 INCENTIVE TO MOBILIZE —
PEF leaders in Division 225 distributed pocket
calculators to more than 1,400 members. This effort
helped them to organize and become fully mobilized.
— Photo by Mario A. Bruni
Division 225
takes it step-by-step
Careful
organization key to mobilizing large divisions
By DEBORAH A. MILES
With more than 1,400 members spread out at seven
different worksites, the task of getting PEF Division 225
fully mobilized took a lot of organizational effort.
“The sheer numbers were overwhelming,” said PEF
Executive Board Member Charlie McAteer. We needed more
than 150 volunteer member mobilizers to cover the many
facilities and shifts.”
Most members in the division work for the state
University of New York at Stony Brook as nurses and other
health care providers in a “24/7” operation.
Other members work miles away from Stony Brook at the
College of Optometry, Old Westbury College, Farmingdale
University, Maritime College, the Long Island State
Veterans Home and Coram Health Center.
Incentive to
organize
Also spurring Division 225’s leaders to organize was
the challenge of distributing a gift to their members.
“We decided to give a pocket-size calculator to our
members,” McAteer said. “On one side it says,
‘Hometown Heroes, PEF Division 225’ with the
division phone number.
The difficulty of distributing the calculators made us
realize we needed an efficient way to reach all our
members.”
Breaking down the big picture and taking the task
step-by-step led to success.
“Dee Dodson, our council leader, devised an exercise
of going shift-by-shift and unit-by-unit,” McAteer
said. “She matched mobilizers with the list of
members and charted campuses. This was very important as
it broke down the task into manageable chunks.
“It truly was a matching game. We used the layout of
the hospital, sister units and the campus to keep the
member mobilizers close to their fellow PEF
members,” he said.
Each unit provided a list of current members that the
division officers and stewards used to identify potential
mobilizers based on their past interactions with the
union.
Then they sent letters asking those members if they would
help share information with up to nine co-workers. The
final mobilization charting began with the responses to
those letters.
Open lines vital in negotiations
“It’s essential to keep the lines of
communication open to individuals and to PEF
Central,” McAteer said. “This will give us the
ability to get information and responses in an expedient
way, especially regarding contract negotiations.”
Margaret Messer, PEF’s assistant director of
mobilization and education, complimented the division on
a job well done.
”Considering Division 225 members are so spread out,
Dee Dodson and her organizers did a phenomenal job in a
short period of time,” Messer said.
“Now, those members can be updated easily during
contract talks, and they can help build support for
PEF’s legislative issues and increase member
solidarity.”
More than 50 percent of PEF’s divisions are
mobilized. “That number is growing,” Messer
said. “Council leaders should work together,
mentoring each other, to reach our goal of being 100
percent mobilized.”
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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
Inside This Issue:
Features
Ad blitz aims to save jobs,
services
Pataki eyes budget cuts
ERI savings slim pickings
for state
Bill outlaws discrimination
is now law
Leaders open PS&T
contract talks
PEF honors its Ground Zero
heroes
Departments
President's Message: Budget
balancing act
You Said It: Member's
letters this month
Health & Safety:
Smallpox vaccine concerns
Member
Mobilization:Organization is key
Nurses' Station: Lobby Day
plans for May
Health Notes: Empire Plan
number reaches all
Retirees In Action: Losing
ground financially
PEF Membership Benefits
Program & Travel Corp
Union Matters
Worker's Rights
Reg. 8 brings holiday cheer
State promises Rx for
docs’ pension-credit snafu
They got the 'write stuff':
• Furlani • Wilcox
AED training provides
statewide life support
PEF, Black Caucus plan
receptions
Apply May 1 for Jean DeBow
scholarship
PEF magazine, TV ad win big
2003 Election Rules Dates,
Rules, Requirements
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