Orange County CSEA Employees Voice Contract Concerns at Legislative Meeting

Orange County CSEA employers holding union signs during a county legislature meeting in Goshen, N.Y., on Feb. 1, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

A dozen or so county probation and social services department employees advocated better wages and benefits at the legislature meeting on Feb. 1 amid the ongoing CSEA contract negotiations.

CSEA, or Civil Service Employees Association, is Orange County’s largest union and has about 1,350 rank-and-file members—more than half the county workforce.

This is the first CSEA contract negotiation since the COVID-19 pandemic ended—the previous five-year agreement expired in December 2023—and comes at a time of rising cost of living and a public sector plagued by a recruiting crisis, according to CSEA southern region spokesperson Jessica Ladlee.

It also comes after the county government received a handsome pandemic stimulus payment from the federal government, with about a fifth of it, or $16 million, earmarked for personnel costs.

“Even though it is ultimately the county executive’s office that comes to the memorandum of agreement, this is our place to have our voices heard,” Ms. Ladlee said of the county legislative meeting.

Several probation department employees asked for salary and benefit terms similar to those of their counterparts in the sheriff’s office or corrections department.

Vincent Ellison, a senior probation officer, noted that his responsibilities had increased over the years and that, along with his duties, his dress code evolved from business casual to that of a typical policeman.

“We have probation officers who left [for other police departments] because of lack of mobility and raises that come with it,” he said, suggesting restructuring the pay grade to facilitate position advancement.

“Our corrections counterparts, who begin [with salaries] less than us, within five years are making over $100,000,” probation officer Carmen Creagor said. “I am not seeing $100,000 unless I became a supervisor and had five years in a supervisory role in our department.”

Probation officer Carmen Creagor spoke for better wages and benefits during a county legislature meeting in Goshen, N.Y., on Feb. 1, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Emily Reilly, who has been with the probation department for more than 20 years, asked for more favorable terms for female officers, especially when they are pregnant or on maternity leave.

Eighty percent of the probation department force is female, Ms. Reilly said.

Another probation officer, Tisa Hanshaw, asked for essential worker retention pay, as she performed vaccinations and other duties during the pandemic.

‘We Need More Workers’

Several social services department employees, faced with an ever-increasing workload in recent years, asked for better new employee terms to ease the staffing shortage.

“My unit is carrying a 35 percent vacancy rate,” head social welfare examiner Melanie DiLorenzo said. “Time and time again, quality candidates are going elsewhere to work and turn down our job.”

“My concern is for the future of your workforce and their continued ability to provide necessary services to your constituents,” said Ms. DiLorenzo, who has been with the county for more than 30 years said.

“If there is anything you can do, we need more workers,” child protection services employee Elenita Dalton said.

“We are drowning in work and drowning in our bills,” said Lucie Greco, another longtime social services department employee currently working in adult protection.

Social services department employee Elenita Dalton spoke for better wages and benefits during a county legislature meeting in Goshen, N.Y., on Feb. 1, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Marigrace Hartman-Miller, a senior caseworker, questioned the recent double-digit raises for managers and county attorneys, compared with a 2 to 3 percent yearly increase for rank-and-file workers.

Last June, the county adjusted the manager pay grades based on recommendations by a third-party study with a goal of matching its job offerings with those in the private sector, especially for positions requiring professional licenses and significant educational qualifications.

Pay grades for county attorneys were adjusted partly in response to New York state’s rising compensation for indigent criminal defense services.

The study—the first updated management salary study since the 2004 Condrey report—also looked at rank-and-file positions, part of which was used in the ongoing CSEA contract negotiations, according to county human resources commissioner Langdon Chapman at a June 2023 committee meeting.

What’s Next

“Every set of contract negotiations has its challenges,” Ms. Ladlee told The Epoch Times. “We have made a lot of progress, but we have not yet reached a deal to bring back to the members to vote on.

“There is no set timetable; it is not over until it is over.”

Most CSEA contracts in recent history were settled well after the expiration date, with the rare exception being the 2018 agreement, which was reached just days before the deadline.

CSEA employees are subject to the expired contract until a new one is reached.

“We have signed negotiating ground rules between the union and the county that no substantive comments on union negotiations will be made to the media absent prior notice to the other,” Mr. Chapman said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

“We continue to hope a fair agreement can be reached for taxpayers and CSEA members.”

Nearby Rockland County settled its previous five-year CSEA contract with annual salary raises between 2 and 3 percent until 2026, plus a one-time signing bonus of $2,500.

Westchester County settled its latest five-year CSEA contract last May with yearly raises and signing bonuses similar to those in Rockland.