{"id":7063,"date":"2025-04-30T09:38:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=7063"},"modified":"2025-05-06T07:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:59:16","slug":"pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-4\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF recommits to the fight for health and safety on Workers\u2019 Memorial Day\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"PEF
PEF Vice President Bruce Giddings, at the podium, and Secretary-Treasurer Joe Donahue, led the Workers’ Memorial Day ceremony at PEF Headquarters in Latham on April 28.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 6, 2025 —<\/em> Workers\u2019 Memorial Day is set aside to remember and honor those who died or suffered illness or injury on the job and PEF leaders and staff observed a moment of silence in memory of those fellow workers on April 28.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: Watch video of the ceremony<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do this on this day to remember those who have lost their lives, or gotten injured severely, or with minor injuries, to be reminded of the importance of preventive protocols for health and safety practices,\u201d said PEF Vice President Bruce Giddings. \u201cWe remain mindful for ourselves and others to remain safe, unharmed, and alive each day so that we can go home to our families and loved ones.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unions have been on the frontlines of health and safety and remain so today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNearly all on-the-job fatalities should be prevented,\u201d said Secretary-Treasurer Joe Donahue. \u201cAs a union, it is important on this day to publicly renew our commitment to health and safety for workers. Thousands of PEF members work on the frontlines every day, caring for some of the state\u2019s most vulnerable people.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Donahue called attention to the need for continued advocacy in the wake of a handful of high-profile workplace violence cases across the state since this time last year, including the stabbings at <\/span>Buffalo Psychiatric Center<\/span><\/a>, the attack at <\/span>South Beach Psychiatric Center<\/span><\/a> that left a member with a traumatic brain injury, and recently a sexual assault of a PEF member at <\/span>Pilgrim Psychiatric Center<\/span><\/a> in Suffolk County.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThose are just the ones in the media,\u201d he said. \u201cIn response, PEF launched a \u2018<\/span>Stop Workplace Violence<\/span><\/a>\u2019 campaign to educate members about what to do in the event of an incident with tabling events across the state.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The union also initiated an advertising campaign on buses, bus shelters, and billboards.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradley Kolb, a field representative from the New York City office and president of PEF\u2019s staff union, USW Local 9265, understands firsthand the importance of workplace safety \u2013 having lost a family member to an on-the-job exposure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach year, too many workers around the world leave their homes and never return,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are our coworkers, friends, parents, siblings, and neighbors. Today, we honor their memory and recommit ourselves to the mission of ensuring every worker has the right to a safe and healthy workplace.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe day is not just about mourning, but about action,\u201d Kolb said. \u201cIt\u2019s a call to strengthen protections, raise awareness, and fight for justice. Whether it\u2019s better safety training, stronger regulations, or simply speaking up when something doesn\u2019t seem right \u2013 every step we take matters.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Later in the afternoon, PEF Health & Safety Director Geraldine Stella joined Shana Davis, CSEA Capital Region IV President, to represent the unionized workforce at a <\/span>Workers’ Memorial Day Dedication ceremony<\/span><\/a> at the New York State Department of Labor in Albany.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a wealth of information on health and safety on <\/span>PEF\u2019s website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 6, 2025 — Workers\u2019 Memorial Day is set aside to remember and honor those who died or suffered illness or injury on the job and PEF leaders and staff…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7078,"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-7063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-43-no-4"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPEF recommits to the fight for health and safety on Workers\u2019 Memorial Day\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-43-no-4\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PEF recommits to the fight for health and safety on Workers\u2019 Memorial Day\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"May 6, 2025 — Workers\u2019 Memorial Day is set aside to remember and honor those who died or suffered illness or injury on the job and PEF leaders and staff...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-4\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PEF Communicator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-30T13:38:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T11:59:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Workers-Feature.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"435\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ccanham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ccanham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-4\\\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-4\\\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ccanham\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0677b03b1fcdadfe00f4e905b97b90e4\"},\"headline\":\"PEF recommits to the fight for health and safety on Workers\u2019 Memorial Day\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-30T13:38:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-06T11:59:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-4\\\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":532,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-4\\\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Workers-Feature.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-4\\\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-4\\\/pef-recommits-to-the-fight-for-health-and-safety-on-workers-memorial-day\\\/\",\"name\":\"PEF recommits to the fight for health and safety on Workers\u2019 Memorial Day\u00a0 - 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