Jim Sebesta Obituary, Death – Yesterday morning about 5:15 in the morning, Jim Sebesta, who was the CSEA Union President of Cornwall-on-Hudson Unit #7928 and Head Mechanic, passed away unexpectedly.
His death occurred yesterday morning. At the Westchester Medical Center, where he was bolstered by the undying love of his family, he engaged in a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful fight for his life. When I took over as President of Cornwall Unit #7924, one of the first people I contacted was Jimmy. This was because Jimmy was a member of the unit. We had known one another for a considerable amount of time. As we sat down together, we discussed a variety of things, including contracts, negotiations, employee morale, and the most effective method to run our business. Jimmy and I would have brief talks in which we would compare and contrast the tremendous amounts of knowledge that we each possessed whenever we would occasionally “check in” on one another. The following information was provided by James Gagliano, Mayor of COH Village:
“Jim started working for the Village on April 10, 2000,” it says in the sentence. During his time in this location, he gave nearly 23 years of his life to serving our community with pride and distinction. Over the course of several decades, while serving as our Head Mechanic, he was responsible for turning enough wrenches and making enough critical technical decisions to ensure that our vehicle fleet remained both operable and safe. This made it possible for us to continue delivering the services that the people of the Village have become accustomed to receiving and that are rightfully owed to them by virtue of their status as Village residents.
When Jim was serving as a delegate for the CSEA union, he would kindly come to see me to discuss a contractual concern, and my interactions with him in this capacity are connected to the union business that took place during that time. When we were both working in this role, these encounters took occurred between the two of us. When he talked about the other people on his squad, he referred to them as “the men,” and he was a devoted fan of their success. And despite the ferocity with which he advocated a cause, he never lost his manners or concern for others, even when he was very passionate about it. These were the last words that he said to me a few weeks ago: “Okay, Boss, I hear you.
You are aware, however, that I have a responsibility to advocate on behalf of my coworkers. That was Jim Sebesta condensed in its most essential form. As a group of people from the Village, we cannot believe what just happened. In addition, we shall remember the member who has passed away with a memorial service. I would want to take this opportunity to thank Cornwall Supervisor Josh Wojehowski and Mayor Gagliano for their assistance all the way through this challenging time period.