I have been in my new position as your Region 5 President for six months already. It is unbelievable how quickly time goes by. What an exciting time it has been! I am very proud to serve in this role and take my responsibilities very seriously. Every step of the way I continue to learn, evaluate and implement necessary changes to move our Region in a new direction.
Together with our Executive Board, we have been able to make many necessary changes to our regional committees to allow the Chairs, along with their new Vice Chairs, to steer our committees in a direction to better represent our members. By empowering the leaders and members of each committee to be able to take the initiative to make innovative plans, I know our Region will continue to keep leading the way in CSEA.
We have also created two new committees recently which we hope will continue to move us forward. Our State Government Committee will provide a roundtable forum for our leaders working in state government to discuss the issues that affect them. They will be able to network and share best practices, common concerns and possible solutions. When we do this, we are strengthening our union and this committee will continue to move us in that direction. The other new committee is our Community Outreach Committee. We are very excited about this committee. The possibilities of what we can accomplish are limitless. The projects we get involved in and the work we can do in our communities will help to build and strengthen our alliances with multiple organizations, which we hope will provide us support when and if we need it. This committee will provide our Region the structure and ability to work in partnership with all our committees, our members and communities across our Region. This is a necessary step to continue to build a stronger union.
Speaking of building a stronger union, I believe union leaders and members gain power through knowledge.
That’s why we've been putting an increased emphasis on our union’s educational opportunities, many offered through our Education and Training Department or the NYS/CSEA Partnership for Education and Training. You may have noticed that we have stepped up our game in promoting these opportunities by posting ALL training opportunities for our leaders and members on our Facebook Page for wider visibility and sharing.
I have been out in the field regularly visiting work locations, attending meetings and getting to see what our members do every day. I enjoy every opportunity I get to do this, as it is so important to reach out to our members and let them know that they are an important part of our organization. I have been moving in the direction of more inclusiveness by making sure I visit both Units and Locals. I started a new regular Leadership Alert email blast, and I make sure it’s sent to every President in our Region. This is proving to be successful and everyone is saying that we are moving in a new refreshing direction.
Henry Kissinger once said, “The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.”
We are committed to mapping out a new direction in Region 5 and making our Region more member-driven and inclusive than ever before. I will continue to work with each of you to ensure that the will of our members guides our future actions. I will work diligently to build a bigger, better and bolder Union!
In Unity,
About Ken Greenleaf:
Ken Greenleaf is currently serving his first term as our union's Central Region president, having moved up into the position in November 2018. As Region President, Greenleaf oversees the elected union officers throughout 20 counties in Central New York, advocating on behalf of about 45,000 active and retired workers.