![\"Photos](\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/55Hanson-Header.jpg\")
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Persistence is paying off for PEF members who work at 55 Hanson Place in Brooklyn, where renovations to the state office building have forced staff to work in cold, noise, dust, and disarray, and where fire safety plan deficiencies prompted members to call for change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n PEF members Vivian Falto, Angelina Rodriguez-Billingsley, George Howard, and Michael Marquez work at different agencies, but they joined forces to get the state to start addressing their concerns.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cold, noise, and dust<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the most visible issues at 55 Hanson is the ongoing construction.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy office came back after COVID to a site under construction,\u201d said Falto, who works for the New York State Education Department (SED) and was one of the first to sound an alarm about the poor conditions in the building. \u201cOur offices were dirty and dusty. They were replacing windows in January. It was the middle of winter.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Falto and her members are some of the lucky ones \u2013 they were able to telecommute for a while. Other offices within the building weren\u2019t so lucky.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOn my floor, there was never telecommuting,\u201d said Rodriguez-Billingsley, who also works for SED. \u201cWe had to work in the cold. People got sick. We worked by windows that got removed. There was dust and debris, now there are loud vibration noises, and we don\u2019t know what day they are going to be drilling.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe informed management that people are getting headaches from the noise,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s interrupting their jobs. Our clients with disabilities, we don\u2019t know what is going to trigger these individuals. We need to come up with a plan to address that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While they have made some headway, those conditions persist, and the fight continues for Rodriguez-Billingsley and the members on her floor.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ITS member George Howard also came into the office throughout the pandemic.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, they would clear out a floor, move you, get that floor done,\u201d he said. \u201cInstead, they are going section by section and replacing all the windows and renovating the whole building.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was working with someone in Ag and Markets during COVID and they asked, \u2018Why is this program coming into this construction site?\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cIt\u2019s so bad they had to have space heaters. I kept telling people what\u2019s going on here doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The state was also conducting asbestos abatement at the site, Howard said. Seeing workers in full personal protective gear had members concerned.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t know clearly about that until we complained,\u201d he said. It wasn\u2019t until after those complaints that the state posted asbestos abatement notices around the building.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was a discussion between Howard and PEF Executive Board member Jose Medina from the Department of Labor (DOL) that drew in Michael Marquez, a safety and health inspector for DOL\u2019s Public Employees Safety and Health (PESH) division.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Marquez serves as co-chair of his health and safety committee and since January 2021 has been informing management about numerous fire safety issues at DOL. He was told he was \u201cnitpicking too much\u201d \u2013 but his concerns were validated when a fire broke out at 9 Bond Street, Brooklyn, and displaced members, destroyed offices, and disrupted DOL services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cManagement neglected local emergency action plans for years,\u201d Marquez said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t put a high enough emphasis on this stuff. Had they implemented an updated emergency action plan and training for staff, that fire could have been prevented. It didn\u2019t need to happen.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Marquez said many of the agency\u2019s action plans were so outdated, they still listed security officers who had retired or even passed away.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Staff displaced by the fire were shifted to 55 Hanson, which is how Marquez ended up joining the fight to bring that building\u2019s fire safety in line with standards.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n An impact on clients<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Falto said the problems don\u2019t just impact staff. Clients coming into her offices are disabled and it\u2019s never clear how they will react to the construction projects.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not only about us as PEF members,\u201d Falto said. \u201cIf I have a person with me, how do I get that person out of the building safely in an emergency? Most of our cleaning crew members are disabled. If I don\u2019t know how to get out in an emergency, how will they?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rodriguez-Billingsley echoed her sentiments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery client in our office has a disability,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is no fire drill in place for disabled participants. People with wheelchairs, people who are deaf and can\u2019t hear the alarm. There is no plan for people with disabilities on our second floor.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Coming together for change<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Falto said it wasn\u2019t until members banded together that progress was made.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPEF is a member-driven union,\u201d she said. \u201cThe beauty of this is that we took charge and joined forces before we sought assistance from PEF leadership. We said we need to make this right. When we didn\u2019t get answers, we went to the highest level of the union and said we need help.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n PEF\u2019s top officers made it a priority to stop at 55 Hanson during the Statewide Officers Tour. President Wayne Spence toured the facility, saw the conditions, and talked with local leaders and members.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey made it happen,\u201d said PEF Vice President Darlene Williams said of Falto, Rodriguez-Billingsley, Marquez and Howard. \u201cNothing would have changed without those heroes.\u201d She publicly recognized the four leaders on stage at the annual PEF Convention in Niagara Falls on Oct. 26. \u201cI\u2019m so proud they didn\u2019t just say, \u2018Let others do the work.\u2019\u201d She also commended PEF Organizer Lisa Pinkard-Adams and Region 11 Coordinator Bernadette O\u2019Connor for attending the first meeting with impacted members and helping organize health and safety walkthroughs of the building.<\/p>\n Howard urged people to speak up about issues at their worksite.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKeep talking to people about the issues,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t give up. Get the message out. We need all the agencies and unions to work together to solve the problem. Me alone as the local steward couldn\u2019t solve the problem.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For Marquez, bringing up the issues at his health and safety committee prompted his CSEA counterpart to start filing complaints of her own.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNot only was management getting it from PEF, but they started to get it from CSEA too,\u201d he said. \u201cThey felt empowered after all these issues were brought up.\u201d Marquez said even those staff who don\u2019t have health and safety in their job descriptions are starting to speak up. \u201cNow we are building a larger coalition to deal with this.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"PEF](\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Howard-and-Marquez-with-Darlene-Convention.jpg\")