PEF Executive Board lays groundwork in
August for greater political, legislative action
By LINDA RUBIN and SHERRY HALBROOK
Members of the new PEF Executive Board were sworn into
office at its August meeting in Albany by Anna Burger,
secretary-treasurer of the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU).
Burger congratulated them on their recent election to the
board.
She also spoke about the national political situation and
the need for PEF to participate in a nationwide SEIU
campaign to educate union members and the public about
2004 presidential election issues.
PEF President Roger Benson said it’s a goal for his
new three-year term of office to have PEF involved in
grassroots campaigning around every targeted state and
national election.
He also discussed the need to continue focusing on
PEF’s priority issues of job security, stronger
contracts, retirement reform and the need to fight the
waste of state revenues and privatization of state
services.
At the recommendation of PEF Secretary-Treasurer Jane
Hallum, the board amended the PEF 2003-04 budget to
create two positions of political organizer/lobbyist at
management/confidential grade 7.
The board elected Dennis Anderson, Wayne Bayer and
Bernice Jones to the PEF Political Action Advisory
Executive Committee (PAAEC).
New national
perspective
The board passed a motion calling on the PEF Political Action Committee to initiate a new practice of
preparing an annual PEF agenda of national legislative
issues to be sent to all of New York’s elected
representatives to the House and Senate in Washington.
The 2004 PEF Legislative Agenda of state issues was
adopted with several additions. These included:
• Opposition to the planned closing of state youth
facilities operated by the state Office of Children and Family
Services;
• Support for reopening of windows for current state
employees to retroactively join public retirement systems
to which they previously were denied access;
• Opposition to integrated research reductions; and
• Support for including service in the Peace Corps
and VISTA with pension credits for military service.
And the board adopted a policy calling for all of the
appropriate PEF Executive Board representatives and
division council leaders to be notified in advance
whenever PEF officers or staff are going to testify at
public hearings concerning state or other agencies or
institutions where PEF members work.
Furthermore, after the hearing, the board members and
council leaders affected must be given a copy of the
testimony PEF submitted.
Stronger
contracts
PEF Vice President Ken Brynien reported on PS&T
contract negotiations and answered questions from the
board members.
PEF Director of Labor Relations Roger Scales brought the
board up-to-date on the pre-tax transportation issue.
And the board voted to send the NDRI tentative agreement
to members of that bargaining unit for ratification.
Who’s on
first?
The board approved Benson’s appointment of Edith
Cooper, Rob Grace and Craig Walick to the PEF Special
Elections Committee.
A request was made to re-examine the PEF Special Election
Rules for filling mid-term vacancies on the Executive
Board at its November meeting.
The board adopted a policy regarding use of the PEF name
and logo.
The policy requires PEF and all of its regions, divisions
and committees to place the PEF name and/or initials on
all articles of clothing that they distribute. In
addition, they are encouraged to use the entire PEF logo
and AFL-CIO initials.
PEF and any of its regions, divisions and committees may
modify the logo by adding words, numbers or symbols to
individualize it for the region, division, committee or
event.
Money matters
Guidelines for reimbursement of Executive Board travel
also were adopted.
PEF will pay travel-related expenses and tolls for board
members to meet once annually with constituencies more
than 70 miles from the board member’s home address.
The PEF secretary-treasurer may also agree in advance to
reimburse expenses for a board member’s attendance
at a critical rally or demonstration.
The funding for these travel-related expenses will be
limited to the excess of budgeted over actual expenses
that has been accrued to date for Executive Board
expenses.
And the board approved a PEF contribution of $1,500
toward the construction of a Central New York AFL-CIO
monument to workers.
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