PEF to Cuomo: Stop stalling!


By SHERRY HALBROOK Operating unsafe, poorly staffed


worksites costs the state hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Yet when PEF reached out to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in February to suggest ways to reduce those costs, he gave the union the “brush-off.” “I look forward to working with you


on this problem, as well as many others,” PEF President Ken Brynien wrote to Cuomo in a three-page letter that addressed the state’s Fourth Annual Workers’ Compensation Report for NYS Government Employees. The governor did


OMH 17.8%


problem?” Brynien asked. The report, which is issued by the


state Department of Civil Service, says workplace injuries kept employees off the job 274,064 days in 2010-11. “That’s equivalent to losing 1,096


full-time employees for an entire year, but paying them anyway. All New Yorkers, especially the governor, should be horrified and want to help us stop it,” Brynien said. “At PEF, we are totally frustrated.


2011 Overtime Pay (Percentage ofTotal)


not respond. He kicked that job down the line to a deputy secretary for civil rights, who sent Brynien a three- sentence response a month later saying, “We will take your comments and recommendations under review.” “According to the report we cited, the


ALL OTHERS 40.1%


Either the governor shares our concern, or he doesn’t. This is not a problem he can resolve by himself. It requires our help and we want to give it. We don’t want our members to suffer these injuries and we don’t want the state to


OPWDD 20% DOCCS 22.1%


suffer the lost services and


expense. So, why is he giving us the cold shoulder?” Even more evidence of


state budget for 2010-11 included $202 million in payments to the state Insurance Fund for new and continuing workers’ comp cases and costs. How can the governor say he is serious about saving the state taxpayers money and then just blow us off when we offer to try to help solve this


wasted state tax dollars came out in April from the state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli who reported New York spent $469 million on overtime in 2011. “A big chunk of that $469 million


paid for employees to cover for their injured coworkers,” Brynien said. “The lion’s share of the overtime and a major part of the


workers’ comp costs could be avoided if the state would just hire enough people to do the work safely and on time. “Instead, the state pretends to be


pennywise by understaffing and depending on overtime, privatization and costly private consultants to get by. All the while, the governor tells New Yorkers he’s saving them money and just hopes they won’t notice how state services are quietly falling apart before their eyes.” The annual state report on workers’


comp costs that Brynien cited is required by a law PEF members worked for years to get through the Legislature and signed. The report shows the state paid more


than $49 million in 2010-11 for its injured employees’ lost time and medical treatment. That figure was up 2.7 percent from the previous year and was 28.3 percent higher than in 2007- 08, the first year covered by a report. The number of workers’ comp cases


in 2010-11 didn’t improve from 2009- 10.


“The risk of injury varies by agency


and job title, and just four agencies account for nearly 80 percent of the incidents and costs,” said PEF Director of Occupational Health and Safety Jonathan Rosen. “These four agencies have the highest incidence rates year after year.” The state Office of Children and


Family Services was the most dangerous place to work, with one workers comp injury for every five workers. The state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), the Office of Mental Health (OMH) and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) are the other three most dangerous state employers. “Three of these agencies, OMH,


OPWDD and DOCCS, also have the highest overtime expenses every year,” Brynien said. “They account for 60 percent of the state’s OT. Full staffing could stop this waste. “These cases are not just so


many statistics and numbers,” Brynien said. “These are people who have been seriously hurt while trying to serve the people of New York. “We’re not talking about injuries that require less than a week to recover. These are injuries that can take weeks, months or years to heal.


Page 4—The Communicator May 2012 PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


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