Observer-Dispatch (Utica, New York), April 1, 2007, Sunday

Copyright 2007 Observer-Dispatch (Utica, NY)

All Rights Reserved

Observer-Dispatch (Utica, New York)

April 1, 2007 Sunday

1 Edition

SECTION: MONEY; Pg. 8C

HEADLINE: Civil Service union head retires after 11 terms

BYLINE: Tory N. Parrish tparrish@utica.gannett.com

BODY:

{}Membership up 60 percent under Moore

Observer-Dispatch

Union membership may be down nationwide, but that doesn't mean that the groups are obsolete, according to one recently retired union leader.

"I have always said that if the manager or boss treats people with respect and dignity, he'll put me out of business," said Jim Moore, who retired Thursday as president of the Civil Service Employees Association's Central Region, based in Syracuse.

Moore spent about 40 years working with the public employees union, the last 30 of which he spent as the region president.

During Moore's leadership, the region's membership grew by nearly 61 percent to 45,000 members.

Moore, who became a public employee in 1965 when he began working at Utica State Hospital, which is now the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center, considers those numbers an accomplishment, considering that union membership has been declining nationwide for more than two decades.

Actually, public sector union membership nationwide has remained relatively steady, fluctuating between 35 percent and 37 percent, for the last 20 years, mainly because it's easier for those unions to organize than those in the private sector, said Richard Hurd, professor of labor studies at Cornell University.

Declines in the private sector unions, however, have led to overall decreases: Total union membership was 20.1 percent in 1983, compared to 12 percent in 2006. The number of people belonging to a union fell by 326,000 to 15.4 million in 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More U.S. manufacturing jobs shifting overseas is one reason for the decline, Moore said. Another reason may simply be unions operating by an antiquated system that is not working hard enough to welcome a changing workforce with more women, he said.

Unions' failure to reach out to women and minorities is part of the reason for the decline, as well as the globalization of the workforce and the deregulation of industries, including trucking and telecommunications, Hurd said.

"Less government regulation increases competition and increases pressure on employers to keep labor costs down, so they have been resistant to unionization," he said.

New vision

Moore's 60th birthday in September signified that a change was going to come, he said.

The birthday brought about the decision to retire from the union for which he has walked picket lines, fought to secure pensions and worked to gain federal safety laws for employees.

"I have loved every day of my job," Moore said.

He and his wife, Kathy, will be relocating from Clinton to the Raleigh, N.C. area. He plans to get involved in some form of union activity soon after he arrives.

Moore says milestones of his tenure include collaborating in 1967 to get New York State's Taylor Law passed to allow state employees to vote for a union; becoming a union steward in 1970; participating in the first strike by state workers on Easter weekend in 1972 to protest a contract offer; and helping to create the union's Employee Benefit Fund in 1993.

"That was a big day," Moore said.

Moore went on to become the longest-serving officer in the statewide union's 98-year history, having served 11 terms.

His term does not officially end until February 2008, so it will be completed by Ginger Sheffey, who had been the union's central region executive vice president.

Within the more visible position, Sheffey said she'll continue to address union issues, including contract negotiations for state workers and fighting nursing home closings around the state.

She gives Moore credit for serving the union well. "Absolutely, that's why he was there for 30 years," Sheffey said.

AT A GLANCE

The Civil Service Employees Association represents about 265,000 active and retired public service members in New York state. The association is the largest affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which is one of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO.

Jim Moore retired Thursday as the president of the Civil Service Employees Association's Central Region, which includes 45,000 members. Moore, who was first elected to the position in 1977, is the longest-serving officer in the statewide union's 98-year history.

* Timeline of Moore's accomplishments, 10C

TIMELINE OF JIM MOORE'S WORK

1965

Started working for New York state as an employee of the Utica State Hospital, now known as the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center.

1967

Became active with the labor movement when he wrote letters to lobby state elected officials for the right for state employees to organize unions with the rights to bargain. The Taylor Law was passed that year.

1970

Became a union steward.

1972

Elected to serve on CSEA's statewide board of directors. The same year, Moore participated in state workers' first strike, held Easter weekend, to protest a contract offer.

1973

Elected president of his CSEA branch at the Utica State Hospital.

1977

Elected president of CSEA's Central Region, which now represents about 45,000 members in 20 counties.

1978

Was on hand when CSEA affiliated with international union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

1992

Considers the lowest point of his union career the murder of four CSEA members, working for Schuyler County's Department of Social Services, by a man whose wages had been withheld for failing to pay child support.

1993

Helped create the union's in-house Legal Department and its Employee Benefit Fund.

1994

The first CSEA leader to be awarded the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Jerry Wurf Scholarship to attend Harvard University's Trade Union Program, which he graduated from in 1994.