Blakeman-CSEA battle turning unhealthy?

Daily Point

Blakeman’s spat with CSEA grows

Earlier this month, the Civil Service Employees Association, representing about 4,000 Nassau County workers, went to court against the Blakeman administration in a battle over health care coverage.

The state-provided health plan — known as the Excelsior plan — in which the staffers were enrolled as agreed to in their last contract, is being disbanded. The county has since floated alternatives from the also-state-run Empire plan, which the union so far has rejected as inadequate.

That’s the focus of the litigation. And now, the CSEA’s Nassau Local 830 has gone public with more hostilities toward the administration of County Executive Bruce Blakeman. The union alleges county officials are sending out communications in violation of the state’s Taylor Law. That 1967 statute sets the ground rules for collective bargaining with public employees in New York State.

A Nov. 15 letter from union leaders to membership accused Blakeman of "disrespect and contempt for his own civilian workforce." It condemned an earlier letter from the county executive’s office to CSEA members about health-plan choices as an effort to bypass the union and "deal directly" with members "in bad faith."

A Blakeman spokesman did not respond to requests for comment beginning Sunday.

The union warned the employees not to "sign off on a health insurance choice or program in the coming days ... We urge you not to sign or return any document. Not only could this undermine the Union’s bargaining position, but you could also potentially jeopardize any future health insurance options."

As CSEA explains it, a pending proposal sent to leadership "allows some members to pay 0% [in premiums], which is provided for in the CSEA Local 830 contract, while others carry a large burden of healthcare premiums" — with a high deductible. They call the options an effort to "divide" the union, before it can learn more about the details and respond.

The next race for Blakeman's job is in 2025, so it’s way too soon to tell whether this bitter rift will have an impact on whom the union would endorse, assuming Blakeman seeks a second term.

"We are one union," the CSEA missive says in a bit of standard rhetoric. "We are solely focused on achieving the best outcome for ALL Local 830 members and their families."

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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