State of the Union
President Brynien asks delegates to ‘make a call to
your state senator
By DARCY WELLS
PEF President Ken Brynien interrupted his own address to delegates at PEF’s
29th Annual Convention held in Manhattan September 17 -19, to ask each of
them to make a phone call.
“I
usually ask you to turn off your cell phones,” Brynien said. “But today, I
want you to take them out right now and call your state senator and demand
they pass the bill to end mandatory overtime for our nurses.”
For the next several minutes, the ballroom at the Sheraton New York Hotel
was abuzz with one-way conversations as delegates delivered the message.
Large projection screens provided talking points.
While ending mandatory overtime is a continuing battle, Brynien highlighted
a laundry list of accomplishments during the past year.
“Our volunteer efforts on state and federal elections were a huge success,”
Brynien said. “Our members played a key role in getting Kirsten Gillibrand,
John Hall and Mike Arcuri elected to Congress - changing New York state’s
influence in Congress. And our members worked just as hard to get Eliot
Spitzer in office.”
“The
governor delivered a state budget good for us and good for taxpayers. His
commitment to the state workforce has increased our membership by 2,000.
Contracts with private consultants are being reviewed and reduced.”
Brynien told delegates the focus now is getting Hillary Clinton into the
White House.
Brynien reminded delegates of PEF’s success in; preventing the privatization
of SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital in Syracuse; stopping the proposed moves of
the state Department of Agriculture and Markets food lab and the state’s
data centers; stopping the creation of a prison closure commission; passing
the Workplace Injury Reporting law; and progress toward an Executive Order
to require a cost-benefit analysis before contracting out state work.
Among the disappointments, Brynien mentioned the governor’s veto of bills
PEF supported including the Parole Heart Bill and legislation that would
have provided protection for retirees’ health care. He expressed frustration
over the continued threat of staff reductions at the NYS School for the
Blind and short staffing issues in the Office of Mental Health, Office of
Mental Retardation and Department of Corrections.
“Public employees are under attack throughout the United States,” Brynien
told delegates. “In particular the targets are your raises, pensions and
health care.”
Brynien wrapped up his address calling on delegates to work together to
achieve the common goals public employees share.
“Will you join arms with me? Will you get other members to join arms with
us?“
The questions were answered with a resounding, “Yes” to which Brynien
replied, “Thank you. Now let’s get to work.
“I
usually ask you to turn off your cell phones,” Brynien said. “But today, I
want you to take them out right now and call your state senator and demand
they pass the bill to end mandatory overtime for our nurses.”
“The
governor delivered a state budget good for us and good for taxpayers. His
commitment to the state workforce has increased our membership by 2,000.
Contracts with private consultants are being reviewed and reduced.”