NEW TOP LEADERS — PEF’s new Secretary-Treasurer Arlea Igoe and President Ken Brynien take office after being sworn in Aug. 1. Photo by Deborah A. Miles

New leader; Same high standards, priorities

By Kenneth Brynien
Now that PEF’s internal elections are over and a new administration has been sworn into office, continuing to address the needs of our members will remain the central focus of this union.

As PEF’s new president, I am committed to following through on the main priorities of the past nine years: stronger contracts, job security, retirement reform and civil service enforcement. To build on our success and produce even greater results in these areas, my administration will place more emphasis on obtaining member feedback on issues, further strengthening our influence in state and national politics, and establishing working coalitions with labor, professional and community organizations.

Regarding membership input, our contract negotiations team has started its “road trip,” meeting with members all over the state in regional and division meetings. I encourage every member to contact their regional coordinator or my office to get information on the meetings in their area.

Our legislative staff is working to identify key races in this fall’s election in which PEF can play a major role in helping to elect/re-elect those legislators who support our members’ agenda.

I have been engaged in a series of face-to-face meetings with political and labor leaders across the state, working to forge the coalitions necessary to achieve our goals. Great things can be accomplished when everyone works together, and we must work together, because our members’ jobs and futures are at stake.

For example, we have been fighting on a federal level to preserve jobs at the state Department of Labor through the re-authorization of Workforce Investment Act funding. We’ve worked to preserve jobs at the state Department of State and the Albany Housing Authority through maintenance of the Community Services Block Grant funding.

At the state level, we are fighting to preserve jobs at the Department of Agriculture and Markets which may be threatened by a proposal to re-locate the food testing laboratory. We continue to fight for a fair, broadly based, early retirement incentive, and we are urging the governor to sign the fourth of our GO Public bills — Cost Benefit Analysis.

Finally, PEF is gearing up for a potential drive to push the state Legislature to override some of the governor’s vetoes, including his rejection of the Judi Scanlon Bill to better protect mental health workers from workplace violence.

This is a lot of activity for my first week on the job, but I look forward to working with our members every day to face our challenges head–on. It is truly a honor that the members have chosen me to represent their interests, and I will do so proudly.