 Members
mobilized, ready to rallyData center relocation hinges on new state administration By DEBORAH A. MILES The state announced plans in October to consolidate its four data centers in the Capital Region, which handle digital tasks for state agencies, and relocate them to a single center in Utica within two to three years. The Office for Technology (OFT) said there was a need for more space for the data center’s servers. PEF leaders opposed the idea as soon as it came off the drawing board, saying it wasn’t financially feasible. “The cost was originally estimated at $75 million, but it is now pegged at $99.5 million,” said Tom Comanzo, PEF Region 8 coordinator. PEF leaders also viewed this as a last-minute act of geographic patronage by the former governor, George Pataki. They are hoping Gov. Eliot Spitzer will deem the plan too costly and keep the center in the Albany area, saving hundreds of PEF members and other employees from the need to uproot their families and move to Utica or lose their jobs. “I believe Gov. Spitzer will review this,” said PEF Executive Board representative Jim Blake, Division 204 council leader at OFT. “Mr. Spitzer seems more rational about the actual costs it takes to run the state.” “We’re hoping the new governor will say this is a bad idea and just scrap it entirely,” said Phil Chase, Executive Board member and Division 357 council leader, also at OFT. If the relocation plan isn’t scrapped, the union is ready to fight back not only to save the jobs in the Capital Region, but to protect the infrastructure that supports a massive data-communications network. “If this plan to move to Utica moves forward, PEF is ready,” said Chase. “There is a lot at stake here.” “No other state has either its main data center or backup center out of its capital area,” Blake said. “The cabling and necessary bandwidth is in Albany, not in Utica. The state already spent $1 to $2 million last year to upgrade the computer air conditioning and power backup generator at the Stuyvesant Plaza data center to allow for more equipment.” Contracting-out again? If the plan to move to Utica goes through, Blake said a “no bid” contract could be awarded to IBM, a company that already has more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in contracts with New York state. “I believe IBM is playing a bait-and-switch tactic by low-balling the cost for the first two years of service, not counting cost overruns. Once entrenched, the cost of converting the system back to public ownership would be astronomically high,” Blake said. “IBM could increase its contract cost significantly to keep controlling the data centers.” One solution Blake said the state, through the SUNY Institute of Technology and private companies, should start an incubator system for technology companies such as the ones done by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University at Albany Nanotechnology Center. “An incubator system would provide the growth vehicle for the next generation of workers and provide a real chance for economic growth,” Blake said. For updates on the data center and call-to-action alerts, visit the PEF Web site, www.pef.org. |
Survey could help
revive DEC, halt contracting-out By DEBORAH A. MILES PEF leaders at the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will take the pulse of their members through a survey within the next few weeks in an effort to combat contracting-out. “We can’t fight contracting-out without the member’s input,” said Terry Tyoe, Division 169 council leader. “With a survey, members can get involved without fear of someone hearing them.” The survey will focus on contracting-out and other issues such as time and attendance, health and safety, out-of-title work and other contract issues. David Persson, PEF chair of the labor-management committee at DEC, said, “Work life issues are just as important as compensation. That’s why we need a survey, so we can find out what the members are thinking.” The results will be of value at labor-management meetings, especially since the DEC Time and Attendance Manual was revised. “The reasonable thinking has been removed from the manual. It’s a hard document,” Persson said. “We’re hoping the survey results will allow management to realize that employees are mobilized on issues of concern.” Tyoe noted the survey results might be of interest to Gov. Eliot Spitzer, as he spoke about reviving DEC in his State of the State Address on January 3. “Our agency staff is really involved and has wonderful ideas about the agency and its mission,” Tyoe said. “I believe some great ideas will come out of the survey and it would be a way to volunteer and participate in any revitalization plan. The agency has been decimated by staff cuts. The stopgap measure has been to hire contractors and privatize jobs. We’d like to see that come to an end.” Members in Division 169 and Division 385 from Long Island are being asked to take the survey. Persson said he hopes at least 60 percent of the 1,800 members participate. “The survey will also keep members mobilized and communicating,” he said. For more information, go online to www.pefencon.info. |
The Communicator Feb. 2007
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