Retirement for a CSA Legend
by Anne Silverstein
Assistant Welfare Fund Administrator Sherri Tabachnick, who has helped thousands of CSA members navigate the complex world of health benefits, will retire at the end of this month.
The news was greeted with sadness in the CSA office, although it was not completely unexpected; Ms. Tabachnick has been with the union since January 1983 when Ted Elsberg was President and Irwin Shanes was the Welfare Fund Administrator. She has been the go-to woman for the CSA staff as well as the membership of the union, both in-service and retirees.
Ms. Tabachnick is moving to Jackson, NJ, to be close to one of her daughters and grandchildren. She will become a member
of the Retiree Chapter and looks forward to the Regional Unit’s activities, she said from her aerie on the 34th floor of 16 Court Street. Assistant Finance Director Glenda Harry, who has been with the Welfare Fund for 28 years, will take over Ms. Tabachnick’s duties as the Assistant Administrator for Finance and Operations.
“Our members will miss her – so many depend upon her to help them through tough times. Her depth of knowledge will be hard to replace, which is why Glenda has been working with Sherri so closely the past few years in preparation for this time,” said Dr. Hathaway.
“We’ll miss her too. It’s hard to imagine the Welfare Fund without her. She’s part of the Fund’s history.”
Mr. Shanes hired Ms. Tabachnick as a bookkeeper “when we did it by hand in books,” Ms. Tabachnick laughed. Three promotions later, she became the Assistant Administrator after Donald Singer became President in 1989.
“I got married to my second husband, Lenny, here. I went back to college here. It was a pain in the [neck] but Irwin bought me a pencil case so I had to go. He encouraged me to go back to school. My grandchildren were born.”
Ms. Tabachnick has enjoyed her work although helping people with sick children or spouses is difficult, she said, because people are suffering so. But making their lives a little easier is rewarding. “It’s a people job. No degree in college prepares you for that. What does prepare you is working with a person like Irwin Shanes,” she said, speaking about her mentor.
We’ll miss you Sherri. Enjoy your life!
