Benson: Keep reserves full;
PEF will need them
By SHERRY HALBROOK
In his report on the state of the union, PEF President Roger Benson credited Secretary-Treasurer Jane Hallum for keeping a tight rein on PEF’s spending and cautioned the future leaders of PEF to continue building the union’s financial reserves to make it strong and self-reliant.
“PEF’s financial strength is quite solid and (in an emergency) our net assets of $6.2 million could allow us to cover a quarter of our expenses without any income at all,” he said.
PEF receives about $26.4 million annually in dues and fees, the president reported, and that income base is steady.
“PEF membership levels have been amazingly stable over the last three years — reaching a high of 55,000 in June 2002. It is currently 53,000 which is 1,200 more than when I took office (in August 1997).”
PEF has had to fight constantly to protect its members’ jobs and those fights continue today, he said.
In New York City, members working at the state Labor Department’s Telephone Claims Center “have fought back valiantly” against plans to close the center.
And the state Education Department’s decision this summer to shift more than 40 PEF members working in direct care at the state School for the Blind to the payroll of another state agency where they are no longer represented by PEF holds an important lesson, Benson said.
“It was neither illegal, nor a contract violation,” Benson said. “By waiting until the state Legislature had left town, the state left PEF with no way to stop it.
“Every other union has been silent on these issues. Only PEF has fought back.”
While PEF respects the power of the governor’s office, that respect has become mutual, Benson said.
“The governor’s office has confided to me that it usually gives up on budget cuts when PEF defends (the jobs and services).
No PEF members in permanent, classified, state civil service positions have been
laid off in the eight years he has held office, Benson said. However, the threats to members’ jobs from shadow agencies and privatization “are still a problem” Benson cautioned, adding the state “Legislature even created a new (public authority) this year.”
Benson, who along with Hallum has decided not to seek re-election in 2006, told the convention delegates they should focus PEF’s fight for the future on two or three key goals, such as the three — job security, stronger contracts and better retirements — that have driven his administration.
He also recommended continued reliance on PEF’s three most potent weapons — mobilizing its members, shaping public opinion and lobbying.
Benson said he has also learned another tough lesson as president of PEF and its representative at the state and national levels of the labor movement — “We have no permanent friends, only permanent issues.
“Loyalty in the labor movement is non-existent, and divide-and-conquer is management’s most basic tool against us. So, keep PEF’s war chest and contingency fund full, because you will need them.”
The
Communicator November 05
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