice is indivisible. You cannot be for justice for some, and not be for justice for all."

Manhattan Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell has already introduced a marriage bill in the NYS Assembly, which has passed three previous times before.  Cuomo has repeatedly stated he would not introduce a bill from the executive chamber unless he knows he has enough votes for the bill to pass.

The Rochester labor community will be holding its own Marriage Equality press conference on June 9.  Details of the event are still in development.  Sources tell the Voice Reporter that this press conference will be a direct appeal to area state senators, warning them that union support in future elections is contingent on their vote to pass a marriage equality bill.