Parole officers, officials unite to salute fallen colleagues A SOLEMN EVENT – Parole officers listen as the names of their fallen colleagues are being read. (Below)


Story and photos By DEBORAH A. MILES Dozens of parole officers and state


dignitaries gathered at the garden behind the Legislative Office Building in Albany for the 13th Annual Parole Officers’ Memorial Ceremony in July. The event coincided with Pretrial,


Probation and Parole Supervision Week (July 13-19), and honored all the brave men and women who gave their lives in the performance of their duties. Anthony Zrake, a PEF member and


parole officer, sang the national anthem after bagpipers and color guards took their places in front of the memorial. Recently elected Division 236 Council


Leader Tony Perez hung the wreath adjacent to the memorial wall with parole officer Stuart Levine, a lodge member of the state Fraternal Order of the Police. “Parole officers are helping parolees fight


old demons in order to create new beginnings in their lives,” said state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci. “The fact we have not lost a life in the line of duty since 2009 is both a blessing and confirmation that we have the best and most professional community-supervision staff. They work


Division 236 Council Leader Tony Perez and PO Stuart Levine hang a memorial wreath.


hard and care for and about the people on their caseloads. They always keep in mind that when they succeed, both the parolees and the citizens of New York state win.” Mary Kavaney, assistant deputy


secretary to the governor for public safety, said, “The work (of parole officers) is noble, goes unnoticed, and is challenging and takes a toll on the officers. Officers work with very scarce resources in the community to make another person successful.” Robert Maccarone, Deputy


Commissioner of Criminal Justice Services and state director of the Office of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, read a proclamation from Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It said, in part, “Community supervision


professionals are part of the bedrock of our justice system and have been instrumental in upholding the interests of justice, maintaining law and order, and achieving cost savings at the state and local levels, and have contributed immeasurably toward making New York state the safest large state in the nation.” DOCCS Deputy Commissioner Thomas


Herzog read the names of the parole officers, all PEF members, who died in the line of duty. They are: Barry Sutherland (12-13-76), Raymond Rinaldi (5-22-81), Brian Rooney (10-10-85), Anthony Libertone (6-12-86), Theodore Clark (4-22- 93), Sharyn DeBose-Dover (10-13-99) and Jeffrey Woolson (3-19-09). PEF-represented parole officers who


attended the ceremony said they wanted to honor their fellow officers and pay tribute to their memories. Parole Officer Ivy Gaynor added, “Most of


the time we are not being recognized for the work we do and how dangerous it is. This is a reminder that any day, any one of us is at risk.”


Appellate court finds for PEF in case over wage cuts for track workers


By SHERRY HALBROOK The Appellate Division, Third


Department, of state Supreme Court in July supported PEF’s position in a case with roots going back to1996. The appellate court’s decision overturns


earlier findings in the matter by the state Supreme Court and by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). “I felt very strongly we should challenge


the state Supreme Court and PERB decisions in this case,” said PEF President Susan M. Kent. “I am extremely happy with the appellate court’s decision.” The case involves PEF’s claims the state


Racing and Wagering Board (now part of the NYS Gaming Commission) violated the state’s Taylor Law when, in 1996, it unilaterally reduced by 25 percent the per diem wage rates for all non-statutory, seasonal employees represented by PEF at the various horse racing tracks in New York. Among the affected job titles are


inspector, supervising and assistant supervising racing veterinarian, associate judge, starter and racing license investigator. The appellate court’s ruling came on PEF’s appeal of a 2013 state Supreme


Page 16—The Communicator September 2014


Court decision that had upheld PERB’s dismissal in 2012 of an improper practice charge PEF had filed in the matter. PERB had based its dismissal of the


charge on a side-letter to the PS&T contract that deals with seasonal employees. PERB found PEF and the state had fully negotiated the issue of whether the state budget director has discretion under the state Finance Law to make unilateral adjustments to compensation for seasonal, non-statutory employees such as those affected by this case. That side letter was negotiated prior to the reduction in per diem wages at issue here. Thus, since both parties had already


fully bargained this subject area and had obtained no additional restrictions on the budget director’s discretion, PERB found the state could reduce the per diem salary rates for seasonal, non-statutory board employees without negotiating that specific reduction with PEF. PERB calls this a “duty satisfaction”


defense, because the parties have satisfied their mutual duty, or obligation, to negotiate in good faith over the subject at- issue. Further, the party asserting the defense bears the burden of establishing that it is reasonably clear – reading the


relevant agreement as a whole – that the parties intended it to cover the specific subject at issue, even if the agreement, itself, did not directly speak to that now- contested issue. “We challenged PERB’s decision on


several grounds,” said PEF General Counsel Lisa King. “Our main argument was PERB had applied its duty satisfaction defense too broadly, because the seasonal side letter was not evidence the parties had fully negotiated over the issue of seasonal employee per diem wage rates and discretionary adjustments to those rates by the budget director. “The Appellate Division agreed with PEF


and found the terms of the side letter were not sufficiently broad to demonstrate that the subject matter that formed the basis for the improper practice charge, the unilateral 25 percent reduction in wages, was negotiated to completion, and PERB’s determination to the contrary was arbitrary and capricious,” King said. Because the five judges on the appellate


panel split 3-2 in ruling for PEF, the state has an automatic right to appeal the decision to the state Court of Appeals. If the appellate court’s decision stands, the matter will be returned to PERB.


PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


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