REGION 8 STEWARDS MEETING
Minutes of February 24, 2009
Tom Comanzo called the meeting to
order at 6:00 PM. Tom made several
changes to the agenda to add guest speakers.
J. Sampson made a motion to approve the agenda. This was seconded and carried. A. Yasus asked for one correction to the
minutes. On page one, paragraph 9, it should read petitions will be out in
early March not May as written. B. Wurster
made a motion to accept the minutes of the January 21, 2009 with the
correction. The motion was seconded & carried.
REGIONAL
COORDINATOR’S REMARKS
Tom said he has one pet peeve-
bulletin boards in work locations with outdated material still posted on
them. Please update
boards. Use the information supplied in
steward mailings to get current information out to members. Tom said several administration staff met
with the governor’s staff on budget and other issues. CSEA has not yet met and
UUP is planning to in the future. He is
hoping the unions will be in collaboration on issues. CSEA and PEF are still together but he is
not sure of NYSUT’s position. The governors office aren’t really talking
or discussing, just asking for what concessions we would be willing to
make. Tom said members are being asked
to call, write letters, and email legislators and ask for their support for our
issues. Make visits to their office if
you can.
a)
Upcoming
Events: Delegate information will be in this issue of the COMMUNICATOR. Petitions will be out in March for convention
delegates. Five signatures are needed,
but get extra to be safe. This year the
convention is in Niagara Falls, 2010 in Washington D.C., and 2011 in Niagara
Falls again. Triennial elections are coming
up. Executive Board seats are also up
for election. The COMMUNICATOR will have
the election rules for this election in the next issue.
b)
b) Month in Review- 3/3 is New Stewards
training. Ten people have signed
up. A member suggested we look into
refresher training for stewards. New
council Leader training will be held on 5/8 & 5/9.
Regional
Food bank- Community
Supported Agriculture- CSA- L. Comstock- They want to help alleviate hunger.
A woman had farmed this land and has now created the Patroon
Land Foundation asking he regional food bank to take care of this land. They now have 162 acres in Knox. They are growing corn, squash, and pumpkins
and actually have over 30 items they now grow.
This food is harvested and over 10,000 pounds of food was distributed to
member agencies. The CSA is made up of
members who pay $400 for a full share interest and this year $200 for a half
share interest to be able to receive these 30 home grown items for use in their
own homes. They would like to have 150
members who for a 16-week period from July to October receive bags of harvested
food each week. The cost to run this
farm is $96,000 a year and these dollars can help keep it running and help to
be able to expand it for the future.
Mobilization- L. Culver- Lisa wanted
to urge members to send in letters – electronically or by hand preferably since
these have a stronger impact. We need to
urge legislators to take action on the governor’s budget proposals. The PEF website has sample letters for you
and can even find your legislators on the site if you are unsure who to mail it
to.
Working Parties Family- S. Couch- She is an
organizer for the working party family.
On 3/5 there will be a rally and they want to get people there. It will be a large press event. She wanted us to know that the millionaires
tax, which has everyone taxed at the same amount of 6.85% is being
highlighted. A change in this tax would
affect those making over $250,000 and up and could net revenue of $2.5
billion. Employee Free Choice EFC- in
the Capital District has a heavy union concentration. This is not so in other states. We need to support this. Press your legislators to pass this bill and
help advocate the support of working families.
FIGHTBACK Campaign- K. Wilkie- The current plan for a DED merger into the
Empire State Development Corporation is a serious issue. She thanked all for encouraging members to
send letters and meet with senators on this issue. She is not sure where they stand- they are
preparing talking points and alternative budget choices. The assembly is more
supportive of a DED reverse merger. The
Labor Federation in Buffalo passed a resolution that this is union busting and
we are trying to get a similar resolution past here. Other regions are meeting with legislators on
their behalf and they are meeting with the comptroller on shadow agency costs.
TREASURER’S
REPORT-
S. Ray –absent- Tom stated that a report would be presented at the next Region
8 Stewards meeting.
BASEBALL
/ SOCIAL ACTIVITIES- Tom said there are going to be two baseball
trips to Yankee Stadium. Tickets are harder
to get since there are 4000 less seats in the new stadium. One will be in May and one in June and
perhaps a third. There will be 4 busses
for each trip.
a.
Fiscal Oversight- no report
b.
Civil Service – B. Wurster- Thursday 2/26 is the next meeting. *CS is letting us know as of 3/13 they want
to charge a fee for taking exams. We are
going to fight this. *Thirty medical
titles were put into the NC class. We
are going to file and article 78 on this. Nurses (5-7,000) may be the next
target. *Contract resolutions need to be
sent to the CS committee for review by 6/8 to make it to the convention. They are considering a SW meeting at the
convention to discuss retirement, succession planning and other issues. *The Veterans Administration passed
legislation that jacks up the number of 55C’s that can be hired. Those with 55b disability and 55c vets are
not part of the hiring freeze. *They are
working on consultant issues- OASIS has found with the hiring freeze that
member are not seeing promotions. * Tax
department is hiring 250 employees.
Tests are being given now for Tax Tech trainee to help collect the $13
billion in uncollected tax. The
comptroller’s office is hiring executive positions. In IT titles the problem is in sourcing-
making contactors come into PEF titles is a problem. OMH, DOH and agencies with shadows have
people not reachable on lists being hired by the shadows. DOT is gearing up for the stimulus and ENCON
will get money for clean water and air.
c.
PAC- T. Comanzo-
They met on 2/10. Congresswoman now
Senator Gillibrand will be good for the state and
PEF. 3/31 is the election for her
replacement. Both J. Tedisco and S. Murphy were
interviewed for an endorsement. The
Region 8 PAC selected S. Murphy. SWPAC
voted to support the Region 8 choice. There will be a short period for us to do
work for him. They need our help for
phone banks and sign up sheets are available for anyone who can work a few
hours from 5:30 – 8:30 PM nights making calls.
In the 20th Congressional race - NO member dues money can be
used for federal elections. COPE funds
are used and he urged members to continue to contribute to COPE.
d.
IT- Absent- no report
e.
Women’s Program- M.
Shannon-Roberts- There is going to be a 1 day conference on 3/7- the theme
Empowering Woman in Leadership. The
third Monday of the month at PEF are meetings and all are invited to attend.
f.
Military Services- absent- Tom
said there was a good turnout at the last meeting.
A
motion to adjourn at 8:15 PM was made by M. Shannon -Roberts, seconded and
carried.
NEXT
MEETING DATE
NOTE:
March
24, 2009
Respectfully submitted,
Karen (Pellegrino) Danish
Region 8 Secretary