May 21, 2026 — More than 300 PEF leaders and State management representatives came together to discuss health and safety at this year’s PEF/NYS Health and Safety Conference from May 11 to 13 in Albany.
The contractual joint Article 18 Committee studies and reviews matters of mutual concern in areas of health and safety and serves as a forum where the union can advise the state of potential health or safety problems; participate in development and implementation of policy; and undertake initiatives in research, education and support of agency and local level health and safety committees.
“Our Article 18 rights were fought for and earned,” said PEF Health and Safety Director Josh Kemp. “Workers face toxic exposures; members are assaulted every single day. We need to move as one – that’s union power. Members who don’t know their rights can’t use them.”
Region 3 Coordinator and Article 18 Committee Co-Chair Leisa Abraham emphasized the importance of partnership in advocating and addressing these critical issues.
“We have big things happening in DOCCS, we have workplace violence across so many agencies,” she said. “Following a horrible stabbing at Buffalo Psychiatric Center two years ago, we started putting a paper together on how to report, how to file charges, and how to make agencies take these incidents as seriously as we take them.
“We are seeing a little improvement over the last year,” she said. “That all comes from the work that you’re doing with us.”
Region 9 Coordinator and Committee Co-Chair Gabriela Franklyn praised leadership for stepping up and working relentlessly to make a difference at their worksites.
“Can you imagine if we united across agencies?” she asked. “This is the first conference where we have more than 100 managers in attendance.”
PEF Vice President Randi DiAntonio emphasized that unity is key.
“You have so much power and some of us know it and some of us are just learning it,” she said. “We have power when we stand together, speak in one voice, push back, fight back. Some people don’t realize there is a crisis until there is a tragedy.”
One of the most somber reminders of this is the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, where 146 mostly immigrant women and girls burned or jumped to their death when the building caught fire and they couldn’t escape the locked fire escape doors.
Closer to home, DiAntonio said, was the murder of PEF member Judith “Judy” Scanlon 28 years ago, days before Thanksgiving in 1998. The tragedy put a spotlight on the safety of healthcare workers.
“Events pushed our union to do more; to do better,” DiAntonio said. “Workplace violence prevention programs are a direct result of activities that occurred after the death of one of our members. That elevated it to a crisis. Tragedies motivate people and make us realize we are not as safe as we think we are. If we want to prepare for the future, we have to work in the present.” (make this a pull quote?)
That’s exactly what the hundreds of leaders at the conference did. Workshops ranged from addressing health and safety in leased spaces; building the foundation for health and safety committees; navigating an incident beyond spreadsheets; indoor air quality; unknown substance exposures in DOCCS, and more.
RELATED: Workshop highlights how DOCCS responds to substance exposures
Throughout the three-day conference, awards were presented to tireless and dedicated health and safety advocates.
Judith Scanlon PEF Health & Safety Activist Award
This year’s award went to Vincent Commisso, who works at the NYS Archives in the State Education Department. In 2022, he became a steward for Division 194 and in 2023 he became involved with health and safety. He now chairs the PEF/SED local health and safety committee in Albany. Commisso and his committee have navigated numerous health and safety events including asbestos abatements, lead mitigation, and water intrusion.
Peter Shiffman Award
This award is named for a longtime PEF member at South Beach Psychiatric Center who suffered a life-altering assault by a patient in 2024, leaving him with permanent injury.
Dr. Alexandre DoNascimento, a PEF member at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center; Division 180 Council Leader and Executive Board member; and the local health and safety chair, was this year’s recipient.
He was a frontline advocate for member safety throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has directed his efforts toward workplace violence prevention.
Kathy D’Arminio Special Recognition Award
This award recognizes the life-long contributions of individuals who have distinguished themselves through a career of hard work and dedication to improve the lives of workers. The 2026 winner was former PEF Health & Safety Director Geraldine Stella.
D’Arminio served as Article 18 chair from 2006 to 2013. She advocated fiercely for safety and health programs; was passionate about developing strong labor/management committees; and encouraged members to get involved.
Over more than 34 years with PEF, Stella worked on a wide range of health and safety issues, from research and development of national, federal, and statewide safety and health laws, standards, policies, and programs, to hazard identification, prevention, remediation and more.
Bernie Kahn Outstanding Service Award
Bernie Kahn chaired the PEF H&S Committee and the PEF Article 13 committee and advocated for better training programs related to workers’ compensation. The award named in their honor recognizes sustained and outstanding efforts to improve the lives of workers.
Parole Officer Najieb Isaac was this year’s recipient. A passionate and unwavering advocate for the safety and wellness of PEF members at parole offices in the Bronx, she regularly assesses offsite court and Department of Labor locations and has taken her advocacy directly to local legislators on behalf of her members.
When a homicide occurred outside the 79 Alexander Avenue office, she was among the first to respond. She immediately conducted a risk assessment and called for an emergency labor-management meeting to address the need for critical safety training.
Agency Award
This award is given by the Office of Employee Relations and PEF to agency (Management, PEF and CSEA) chairs that demonstrate:
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- Dedication and perseverance in making health and safety a priority at the Agency;
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- Efforts in the development of health and safety programs to include training and education;
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- A model of labor/management cooperation to include communication with the labor management safety and health committees, department heads, supervisors, and others;
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- Proven interest in new approaches to safety awareness in the workplace.
This year’s award went to the DOT joint committee, with Matthew Petrie and Cody Baker representing management, and Corinne Testa and Brian Dubois representing PEF.
Together, the four co-chairs built a committee that exemplifies what labor-management health and safety partnership can and should look like.
Editor’s note: Presentations from the conference, along with workshop handouts, can be found on the PEF website.
