Suffolk college employees need own union
SELDEN, NY, April 12, 2011---Student make their way across the campus of Suffolk Community College in Selden on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. Newsday Photo / John Paraskevas Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
Regarding "Union fight stalls raises at SCCC" [Spin Cycle, June 27], white- and blue-collar workers, campus security guards, and college aides at Suffolk County Community College contacted Civil Service Employees Association organizers more than a year ago to inquire about forming their own local with CSEA.
This is significant because forming a separate local would allow for direct negotiations with their employer and provide the ability to focus on issues specific to their own work environment, which had been disregarded in prior contract negotiations between the Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees and Suffolk County.
However, their innate desire for self-determination has been delayed by legal procedures initiated by the AME. These self-serving tactics have slowed efforts by college workers to have their own local and negotiate a contract to address their particular needs.
The AME needs to agree to a fair election at the Public Employment Relations Board and let the college workers decide their own fate.
Rich Impagliazzo, Commack
Editor's note: The writer represents the CSEA Long Island Region.
