Union salutes its 8,000 nurses
PEF nurses taking bigger and bigger steps

By SHERRY HALBROOK
Every year, PEF pauses in May to observe national Nurses’ Week (May 6-12 this year) and to salute the union’s single largest title group.
“We represent more than 8,000 nurses in 45 different job titles at more than eight state departments and agencies,” said PEF President Roger Benson. “They do a wide variety of jobs and can be found in just about every part of the state.”

“But for all of their diversity, they have a great deal in common and the union is committed to weaving those common threads into a fabric of great strength and resilience,” Benson said.

PEF has assigned the task of “master weaver” to its Statewide Nurses Committee, headed by nurse Brian Hyde from University Hospital in Syracuse (Region 4) and staffed by PEF nurse organizer Lenore Boris.

The committee is made up of eight nurses, in addition to Hyde. They are: Cindy Bartley-Horn, Mireille Bastien, Jean Corrigan, Dee Dodson, Henrietta Fogle, Diane Hart, Millie Lewis, James Spina, and Patricia Wilson.
The union also has a nurses’ committee in every PEF region.

Mobilizing nurses
A lot has happened since the last time Nurses’ Week rolled around, Hyde noted, and while nurses and their union have faced profound challenges and adversity, they are, in fact, emerging stronger than ever.

For instance, the prolonged battle for a fair PS&T contract has made members more aware of the union, and it inspired development of PEF’s statewide member-mobilization network that reaches into virtually every state workplace.

“Whatever initiatives we take in our committee, I try to build them around the member-mobilizer network,” Hyde said. “We are using it to circulate nursing surveys, protest-of-assignment forms, information on legislation and our lobbying efforts, and much more.”

In fact, the new PEF publication for nurses — Nurses News — is being distributed through the member-mobilizer network, too.
“We have more than 70 member mobilizers at University Hospital and most of them are nurses,” Hyde said. “It’s all part of nurses becoming more active and mobilized on our issues.”

Legislation matters
A perfect example of the increased interest and participation by nurses, Hyde said, was seen on March 14 when the Statewide Nurses Committee converged on the state Capitol to meet with key lawmakers on legislative issues important to PEF nurses.

“We had a great lobby day,” Hyde said. “The number of nurses participating was triple what we had last year, and for the first time we had a brochure explaining who we were and listing our legislative priorities with their bill numbers.”
Those priorities include the Nursing Care Quality Protection Act (A2623/S3234), Exempt Clause Repeal (A1183/S1058), Whistleblower or Anti-Gag legislation (A3089/S1453), Sharps Safety Act (S4936/A7144B) and Judi Scanlon’s Law (S5524/A7344A).

“We had a very good response from legislators on these bills,” Hyde said.
“Now, we need our nurses contacting their legislators about these bills,” Hyde said. “We have to keep the pressure on to make sure they don’t get bottled up in committees, especially in the Senate.”
For more information about the legislation, contact Boris at lboris@pef.org

Strength through unity
PEF is not working in isolation on these issues, Hyde said.
“We are building coalitions of support with other labor unions and interested groups. An affiliate, the Service Employees International Union, is working with us closely on the needle-stick legislation. And we held what was really a landmark meeting in March among health-care unions and the NYS Nurses Association to talk about the issue of nurse/patient ratios. It was the first time this group has come together to talk about a common issue.”

Not only is PEF stronger and more effective when it works with other groups and unions on issues, nurses can be stronger doing the same thing in their workplace, Hyde said.
“I’m hearing more and more from nurses who fear retaliation for speaking out at their workplace,” Hyde said. “But by working together, individuals are less exposed. It’s harder for managers to single you out, when all or most of the nurses are saying and doing the same thing.”

Ultimately, the potential gains you can make are worth the time, the effort and even the risk of retaliation, he said.
“These things we’re doing to make your life better at the workplace will carry over into a better life at home, for you and your family.”

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