PEF fights to get Roswell members reinstated after layoffs

By DARCY WELLS
PEF’s effort to restore the jobs of 24 research associates at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo went public in March with print ads, press conference and pickets.

The entire staff of research associates were given notice March 6 their jobs are being abolished. Then they were escorted out of the building and put on administrative leave for the next three weeks.

“This is in direct contrast with President Barack Obama’s commitment to find a cure for cancer,” PEF President Ken Brynien told those gathered at a press conference outside Roswell Park March 13.

Brynien was referring to Obama’s February 24 address to a joint session of Congress in which the president singled out cancer research as a priority, promising to commit significant federal funding toward finding a cure.

“Apparently, Roswell Park Cancer Institute has decided to sit this one out,” Brynien said.

PEF Executive Board member Cheri Frank, a research scientist at Roswell Park was one of the employees laid-off.

“In it’s advertising, Roswell uses a slogan, ‘brilliant minds and caring hearts,’” Frank said. “The administration just discarded the brilliant minds of two dozen dedicated researchers.”

Division 196 Council Leader Adam Sumlin said more than $10 billion in federal stimulus funding has been set aside for National Institutes of Health research grants.

“Those grants support cancer research at institutes such as Roswell and can be used to restore these positions,” Sumlin said.

For two consecutive work days following the press conference, members and their supporters held informational pickets outside, while administrators gathered for meetings inside the facility.

“The administration at Roswell is putting cancer research on the back burner,” said PEF Region 1 Coordinator Kevin Hintz. “The layoffs send a strong message Roswell Park is turning it’s back on cancer patients hopeful for a cure.”

Members carried posters featuring the faces of 24 administrators and displaying each of their salaries, which averaged almost a quarter million dollars, while the average salary of the laid-off cancer researchers is less than $60,000.

Roswell President and Chief Executive Officer Donald Trump (not to be confused with the celebrity developer) was targeted during the pickets with a large banner that said, “Donald Trump, you’re fired.”

Brynien sent letters to all of the Roswell employees it represents assuring them their union will do whatever is possible to restore the jobs and maintain the job security of every member at Roswell.