Found article offensive
To the Editor:
The PEF-represented staff members of the NYS Department of Labor D.O.E.S. office in Sullivan County feel compelled to address allegations of racial bias attributed to this worksite in an article in the September 2005 issue of The Communicator.
In the article, testimony alluded to events that had to have taken place more than 25 years ago and is of questionable relevance to any current situation. While we can not presume to question someone’s perception of the instance cited, it could just as easily be attributed to miscommunication by a former employee attempting to explain the nature of the seasonal, service-dominated economy of our labor market then, which provided scant opportunities for recent college grads.
Our office staff has always been and is still committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and inclusion, and to suggest otherwise is demeaning if not insulting.
That PEF would lend credibility to such an unverified anecdote as being gospel truth by printing it in its official organ is a disservice to all upstate DOL PEF members. Is it now our union’s policy to support one group of PEF members’ cause by vilifying another group of PEF members?
Our office strongly supports PEF’s efforts to keep the NYC telephone claims center open, but doesn’t believe the way to accomplish this is by making unfounded blanket accusations of pervasive inherent racial bias in upstate offices.
MARY GLEICH,
PATRICIA HOPKINS,
JUDITH HELLMAN,
HELEN RADOS,
ROGER BETTERS,
HOWARD SCHERTZER,
FRANK MCGREEVY
Editor’s note: The Communicator has an obligation to report on workplace issues, even those as sensitive as race, that significantly affect PEF members. The article referenced above reports on testimony by PEF members at a joint committee hearing of the NYS Assembly which examined the experiences of minorities in state service. Witnesses expressed their own perceptions of their experiences. Other people might perceive or respond to the same incidents or situations differently.
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