July 27, 2018 by The Rye City Review

RyeCity REVIEW THE

July 27, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 30 | www.ryecityreview.com

Latimer says new executive order protects union By JAMES PERO Staff Writer

Smooth September sounds

ArtsWestchester is gearing up for its annual JazzFest having recently announced its slate of performers and schedule of activities for the five-day event in downtown White Plains. For more, see page 6. Photo courtesy pixabay.com

Residential mail theft hot across Westchester County Residents in Westchester have reported a rash of mail theft, according to the county district attorney, who is urging residents to keep a more watchful eye. In some instances, a notice from the Board of Legislators states, mail is stolen directly from mailboxes by using keys or other fishing techniques, while other reports have included an entire mailbox being taken with the mail, which sometimes contains sensitive items like personal checks. If checks are stolen, thieves can also “wash” a check—removing the ink used to fill in the amount—and empty victims’ bank accounts by forging

their own information. Residents have increasingly reported stolen mail in particulars areas in New Rochelle, Bronxville, Purchase, Mount Vernon, Tarrytown and elsewhere across the county, said Board of Legislators Chairman Ben Boykin, a White Plains Democrat. In the city of Yonkers alone, according to city officials in June, $660,000 was stolen by mail thieves since January of this year from 85 different victims, according to city officials. Members of Congress, in a letter sent back in May, urged U.S. Post Master General Megan Brennan to bolster the amount of mail inspectors assigned to

combat fraud in the area. “Mail theft threatens the livelihood of our constituents and impacts our most vulnerable populations,” the letter states. “These thefts occur, daily, rapidly and significantly, decreasing the reliability of the [U.S] Postal Service.” According to the letter from Congress, there are three fulltime mail inspectors—the primary enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service—that cover the Bronx in New York City and Westchester and Rockland counties in the Hudson Valley. “We need [Congress] to intervene immediately with the U.S. Postal Service and have them initiate a comprehensive pro-

gram to aggressively address this problem,” said Scarpino in a statement. “Our constituents deserve better.” While the county awaits intervention from the federal level, Scarpino said that residents in Westchester and elsewhere can avoid having their mail stolen by changing some practices. Specifically, a notice recommends avoiding sending checks in the mail—opting instead for online payments—reporting mail that has not arrived at its intended destination, using gel pens that are less easily “washed” by scammers, and more adamantly checking bank and credit card statements. -Reporting by James Pero

Westchester County Executive George Latimer has signed an executive order seeking to prevent what he characterizes as union busting tactics after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision rendered in late June. The order, which was signed on July 20, will look to deter the dissemination of personal information—in particular union membership—that Latimer, a Democrat, says could be used by outside agencies to convince or pressure unionized workers to leave their collective bargaining. The rule will forbid county employees from sharing information about union membership with outside agencies. “What this executive order does is it diminishes the opportunity for people from outside of Westchester County to manipulate the system, to try and destabilize unions because they have their own ideology,” said Latimer said in a statement. “We know we’ll have our disagreements, but we will work through them, and we will handle them without any outside interference.” The executive order comes a little more than a month after a widely recognized Supreme Court ruling, Janus v. AFSCME, in which a 5-4 decision ruled that government workers represented by a union that choose not join may withhold their union dues. Conservative proponents of the decision say that “fair-share” rules that forced non-members to contribute union dues to collectives that they weren’t members of was an infringement on the

workers’ free speech. The union dues, they say, were used to fund organizations that lobby governments and ultimately affect government spending. Opponents, however, have criticized the decision as a political move to undermine public sector unions who represent non-union members in collective bargaining agreements—agreements that are reached with governments and employers to strengthen conditions for workers. A decision by Latimer to sign the executive order shadows a move by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, who enacted a similar measure on the state level directly following the Supreme Court ruling. Cuomo’s order affects employees throughout the state level, prohibiting them from sharing information with agencies that may be looking to poach non-union members. “The Supreme Court’s devastating Janus decision was advanced by billionaires and extreme conservatives who want to destroy the labor movement, and now those same forces are shamelessly trying to intimidate public employees into leaving unions,” Cuomo said in a statement. Meanwhile, the county has been unable to reach a new contract with its largest union, the Civil Service Employees Association, CSEA, since 2010 and is still in the process of negotiating a new contract. Bleak projections on the county’s financial outlook have been concerning due to outstanding contractual pay raises and benefits. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com