A union leadership reshuffle as NUMC's fate hangs in the balance

Daily Point

Nassau CSEA changes guard amid health insurance dispute 

As the fight between the leadership of Nassau County’s Civil Service Employees Association and County Executive Bruce Blakeman boiled over this week, leading CSEA president Mary Sullivan to announce that she placed CSEA Local 830 into "administratorship" and had removed Local 830 president Ron Gurrieri and vice president Bob Arciello, questions remained — particularly regarding what the changing of the guard would mean for Nassau University Medical Center.

Leading Local 830 will be Jarvis Brown, who is president of the powerful union’s Long Island region, and Sue Castle, the political action coordinator for the region.

The shake-up is primarily related to an ongoing dispute between the union and Blakeman regarding the union’s health care coverage. In her letter to members, Sullivan promised that the Local would have "the full support of our statewide union and Region One behind you" and that CSEA’s legal division was "pursuing every legal resource available to us."

But in a separate letter specifically to CSEA members who work for NUMC, Shakira Settles, the union’s NUMC president, noted that the health insurance dispute does not impact workers at the hospital or its public benefit corporation, Nassau Health Care Corp.

"Please note that NHCC has its own separate contract, and this does not affect our health insurance or current agreement," Settles wrote. "We want to assure you that we fully support our sisters and brothers at the county in their fight, and we stand in solidarity with them."

The comments on NUMC came after Gurrieri recently spoke to The Point about the possibility of a state takeover of the hospital, which could involve installing a temporary operator of the state’s choosing. State officials are in talks with Blakeman about the hospital’s future, in the hope that Blakeman might agree to the temporary operator move.

Gurrieri previously told The Point that he supported interim president and chief executive Megan Ryan at that moment — a comment that was then used in flyers promoting a rally to back Ryan and the hospital’s leadership that’s scheduled for next week. But the flyer didn’t quote Gurrieri fully.

"If at the end of the day it comes down to the governor sending money and putting in a temporary operator for my 3,500 members to survive, I’m all in," Gurrieri told The Point at the time.

It is not clear whether the hospital dispute played a role in Gurrieri’s removal —- or where Brown stands on the hospital’s future. Brown did not return calls for comment. But NUMC’s CSEA leaders have thrown their support behind the rally and encouraged their members to attend.

Updated flyers for the rally posted since the change in CSEA’s leadership do not include Gurrieri’s comments and instead ask attendees to "Join the fight to save Nassau County’s only public hospital & restore state funding without a state takeover."

In a letter to union members this week, Brown specifically applauded "NHCC’s administration" for a "recent update on the performance bonus section in the collective bargaining agreement."

"We are thrilled that NHCC has included this provision in the 2025 budget, particularly in light of the current funding challenges," Brown wrote, noting that all performance bonuses come from a fund "created and managed by NHCC."

Added Brown: "Additionally, we are excited about the prospect of negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the near future."

It is unclear how much the hospital would budget for any "update" to performance bonuses.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Destination uncertainty

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Final Point

MTA board's Chu steps in the ring for charity, with ex-Gov. Paterson in his corner

Competition is nothing new to Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member and Edgewise Energy chief executive Sammy Chu, a Lindenhurst resident who has been a powerlifter for years.

But boxing is new to him.

So when he agreed to participate in next month’s Long Island Fight for Charity, Chu knew he needed some help in his training.

After former Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked on the Upper East Side earlier this month, during which Paterson fought back, Chu decided Paterson, who is legally blind, was the person to ask. In a conversation with The Point Friday, Chu compared the former governor to Daredevil, the blind Marvel character who is a lawyer by day and superhero by night.

"This is my first time getting into the ring and I figured it’d be really helpful to get someone to have real fight experience," Chu said. "Who better than the real Daredevil of New York, Governor Paterson?"

The charity fight, which will take place Nov. 25, is sponsored in part by Las Vegas Sands, where Paterson is senior vice president. So, Chu’s lighthearted thought quickly became a reality — and a fun publicity stunt for the charity fight — on Friday, when Paterson, who grew up in Hempstead, showed up at the Academy of Boxing in Huntington.

Paterson put Chu through his paces, even wearing training gloves to allow Chu to practice his punches. And he gave Chu some advice.

"You win fights with a jab more than a punch, so always have your hand moving so it distracts the other fighter," Paterson said he told Chu.

Paterson said he recognized some similarities between the boxing ring and the current political landscape.

"Sometimes this type of advice actually works in other venues," Paterson said. "I’m available in case anybody needs to convert the art of pugilism to the art of political debate."

Paterson said he’d also be available if Chu needs help during the fight next month.

"I’m going to come out and watch," Paterson said. "I’ll root for Sammy, but if he needs a substitute, I might have to come in."

Through the boxing match, Chu will raise money for the EAC Network and for the New York League of Conservation Voters. But that effort will be downright easy compared to Chu’s other ongoing fight: the battle to secure more than $68 billion for the MTA’s capital plan.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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