New York State's CSEA Asks Congress to Deliver Unrestricted Federal Aid

UNION CALLS ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR FUNDING TO PRESERVE PUBLIC SERVICES, SAYS ESSENTIAL WORKERS DESERVE HAZARD PAY TO RECOGNIZE THEIR SACRIFICE

Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) , the largest labor union representing public service workers and many private sector workers in New York, today passed a series of resolutions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on New Yorkers.

At CSEA's 110th Annual Delegates Meeting, held virtually, delegates from around the state voted overwhelmingly to call on Congress to deliver unrestricted federal aid for state and local governments and school districts to stop public services from being cut. The delegates also called on the federal government to recognize the contributions and sacrifice of essential workers during the pandemic with hazard pay.

"We need to hold our federal government accountable for delivering aid to our state, municipalities and school districts to preserve the public services New Yorkers depend on," said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. "They must also recognize the dedication, bravery and sacrifice of our essential workers with compensation for what they had to endure and continue to experience during this crisis."

The resolution honoring essential workers recognized that tens of thousands of CSEA members worked throughout the pandemic delivering essential services, while many New Yorkers stayed home to flatten the curve. That work put these workers and their families at an increased risk for contracting COVID-19, with some paying the ultimate price. During the union's annual meeting, CSEA recognized dozens of workers who lost their lives to COVID-19, many through work-related exposures.

"We owe a debt to those workers and their families that can never be repaid, and we mourn their losses deeply," Sullivan said.

CSEA members have been lobbying for months pushing for federal relief funds to make sure New York's public services do not fall casualty to the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.