Unionist November 2011

Volume 41 • Number 10November 2011

Official Publication of Social Service Employees Union Local 371-DC 37 AFSCME, AFL-CIO www.sseu371.org

Your Fifth Amendment Rights Resisting Hospital Cuts Page 4 Page 8

Obama Talks Jobs

President Barack Obama addressed union leaders, including our Union President, Nov. 1 at the White House. See more on page 7.

In today’s political climate, public-sector unions like our own are under attack. That is why SSEU Local 371 is organizing its Delegates and Alter-

nates, the front lines of the union in all of our workplaces, for a fight back campaign. Part of that effort was hosting the three-day Delegates Training in Stamford, Conn., where nearly 350 of our Delegates and Alternates took part in trainings and heard moving speeches from our Union leaders.

This year’s theme was “We fight back.” The Delegates and the Alternates are central in the fight back, as they inform the members on the ground of their rights and organize them on a regular basis. The train-ing included help from the Union’s parent organization, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saun-ders addressed the Delegates and Alternates

Oct. 22, stressing that members needed to mobilize the vote against a Republican agenda that attacks working families.

“They will have a dear price to pay in November,” Saunders said about the GOP opposition in the House of Representatives to President Obama’s jobs plan.

Lots of WorkshopsThe crowd heard from various other

speakers, including VP of Organization In-grid Beaumont, the main organizer of this historic event, who brought the members to a roaring applause.

Delegates and Alternates attended workshops in which they learned about grievances, internal organizing and nego-tiations. VP of Research and Negotiations Rose Lovaglio-Miller noted in her pre-sentation the negotiations process starts

with Delegates, as they are responsible for polling the members on what they think were important demands. The Delegates in turn pass on this information to the Union’s negotiators.

VP of Legislation and Political Action Michelle Akyempong led a discussion about political organizing, in addition to State Senators Eric Adams and Diane Savino, a former SSEU Local 371 VP, who taught strategies for fighting back politically. Union lawyers and VP of Grievances and Legal Services Lloyd Permaul spoke about work-ers’ rights and how to preserve them.

In his address to members, SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells underscored the importance of the younger generation of members. Among the Union’s Delegates who are a part of the AFSCME’s Next

‘We fight back’Delegates Gather for Three Days of Training

Continued on page 5

Delegates and Alternates participated in various training sessions, learning about grievances and legal services, organizing and union history.

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2 The Unionist | November 2011

November17 Political Action Committee: 6:30 p.m.

Union Office, 12th Floor

23 Civilians in Law Enforcement: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 15th Floor

30 HHC Chapter: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

December7 Executive Committee: 6:30 p.m.

Union Office, 12th Floor

8 Black Heritage Committee: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

12 General Membership Meeting: 6:30 p.m. TBA

13 Concerned Social Workers: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

14 Women’s Committee & Political Action Committee: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

15 Jewish Heritage Committee: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

20 Alumni Committee: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

21 Delegate Assembly: 6:30 p.m. Advance Realty Building, 235 West 23rd Street in Manhattan

28 Civilians in law Enforcement: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 15th Floor

29 Caribbean Heritage: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

CALENDAR

Published monthly except for a combined issue in July/August and a Supplement in January by the Social Service Employees Union Local 371, District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO. Subscription Price $2.00 annually. Periodical postage paid at New York, N.Y.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: The Unionist, SSEU Local 371, 817 Broadway, N.Y., N.Y. 10003.

USPS# 348990 (212) 677-3900 ISSN# 0041-7092

PresidentAnthony Wells

Executive Vice PresidentYolanda Pumarejo

Secretary-TreasurerJoe Nazario

V.P. Negotiations & ResearchRose Lovaglio-Miller

V.P. Organization & EducationIngrid Beaumont

V.P. Grievances & Legal ServicesLloyd Permaul

V.P. Publicity & Community RelationsPatricia Chardavoyne

V.P. Legislation & Political ActionMichelle Akyempong

TrusteesVincent CiccarelloYolanda DeJesus Melva Scarborough

EditorAri Paul

Visit us on the web at www.sseu371.org

inspiration, from mLk and the members

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial was dedicated Oct. 16, marking a permanent honor for the civil rights hero in Washington, DC. Personally, the awesome moment was President

Barack Obama giving his speech under the towering figure of Dr. King. It was priceless and inspiring.

On the weekend of Oct. 21, more than 350 Delegates and Alternates attended Delegate’s Training. The theme was “We fight back.” The energy and enthusiasm permeated every corner of the place. The exchange of information was invaluable. There were workshops and general sessions designed to equip the Delegates with the tools to become effective leaders. They were given mechanisms to energize and mobilize the membership. Furthermore, they shared ideas and concerns with each other in an effort to develop solutions to the many issues occurring in locations. They left the conference prepared

to “fight back” whenever and wherever necessary. We are moving forward, energized for the many

challenges facing us. To be successful, we must ad-dress the “enemy within,” i.e. apathy and complacen-cy. We need an informed and mobilized membership. We need a membership that understands that this fight is about “putting food on your table.” We need a membership that is prepared, willing and ready to fight back. Indeed, we have that membership in you. And you have the leadership in our Delegates and Alternates.

We are inspired by the events of the day, like Occupy Wall Street, Dr. King’s Memorial and Delegate’s Training. They remind us that change is possible with hope and determi-nation. It takes effort and commitment. It requires us to come together for a common purpose and goal. The purpose is to “FIGHT BACK” and the goal is to “put food on our tables.” United we will be successful in both.

– Anthony Wells

We are moving forward, energized for the many challenges facing us.

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Ohio Fights Back and WinsOn Nov. 8 Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-backed law that curbed the collective bargaining rights of Ohio state workers. It is proof that a grassroots effort to strengthen unions and workers’ rights can and will beat back the assault on labor nationwide.

Governors who want to wage similar campaigns against unions should take note of what happened in Ohio.

“We witnessed a victory that is both encouraging and inspiring,” said SSEU Local 371 VP of Organization Ingrid Beaumont. “Voters and unions collectively let their voices be heard in Ohio. Let this serve as proof of what is possible when we participate politically and we fight back.”

Save the Date: The Black Heritage Celebration will take place Feb. 3, 2012. Stay tuned for more details.

November 2011 | The Unionist 3

After setting up an opportunity for the TV crew to film the child or sibling group, the clip airs and Davis fields calls from parents who want to be foster parents and she walks them through that process.

“It has been a rollercoaster,” she said of her tenure. “I feel like I want to take all the kids home with me.”

Davis thinks it is a successful program: Of the 600 children the segment has fea-tured under her watch, about half of them

On the FrOnt Lines

A Product of Foster Care, and One of Its Best Advocates

A day before her 10th birthday, Keema Davis was placed in foster care. At the age of 14, along with her two

sisters and one brother, she found a new loving mother who to this day she still calls “mom.” It was this woman who gave her a warm home after a troubled start in life who inspired Davis to do something positive with her career. Today, Davis, an SSEU Local 371 member, works as the coordinator for Wednesday’s Child, a seg-ment on Channel 4 that features children in need of foster parents.

“Even when I went through a rough patch, she always believed in me,” Davis said about her foster mother. “She really helped me out. She instilled a desire in me to help others like she did for me. It was a promise fulfilled doing this work.”

A Weekly EffortWednesdays Child, sponsored by the

Freddie Mac Foundation, has been airing in New York City since 1999. Davis, who was working on her Master’s degree in commu-nications at the New York Institute of Tech-nology, was approached by Channel 4 after the segment’s coordinator saw her speaking about her childhood in foster care.

Each week, Davis works from the Administration for Children’s Services’ 150 William Street headquarters and each week teams up with the contracted agen-cies to find children in need of a home.

Keema Davis said her foster mother inspired her to make a career in helping kids in need.

Pat A

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A Testament For a Center from the People It Serves

Senior citizens from the Senior Center at the Frederick Douglass Houses (New York City Housing Authority) made tiles for this mural honoring the center and the work that it does. “It is important for the seniors,” said Floyd Cohen, a 33-year-member of SSEU Local

371 and the Director of the center. “It makes them feel meaningful and it makes them feel productive.” The mural was unveiled on Nov. 4, and it was meant, Cohen said, “for beautification of the center and beautification of the community.”

SAVE THE DATEThe CCSW annual celebration will take place March 16,2012 at District Council 37. Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:45 with a program to follow.

If you earned your MSW in 2011 please contact Yolanda Pumarejo at (212) 598- 7053 to ensure you are recognized for your accomplishment.

have been introduced, matched or settled in foster families.

Davis hoped more SSEU Local 371 members would consider becoming foster parents, or if they could not do so them-selves, reach out to friends and family members who could adopt children.

“You don’t have to be rich to be a foster parent,” she said. “We want caring people. We need good homes.”

Davis isn’t a foster parent herself. When asked why not, she laughed, “My apart-ment’s too small.”

The segment airs each Wednesday between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m., and re-airs on Sunday morning between 7 and 8 a.m. To reach out to the program, call (212) 676-WISH.


The Fifth Amendment: A Privilege Worth Taking

Most of us are familiar with the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

in the context of criminal cases where defendants have the right to remain silent. But this vital constitutional protection also has broad application in civil cases. Actually, the right to remain silent, also known as the privilege against self-incrimination, plays an important part in matters as varied as disciplinary charges, Conflict of Interest Law violations, unemployment claims and EEOC and other investigations, to name a few.

Remaining SilentIn practice, the possibility of invoking

“the Fifth” arises whenever someone is called upon to give statements, whether in law courts, administrative courts or agency hearings and investigations. The Fifth Amendment applies even to the completion of employment questionnaires and other documents.

The key to understanding the privilege of invoking the right to remain

silent is that it is not dependent on the forum or the context of the questioning but rather, the substance of the question posed. The Fifth Amendment protects against compelled self-incrimination on a very loose and easily reached standard. When a truthful statement might tend to incriminate, one has the right to decline to answer.

Raising the Fifth Amendment shield is not an admission of culpability. We

have no obligation to assist our prosecutors, be they criminal or disciplinary. So even the question, “Were you in New York State last Tuesday?” can be avoided on Fifth Amendment grounds where the answer is “yes” and the context is an investigation into a crime committed in New York State that

day. No matter if you were home sick, hospitalized, or even comatose, you have

every right to decline to answer because your mere admission to being in the state would be self-incriminating. The right to invoke is not a matter of degree. The likelihood of prosecution is not relevant or material. You can even invoke simply because you know nothing of the subject matter or goals of the investigation you have been drawn into so you cannot properly assess Fifth Amendment concerns.

No one should ever agree to be questioned without representation for many reasons, but the most important one is that the decision whether and when to invoke the Fifth is best made with legal advice. So the golden rule is: “Answer no question outside the regular chain of supervision without Union representation.”

We live in a time of energetic prosecution and slipshod investigations. Disciplinary and other authorities routinely rely on a worker’s own statements to lighten their burden of proof. Aggressive use of the protections of the Fifth Amendment also benefits justice because it leads to more careful, thorough and fair investigations and fewer convictions on accusation and confession. Remember that the best defense starts upon interrogation, not after charges have been served.

Call UsThe Union has long been committed

to insuring that due process rights are protected. The Fifth Amendment is a vital weapon in that fight. Members summoned for interrogation, anywhere, should be sure to contact Grievances and Legal Services before answering any questions. Invoke your right to representation and advise your co-workers to do the same because as powerful as the Fifth Amendment can be, it is easily waived, usually with bad results.

–Lloyd Permaul, VP of Grievances and Legal Services

CCSW Scholarship Deadline is April 30, 2012Applications are now being accepted for the 2012-2013 academic year for the Committee of Concerned Social Workers Scholarship and the Sol Gorelick Scholarship. The one-time grants – $2,500 this year – have been awarded to more than 75 members through the years. In order to be eligible for the scholarships, persons must be Union members in good standing and have completed at least six credits as a matriculated student in a graduate program leading to a Masters degree in Social Work.

An application packet must be requested in writing from Yolanda Pumarejo, chair, Committee of Concerned Social Workers, SSEU Local 371, 817 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. The deadline for submitting applications is April 30, 2012. Scholarships will be awarded at the September Delegate Assembly.


‘We fight back’Delegates Gather for Three Days of Training

AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders (left) addressed with crowd, with SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells looking on.

All together, more than 350 Delegates and Alternates participated in the training.

Wave caucus (members young-er than 35) is Orlando Rivera, a Communications Specialist at the Brooklyn District Attor-ney’s Office.

“Organizing is the biggest thing,” he said about a Delegate’s responsibilities, noting that he hosted regular meetings for the rank-and-file at his workplace.

He said of this year’s Delegate Training: “It is very important to get people together. It has been very encouraging and very energizing.”

Some of the attendees were veterans, but some were people with only a few years on the job, like Antoinette Davis, who almost quit after her first year as a Child Protective Special-ist at the Administration for Children’s Services. She had run-ins with management and didn’t know how to deal with the stress.

Inspired to LeadBut something happened in

her second year. She finally got connected with her SSEU Local 371 Delegates.

“I had Delegates working with me,” she said. “It was a lot

better. They made themselves accessible.”

Several Delegates noted that it was important that in each workplace that Delegates and Alternates make a physical place where Union materials such as the Unionist, the constitu-tion and the contract can be accessed as a resource section for Union members but also a reminder to agency heads that the rank-and-file is informed.

Having a Presence“We want to reestablish that,”

said Wanda Ochshorn, a Child Protective Supervisor I in Man-hattan. “Management has to know that the Union is there.”

Members agreed that this type of training was a welcome change from years past.

“This is a new beginning,” said Avon Wilson-Pinckney, a JOS worker at the Human Resources Administration in Manhattan, who has served as a Delegate for 20 years. “I’m going to take back all the tools that were given here and share them with the members.”

Continued from page 1

A member asks the leadership a question.

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VP Ingrid Beaumont was the “center of attention” at this year’s training.


DISCLOSURE NOTICE OF NON-CREDITABLE COVERAGEImportant Notice From the Social Service Employees Union Local 371Welfare Fund About Your Prescription Drug Coverage and Medicare

Please read this notice carefully and keep it where you can find it. This notice has infor-mation about your current prescription drug coverage with the Social Service Employees Union Local 371 Welfare Fund (“Fund”) and prescription drug coverage available for people with Medicare. It also explains the options you have under Medicare prescrip-tion drug coverage, and can help you decide whether or not you want to enroll. At the end of this notice is information about where you can get help to make decisions about your prescription drug coverage.

1. Medicare prescription drug coverage became available to everyone with Medicare through Medicare prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage Plans that of-fer prescription drug coverage in 2006. All Medicare prescription drug plans provide at least a standard level of coverage set by Medicare. Some plans may also offer more coverage for a higher monthly premium.

2. It has been determined that the pre-scription drug coverage offered by the Fund is, on average for all plan partici-pants, NOT expected to pay out as much as the standard Medicare prescription drug coverage will pay and is consid-ered Non-Creditable Coverage. This is important, because for most people enrolled in the Fund’s prescription drug plan, enrolling in Medicare prescription drug coverage means you will get more assistance with drug costs than if you had prescription drug coverage exclusively through the Fund.

3. You have decisions to make about Medi-care prescription drug coverage that may affect how much you pay for that coverage, depending on if and when you enroll. Read this notice carefully - it explains your op-tions.

Consider enrolling in Medicare prescrip-tion drug coverage.

Because the prescription drug coverage you have with the Fund is on average for all plan participants, NOT expected to pay out as much as the standard Medicare prescrip-tion drug coverage will pay, you should consider enrolling in a Medicare prescrip-tion drug plan. Individuals can enroll in

a Medicare prescription drug plan when they first become eligible for Medicare and each year. This year, the open enrollment period to join a Medicare drug plan is from October 15, 2011 through December 7, 2011. Beneficiaries leaving Fund coverage may be eligible for a Special Enrollment Period to sign up for a Medicare prescrip-tion drug plan.

This may mean that you will have to wait to enroll in Medicare prescription drug cover-age and that you may pay a higher premium (a penalty) if you join later and you will pay that higher premium as long as you have Medicare prescription drug coverage.

If you go 63 days or longer without prescrip-tion drug coverage that is at least as good as Medicare’s prescription drug coverage, your premium will go up at least 1% per month for every month that you did not have that coverage. You will have to pay this higher premium as long as you have Medicare pre-scription drug coverage. For example, if you go nineteen months without coverage, your premium will always be at least 19% higher than what many other people pay.

When deciding whether or not to enroll in a Medicare drug plan, you should compare your current Fund prescription drug cover-age, including which drugs are covered, with the coverage and cost (including premiums, deductibles and co-payments) of the plans offering Medicare prescription drug cover-age in your area. You should also consider the following:

l The Fund does not require that you join Medicare Part D for prescription drug coverage;

l Because the prescription drug coverage you have with the Fund is on average for all plan participants, NOT expected to pay out as much as the standard Medicare prescrip-tion drug coverage will pay, you should consider enrolling in a Medicare prescription drug plan;

l As a Fund enrollee and/or covered depen-dent eligible for Medicare, you will continue to receive full prescription drug benefits currently available to you under the Fund’s prescription drug plan if you do not enroll in Medicare Part D;

l If you join a Medicare prescription drug plan, you will NOT be reimbursed for the Part D premium by the Fund.

For more information about this notice or your current prescription drug coverage…

You will receive this notice annually and may receive it at other times in the future such as before the next period you can enroll in Medicare prescription drug coverage, and if your prescription drug coverage through Fund changes. You also may request a copy of this notice or contact the Fund office for more information.

For more information about your options under Medicare prescription drug coverage…

More detailed information about Medicare plans that offer prescription drug coverage is in the “Medicare & You” handbook from Medicare. You’ll get a copy of the handbook in the mail every year from Medicare. You may also be contacted directly by Medicare-approved prescription drug plans. For more information about Medicare prescription drug plans:

l Visit www.medicare.gov

l Call your State Health Insurance Assis-tance Program (see your copy of the Medi-care & You handbook for their telephone number) for personalized help,

l Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

For people with limited income and resourc-es, extra help paying for Medicare prescrip-tion drug coverage is available. Information about this extra help is available from the Social Security Administration (SSA) online at www.socialsecurity.gov, or you call them at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

October 2011Social Service Employees Union Local 371 Welfare FundJohn Brown, Administrator817 Broadway New York, New York 10003212-777-9000


UNioN PresiDeNt Anthony Wells was one of two AFSCME representatives from New York in a labor panel that addressed President Barack Obama about the jobs bill. The group of 150 labor representa-tives from around the country—public and private sector—sent the message that any Federal job creation solution has to work hand-in-hand with organized labor. Presi-dent Obama is on board with this.

Mr. Wells, Alma Roper of DC 37 Local 1549, and the other panelists made the mes-sage clear to the President that the jobs bill

had to go beyond supporting infrastructure jobs, and that it had to create and preserve social service jobs to boost the public-sector and provide vital services.

Meeting with the VPAfter the meeting with the President,

Wells and 10 other union representatives met privately with Vice President Joseph Biden about the jobs bill. “Wells added, “It was a huge honor to be in the presence of this President and the Vice President. And it is a great honor to be representing

AFSCME and especially the members of SSEU Local 371.”

Wells was quick to point out that both the President and Vice President spent a considerable amount of time with the union leaders. “The Administration is seri-ous about this,” he said.

District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said when considering who should go to Washington, D.C. on behalf of AFSCME in New York, “I couldn’t think of anyone better to represent New York than Anthony.”

SSEU Local 371 in the White House

Lillian Roberts Addresses Executive Committee

In what SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells called a “historic” mo-ment for both our Union and District

Council 37, the sitting council Executive Director, Lillian Roberts, addressed our Executive Committee Nov. 2, stressing the need for a united front against public-sector cutbacks.

As Wells noted, social services and the government jobs are under attack from right-wing business interests. “We are at war,” he said. “We are going to fight together.”

“This is my calling: to do what I can,” Roberts said, underscoring the severity

of the situation for government service unions around the country.

She noted that with both the Governor and the Mayor on the offensive against government service unions, the fight back was more important than ever. Roberts also said that unions should find inspira-tion in the Occupy Wall Street move-ment, as young people are aware that it is also their future careers that are under attack, and that middle class America is disappearing.

“Everything is not the same anymore,” Roberts concluded. “So we have to change, too.” Lillian Roberts spoke about the need for labor unity.

Vice President Joseph Biden (left) spoke about the jobs bill with labor leaders, including SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells (far right).


Social Service Employees UnionLocal 371817 BroadwayNew York, N.Y. 10003

Periodicals PostagePaid at New York, NY

sseU LocaL 371 officers stood with other union representatives, small business owners and Health and Hospitals Corpora-tion officials Oct. 26 at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan to welcome a new study show-ing that any Federal cuts to Medicaid would have widespread negative economic impact.

Of course, the Union knows all too well that previous cuts to the HHC have resulted in job losses and spreading our membership too thin. Laura Devoe, a Union Delegate and Senior Hospital Care Investigator at Bellevue, told the Unionist last month that over the past year the workload has in-creased, which has overburdened workers.

Lots of Cases“We’re getting more and more people

and we have less and less people to take care of them,” she said. “The cases are hard and complicated and sad. But everybody is doing the best with what they have.”

But what the study from the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems showed was that not only would Medicaid reductions mean direct staff cuts at public hospitals—not to mention the human suffering for low income people with health problems who rely on the public health-care system—they would also kill jobs in the surrounding economy. Medical supply stores would be threatened if public hospitals don’t have the funds to do business with them. If public hospitals have to lay off workers, the restaurants near the facilities that rely on the lunchtime rush would see diminished

no hhC Cuts!

Study Shows Medicaid Cuts Kill Jobs, Businesses

sWAP- Supervisor I position at Long Term Home Health Care Program at 30 Rockwell Place, Brooklyn would like to swap for Supervisor I non-field position in lower or Midtown Manhattan. If interested, please call (718) 330-2293.

sWAP- Bronx/CASA Caseworker at 530 West 135th Street would like to swap with a Caseworker in Brooklyn even if not CASA position. If interested, please call (347) 510-0136.

sWAP- AJOS worker at Center 99 in Richmond, Staten Island would like to swap sites to 109 East 16th Street, Manhattan. If interested, please contact (347) 398-4891.

sWAP- Supervisor I at APS in Manhattan (South) would like to swap with a non-field Supervisor I position in lower down-town Manhattan or upper midtown Manhattan. If interested, please call (212) 971-2894.

sWAP- AJOS I in the Fair Hearing unit at 32-20 Northern Blvd, Long Island City, Queens would like to swap with AJOS I at Center 54, Jamaica, Queens. If interested, please call (917) 684-3498.

BULLETIN BOARDMEMBERS’

Congratulations to Maria Jimenez-Gonzalez, Grievance Rep at the Union Office, on the birth of her grandnephew, Elijah John Arroyo, born October 16, weighing 9 lbs. and 2 oz. and 21 inches long.

Congratulations to Horasuio Smart, Fraud Investigation I at HRA/BEV on his Fraud Investigation II promotion in HRA.

Condolences are extended to Union Associate Secretary-Treasurer Andrea Walters on the death of her father, Jerome Walters, who died Nov. 9. Condolences may be sent to Andrea Walters, 817 Broadway, 14th Fl., New York, NY 10003.

Condolences are extended to Caseworker Rosangel Toledo on the death of her nephew, Eric Brian Toledo, who died Oct. 20. Condolences may be sent to 1365 Jerome Ave., Bronx, NY 10452.

Condolences are extended to the family of HCI Newton Oliver Gayle, who died October 24.

Condolences are extended to Joseph Sperling, former president of SSEU Local 371, on the death of his wife, Earlene Bethel Sperling former SSEU Local 371 delegate/activist who died in October. Expressions may be sent to Joseph Sperling 185 St. Marks Place, Apt #5A, Staten Island, NY 10301.

Condolences are extended to Angelina Arutyunova, Supervi-sor II at LTHHCP HRA at 109 East 16th Street, NYC on the death of her father, Surgey Arutyunova who died in Russia on October 24. Condolences may be sent to Angelina Aru-tyunova, 109 East 16th Street, 6th floor, New York, NY 10003.

Condolences are extended Linda White, Senior HCI of In-Patients Accounts, on the death of her mother, Alma Y. White, who died in October.

Condolences are extended to Gregory Thompson, Union Delegate and Associate Fraud Investigation at HRA/ BEV in Brooklyn on the death of his mother Ivy Thompson, who died on October 13.

Condolences are extended to James Pepper, Investigation Consultant at OSI in Manhattan on the death of his mother, Ms. Patricia Ann Shaw, who died on October 6.

Condolences are extended to Family and Friends of Yvonne Martin, Fraud Investigator II at HRA/BEV in Brook-lyn on her death October 3. Condolences may be sent to Mr. Owen Martin 2698 8th Avenue, Apt 18D, New York, New York 10030.

Condolences are extended to Denice Keyes, JOS at the Special Needs Housing Program in Center #18 on the death of her niece Tiffany Spencer who died in September. Condolences may be sent to Ms. Adrienne Spencer, 870 Freeman street, #3D, Bronx, NY 10459.

revenues, and possibly have to close. District Council 37 Executive Direc-

tor Lillian Roberts, flanked by other labor officials, told reporters that it was insulting for Congress to consider making cuts to the most vulnerable, especially when good jobs were at stake as well.

“What do the cuts really mean? It means someone is going to go without something,”

she said, adding that Congress was toying with taxpayer funds. “They cut our throat with our own money.”

Startling FindingsThe study’s findings are startling, indeed.

An HHC statement said, “Among its key findings, the Families USA report concludes that New York would be among the top 10 states to face the largest potential loss of business activity with estimated losses of $3.8 billion to its economy and 28,830 lost jobs as a result of a 5 percent cut in Federal Medicaid spending. With a 15 percent cut in Federal Medicaid spending, New York would be at risk of losing $11.4 billion in economic activity and 86,480 jobs.”

Congratulations

Condolences

Documents

Unionist November 2011