M
delegatesPEF’sactivismhadbeenkey
READY-SET-ACTION—Nearly1,000delegatesattendPEF’s31stAnnualConvention
factorsintheirelections.
inNiagaraFalls.(Below)PEFOfficersposewithU.S.SenatorKirstenGillibrand.
o
“Thankyouforyouractivism,”
ShownarePEFVicePresidentsTomComanzoandJoeFox,PEFPresidentKen
b
Gillibrandsaid.“PEFmadeallthe
Brynien,Gillibrand,Secretary-TreasurerArleaIgoeandVicePresidentPatBaker.
i
differenceinmy2006and2008 l
campaigns.”
i
“WhennobodythoughtNiagaraFalls
z
couldcomeback,”Dystersaid,“PEFwas
i
n
thefirsttoendorseme.Iespeciallywant
tothank(PEFRegion1Coordinator)
g
KevinHintzand(PEFboardmemberand
delegate)DaveChudy.Withyourhelp,I P
won80percentofthevote.”
E
Itcomesdowntoyou
F
Withtwo-minute,wide-screenfilm-clip
’
s
collagesthatmixedmoviestarsinfamous
sceneswithPEFactiviststoinspirethem
P
everydayoftheconvention,thedelegates
gotthemessage:Takeaction.Youcan
o
makeadifferenceinyourlife,inyour inWorkSchedule,buthaven’tbeengiven theCOPEtrophyforgarneringthemost w
unionandinyourcommunity. theopportunity,goonlinetowww.pef.org newenrollees.(Seepage7formore
PEFPresidentKenBryniensetthebar andclickonthecrawlmessage. information.) e
high,makingthereductionofstate Brynienalsoaskedeveryone“tosigna Thedelegatesalsorespondedtoa
r
contractingPEF’stopgoalforthenext12 petitionongettingtheunionincludedin requestfromPEFRegion1,whichhosted
months. thedecision-makingprocessatthestate theconvention,contributinggroceries
Herepeatedlycalledonthedelegates OfficeforChildrenandFamilyServices.” and$1,200incashtothelocal
tosharetheirideas,theirinformationand Brynienchallengedeachdelegateto CommunityMission’ssoupkitchenand
theirenergy.(Seerelatedarticle,page6.) submitslogansto“brand”PEFads, shelter.
“Ourhistoryhasshownwhenwework postersandothercommunications.Vicki Itwasavoicefromthepastthatsent
together,wecanbesuccessful,”Brynien SchultzfromRegion1,wonwithslogan: outthemosturgentchallenge.
toldthem. “PEF–WorkingforNY,WorkingforYou.” Inafieryaddresstothedelegates,
“Iwanteachofyoutowritedownat PEFSecretary-TreasurerArleaIgoe formerPEFPresidentRogerBenson
leastoneexampleofhowthestateis tolddelegatestheunionmusttrytosave showedthemheadlinesandpolitical
wastingmoneywhereyouwork,andturn moneyforitscontingencyfundtoprotect cartoonsfromnewspapersattacking
itinwhenyouleave,”Bryniensaid. members’jobs. publicemployeesandtheirpensions.
Morethan100delegateswere“takers” “Theunknowniswhatwemustlook BensoncalledonPEFtocreate“a
whenBrynienaskedthemtosubmittheir outfor,”Igoewarned.(Seerelatedarticle, steadydrumbeattocounterthegarbage
namesandcontactinfoiftheywouldbe page6.) andpropaganda.”
willingtoacceptthestate’s$20,000 PEFVicePresidentJoeFox,as “Iproposeacalltoarms,”Benson
severanceofferifitweremadetothem. conventionchair,hadurgeddelegatesto said.“Getoutintothestreets,getinthe
Thepresidentsaidhewouldturnthat pre-registerfortheconventiononline. newspapers,andontheradio,TVand
informationandtheircommentson DelegatesalsowerechallengedbyVice Internetandcounterthisanti-union
wastefulspendingovertoGov.David PresidentsPatBakerandTomComanzo, message.
Patersonwhoislookingformorewaysto chairsoftheCommitteeonPolitical “Unlessourmessageisheard,itjust
cutstatespending.(Seerelatedarticle, Education(COPE),toenrollasmany doesn’texist,”Bensonsaid.
page7.) contributorsaspossiblebeforethe “Takesomeleadershipandraisesome
Ifyouwanttotaketheseveranceor convention.Theyadded82contributors realunionhell!”
w
ar
w
e
w
in
.p
t
e
e
f
r
.
e
o
s
rg
tedintheVoluntaryReduction totherollsandRegion11wasawarded
TheCommunicatorOctober2009—Page5
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