GOOD WORK! — Honored at the PEF Executive Board meeting for their support of the Shadow Agency Bill are Ron Manuli, Jeff Janiszewski, John Clark, Cas Czarkowski and George Buldrini. Steve Sherokey and the late Jeff Satz were also honored. The bill passed in the Legislature, but was vetoed. — Photo by Bill Sachs Highlights of PEF Executive Board’s November ’01 meeting By LINDA RUBIN The final quarterly PEF Executive Board meeting for 2001 was held November 27–28, at the Desmond Hotel in Albany. On the first day of this meeting, board members were informed of the death of Region 8 Coordinator Jeffrey Satz. President Roger Benson recessed the meeting at 2:50 p.m. The morning of the second day included a memorial service for Satz. Two new board members were sworn in: Bernice Jones represents the Department of Labor and Joseph Koss represents Lockport/NDRI. A moment of silence was observed for PEF members lost September 11. Benson gave updates on the administration’s priorities of job security, stronger contracts, retirement reform and full staffing. He also announced that $80,000 had been collected for the PEF World Trade Center (WTC) Relief Fund. Eric Miller, chair of the PS&T Contract Team, briefed the board on plans for the team. He also reported the union had more than 40 fully-mobilized divisions. Roger Scales, director of labor relations, reported on the Article 12.17 arbitration and gave an overview of the Dutchess, Orange and Putnam county geographic differential. He also reported on the status of the TransitChek issue. Privatization awards were presented to John Clark, Ron Manuli, Cas Czarkowski, George Buldrini, Jeff Janiszewski and Steve Sherokey. (Jeffrey Satz also would have received this award). Bernie Kahn, chair of the ad hoc committee for Executive Board meeting sites, reported on the committee’s recommendation that two meetings be held at the Quality Inn and two at the Desmond — both union hotels. The Executive Board accepted the recommendations. PEF’s position on the proposed Rockefeller Drug Law Reform, which had been published in the Legislative Gazette, was discussed. A proposal to amend the union’s position was debated and defeated. The Job Security Committee, chaired by Vice President Pat Baker, presented a Job Security Campaign proposal that would be funded from the reserve account in the amount of $1 million. The board discussed the proposal and adopted the campaign. The World Trade Center Committee’s proposed guidelines for disbursing aid from PEF’s WTC Relief Fund were presented to the board for adoption. Vice President Joe Fox, chair of the committee, explained the criteria for the point-system formula for disbursing the funds. The board adopted the guidelines. Director of Contract Administration Bob Carrothers gave an update on EOL reimbursement and unit challenges. Secretary-Treasurer Jane Hallum and Fox addressed the issue of convention travel expenses regarding the 2001 Convention at Niagara Falls, and reported a more cost-effective voucher would be presented to the Executive Board at the March meeting. Fox asked for input from all board members. Hallum also gave a status report on the information technology rollout, regarding new computers for staff and the deployment of old ones to PEF divisions. Lou Matrazzo brought up the issue of identity theft, reporting a problem at the state Health Department. Benson reported on a meeting that had taken place that morning with the governor and several union officials regarding the economy and state-budget deficit. Fox announced the ad hoc Mail Guidelines Committee was working on recommendations and would report at the next board meeting. John Clark, chair of the ad hoc Monument Committee, gave an update on the committee’s progress. PEF Health and Safety Department staff levels also were discussed. The meeting adjourned at 3:46 p.m. on November 28.