Maturity and stability build PEF’s power in labor community By ROGER E. BENSON In the four years we have been in office, we have had the opportunity to announce a number of PEF's successes, legislative, contractual, and political. Most of these successes were the result of perseverance, skill, professionalism, and the leadership of PEF’s members. However, we often overlook the broader issue of the supportive role our friends in the labor community played in our success. While we took leadership positions in advocating for a COLA for our retirees, pension enhancement for active members, and the 457-IRA rollover, the support we received from other AFL-CIO unions helped make these achievements a reality. Our relationship with American Federation of Teachers leaders in Montana gave us access to U.S. Senator Max Baucus, who during conference negotiations on the federal tax-cut bill made sure the 457-IRA rollover was kept in the bill. Our ability to build winning coalitions on our issues results from being able to find common ground with other unions by creating an understanding of our issues and how they benefit others in the labor community. Our willingness to support issues of others is a necessity for further strengthening those relationships. We have been successful building the relationships necessary to achieve our goals because PEF, as a union, has matured. The stability of leadership has allowed us to participate more fully in the policy-making bodies of the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union and AFT — reaping the benefits of our associations. We understand that with a membership comprised of nearly 2,340 different titles, to keep moving our broader agenda of job security, stronger contracts, full staffing and, retirement reform forward there must be flexibility on issues. These lessons have served us well. The skills that help bring us together as a union have helped to make us a bigger and stronger player in the labor community, a community that will benefit every PEF member. We recognize that, while we have built PEF’s strength as a political player, to reach the next level we must take advantage of our associations with other unions. To do this, we must participate in the give and take that enables us to achieve our broader goals. We can’t always achieve victory on our own. Learning that sometimes we have to work with and rely on others to achieve our goals is an important sign that we are ready to take our place in the labor community — a community that will benefit every PEF member. The Communicator Home Page