IN THE FRESH AIR — Melissa Prusinski from the state Department of Health presents a “Help, I Work Outdoors” workshop to dozens of conference attendees. PEF members participate in one of the many workshops held in June. — Photos by Scott Morlock


Conference is ‘right on’ addressing current health and safety issues


By DEBORAH A. MILES


“Workplace/Safe Place: It’s Your Right” was the theme of the 2015 Health and Safety Conference sponsored by PEF and the state. The mid-June event, that attracted more than 250 health and safety activists in Albany, raised the bar to new heights with timely workshops and inspirational speakers.


Participants were able to download a free conference app on their mobile devices. The application had the complete conference agenda, so people could create their own itinerary and set reminders to attend, for example, the “Help! I Work Outdoors” or “Workplace Violence


• Seat 485 (Tax and Finance) – Edward Czosnykowski;


• Seat 487 (Tax and Finance) – Joe Donahue;


• Seat 490 (Tax and Finance) – Michael Crannell; and


• Seat 535 (Transportation) – William Holthausen.


The new board members who were unopposed are:


Agriculture and Markets (Seat 1) – Michael Dorgan; Comptroller (Seat 9) – Michael Kopkin; Financial Services, Insurance (Seat 12) – Barrington Scott;


Corrections and Community Supervision (Seats 35, 40, 45 and 50) – Sharon Lamb, Randy Mainello, Anthony Pace and Diane Jaulus; Economic Development (Seat 55) – Kay


Wilkie;


Education (Seats 65, 70, 75 and 77) – Frank Lindner, Michael Kinley, Sabrina Gallop and David Lovell; SUNY (Seats 80, 81, 95, 97, 100, 101 and 102) – Olivene Young Nelson, Gale Baptiste, Brian Langdon, Roberta Stafford, Eugene Deal, James Hassett and Douglas


www.pef.org


Prevention Risk Assessments” workshops. The 14 workshops were facilitated by PEF leaders, members and staff, experts from the state Department of Labor’s Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau (PESH), and the Civil Service Employees Association. The topics ranged from long-standing issues such as “Indoor Air Quality” to emerging topics such as “Dealing with Difficult People/Clients for Health Care Settings.”


Paula T. Hennessy, PEF training and education, health and safety director, and Edward Cottrell, co-chair of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER)


(Continued on page 6) Begent;


Environmental Conservation (Seats 110 and 115) – Frank Flack and Robert McDonough;


Homeland Security (Seat 127) – John Thomsen;


Parks and Recreation (Seat 130) – Noelle Kardos;


Information Technology (Seats 172, 173, 176 and 177) – Robert Mahoney, Jeffrey Smith, Prakash Lal and Penny Howansky; Health (Seats 180, 185, 190, 195, 200 and 202) – Harold Stone, Albert DeMarco, Amy DeMarco, Jeffrey Shepardson, Ramlochand Singh and Maria Schiavone; Insurance Fund (Seat 207) – Katherine Czachorowski;


Workers’ Compensation (Seat 220) – William Osta; Labor (Seats 225, 235 and 250) – Angelique Cook, Kevin Jones and K. Scarlett Ahmed; Mental Hygiene (Seats 260, 265, 280, 285, 310, 325, 335, 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 385, 395, and 415) – Vincent Cicatello, Scott Dobe, Anne Fugle, Randi DiAntonio, Mary Halterman, Gerald Riconda, Elizabeth Falco, Janette Clark,


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HONORED — Assembly Member Aileen Gunther poses for a photo with Rocco Brindisi and PEF President Susan M. Kent after receiving the Judi Scanlon Award.


Robert Lowinger, Darlene Williams, Harold Brewster, Elizabeth Cheese, Errol London, Ken Dischel, Carol Ferrante and William Cruz;


Mabb III; Rienzo;


Motor Vehicles (Seat 420) – Ralph Public Service (Seat 425) – Thomas


Children and Family Services (Seats 430, 435 and 440) – William Nolan, Migdalia Ramos-Ensslin and Robin Matthews;


Temporary and Disability Assistance (Seat 445) – Richard Fletcher; State (Seat 460) – Gary Haight; Tax and Finance (Seats 480 and 486) – Kim Norwood and Jakob Westman; Transportation (Seats 500, 505, 510, 520, 525 and 530) – Melvin Romeyn Jr., John Duengfelder, Stephen Geyer, Jerry Jobson, Paul Gendron and Lorraine Turturro;


Not-for-profit and for-profit organizations (Seat 540) – Margaret Eaton; and


Public benefit corporations (Seats 550 and 555) – Marilynn DiCara and Yatram Bruce Jagroop.


The Communicator July/August 2015 — Page 5


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