On October 21, 1910, a group of New York State employees came together to form the Association of State Civil Service Employees. Their purpose was simple: To improve their working lives.
From that humble beginning, those pioneering public employees launched the organization that would expand to the private sector and become one of the strongest, most influential forces for working people.
Literally hundreds of thousands of individuals, events and actions shaped CSEA. The real heroes are CSEA's members who believed in their union and acted on that belief.
In the beginning, our predecessors campaigned for the basics - seniority, adequate salaries and sound retirement provisions.
In the 20's, the first of many successes to come! Governor Alfred E. Smith signed the NYS Retirement System into law.
In the 30's, despite the Great Depression, we progressed with the launch of a monthly publication, helped establish the first State Employee Credit Union, abolished the 72 hour work week for institutional employees, established sick leave, and elected our first women president ,Beulah Bailey Thull.
More progress in the 40's - as we helped protect job and pension rights for employees entering military service during World War II, and opened membership to county, city, town village and school district employees, leading to phenomenal growth.
In the 50's, as prosperity reigned, we continued to improve the wages and working conditions of our members. Payroll deductions for health insurance premiums began, the State Health Insurance Plan was established, and modern advertising and public relations pioneered to advance our cause.
The 60's: On September 1, 1967, the CSEA backed Public Employees Fair Employment Act - known as the Taylor Law - took effect. The union gained trhe right to negotiate public sector contracts with the force of law and a whole new era began.
The 70's marked a time of unparalled growth. We established a Women's Committee to address issues like comparable worth, child care, and workplace equality. We were instrumental in the passage of the landmark Public Employment Safety and Health Act. All public employees finally won the right to safe worksites. We became the largest affiliate of the fastest growing union in the country, The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees - AFSCME - adding benefits for our members and gaining a strong voice in the AFL-CIO.
The 80's brought more results - increasing our political and legislative muscle, establishing our own Occupational Safety and Health Department, and taking on the IRS and stopping an attempt to tax unused leave and vacation time. We began organizing private sector workers and established a CSEA Employee Benefit Fund to maximize negotiated benefits ( dental, prescription drug, eyeglasses, and more).
Much of the 90's was spent building a stronger union as members mobilized to save jobs and fight downsizing. We stopped attempts to raid pension funds, established legal precedents to protect momey invested in the public employee retirement system, and assumed increasing leadership in AFSCME and the AFL-CIO. We also moved aggressively to organize in the private sector.
As the 21st Century began, we tapped the power of our members to win an excellent state contract that included pension reform, which helped acheive our long-sought goal of a permanent Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) for retirees.
The future holds many challenges - organizing more members, winning good contracts and weilding our political clout. Our ability to meet those challenges depends on member participation and the passion you feel as part of the labor movement.
Reprint from the CSEA Local & Unit Officers Manual, 2001