MOVING IN — PEF President Roger Benson and administrative assistant Lois Thompson unpack supplies at the union’s temporary field office in Brooklyn. — Photo by Roger Scales Pray for healing, keep helping By ROGER E. BENSON As I write this, over 5,000 people are missing, including 36 PEF members, because of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11. Our prayers and thoughts are with our colleagues and their families as they heal from this national tragedy. This horrific event has profoundly affected the state and PEF and many of the consequences of this tragedy remain to be seen. But we are coping with the aftermath of the terror. Our New York City field office had to be closed because it was located just five blocks north of the twin towers. However, we have opened a temporary office in Brooklyn to help our members who are dealing with this tragedy. We have also set up the PEF World Trade Center Relief Fund to aid injured and missing members and their families. We will continue to work diligently to meet the needs of our members. PEF members are also rising to meet the challenges raised by this tragedy. Our members have responded with selflessness, courage, and valor. Many of our members assisted in the efforts to evacuate the towers of the World Trade Center — some of them risking personal injury to ensure others reached safety. In one instance, a member who served as a fire marshal is now listed among the missing. In the hours immediately after the attack many of our members remained at their worksites throughout the city making sure that the vital services we provide were not interrupted. PEF members also volunteered to assist in a variety of ways, and offered their expertise where it would be the most useful. The terrible events of September 11 have brought out the best in our members in their courage and their service to the people of New York. We have united to do what is right and what is needed to help the innocent victims of this tragedy, and aid their families in their time of need. However, a handful of so-called national leaders have tried to use this tragedy as a platform to spew bigotry and intolerance. We cannot succumb to this evil. PEF is as diverse as New York itself. We have as a cornerstone of our constitution the objective to expose and fight bigotry. And our union was founded on the ideals of service and community. We have a duty as PEF members and Americans to stand up for those ideals. As we honor our missing friends and colleagues the greatest tribute we can pay them is to stand up for and live out the ideals to which America has always aspired. The Communicator Home Page