SPEAKING UP
— PEF President Ken Brynien addresses hundreds of protestors at a rally
against threatened state layoffs. The event was held in late April
across from the governor’s offices in midtown Manhattan.
— Photo by Richard Dillard
PEF staying on top of layoffs, many
issues By KENNETH BRYNIEN
Over the last six months, PEF’s primary efforts have surrounded protecting
our pay raises and contractual benefits, first by defeating the governor’s
legislative proposals, and now by working to defeat his “either-or” position
that we must either accept contract concessions or face unnecessary layoffs.
We will continue to fight the layoffs, while meeting with the governor and
his representatives to discuss it and offer proposals that eliminate the
need for layoffs and maintain the inviolability of our contract.
While our fight to avert layoffs remains as a primary issue, it is by no
means the only challenge we are facing. We have not lost sight of other
issues affecting our members. Among these are violence in youth facilities,
short staffing, the increased use of consultants, and the need to comply
with limits on involuntary overtime for nurses, as well as federal proposals
that threaten to tax our health insurance benefits, to name a few.
Despite all of these challenges, we, as a union, continue to move forward.
Recently, the state Division of Budget released a bulletin on the
implementation of Executive Order 6 which requires a process to review the
cost-effectiveness of large consultant contracts, as well as requiring state
agencies to make information about contracts and their reasons for entering
into them more publicly available.
Additionally, as the July 1 effective date for the law limiting involuntary
overtime for nurses draws closer, the state Labor Department will issue
guidelines for state agencies on how to implement the law. We will work to
ensure the law is carried out and that agencies implement it as intended.
Though for many it may be difficult to focus on issues other than the threat
of layoffs and contract concessions, PEF remains vigilant and ready to meet
these and any other challenge that threatens our members’ jobs, benefits or
terms and conditions of employment.
