PEF’s
’03 COPE All Stars shine
By SHERRY HALBROOK
Some things you do count more than others.
Signing up as a COPE contributor counts big with
PEF. And it counts big for all working families
when the votes are counted on election night.
That’s because labor unions can not use
their members’ dues to pay for national
political campaigns. Only contributions made
specifically for advocacy in national elections
can be used for that purpose. PEF members support
that advocacy when they authorize contributions
to the PEF Committee on Political Education
(COPE) through deductions from their bi-weekly
paychecks.
“One of the best ways to encourage COPE
participation, is to make it a team effort for
your PEF division or region,” said PEF Vice
President Ken Brynien, who chairs PEF’s
Political Action Committee and COPE.
Brynien handed out awards at the PEF convention
in September to the regions and divisions with
the most successful COPE campaigns since the 2002
PEF convention.
“We are so proud of them,” Brynien
said. “They really are PEF’s 2003 COPE
All Star Team.” Taking the bows this year
are:
PP Region 4 (Syracuse) — Scored both the
most new COPE contributors and the highest
percentage increase in contributors of any
region;
• Division 225 (state University of NY at
Stony Brook) — Had the most new COPE
contributors of any PEF division; and
• Division 315 (Watertown Correctional
Facility) — Had the biggest percentage
increase of COPE contributors of any division.
Other PEF divisions recognized for their
outstanding COPE efforts were:
• 198 (SUNY Downstate);
• 265 (state Office of Alcohol and Substance
Abuse Services);
• 320 (SUNY Upstate);
• 378 (Lakeview Correctional Facility);
• 388 (Gouverneur Correctional Facility; and
• 393 (Gowanda Correctional Facility).
“It’s easy to see that our members at
SUNY, the state Department of Correctional
Services and at OASAS were the hot COPE scorers
for 2003,” Brynien said. “They’re
setting the bar high and that’s good. Now,
let’s see how many of you can make the COPE
All Star Team for 2004.
“With the U.S. presidency, every seat in the
House of Representatives and a U.S. Senate seat
for New York hanging in the balance, 2004 is
truly the year we have to score for COPE.” |
Amended law gives assaulted
public workers 2 yrs to return
If you are attacked and hurt on the job, you will
have two years to recover before the state can
fire you thanks to legislation PEF supported and
the governor signed into law on September 22.
The bill, which was sponsored by state Sen. Guy
Velella and Assembly Member Susan John, amends
Section 71 of the Civil Service Law to provide
greater job security to public employees
assaulted on the job.
Many PEF members have suffered disabling injuries
from workplace assaults. In addition to the
physical and emotional trauma they suffered, they
could be terminated if they did not return to
work within a year. This amendment will give them
at least two years to recover from their
injuries.
“We wanted this two-year protection for all
public employees injured on the job, and we got
it through the Legislature in 2001 and 2002, but
it was vetoed both times,” said PEF
Legislative Director Brian Curran. “So, we
scaled it back to apply only to employees injured
by workplace assault and, with the support once
more of the legislators in both houses, we were
able to get the governor’s approval this
time.”
Curran said PEF will continue to work with the
Legislature and governor to expand the protection
to all public employees injured on-the-job.
Another recent development is passage by both
houses of the Legislature in separate special
sessions of a funding bill to continue state
Superfund programs aimed at cleaning up toxic
waste sites.
This bill, which includes funding for
environmental clean-up services provided by PEF
members, has been signed into law by the
governor. — Sherry Halbrook |
