A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Greetings to all of you! I was hoping that I would have the final information on our Contract by the time this newsletter was ready for printing but unfortunately this is not the case.
Our statewide negotiations' committee has met 18 times since December of 2006.
Eleven of those meetings have been with the Unified Court System (UeS) negotiations team but the only genuine negotiations took place last week, April 15 & 16, 2008. Up until this time ues greeted our proposals with comments like "We are looking to go in the other direction."
Last week, they made an abrupt change. Suddenly, they were very anxious to complete the process in two days, even though they neglected to address many of our concerns; particularly the amount needed to cover the Employee Benefit Fund for both active and retired members and bullet proof vests for our Court Officers. What complicated matters even worse was the ues proposition to cap salaries at $1l5,000.OO.
A proposition that several of the downstate Unions have already agreed to but one that we are opposed to approvmg.
Our team has spent numerous hours working on proposals which were requested by you, the membership. To pack up and drop everything else would be unconscionable, even though some of the benefits that they are offering are appealing. We will be meeting again in early May. Hopefully, I will have more news for you after that time.
For the latest on our negotiation efforts please check the eSEA Judiciary website at www.cseaiudiciary.oQ;.
Recently, I have received complaints about the Employee Benefit Fund (EBF). Several members report that they were treated rudely by the support staff there. Please, if you have any problems with anyone at the EBF or any of our other Union providers for that matter; get the name of the person causing you problems. It is impossible to get anything corrected without the name of the discourteous employee. It is my opinion that most EBF staff employees are helpful and courteous. EBF and I would like you to let us know whenever you are treated poorly by any member of their staff
This is the first newsletter to go out since MaryAnn Grzeskowiak became Chief Clerk in Lackawanna City Court. We miss her and wish her success in all her endeavors. Luckily, Barbara Wyse agreed to take over the position of Corresponding Secretary and editor of our newsletter. We welcome her and look forward to working with her.
Lastly, I cannot end without addressing the upcoming Presidential election. Now is the time to be thoroughly informed and to use your vote to turn around America .. Support the candidate who best reflects your views and interests. What they look like, their sex, race or religion are not important. What is - is what they stand for. My candidate will support universal health insurance, will bring the war in Iraq to an end, and will work for the average person, not corporate interests and greed They will work
to protect and expand the middle class, will end the exportation of good working class jobs to foreign countries and expand opportunities at home. I believe that unless some drastic changes are made and soon, the middle class will be part of our History. These issues are most important, so please, for your children and for our society's future, check out the candidate. What is their record? Are their beliefs, your beliefs? Don't just follow the nice guy. He could be leading all of us in the wrong direction.
Have a wonderful Summer and see you at our events, Nancy Hart
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Bob Pazik, Second Vice President of CSEA Judiciary Local 335 on his election to the CSEA Board of Directors.
WAY TO GO BOB!!
Excerpted from a book by Lee Iacocca, "Where have all the leaders gone?" Copyright © 2007 with all rights reserved.
Remember Lee Iacocca? He was the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts.
"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course".
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned "Titanic". I'll give you a sound bite:
"Throw all the bums out!"
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the "America" my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
The Biggest "c" is Crisis!
Leaders are made, not born.
Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess.
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone!" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo. We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing.
Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises
that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of, that some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope, I believe in America.
In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the "Great Depression",
"W orId War II", the "Korean War", the "Kennedy Assassination", the "Vietnam War", the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: "You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to "Action" for people who, like me, believe in America.
It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell them all we've had "enough".
At CSEA the health and wellness of employees and their families is a top priority. That is why we have joined with the American Cancer Society to offer the FightCancer.org Web site to all Union Members.
FightCancer.org is a one-stop resource where you can find tools and information to help you and your family live a healthy lifestyle. No matter where you are, when you log on to FightCancer.org you will have a world of wellness knowledge at your fingertips.
Research psychologists have found that the tendency to gossip is in our genes and may be good for us - sometimes.
Researchers say gossip stems from an evolutionary system for survival. Our ape ancestors forged social ties through the ritual of grooming. But as social groups got too large, that ritual was replaced by gossip, or 'vocal grooming". And as studies have found, strong social ties ward off depression and other physical ailments. Besides, if there was some kind of attack, groups could count on their social allies to help out. That can still hold true in today's workplace jungle.
But while some gossip helps us forge social ties and relieve our anxieties, harmful gossip accomplishes nothing but hostility-
even among your so-called gossip buddies. Side effects of destructive gossip include hostility, cynicism, and social isolation - the very things that cause depression and lead to other ailments. So put a lid on toxic gossip by cutting down the number of people with whom you gossip and bowing out of gossip seSSIOns.
-Adapted from WebMD Web site.
6 MYTHS ABOUT REGISTERING TO VOTE
Myth #1 - You will be called for jury duty if you are a registered vote.
FALSE - Jury selection is a civic matter. You can be chosen as a juror if you are a citizen who pays taxes. If you have a driver's license you are a likely candidate for jury duty.
Myth#2 - Once you have registered you need not register to vote again.
FALSE - If you have not voted in 4 or more years you need to register again. If you have changed your name or residence, you must re-register.
Myth #3 - Literacy tests still exist.
FALSE - Literacy tests are no longer part of the registration process. As a matter of fact, voter registration forms are now available in Spanish as well as in English.
Myth #4 - Non-U.S.A. born citizens cannot vote.
FALSE - All naturalized citizens can vote. But, you must fill out the appropriate section on the form.
Myth #5 - If you can't get to the polls on election day, you can't vote.
FALSE - If you are disabled or ill you can vote by using an absentee ballot. If you are
on vacation or at an out-of-town school you should vote by absentee ballot. You can get an absentee ballot by filling out a form supplied by the Board of Elections in your area.
Myth #6 - It's hard to register to vote. FALSE - You don't even have to go down to your local Board of Elections ! You can get a form through the mail or at your local post office.
You no longer have an excuse. REGISTER TO VOTE TODAY!!
Whenever you call Member Benefits or EBF benefits make sure to get the name of the person you are speaking with.
YOUR UNION IS NEVER MORE THAN A PHONE CALL AWAY
Day at the Races - Finger Lakes Gaming & Raceway - Saturday, June 14th
Fantasy Island Amusement Park - Saturday, July 19th
Captain Bill's Seneca Lake Boat Tour Saturday, August 23rd
Having been asked to make a contribution, I will do so and make every attempt to remain neutral and keep my opinionated self in check.
A topic that seems to be of universal interest these days is one that I have become very enthusiastic about of late. That is the very apparent insurgence of personal participation in government and politics among this country's citizens, especially the very young. This observation is a great source of hope to me that our great country has a chance to restore itself to its former proud standing both here and abroad.
As a member of the very generation that allowed the current level of deterioration to take place, I accept my own share of the responsibility of acting in a very complacent and apathetic manner when I should have been "minding the store". Sure, I voted in Presidential election years - most of the time. I don't ever remember voting in
a local election at aU prior to about ten years ago. Voting, when I did it, was the only way I involved myself in my own government until the last few years. I am not proud of this fact.
My own lack of participation, like that of so many others of my generation, directly resulted in the creation of substantial opportunities for those with self-serving, profit-driven agendas to take advantage of us with little or no resistance. We made it so easy for them while we proceeded to overindulge ourselves and our children caring little about our neighbors' jobs going overseas, our environment deteriorating or the suffering and exploitation of those in other less developed countries.
In light of the realization of what we must personally acknowledge, let us not absolve ourselves of the responsibility to do our own part to fix what we ourselves have allowed to go wrong. The damage was done on our watch. We fell down on the job. We cannot and should not leave aU the monumental work that needs to be done to repair the damage to the younger generation. We need to be right there beside them working together to get it done.
Go to a town, village or school board meeting in your own community. Consider running for a seat on one of those boards. Believe me, the people who are on them now are likely to be no more qualified than you are. They also don't have benefit of your perspective to assist them in the decision making process of matters that come before them. Attend public forums when the subject matter is of interest to you, and even if it isn't - you may become interested just because you were there. Join a town committee or just make yourself available to help them out with their
organizational efforts, etc.
Write letters to the editor or essays for publication in your local, regional or national papers. Blog, chat, there are so many avenues to get involved these days. The energy created when you meet new people and realize that most of us are looking for most of the same things, even when we sit at different ends of "the spectrum" is invigorating.
Of course, you can always become more involved in your union by attending meetings, contributing to this newsletter, serving on a committee, representing your local, etc. Our unions were severely damaged and successfully vilified over the years through the propaganda and negativity proliferated by those same entities that took advantage of our apathetic ways. WE ARE THE UNION. To those union members who have been vocal about the fact that they do not agree with the actions or endorsements that your union has made ~ YOU, most of aU, need to become more involved within the union. It's the only way that your voice will be heard.
Weare only as strong as the force we put into it. We must support and promote our unions. In doing so, we can only strengthen our cause. Our unions will prove to be the backbone of our future.
Contributed by Jennifer Fitzsimmons, Court Assistant, Monroe Supreme & County Court.
CONGRATULATIONS TO JUDICIARY LOCAL 335
Christopher Adamczak, child of Cheryl J. (Cn Potter, Erie Family Court
Robert Adamski, Jr., child of Bob Adamski, Erie Supreme & County Court
Sean Clancy, child of Michael Clancy, Monroe Family Court
Mecealus Cronkrite, child of Cecelia Crone, Rochester City Court
Elizabeth Frediani, child of Patricia Frediani, Monroe Supreme & County Court
Erin Hart, child of Barbara Hart, Erie Family Court
Lauren Lipiecki, child of Stephanie Lipiecki, MHLS, 4th Department
Erica Rohrabacher, child of Pamela Rohrabacher, Allegany County Multi Bench
Shadiqua Russell, child of Robin Russell, Canandaigua City Court
Elizabeth Sennett, child of Sarah Sennett, Monroe Surrogate's Court
Justin Skretny, child of Elaine Skretny, Erie Family Court
Cassandra Vito, child of Susan Vito, Buffalo City Court
A $500 scholarship will be awarded to each winner. The annual scholarship dinner honoring the award winners will be held on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at Christina's Restaurant in Batavia, New York
