{"id":2225,"date":"2022-11-03T14:54:20","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T18:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=2225"},"modified":"2022-11-04T14:29:26","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T18:29:26","slug":"44th-annual-pef-convention-brimming-with-energy-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-40-no-8\/44th-annual-pef-convention-brimming-with-energy-action\/","title":{"rendered":"44th Annual PEF Convention brimming with energy, action\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Members
Members of the PEF Contract Team are introduced to delegates at the Convention. Negotiations for a successor contract to the 2019-2023 PS&T Collective Bargaining Agreement begin this month.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

PEF\u2019s 44<\/span>th<\/span> Annual Convention was held October 23-26 in Niagara Falls. The weather was sunny and warm, and the delegates sailed through all their work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"2022PEF President Wayne Spence, speaking from the podium at the Convention\u2019s final plenary session, said he was impressed that the delegates managed to finish their work with half an hour or so to spare.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for stepping on the gas,\u201d Spence told them, and numerous delegates went to the mics to thank him and Convention Committee Chair Vice President Darlene Williams for conducting such a productive and pleasant convention.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to congratulate you on a convention that was really well put together. You set the bar very high.\u00a0 It was amazing!\u201d said delegate Margaret Dobbins, a Region 4 member who works at Hutchings Psychiatric Center.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The many events were interspersed with speakers, mostly on video messages, who brought inspiration and vows of loyal support for the union, its issues and its goals.\u00a0 More than half mentioned that they grew up in union households.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReclaim Our Future\u201d was the convention theme and the more than 460 delegates were focused on it, attending the plenary sessions, workshops, departmental meetings, committee meetings, president\u2019s reception, departmental, veterans\u2019 and nurses\u2019 luncheons, health and safety breakfast, and the annual multi-cultural and other events.\u00a0 They also bonded over an evening of music, karaoke and dancing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The delegates reviewed and voted on all 12 proposed resolutions, approved two amendments to PEF\u2019s constitution and bylaws, and set PEF\u2019s legislative priorities for both the state and federal agenda in 2023.\u00a0 They heard and asked questions about reports from PEF President Spence, Secretary-Treasurer Joe Donahue and the three PEF trustees: Christopher Buman, Bruce Giddings and Muriel Hardy-Lee.\u00a0 Spence said information will be shared soon with delegates via Zoom about the just-completed PEF contract survey and the Contract Team will have its first introductory meeting with state negotiators this month.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to all of that, delegates volunteered during their lunch break and after the workday to join PEF Retirees in making phone calls to union members, reminding them of how important it is for them to vote in the November 8 general election that will pick New York\u2019s governor, lieutenant governor, legislators, and representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and one of the state\u2019s two seats in the U.S. Senate.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many delegates pledged to start contributing or increasing their contributions to COPE (the Committee on Political Education) that funds PEF\u2019s political actions on behalf of candidates and issues at the federal level. Three lucky members even won a pair of tickets to the Buffalo Bills game against the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 20 for starting or increasing COPE contributions.\u00a0 Labor unions are barred by law from using members\u2019 dues to fund those national political activities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Delegates also joined PEF Staff and PEF Retirees in donating blood to the Red Cross at an on-site clinic, as well as supported breast cancer research and programs to aid victims of domestic violence.\u00a0 They also contributed to PEF Region 1\u2019s annual fundraising efforts for the Judy Scanlon Memorial Scholarships that honor Scanlon, a PEF member and psychiatric case worker who was murdered by a client in 1998.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The convention\u2019s positive spirit was capped off when delegates adopted a resolution that called for PEF to end all future conventions by playing the Ralph Chaplin classic song \u201cSolidarity Forever.\u201d\u00a0 One of the younger delegates said he had never heard the song and asked that it be played before he voted on the resolution.\u00a0 The hall rang out with Pete Seeger\u2019s recording of this traditional labor standard, and the delegates voted a resounding, \u201cYes!\u201d\u00a0 At each Convention from now on, PEF will end with a sing-along of the 107-year-old anthem and its timeless message: \u201cThe union makes us strong!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Grid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  PEF\u2019s 44th Annual Convention was held October 23-26 in Niagara Falls. The weather was sunny and warm, and the delegates sailed through all their work.\u00a0 PEF President Wayne Spence,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-2225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-40-no-8","issue-volume-40-no-9"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n44th Annual PEF Convention brimming with energy, action\u00a0 - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-40-no-8\/44th-annual-pef-convention-brimming-with-energy-action\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"44th Annual PEF Convention brimming with energy, action\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  PEF\u2019s 44th Annual Convention was held October 23-26 in Niagara Falls. 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