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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
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| PEF convention site insulting To the Editor: Recent studies have concluded many high school students have a serious lack of basic proficiency in geography. Must we now conclude that our PEF Executive Board should be lumped in with these students after its selection of Montreal as its destination for the 2003 PEF convention? Montreal is not New York. How can the Executive Board justify New York’s second largest public-employees union spending hundreds of thousands of dollars outside the state? Our salaries are paid by taxes generated in New York, not the Province of Quebec. It is insulting to the citizens and businesses in New York who are good enough to pay our salaries, but not good enough to host our next convention. RICK FLISNIK Marcy PEF conventions should be here To the Editor: I am appalled the 25th Annual PEF Convention is being held in Montreal, Canada. It is a great disappointment that the union’s Executive Board even presented this. I work in New York State, for New York State and I am paid by New York State. Therefore, why would the union that represents me in negotiations with New York State hold its annual delegate convention outside New York State and outside this country? This is a slap in the face of every hotel and convention business in New York State, and an additional detriment to the current economic climate of New York State. This will have a negative impact on our appeal to the public during contract negotiations. Should we continue to ask the public to be sympathetic to our needs, and stress how valuable we are to New York State? As a dues paying member, I demand that not one penny of my dues be used to fund this debacle. I request this convention be rebooked to a city within New York State. DAVID W. GEHRING Buffalo Editor’s Note: PEF is going to Montreal, an all-union convention destination, as part of a union-convention exchange agreement between New York City and Montreal. Convention sites must be booked years in advance. When Montreal was chosen five years ago, PEF wanted to send a message to the anti-union positions of the NYS Business Council which is linked to the chambers of commerce which serve as the boards of directors for the convention sites in this state. It would cost PEF $200,000 to cancel the Montreal convention site. Sees tax hikes as socialism To the Editor: An article in the February issue of The Communicator suggests the state’s $10-12 million budget deficit could be solved by a small temporary tax on upper incomes of state residents. PEF must be aware the shortfall came from already overburdened state expenditures. The most enduring thing is a temporary tax. The best solution is to reduce expenses to less than income. Taking from one class to give to another is the definition of socialism — a self-defeating political system in which those who are unjustly taxed will leave, taking their income with them. PEF’s idea is a big step away from the free-enterprise system where the results of labor are related to and rewarded by the effort put forth. Do not look for taxes to cure the ills of mismanagement. New York State was my home from 1926 to 1954 and from 1981 to 1988. I remember when: • The number of NY taxpayers declined; • Expenditures for social programs increased; • Taxes continued to increase; • New York City went broke; • The federal government bailed out the city; and • Corporations and individuals moved to other states. GEORGE K. BENNETT Deerfield Beach, FL The Communicator Letters policy We welcome letters to the editor about union issues and events relevant to PEF's diverse membership. All letters are subject to editing for space, fairness and good taste. Please keep them brief (up to one page, double-spaced or a maximum of 250 words), and please include your name and phone number for verification. Send letters to: The Communicator Public Employees Federation P.O. Box 12414 Albany, N.Y. 12212-2414 email Denyce Duncan Lacy, Executive Editor The Communicator - Director of Public Relations dduncanlacy@pef.org Sherry Halbrook, Editor of The Communicator- shalbrook@pef.org |
