 BLASTING BACK - PEF President Roger Benson recognized the very special skills of the instructors at the School for the Blind at a May rally and encouraged a response from the state to get a just contract. — Photos by Bill Sachs Members rally for justice at Schools for the Deaf and Blind By DENYCE DUNCAN LACY Fed up with working for more than three years without a contract, the instructional staff from the state School for the Blind in Batavia and School for the Deaf in Rome braved high winds and rain to hold coordinated rallies outside the schools in May. PEF President Roger Benson led the call for justice in Batavia. “It’s time the state stopped treating you, uniquely qualified professionals, like second-class citizens,” Benson told the members. The instructors, habilitation program assistants and other employees at the School for the Blind work with approximately 75 youngsters who have visual impairment and, in many cases, other handicapping or medical conditions. “These employees have very special training, experience and skills. They deserve to be treated at least as well as all other teachers in state service, but the state refuses to give them the same benefits,” Benson told reporters. The main obstacles to a contract settlement at both schools are the state’s refusal to end delays in crediting retroactive salary-step increases and to give all full-time school-year employees the option of keeping their health insurance benefits over the summer. And PEF leaders say the state appears to be dragging out the talks. “The state is never ready to negotiate with us,” said Deborah Cromwell-Stamp, PEF council leader at the School for the Blind. PEF Region 3 Coordinator Frank Besser also spoke at the rally, along with other union officials and supporters from Rochester and Buffalo. Assembly Member Susan John also walked with the picketers and offered words of support. Approximately 125 PEF-represented employees at the School for the Blind and the state School for the Deaf in Rome are covered by these negotiations to replace the agreement that expired April 1, 1999. |
Two dozen unions support PEF rally at
School for the Deaf By DEBORAH A. MILES Shouting through a bullhorn in a drizzling rain at a May contract rally in Rome, PEF Secretary-Treasurer Jane Hallum told PEF members at the state School for the Deaf, “You deserve to have the same pay scales and health benefits as our other members. Why should you be differentiated from the other 54,800 PEF members!” Instructors, psychologists, audiologists and other PEF employees at this school, who have been without a contract for more than three years, chanted their reply: “What do we want?” “A contract!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” That chant resonated when members from nearly two dozen unions, including New York State United Teachers, Civil Service Employees Association, United Steelworkers of America, Service Employees International Union and Teamsters Local 182 as well as representatives from various PEF divisions and staff, joined the instructional staff as they marched, shouted and blew whistles to call attention to the unresolved contract. Even local leaders such as Rome Mayor Joe Griffo and Assembly Members David Townsend and RoAnn Destito came to lend their support. “When you hurt one of our brothers or sisters, you hurt us all,” said regional CSEA President James Moore, who is also president of the Central NY Labor Council. Union leaders said the injury in this case is not only the lack of a contract, but apathy on the part of the state’s negotiators, headed by Assistant Director of Employee Relations Rebecca Caudle.  Victoria Stockton, PEF council leader at the School for the Deaf, said employees there and at the School for the Blind in Batavia, have special training. Yet, the state refuses to treat these instructors like other state teachers, with equal pay and benefits. “Even the starting salaries for teachers here are $5,000 less than at city school districts,” she said. Stockton signed to the crowd as union leaders spoke about the obstacles to a contract settlement. “The state refuses to credit retroactive salary-step increases,” said PEF Region 6 Coordinator Michael DelPiano. “And it refuses to provide the option of maintaining health insurance for those employees who work the 10-month school year.” “Only $7,000 separates us from the rest of the state,” shouted PEF Vice President Joe Fox. “Can’t the governor move around a few thousand dollars? That’s a shame!” “Life is imitating fiction in this case,” Hallum said. “This is a Cinderella story and you know who is playing the role of the wicked stepmother.” The crowd responded, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Becky Caudle has to go!” “Just remember,” Hallum added, “Cinderella wins in the end. Everyone here is going to get the glass slipper and go to the ball.” |