Photo by Ken Dischel
By SHERRY HALBROOK
The lights went down and the sound came up. Slowly words began to form, projected onto three huge screens behind the dais. The music was “Time” from
Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” and the words that appeared said, “Fighting for Our Future 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009,....”
It was the high-tech opening to PEF’s 27th Annual Convention and the 800-plus delegates gave it a standing ovation.
From their arrival in Rochester Sunday, Sept. 18, through their departure Wednesday afternoon, the delegates were swept along in a fast-paced series of caucuses, meetings, workshops, luncheons, receptions, blast faxing the governor and other events — deliberative, instructive and political.
But, as at all of the 26 conventions before it, the plenary sessions were the heart of the event, where delegates met the new PS&T contract team, heard speakers and reports, debated issues and voted on policies and plans to guide the union in its fight for their futures and those of the 53,000 members they represent.
And while no one stayed in the hall voting and wrangling over those issues until 2 a.m. as their predecessors had done in the union’s early years, democracy was clearly still alive and well in the best PEF tradition.
Right down the middle
Confronted with Resolution 18 calling on PEF to actively oppose the war in Iraq, the delegates debated it with intensity and passion on both sides.
When asked, PEF President Roger Benson said he believed the issue was too divisive and the union should avoid taking a position, but the debate continued.
“We have a duty to protect our members, some of them in Iraq right now and others on their way over there or coming home. We must be neutral as a union,” argued Priscilla Sweet, who stood at the microphone holding her 9-month-old granddaughter, Asia, in her arms.
Stanley Byer, who has been a delegate to all 27 conventions, said, “It’s important to support our brothers and sisters who are deployed, but we
must take a stand and do what’s right. I urge you to support it (the resolution to oppose the war).
When the debate was closed and the hands raised, it was just too close to call. So, a lengthy standing count was taken. The result was 261 votes in favor and 254 opposed.
“The sides are within seven votes,” Benson said, “and our convention rules require that when it’s that close we do it again until we get two votes alike (in terms of pass or fail).”
Again the careful counting was done and this time the vote was 271 in favor and 259 against. The resolution carried.
(For more information, see related articles on pages 4 and
5).
Getting it right
Among the delegates first duties was the obligation to define Executive Board constituencies for the 2006 triennial PEF elections. However, trying to keep PEF’s leadership structure in line with shifts in the state workforce proved troublesome at some agencies, particularly the state Office of Children and Family Services.
The delegates spent considerable time questioning and discussing with PEF Secretary-Treasurer Jane Hallum the reliability of PEF’s information base regarding the precise worksites for individual PEF members.
Hallum explained the challenges PEF technical staff face in trying to reconcile different information from payroll data bases provided each pay period by the Office of the State Comptroller and the state Department of Civil Service. She vowed to keep working with the delegates to resolve the incongruities and achieve accurate constituencies for each board seat in time for the elections.
Proud to be partners
“There’s no union like PEF,” state Comptroller Alan Hevesi told the delegates when he addressed them Monday. “My office has 2,500 employees and about half of them are PEF members. Since I took office, we’ve added 550 PEF positions to our staff and promoted 338 PEF members.”
It’s largely the skill and expertise of those PEF members, Hevesi said, which allows him to discover and crack down on fiscal and other abuses in the Hempstead School District, as well as in Erie County, NYS Canal Corp, the NY Racing Association and many other governmental bodies and public authorities throughout the state.
“If no one is watching, you’ll have far more corruption and scandal,” he warned.
WELCOME — PEF delegate Richardeen Agard greets state Comptroller Alan Hevesi. — Photo by John Epting
Hevesi also said he stands with PEF in its Go Public Campaign and efforts to get tougher laws to protect New Yorkers.
“It really has been a remarkable partnership between my office and PEF on the broader issues of governance,” Hevesi said, and that includes protecting the state pension fund.
“Our pension fund is under assault all the time. We have to stand up to threats to underfund it, and my office, along with PEF and other state employee unions and retiree organizations have stood up to those threats.
“I’m very proud to be PEF’s partner,” he said.
Caught in the middle
Benson said his participation in the labor movement at the national level was a real eye-opener especially as it led up to the schism this summer in the AFL-CIO. Because PEF is directly affiliated with international unions on both sides of that rift, it has had to confront those issues head-on, he said.
Benson introduced Steve Porter, the director of the American Federation of Teachers’ Public Employees Division, who also commented on AFT’s decision to stay within the AFL-CIO.
“No one worked harder than our president, Ed McElroy, to prevent that split,” Porter said. “AFT will maintain its commitment to PEF and to the AFL-CIO.”
Porter thanked PEF for creating its Go Public Campaign, which is now being embraced by AFT public employee locals nationwide.
Benson said he also invited PEF’s other parent union, the Service Employees International Union, to send someone to address the convention, “but President (Andy) Stern said he was not able to be here.”
Quality people
PEF presented its 2005 Privatization Fighter of the Year Award to member Darlene Morabito, a civil engineer for the state Transportation Department (DOT) in the Syracuse area, for her courage in appearing on PEF’s Go Public video to describe how contracting out engineering services and bridge inspections at that agency wastes tax dollars and undercuts the public’s safety.
“Darlene coordinates bridge inspections for DOT,” Benson said. “Few jobs are more important. She spoke out fearlessly, saying people may not be as safe as they could be.
“She rebuts the lie that we only care about our jobs. Darlene opened herself up to management harassment and intimidation.
“We had many stars for our DVD,” Benson said, “but only one hero.”
PEF also honored state Assembly Member Susan John with a Quality Service Award for her leadership in sponsoring one of the key “Accountability Bills” featured in the Go Public Campaign.
John, who chairs the Assembly Labor Committee, sponsored A.1259 which would require state agencies to stop automatically handing off work to contractors and find out first if their own employees could do it for less. The bill passed in the Assembly, but has yet to come up for a vote in the Senate.
Benson also thanked John for standing by PEF in its efforts to protect state services and jobs, and to stop violence at state worksites.
“PEF has a special place in my heart,” John responded, “because of the good work and services you provide to my constituents. I look forward to working with you and for you.”
PEF also will present a Quality Services Award to Sen. Joseph Robach for the Go Public bill he sponsored that would require state agencies to monitor and report how many contract employees and consultants they have and how much it costs. That bill passed both houses and was sent to the governor in mid-October.
Robach could not attend the convention to receive the award because the Senate was called into a special session that day in Albany.
The
Communicator November 05
Features
27th PEF Convention is high-tech
2007 PS&T contract
announced
Contract arbitration, other goals
Benson: Keep PEF reserves full
'Go
Public' bills go Assembly
Trustees
Report to the Delegates
Convention Photo
Highlights
Departments
President's
Message
Member's Mailbag; You Said It
Member Mobilization
Retirees In Action
Member Highlights
PEF
Membership Benefits &Travel
Union Matters
DOL
to union: ignore the law
PEF
wants Ferrer for NYC mayor
Burger leads new labor federation
AFT's Feldman dies of cancer
PEF
remembers lost members
STOP workplace violence
DOH
tests emergency response
Broome All Wars Memorial
coming
PEF
Women's Program is back
Member rescues disaster victims
E- Board adopts 2005-06
budget
Other Links
Professional
Directory
Members'
Classified
Member
Communicator Feedback
Do You Prefer The
Online Edition?
How To
Advertise Here
The
Communicator Staff
Questions on
this site?
Email the Webmaster