Health and safety takes prominent role at convention

Parole officers support one of their own under fire

Parole officers in PEF Division 236 have united to support a fellow officer, Christopher Thomas, who was suspended without pay and indicted for perjury for his account of how he was injured during the pursuit of a fleeing parole violator in December 2007.

Thomas has a proven record of law enforcement that dates back to 1998 when he started his career at the state Department of Correctional Services (DOCS). He had worked as a parole officer for two years in Syracuse where the incident occurred.

According to Council Leader Manuelita Clemente, the way Thomas was treated was an “outrage.”

“It is our feeling, until this is completely resolved, the agency should, at least, put Thomas on modified desk duty. He has a wife and two small children to support,” Clemente said.

“The Syracuse community is being denied the services of a dedicated public servant,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “We stand behind officer Thomas during this difficult time. It’s important for the Syracuse community to know the presumption of innocence should prevail throughout the anticipated proceedings.

In August, dozens of parole officers from New York City to Buffalo went to Syracuse to show their support for Thomas.

“As parole officers, we understand the danger officer Thomas faces on a daily basis. We are proud to stand by his side during this trying time,” Clemente said.

State addresses assaults at OCFS with training for Tryon staff

For the past few months, violent assaults on staff at the Tryon Residential Center for boys and girls in Johnstown, Fulton County have been making headlines.

With pressure from PEF and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has finally acknowledged the assaults are escalating, and something needs to be done.
OCFS has formed a workgroup with PEF and CSEA to develop a violence prevention program, appointed a new director at Tryon, and implemented staff training.

In order to do the training, OCFS transferred 75 boys to other facilities, leaving 27 boys at Tryon. It is expected the residents will be returned to Tryon after the five-week comprehensive training is completed. The training begins October 20.

“The training will cover a lot of topics,” said Donna Shelton, a vocational specialist at Tryon and treasurer of PEF Division 218.

“It will deal with the mental health issues the kids have,” she said. “The decision was made to reduce the resident population to 27 so the majority of people can attend the training at the same time.”

Every Tryon staff member will be in the training for the first week. In the remaining five weeks, staff will rotate to take care of the youths.

“The training will be diverse. Teachers, for example, may get training in a specific topic such as classroom management. A lot of it will revolve around the needs of our kids, their mental health issues and behavior management,” Shelton said.

“The state is taking a significant step by providing training and acting to re-direct the facility program,” said PEF Director of Occupational Health and Safety Jonathan Rosen.

“The problems are not limited to Tryon. PEF and CSEA have joined forces to demand a restoration of structure, order and enforcement of facility rules. We will continue to work with OCFS management to identify other facilities where violence is a serious problem and to develop plans to reduce the violence. Tryon Girls facility is high on the list,” Rosen said.

PEF also prepared a “Know Your Rights” booklet – a guide for victims of workplace violence and investigations of child abuse/maltreatment at OCFS facilities – to help the Tryon staff and others.

RAISING A CONCERN – Mary Peper, a health services nurse from PEF Region 8, makes a point at the health and safety meeting in Rochester.

One of the “hot topics” at PEF’s 30th annual convention was focusing on health and safety at worksites, and addressing problems such as escalating violence at the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) facilities.

More than 60 people convened in Rochester and participated in a lively breakfast discussion about the issues in their agencies.

Other concerns included poor air quality, back injuries from patient lifting, office ergonomics, and providing assistance to injured members.

Kathy D’Arminio, PEF chair of the Health and Safety Committee, has been focusing on strengthening the network of health and safety activists. The PEF convention provided the stage to get the group together and move forward.

“One of my goals is to enhance our current health and safety committees by providing support and education,” D’Arminio said. “To ensure our members are working in a safe and healthy environment, we must create committees in all work locations.”

PEF President Ken Brynien also pointed out the importance of developing, strengthening and using these committees during his opening remarks in Rochester.

“It has become apparent to me over the past year that there are two areas PEF needs to focus on. One is stopping the violence that occurs in OMH facilities, and the other is stopping violence at facilities run by OCFS.

“Our main focus will be to promote safety,” Brynien said. “PEF needs to pull together a comprehensive plan to promote safety at all public worksites.

“An injury to one of us is an injury to all of us. We must focus on keeping all of our members as safe as possible while on the job,” he said.

The Health and Safety Committee and activists will meet again at the NYS/PEF Health and Safety Conference, March 19-21, 2009, in Albany.