Ability to mobilize members key to PEF’s successes By ROGER BENSON Over the last several years, PEF has had a great deal of success in our core areas of stronger contracts, employment security, retirement reform, civil service merit and fitness, and full staffing. We have worked hard organizationally to increase our level of political action and to raise PEF’s profile through more media outreach. However, the key to our success has been our ability to lead through the mobilization of our membership and remain focused on our core goals. The strength from our ability to mobilize has been manifested in our ability to achieve the passage of legislation beneficial to our members and to protect the services we provide from the state’s short-sighted budget cutters. Just recently, after years of effort we were able to gain passage of the Whistleblower legislation, which we expect will be signed into law. We also have influenced the budgetary process and even the governor’s Executive Budget, preventing any proposed layoffs to address the state’s fiscal crisis. However, the need for mobilization around the budget has not ended. The proposed budget and competition for funding and tax cuts by special interests remain a threat to our core goals and our ability to provide essential services to New York’s citizens. The budget proposal threatens our ability to serve the mentally ill and aggravates the problem of short staffing in OMH facilities, presenting dangers to both our members and the clients they serve. The Executive Budget also would remove the state Library, Archives and Museum from the state Education Department and create a public benefit corporation — threatening our members’ employment security and striking at our goal of civil service merit and fitness. These are just two examples of the many threats we face. We have begun grassroots lobbying to fight the damaging and insidious cuts to the services we provide. For starters, we have begun a campaign to press for the passage of a 25/55 retirement option. And we will press for legislation to eliminate mandatory overtime for our nurses. Improving the working and retirement lives of our members continues to be “job one” at PEF. However, achieving our goals depends upon our ability to remain focused, active, and mobilized. If you haven’t signed up to be a member mobilizer, I urge you to do so through your local PEF division. Your involvement will ensure our continued and expanded success.

“Achieving our goals depends upon our ability to remain focused, active, and mobilized.”