LOCAL OFFICERS

With Brenda Leone’s retirement last month, our Local Officers are now as follows: Executive Vice President, Ian Spencer; 1st Vice President, Tammy Witteman; 2nd Vice President, Rosanne Wicks; Treasurer, Sheila Sears; and Secretary, Catrina Leone. Rosanne was approved to fill the 2nd VP position by unanimous consent of the Executive Committee of the Local. Welcome to our team, Rosanne.

QUESTIONNAIRES – ASSOCIATE & PRINCIPAL COURT CLERKS

UCS has informed us that job analysis questionnaires regarding job responsibilities have been sent out to those in the Associate and Principal Court Clerk positions. We do encourage our represented members to complete the surveys and return them prior to the deadline.

NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES

When new employees are hired, it is sometimes months before a new employee orientation is scheduled and we, the Union, finally get to meet the new employees. We are notified of new hires and send them a welcome letter, encouraging them to sign up with CSEA for all of the obvious reasons. As a new employee, there are many things to address and learn about, and sometimes filling out the CSEA application doesn’t happen. So we need your help – when you see a new employee within your office, please remind them that they should go to www.cseany.org, click on “Join CSEA” and fill out a membership application – otherwise, they cannot be represented in any matters, Counseling, Disciplinary, etc., cannot vote on their contract, elect their representatives, participate in union dinners or social events, etc. In the last month, we have new employees in Ithaca City Court, Elmira City Court, CAP Parts in Syracuse and Oneida County, Oneida Family Court, Utica City Court, Oswego Family Court, Herkimer Family Court, Syracuse City Court, Broome Supreme and County, and Onondaga Family Court. If you work in one of these locations, please introduce yourself to the new employee and encourage them to take 60 seconds to fill out a membership application online, if they haven’t already done so, and let them know how important it is that they become a member.

CENTRALIZED ARRAIGNMENT PARTS – IMPROPER PRACTICE CHARGE

(Kathy Guild, CSEA Dep. Director of Contract Administration)

CSEA and UCS Labor Relations attended a hearing at the Public Employment Relations Board on October 22, 2018, regarding an Improper Practice Charge filed by CSEA. The charge was filed when a Centralized Arraignment Part (CAP) in Onondaga County, which conducts arraignments seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., included Syracuse City Court arraignments along with the Town and Village arraignments. UCS hired private security to cover the CAP, even though they hired two part-time CSEA-represented Court Assistants to work in the CAP. CSEA’s position is that CSEA-represented employees have exclusively handled Syracuse City Court arraignments in the past and it is our bargaining unit work.

A second hearing day will be scheduled sometime in the future, as UCS did not come prepared to present any testimony at the hearing. We will continue to keep you updated regarding this issue.hearing. We will continue to keep you updated regarding this issue.

OTSEGO COUNTY DINNER MEETING – OCTOBER 16TH

We will be holding an informational dinner meeting on Tuesday, October 16th, 2018, at The Otesaga, 60 Lake Street in Cooperstown. The meeting is open to all members of the Local (from any county). Please RSVP to don@csealocal334.com by 4:00 today, October 9th. Vendors have been invited to attend and will be available from 4:30-5:45, dinner meeting to start at 5:45.

REMINDER – DINNER & NYS RETIREMENT SYSTEM PRESENTATION

For those that RSVP’d, our Local dinner/Retirement Presentation will be held on this Thursday, October 11, 2018, at the Embassy Suites Syracuse at Destiny, 6:15 p.m.

CSEA DISCOUNT – THE YMCA

CSEA will save you the “joiner’s fee” at any of the participating YMCAs list on the attached flyer, a savings of up to $100. Click the link below for complete details.

YMCA – Click Here

BRENDA’S RETIREMENT HAPPY HOUR

Our former Executive Vice President, Brenda Leone, retired at the end of September. We will be holding a Happy Hour celebration in her honor on Thursday, October 18th at Aquavino Restaurant in Utica. Please join us in celebrating Brenda’s retirement after 41 years with the courts! Click the link below for details. RSVP by Monday, 10/15 at noon.

Brenda’s Retirement Flyer – Click Here

OTSEGO COUNTY DINNER MEETING – OCTOBER 16TH

We will be holding an informational dinner meeting on Tuesday, October 16th, 2018, at The Otesaga, 60 Lake Street in Cooperstown. The meeting is open to all members of the Local (from any county). Please RSVP to don@csealocal334.com by October 9th. Vendors have been invited to attend and will be available from 4:30-5:45, dinner meeting to start at 5:45.

BRENDA’S RETIREMENT HAPPY HOUR

Our former Executive Vice President retired last Friday. We will be holding a Happy Hour celebration in her honor on Thursday, October 18th at Aquavino Restaurant in Utica. Please join us in celebrating Brenda’s retirement after 41 years with the courts! Click the link below for details.

Brenda’s Retirement Happy Hour – Click Here

UNION PLUS/AFSCME FREE COLLEGE PROGRAM

The Union Plus/AFSCME Free College program begins its next round of classes on October 15th. You and your family are eligible for a free college degree – choose online programs from seven associate degrees and two certificate programs. Call 888-590-9009 or go to www.freecollege.afscme.org for further information.

BJ’S DISCOUNTED MEMBERSHIP

Enrollment in the discounted BJ’s Membership program is available October 1 through October 14. Please visit www.cseany.org, sign in and click on the “For Members” tab to locate enrollment instructions.

CONNOR’S WAY

Many thanks to everyone that reached out to me/my family the last two months, following the tragic loss of my nephew, Connor Lynskey. It meant a great deal to receive support and words of comfort from so many members. Our family is honoring Connor’s memory with a 1st Annual Memorial run/walk on October 13th, 2018, in Hinckley, where Connor lived and loved to go running with his brother. The proceeds will be utilized for a memorial and scholarship program in his memory. Go to www.facebook.com/connorswaymemorial or www.connorsway.com for further information. Again, heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you that reached out…

Connor’s Way – Click Here

SENECA/CAYUGA COUNTY DINNER MEETING – SEPTEMBER 26TH

We will be holding an informational dinner meeting on Wednesday, September 26th, 2018, at Deerhead Inn, 2554 Lower Lake Rd., Seneca Falls. The meeting is open to all members of the Local (from any county). Please RSVP to brenda@csealocal334.com by end of business today. Vendors have been invited to attend and will be available from 4:30-5:45, dinner meeting to start at 5:45.

OTSEGO COUNTY DINNER MEETING – OCTOBER 16TH

We will be holding an informational dinner meeting on Tuesday, October 16th, 2018, at The Otesaga, 60 Lake Street in Cooperstown. The meeting is open to all members of the Local (from any county). Please RSVP to don@csealocal334.com by October 9th. Vendors have been invited to attend and will be available from 4:30-5:45, dinner meeting to start at 5:45.

BEING THANKFUL

One of our members sent me the following message last week, so I thought I would share it with everyone. Just another reason to be thankful for what our Union provides:

My husband and I both had eye appointments this week, and we both got a new pair of eyeglasses FOR FREE. It got me thinking .. how much would one pair of eyeglasses cost if we did not have vision coverage through our union? I don’t think my union dues don’t even equal one pair of eyeglasses.

In addition, in the number of years I have worked here, I have not paid one penny for any of my dental work (cleanings, fillings, crowns, partial denture).

Just thought you might want to pass this along

DO YOU KNOW YOUR CSEA ID NUMBER?

Every CSEA Membership Number begins with “123.” If you do not know your membership number, you may obtain it through the CSEA web site, www.cseany.org, by clicking on “Look up your CSEA ID” at the top of the home page. Once a month, we randomly insert a member’s ID number somewhere within the text of a Receiver Notice. If you see your member ID number, contact me within 48 hours and you will receive a check for $20. (Our July winner was from Oneida County. Our August winner was from Onondaga County but did not respond.)

SAVE THE DATES

• Happy Hour celebrating Brenda Leone’s Retirement, Utica – Thursday, October 18th, 2018. More info to follow.
• Broome County Dinner Meeting – Tuesday, December 4, 2018
• Utica Comets Hockey Night – March 1, 2019