{"id":4262,"date":"2023-12-21T11:21:32","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T16:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=4262"},"modified":"2023-12-21T11:30:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T16:30:19","slug":"workers-comp-board-chair-discusses-respect-solidarity-with-unions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-41-no-10\/workers-comp-board-chair-discusses-respect-solidarity-with-unions\/","title":{"rendered":"Workers\u2019 Comp Board chair discusses respect, solidarity with unions\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"keynote
Keynote speaker Clarissa M. Rodriguez, Esq., addresses the audience during the 2023 Health and Safety Conference in Saratoga.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 21, 2023 —<\/em> On the second day of the 2023 Health and Safety Conference, keynote speaker Clarissa M. Rodriguez, Esq., shared her lifelong respect for the labor movement, the importance of labor and management communications, and her commitment to continue fostering cooperation with unions in her role as chair and commissioner of the New York State Workers\u2019 Compensation Board (WCB).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"SuperHer experiences growing up part of the so-called \u201cworking poor\u201d – working long hours from the age of 15, experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, and being paid unfair wages as a waitress \u2013 helped her recognized the value of unions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a member of DC37, her father\u2019s wages were meager, but would have been more so had he not been in the union. Those wages allowed him to save money to bring his children and wife to the U.S. and still provide for others in the Dominican Republic.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe hadn\u2019t had an easy life, growing up dirt poor,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t have much of anything to his name \u2026 but he did have one thing \u2013 a job \u2013 a good union job,\u201d Rodriguez told conference attendees. \u201cI share my life story so that you may see in me someone who understands the importance and vital role that labor unions play in helping to lift up workers, and the sole reason we enjoy the gains and rights in the workplace we have today.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The WCB administers several insurance laws, including workers\u2019 compensation, disability benefits, and Paid Family Leave insurance, and PEF members make up a large portion of the staff.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m deeply proud and appreciative of the Board\u2019s many unionized employees, including our 517 PEF members, comprising over half the agency\u2019s total workforce,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have PEF members in every Board division and nearly every unit.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the start of her tenure as chair of the WCB, turmoil and labor protests greeted her, and she quickly learned that engaging with labor in meaningful ways was the only way to combat public perception of government as the enemy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve slowly turned things around, establishing a good working relationship with our unionized brothers and sisters based on trust and mutual respect \u2013 something that is critical in reducing workplace illness and injury and ultimately moving the needle on just public policy,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have so much untapped common ground and I believe deeply that our interests are, and should be, aligned on most issues \u2013 and especially those of health and safety, and employee wellbeing.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rodriguez has made it her mission to form strong partnerships with labor unions and bring them to the table for dialogue with her executive team.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy executive director and I also make it a point to attend PEF and CSEA labor-management meetings when we can, to discuss anything from health and safety issues to staff morale; all in an attempt to create more cohesion between workers and management at the Board,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her team is not just working at the table \u2013 they are also supporting PEF\u2019s mission to make sure workers who should file Workers\u2019 Compensation claims, do so.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the pandemic, our Advocate for Injured Workers and I embarked on an outreach campaign to educate workers and first responders across the state about their rights to file a workers\u2019 compensation claim if they believe they contracted COVID at work,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cThat remains true today.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rodriquez continues to innovate ways to reach injured workers through worker advocacy groups.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hosted our very first worker advocate conference on May Day 2023, where PEF Health & Safety Director Geraldine Stella was a panelist — and we\u2019re currently hoping to work with the New York State AFL-CIO and PEF directly to revamp the WC Navigator program in 2024.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For information on workers\u2019 compensation, click <\/span>here<\/span><\/a> or email <\/span>HealthAndSafety@pef.org.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

December 21, 2023 — On the second day of the 2023 Health and Safety Conference, keynote speaker Clarissa M. 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