OLD WESTBURY- On Friday, May 7, the Long Island LERA (Labor and Employment Relations Association) held its Annual Spring Conference at the New York Institute of Technology’s DeSeversky Center. The conference featured a 90 minute panel discussion with CSEA Local 830 President Jerry Laricchiuta, Nassau’s Deputy Director of Labor Relations Jason Limson and Moderator Martin Scheinman. The room was filled with hundreds of labor leaders from across Long Island, who engaged in an interesting question and answer session with the panel.

 

The topic was negotiating a collective bargaining agreement in the public sector during a time period of austerity. Laricchiuta discussed the evolution of public sector contracts over the years. “During a period of austerity, management wants the union to give back, but it’s important to note that you can’t just throw out decades upon decades of collective bargaining,” Laricchiuta said.   He also noted that although times are tough, that it’s important for management to realize the concessions from unions over the years, and the current financial constraints on employees who are having a hard time making ends meet as well.