ATTRACTED TO PEF — Rensselaer County professionals, Trina Davis-Garcia and Sharon Paterniani attended the PEF Executive Board’s Albany meeting in June to talk about why they want to be represented by PEF. — Photo by Bill Sachs
County professionals would rather be PEF
By SHERRY HALBROOK
Another bargaining unit of 130 public-sector professionals may join PEF.
The group of Rensselaer County employees, who are non-managerial licensed professionals, is currently part of a larger bargaining unit represented by the United Public Service Employees Union (UPSEU), which is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
Several members of the group approached PEF earlier this year, saying they would like to have a separate bargaining unit and affiliate with PEF.
“Many of us feel our current union is not doing its best for professional staff,” said Trina Davis-Garcia, a nursing supervisor at the county’s nursing home. “The union seems to focus more on the needs of the non-professional staff, which is very frustrating for us. We like the fact that PEF represents 8,000 nurses and understands our issues.”
The PEF mobilizing department has been working with them and obtained the signatures of 88 employees on cards stating they wish to be represented by PEF.
Those cards have been submitted to the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), which will decide if the professionals should have a separate bargaining unit and if an election should be held to choose the union to represent them.
“This is very similar to what PEF’s PS&T unit of state workers did in the late 1970s when they chose to break away from the Civil Service Employees Association,” said PEF Director of Labor Relations Roger Scales.
Originally, the non-managerial Rensselaer County employees also belonged to CSEA, but left in the 1990s to join UPSEU.
According to PEF Director of Mobilization Margaret Messer, approximately 100 of the employees who want to affiliate with PEF are nurses and other health care professionals who work at the county’s nursing home, Van Rensselaer Manor in Troy.
PEF has asked PERB to approve the separate bargaining unit for the county’s licensed professionals.
At its June meeting, the PEF Executive Board approved the organizing effort which, if successful, would produce the ninth bargaining unit represented by PEF.
According to PEF associate counsel Steve Klein, who is representing PEF in this matter, it will be the subject of a pre-hearing conference at PERB July 1. He said it could be September or October before PERB could hold a hearing and then make a decision on the question of a separate bargaining unit for professionals. If the unit is approved, an election would probably follow in late fall or over the winter.
For more information about PEF mobilization programs visit www.pef.org
online and click on “Mobilization.”
The
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