Meet PEF Civil Service Enforcement staff

*Editors Note: This is our second “getting to know PEF” story, so members can have an inside look and better understanding of how the PEF staff works for you. This month, we feature PEF’s Civil Service Enforcement and Research Department.

By DEBORAH A. MILES
Remember all the news stories about PEF’s Go Public campaign, and the “fat cat” TV and print ads, encouraging lawmakers to stop wasting money on consultants?

PEF’s Civil Service Enforcement and Research Department is responsible for digging out and analyzing mounds of statistics that allowed the union to go forward with a media blitz and reveal the truth about how the state wastes millions of taxpayer dollars.

“I’m convinced the work my staff did on PEF’s Go Public bills helped enormously in the end result that most of the bills were signed into law,” said Thomas Cetrino who directs the department. “They did a lot of good work on that. They have a lot of different skills not easily matched by any other union.”

A major function of this team of nine employees, including Cetrino, is to analyze the state budget for its effect on PEF members and state services. Cetrino said some members of his staff work closely with PEF’s Legislative Department and president in developing positions and preparing fact sheets to support the union’s positions on the budget.

This department also handles any member complaint or question regarding state Civil Service Law. Among the questions the staff answers are those relating to the minimum qualifications for specific civil service examinations, classification standards for job titles, and complaints about agency promotions.

Cetrino, who described his staff as “hardworking,” said some are experts on Civil Service Law, and the others are budget experts who are also very knowledgeable about contracting-out at state agencies.

“My staff knows more about the state operations budget of every state agency than many of the state managers at the joint labor-management meetings,” he said.

“Our staff members are extremely expert on the state budget, especially on the state operations side. They have a lot of skills such as being good writers, and investigators and they have the curiosity needed to analyze the state budget or a state agency contract.”

The staff includes: Susan Mitnick, supervisor of budget policy; Steve Connolly, a policy/fiscal analyst; Nina McCauliffe, secretary; Arlene Zilkowski, research associate, and four research assistants, Mike Marinello, Kristie Sammons, Penny Van Deusen and Jeff Waggoner.

The department is also the main research arm of PEF’s fight-back campaign against contracting-out state jobs.

“We develop case studies to show it is much more cost effective to use PEF members to do certain work, rather than private consultants. We’ve learned the state loses $500 million per year on wasteful contracting-out for the same services that could be provided by PEF members,” Cetrino said.

For reports and budget fact sheets prepared by this department, visit the PEF Web site at www.pef.org and click on budgets, as well as stopprivatization.com