PEF Division 169 honored for frontlines activism
By SHERRY HALBROOK
No one can accuse members of PEF Division 169 at the state Department of Environmental Conservation of being too caught up in themselves to get involved in the issues around them, environmental or otherwise.
In fact, the division and its members have earned a reputation for activism, especially in the Capital District.
So, it was hardly surprising when the division was presented with the On The Frontlines Award of the Labor-Religion Coalition of the Capital District at its 12th annual awards dinner held March 12 in Albany.
PEF Region 8 Coordinator Tom Comanzo, who is also the coalition’s labor chair, was master of ceremonies for the event and presented the award to Division 169.
The On the Frontlines Award was established to honor those whose work for justice has required unusual dedication and risk. It honors the strength and commitment necessary to create positive change in the workplace, the neighborhood, or in public institutions.
State Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith was the keynote speaker at the event.
Among the Division 169 members who were there to receive the award were Executive Board members Wayne Bayer and Karl Berger, as well as Division 169 Treasurer John Donlon, and stewards Holly Clark and Bill Wurster. Three other dedicated Region 8 activists from the division, Susan DuBois, Stan Byer and Mike Keenan, were unable to attend that night.
DuBois has traveled to Mexico at least twice with the Labor-Religion Coalition to meet with workers for U.S. manufacturing companies there. Bayer also traveled with the coalition members on a peace mission to Nicaragua. Their involvement with the group goes back to the early 1980s.
A few of the many other coalition issues the division’s activists have supported include the elimination of dangerous pesticides from schools, farm workers’ rights, and the elimination of sweat shop products from schools and college campuses.
“They define activism,” Comanzo said, in presenting Division 169 with the On the Frontlines Award. “They are always ready to work for causes important to the coalition and important to PEF.
