{"id":6126,"date":"2024-11-22T10:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T15:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=6126"},"modified":"2024-11-22T11:32:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T16:32:25","slug":"pef-promotes-combatting-workplace-violence-saving-suny-downstate-at-somos-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-42-no-9\/pef-promotes-combatting-workplace-violence-saving-suny-downstate-at-somos-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF promotes combatting workplace violence, saving SUNY Downstate at Somos conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Somos
PEF leaders and staff pose for a photo before all the hard work began at Escuela Montessori Manuel Elzaburu y Vizcarrondo on Nov. 8, 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n


\nNovember 15, 2024 —<\/em> PEF leaders joined elected officials, other unions and community organizations at the \u00a02024 Somos Conference. This year\u2019s theme was<\/span>\u00a0Navigating Change Together: Fostering Collaboration for a Sustainable Future<\/span>, and PEF went with a full agenda \u2013 participating in and leading\u00a0workshops on community healthcare delivery and workplace violence, as well as taking part in the annual Day of Service.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"SomosSomos is dedicated to uniting the Latino community and raising awareness by advocating and elevating social consciousness surrounding public policy. The conference attracts thousands of participants annually who represent a cross section of the state\u2019s Hispanic community, including federal, state, and local elected officials as well as community, labor and business leaders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President Wayne Spence joined a panel discussion on community healthcare on day one, highlighting the fight to Save SUNY Downstate, as a community resource and as a workplace for PEF members.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSUNY Downstate Medical Center was first targeted for closure in 2011,\u201d President Spence said. \u201cA coalition of unions, clergy, and the community rose up to fight back and saved it in 2012. But in the dozen years since, the state has not invested enough to adequately serve a primarily Black and Brown community in central Brooklyn.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Downstate is vital to the surrounding community, President Spence said, serving as Brooklyn\u2019s only kidney transplant center; boasting the region\u2019s only level 4 NICU and ECMO units for newborns; and more.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to show elected officials and all New Yorkers the faces of citizens who are being denied the healthcare they deserve and the obstacles they must overcome to receive quality care,\u201d President Spence said. \u201cThe community served by Downstate has high incidence rates of diabetes, kidney failure, heart failure, and other high-risk illnesses. They don\u2019t have another convenient option for healthcare.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President Spence also addressed workforce challenges at Downstate, including short-staffing, mandated overtime, and unequal pay compared to the private sector.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPEF nurses and doctors at SUNY Downstate face daily challenges caring for a population that has acute needs,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Workplace violence<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nPEF co-hosted with SSEU Local 371 a panel discussion on workplace violence, focusing on how worker protections have been de-prioritized in recent years and how unions are fighting back to make governments do more to ensure worker protections and implement tougher standards.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President Spence outlined three priorities to improve workplace safety that the union plans to pursue in the next legislative session:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n