Fight begins to keep New Yorkers’ food supply safe
Mobilized members put forced transfers in public eye

By DEBORAH A. MILES
PEF Division 275 members sprang into action when word hit on September 22 that their jobs would be moved from Albany to Geneva, 200 miles away.

Patrick Brennen, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, delivered the unwanted news during his only visit to the state’s major food safety laboratory in Albany.

Within a couple of hours, the stunned scientists and others who work at the lab on the Harriman campus, mobilized, organized their response and became a top news story.

“These guys got organized in one-and-a-half hours. Boom!” said Ron Brown, PEF Executive Board representative for Ag and Markets.

At a press conference held later that day, members told reporters the move would have a dramatically negative effect on the safety of foods sold in New York state. They said the move to the Finger Lakes community, where a $40 million state-funded food-technology park is on the drawing board, would weaken food and beverage testing for New Yorkers.

But there’s more
Plans were also released in September announcing the relocation of hundreds of state information technology staff based in Albany to a consolidated center to be built near Utica.

The data center for the state Office of Technology currently employs about 420 PEF members who work at four offices in the Albany area.

These members joined forces with the food-lab employees and held another press conference on the steps of the state Capitol in early October.

Television crews, radio and newspaper reporters flanked the podium as union leaders, political figures and rank-and-file members explained why they opposed the forced job transfers.

State workers aren’t pawns
“This is not the first time this governor has wanted to move state workers to other areas. He seems to think they are pawns in his political patronage game,” said PEF Secretary-Treasurer Arlea Igoe.

The lame-duck governor also came under fire when Albany County Executive Michael Breslin opposed the plans.

“What essentially is happening is not the shifting of jobs. It’s actually the elimination of jobs here,” Breslin said. “We need to make sure there is justification for any kind of move of functions out of this community.”

“These are the same scientists who worked closely with the state Department of Health on the recent E.coli spinach outbreak,” said PEF Region 8 Coordinator Tom Comanzo. “If the lab were in Geneva, it could not have provided the rapid support necessary to control and alleviate this food safety issue.

“We know of no other state in the country that has a consolidated data center outside the area of the state capital,” Comanzo said. “There is no benefit to taxpayers. Albany has more than 1,000 miles of fiber optic cable already in place. Utica has little, if any. There has been no cost analysis to support either move.”

State Sen. Neil Breslin and Assembly Member Bob Reilly, who also attended the press conference, echoed those sentiments.

Food safety, a priority
The new food lab, scheduled for completion in 2009, would focus on testing potentially contaminated food.

“We are a regulatory agency with hundreds of years of combined experience,” said Brian Sauders, a senior food bacteriologist. “A lot of testing we do is time-sensitive.”

About half the samples are shipped from New York city. Sauders said sending them to Geneva would not only delay results, but also increase the possibility that samples would not be viable when examined.

“I’m absolutely horrified that the best interests of food safety are not being taken into consideration,” said Laurie Morrison, a senior food chemist. “The facility is not as important as the work we do. It would take seven to 10 years before the operating level of the lab would reach the level of expertise we have now.”

“We are all very dedicated to our jobs,” said Richard Hess, a bacteriologist. “The site of the Geneva facility is an old apple orchard that is presently contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides. It would be outrageous to work in an environment like that.”

Comanzo added, “The governor’s plan is bad for our members and bad for the taxpayers.”