CSEA MEMBERSHIP HAVE A VOICE

Only days ago, DPW Superintendent Steve Gorsline received an envelope with an abundance of paper folded in it. His first thoughts were, oh no, this cant be good.
But to his amazement, it was.

There has been trouble brewing within the City of Kingston members of CSEA, their leadership and the department heads. Because of incidents in the recent past, the animosity has escalated to a palpable point and very few think they see an easy way out.

Back to the envelope: The papers were a petition signed by almost 100 members of CSEA from the DPW and City Hall. There is little I can say to this, so I will just Post the actual petition…
_______________________________
To: Danny Donohue; Pres CSEA
143 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12210

Dear Mr Donohue;

As members, we write to you regarding the City of Kingston CSEA. Over the last several months, it has become increasingly obvious that out Union President, Bart Robbins and Vice President, Troy Ashdown are acting from a personal agenda which is harmful to the rank and file.

The Superintendent of Public Works, Steve Gorsline has held this position for more than 10 years. His entire career is rooted in the DPW where he rose from laborer status to his current position over a period of more than 34 years. He has been accessible to the public and the employees and until recently, neither his ability nor his sense of fairness been questioned. He was Vice President of CSEA for 9 years, representing the employees in good faith and did his job well. To sum it up, he knows his job, and is conscientious about his responsibilities.

The animosity Mr. Robbins and Mr. Ashdown initially showed toward the current administration has been prevalent for quite some time. When the candidate they chose (with very little input from our membership) lost the election in November 2007, that attitude shifted to the DPW Superintendent where their prejudice escalated. They have launched an ongoing criticism of him and his operationof the department through the local media without thorough research of their information and minimal consultation with us in the union.

Many of us feel their self-serving vindictive attitude and their over all approach is detrimental to us. While they are publicly airing their perceived complaints of Mr. Gorsline, they are demeaning the opinion that the public has of our members who are hard working and dedicated to their jobs. It seems that, if you agree with them, they will fight for you. If your problem does not fit their agenda, it often goes without adequate response and/or resolution.

We approach you for advice and possible assistance. We want our Union to live up to its reputation. As long as Mr. Robbins and Mr. Ashdown continue to head this Union, reputation suffers in the public eye and within our ranks. We know that new leadership can turn that around, but what can we do prior to the next scheduled union election?

We urgently await your reply and we thank you.
___________________________________

Well, there it is. I know for every witness to an incident there is a different recollection of the same event. Im sure Giz has buried himself in work, the Mayor is hiding from reporters and the employees have their own stories to tell, but where will this go?

Someone asked me to get in the mix on this harassment issue. Posting this petition is as far as I will go, and I don’t think opinions from us Bloggers will help any. Let the courts decide, until then…get back to work!