Strong
partnerships build strength
“We must all hang together or, assuredly,
we shall all hang separately.” — Benjamin Franklin
By KENNETH BRYNIEN
We may not be confronting the dire threats that the founding fathers of the
United States faced when Benjamin Franklin spoke those words, but the need for
building and maintaining united coalitions to achieve common goals and fight
against common threats is as relevant today as it was nearly 230 years ago.
I made a commitment to continue to build PEF’s strength through cooperation and
by building coalitions with other unions and organizations. This commitment has
led to the building of an unprecedented number of coalitions working toward the
common goals of achieving contract gains, protecting health insurance benefits,
succeeding in legislative initiatives, and fighting threats to our members’
jobs.
We have created a health care coalition of bargaining units that, like us, are
in negotiations with the state, and we remain united in fighting state demands
for concessions.
We are also working in coalition with the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA),
United University Professions (UUP) and NYS United Teachers (NYSUT) to fight
what is currently the greatest threat to our members’ jobs — the proposal to
merge Upstate University and Crouse Hospitals with a governance structure other
than the state University of
New York.
We have developed legislation that will correct proposals made by the Berger
Commission that threaten the jobs of our members at Upstate. The coalition also
has developed a joint media campaign to raise the profile of the issue with the
Legislature and the governor, and we have filed lawsuits to stop the merger.
As we work to implement our legislative agenda, we are partnering with the
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), NYSUT, the New York State Nurses
Association (NYSNA), and the Communication Workers of America (CWA) on
supporting limits to mandated overtime and requiring safe staffing levels for
nurses.
These are just a few examples of how we have been effectively developing
coalitions. We continue to work to maintain and improve our members’ job
security, achieve better contracts and both protect and enhance our pension
benefits.
While there is no guarantee of success in every instance, if we continue to
cultivate and maintain these coalitions and “hang” together, our strength and
ability to address these issues is far greater than if we pursue them on our
own.
The Communicator June 2007
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