ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL — PEF President Roger Benson (center) and NYS American Civil Liberties Union President Norman Siegel listen to New York City Comptroller Alan Hevesi at a reception hosted by PEF at the April conference of NYS Hispanic lawmakers in Albany. Siegel is a candidate for NYC public advocate and Hevesi is running for NYC mayor. — Photo by Robert Jackson
We must make state see toll short staffing takes
By ROGER E. BENSON
At many of the membership meetings I attend, I get to hear first hand about your issues, and none comes up more often than short-staffing.
Short staffing is one of the top issues for PEF’s nurses, parole officers, prison teachers and instructors, transportation engineers, health surveyors and many others.
The members who come to me say they want to provide the best possible service to the public, but they often find they do little more than run from one crisis to another because hiring freezes, uncompetitive pay and tough working conditions have worn their ranks thin.
Our nurses struggle to give patients the proper, professional care they need. But while nurses worry about their patients, they also wonder if they will be allowed to go home at the end of their shift to care for their families. Too often, they are told they must stay and work double shifts without rest, because the state has failed to recruit and retain enough nurses.
Our parole officers scramble to deal with overwhelming caseloads and worry whether they have enough time to adequately supervise their parolees.
These kinds of pressures face our members in virtually every agency across the state.
For too long, the state has depended on our members to give and do more and more to make up for the ever dwindling state workforce. But it is taking an unbearable toll on many dedicated state employees. And the more of them who finally give up and leave state service, the harder it is on those who remain.
We know the problem and we’re pressing for budget additions and legislation to relieve some of these burdens on our members. We are working to build political and public pressure to make sure the Legislature and governor take action.
We must keep speaking out to make the governor and the Legislature recognize their responsibility to fully staff and fund state services.
New York state citizens deserve no less.