State CSEA strips power from Nassau chapter leadership amid fight over health benefits with county

The president of the state's Civil Service Employees Association has stripped the power of Nassau's chapter leadership as part of an ongoing fight between the union and County Executive Bruce Blakeman over employee health coverage. 

In an Oct. 21 letter to members, and obtained by Newsday, state CSEA President Mary Sullivan said she was removing Local 830 President Ron Gurrieri and Vice President Bob Arciello and putting the chapter "in administratorship effective immediately," appointing two co-administrators to "ensure that the day-to-day business and continuity of Union operations of this Local is maintained." 

The move comes after members, through a petition with 1,770 signatures, expressed dissatisfaction with the local leadership and asked the state CSEA to step in to negotiate better health coverage on their behalf.

"This decision was not made lightly," Sullivan wrote in a separate message to union members that was obtained by Newsday. "However, to ensure that your interests are best represented and that we are able to secure equitable health insurance coverage for every member of your local, it was a necessary action." 

State CSEA officials did not respond to Newsday's calls and emailed questions.

Sullivan went on to say: "I understand how unsettling this moment might be for you and your family. But we are moving forward in a better direction, and you can now trust that your union will be transparent and honest with you." 

Gurrieri, a police medic coordinator, has been CSEA Local 830 president since 2020. Arciello works a deputy sheriff. Gurrieri did not return calls seeking comment and Arciello declined to comment.

CSEA Local 830 represents about 4,200 Nassau workers and is the largest of the county's five major public employee unions. Its broad membership includes labor employees with jobs titles ranging from certified nursing assistants and emergency personnel to clerical staff and highway maintenance workers. 

A bitter public fight between the union and Blakeman, a Republican, that included controversial  billboards and mailers, began after the discontinuation of a state-sponsored health insurance plan promised called Excelsior in the most recent collective bargaining agreement. 

As first reported by Newsday, Nassau officials in August had to scramble to find a new health plan for CSEA members and eventually presented them with two options members say come with higher out-of-pocket costs and deductibles. County workers represented by CSEA have until Nov. 1 to sign up for either plan, which would begin covering them on Jan. 1, 2025. 

Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle in an emailed statement Wednesday said the administration negotiated "in good faith" with the union leaders who asked for the Excelsior plan in exchange for higher starting salaries and pay raises included in the contract. 

"Now that the state has pulled the rug out by canceling the union’s health care plan the County Executive is willing to negotiate with the new union leadership in good faith to provide quality health care without overburdening the taxpayers," Boyle said. 

The move from Empire to Excelsior was to save the county about $280 million over CSEA's 13-year contract. Nassau's current budget is about $4 billion.

In testimony to the County Legislature in August, Nassau County Budget Director Andy Persich estimated a 2024 budget gap as high as $43 million as a result of the discontinuation of Excelsior. 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.