Press Releases
Decision in Charges Against Lydia Sabosto and Phyllis Garbarino
9/9/2009 12:00:00 PM
CONTACT: CHERYL A. FELICE, President
631-589-8400
Or
RANDI DELIROD, AME Public Relations, 31-589-8400
The Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees Board of Directors, by a unanimous vote on September 3, 2009, upheld the Judicial Board’s recommendation in finding both Lydia Sabosto (former Executive Vice President) and Phyllis Garbarino (former President and Judicial Board member) guilty of aiding a competing labor organization, a violation under the AME Constitution and Bylaws. In a second vote cast, the BOD voted by an overwhelming majority to expel both members out of the union – permanently; thereby denying them any benefits the union itself offers the right to seek or hold a union office. Mrs. Garbarino, 71, has been with the county for 31 years. Ms. Sabosto, 50, has been with the county 11 years. Said Joseph Congedo, Judicial Board Chairman, for this hearing, “We wish there had been a more stringent penalty that could have been recommended. The evidence against both parties was overwhelming; both the JB and the BOD did their job well, under very lengthy and difficult circumstances.”
Cheryl A. Felice, President of AME, added: “It is a bittersweet victory. Yes, AME prevailed and expelled two members who were attempting to destroy their own union. But it is a sad day when two former executive board officers, both of whom had taken an oath of office to protect this union from its enemies-- and then turned out to be that enemy, is unconscionable. While every union I have spoken with maintains within its charter a clause for protecting itself, it is still very difficult to witness the personal degradation that these two individuals must feel at this time.”
Felice continued “AME was shaken to the core by the attempts at a decertification, but held strong. That decertification was spearheaded most openly by Sabosto and Garbarino. Yet, at their hearing, there were no supporters to cheer them on, no one to sing their praises, no one to support their misdeeds. While they most assuredly are guilty, I also believe they were duped into being the “face” of the decertification movement by others who remained in the shadows and allowed both of the women to take the fall alone. And if that is true, and I believe it to be, those cowards should suffer a worse fate.”
Frank Casiglia, Secretary of the Association, brought the charges against the parties forward. “I am a 31 year Suffolk County employee and a charter member of AME. As one who fought for the creation of an independent AME with literally our own blood and sweat, I could not silently condone the actions of former officers to destroy what has taken twenty-five years to build. I also, many years ago, ran for election and lost, but never considered destroying AME to soothe myself. What I did instead was to offer my service to my union and continued to take an active role in its growth. It’s a shame that these members have to suffer the embarrassment of being the only two members who have ever been expelled from their own union– that will be their lasting legacy.”
The Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees is the labor union for the 8,500 active and retired Suffolk County employees.
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