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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
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| Help overturn PEF endorsement To the Editor: PEF members upset at the union’s endorsement of George Pataki for governor have a recourse through their delegates to the October Convention in Buffalo. Contact delegates and tell them to support Resolution 8 mandating that PEF endorse H. Carl McCall. This resolution would overturn the Executive Board’s short-sighted Pataki endorsement, because the convention is the highest policy-making body of PEF. The steward council of PEF Division 169 submitted Resolution 8, believing the worst possible scenario would be PEF neutrality. We never dreamed PEF would consider a Pataki endorsement and abandoning longtime supporter, McCall. Carl, through his leadership in obtaining a state pension COLA and eliminating the employees’ 3 percent pension contribution, has put and will continue to put more money in members’ hands than Pataki ever dreamed of doing. Pataki took money from us through two years of zero salary increases and the involuntary transfers and downgrading of positions. More of these are coming because of his misguided, over-the-top state tax cuts that increase property taxes. Demand a roll-call vote on this important resolution to assure clear accountability. Join in keeping hope alive. WAYNE BAYER Rensselaer Endorsement switch bad idea To the Editor: Exactly one month after PEF’s August Executive Board meeting, an article titled “Backing Pataki divides PEF” appeared in an Albany newspaper. It said some board members have sponsored a PEF convention resolution mandating H. Carl McCall be endorsed instead of Pataki. In the article, a supporter of the resolution claimed many board members really wanted to vote for McCall, but voted for George Pataki because they were lobbied very hard by a PEF leader who couched the choice in terms of “what is best for the union.” That’s no crime. It is an appeal to rise above strongly held personal political preferences to do the right thing for the union. PEF exists to improve the terms and conditions of employment for its members, not to further the chances of candidates favored by political partisans on the board. Regardless of who wins the November election, reversing PEF’s gubernatorial endorsement at the last moment will send an unmistakable message that PEF is waffling because it is weak and unreliable. Neither side will trust PEF. The resulting diminution of PEF’s credibility and its loss of influence will undercut the union’s ability to negotiate our next contract. I urge convention delegates to consider the best interest of PEF members and reject this ill-advised partisan resolution which, if passed, would make PEF the laughingstock of New York state. DENNIS ANDERSON Ballston Lake Immigrants make US what it is To the Editor: The writer of a letter in the September issue, who believes your uplifting story on Hispanic immigration was “one-sided,” reflects a time-worn attitude. America is primarily a nation of immigrants. Yet, there is a tendency, even among some union members, to close the door after getting into the room. Throughout much of the 19th century, nativists in this country used their considerable influence to oppose the presence of impoverished Irish immigrants. In the late 1900s when immigrants from eastern Europe also flooded into our industrial cities and coal-mining villages, they were met with scorn and violence. On September 10, 1897, striking Polish and Slovak miners carrying an American flag marched peacefully in Lattimer, Penn., seeking union recognition. American-born coal police, screaming “kill the hunkies,” shot them down. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) pressed for justice, but the gunmen were exonerated. The deaths of 19 miners spurred unionism in the coalfields of northeast Pennsylvania, particularly among the Polish immigrants. As part of the centennial observance of these killings, the UMWA erected an historical marker in Harwood, Penn. as a memorial to those who were slain. Too many Americans have forgotten or never learned about this part of our past. On September 11, PEF dedicated a monument honoring its members killed on the job in the World Trade Center and elsewhere. I would ask the writer of last month’s letter to visit both memorial sites. She will discover many immigrants died in each of these terrible events. THOMAS GRACE Amherst Deferred Comp plan improving To the Editor: As executive director of the NYS Deferred Compensation Board, I would like to respond to the letter in your July-August issue which urges the board to add real estate investment trusts (REITs) to the Deferred Compensation Plan. The author states that REITs are one of the few ways to protect capital in a prolonged bear market and implies their absence from the plan has been detrimental to participants. While REITs have generated impressive returns recently, their suitability for a retirement savings plan is open to debate. More importantly, the letter omits the fact that a number of the plan’s investment options have generated positive returns during the recent equity market downturn. Rather than studying potential changes, the board has consistently acted to improve the plan. To that end, this year the board implemented significant improvements authorized by the new federal law which passed thanks, in part, to the efforts of PEF, while introducing new automated services, expanding educational resources and increasing the number of staff who service participants. Consistent with the board’s mission, the plan expects to further improve its investment program in the spring of 2003. The author may be interested to know that one potential addition, a self-directed mutual-fund window, would provide access to categories of funds beyond the plan’s core options. JULIAN M. REGAN Albany The Communicator Letters policy We welcome letters to the editor about union issues and events relevant to PEF's diverse membership. All letters are subject to editing for space, fairness and good taste. Please keep them brief (up to one page, double-spaced or a maximum of 250 words), and please include your name and phone number for verification. Send letters to: The Communicator Public Employees Federation P.O. Box 12414 Albany, N.Y. 12212-2414 email Denyce Duncan Lacy, Executive Editor The Communicator - Director of Public Relations dduncanlacy@pef.org Sherry Halbrook, Editor of The Communicator- shalbrook@pef.org |
