PEF turns up the heat to curb use of consultants
Thousands rally to pass ‘accountability’ bills
By DEBORAH A. MILES
It was no ordinary rally.
“Go Public” was a dynamic, highly organized event that attracted more than 1,000 members from across the state to the steps of the state Capitol on a sweltering June day. ...
It was the climax of a five-month, $1.3 million media campaign for passage of PEF’s “Go Public” accountability bills.
Members marched, chanted, blew screaming whistles, and waved signs and yellow balloons in a unified effort to get four bills to the governor that deal with making the state more accountable in its use of consultants.
Two bills have passed through both the Assembly and Senate and are waiting to go to the governor to be signed. If signed, one of the bills would require state agencies to disclose the number of contract employees they have, and the other would restrict lobbyists from influencing the award of state contracts.
The other two bills would require a cost/benefit analysis before contracting out state services and increase the accountability of state authorities and off-budget “shadow” agencies. These have also been approved by the Assembly, but are currently awaiting action in the Senate.
Way to go, Shelly
So, when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver came to the podium, the crowd roared and started yelling “Shelly! Shelly! Shelly!”
“Members of PEF are true professionals,” he said. “If you ask, we will tell you every single time that New York state has the finest, most productive public workforce in this nation, if not the world.”
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno echoed many of Silver’s remarks and said bipartisan supporters in the Legislature have embraced the Accountability Bills and the Senate majority will urge the governor to sign the bills into law.
PEF President Roger Benson kept members fired-up between speakers. “What do we want?” he shouted. “Go Public” they shouted back.
He also told the troupe of newspaper and television reporters who covered the event, “You need to get to the end of the session for a lot of bills to get serious consideration. It’s all a matter of timing, and this rally was planned to put more emphasis on our mission — Pass the bills, not the bucks.”
Benson introduced Senator Nicholas Spano as one of the driving forces behind the bills.
“One thing the Public Employees Federation has done so effectively is making your voices heard,” Spano said. “I’ve walked closely with you and walked the line with you. You do the job and people should just let you do what you’re paid to do.”
Other lawmakers who spoke shared that sentiment. They included Assembly Members Richard Brodsky, Donna Lupardo and Sen. Joseph Robach.
MAKING NEWS — PEF member Philip Perry speaks with TV 6 reporter Judy Sanders at the “Go Public” rally.
— Photo by Deborah A. Miles
Pressing for facts
Lupardo said, “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the state is wasting money. All we are trying to find out is how many contractors we have and how much it is costing us. Is that too much to ask?”
The rally concluded with a surprise appearance by a group of “fat cat” contractors, including local actor Cliff Ammon who starred in the “Go Public” television
commercials.
After staging their tongue-in-cheek counter rally, they made a hasty retreat while the band, C-Jane Run, played “Mr. Big Bucks.”
FAT CAT COUNTER RALLY — Actor Cliff Ammon at the microphone with his entourage of private consultants, Dick Collins, Marty O'Connor, Mark Streb, and Steve Chamberlain, add some amusing satire at the “Go Public” rally. — Photos by John Epting
The
Communicator July/August 05
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