{"id":9006,"date":"2026-05-20T10:11:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T14:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=9006"},"modified":"2026-05-20T15:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:49:08","slug":"conference-tackles-health-and-safety-through-skill-building-and-fostering-partnerships-with-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-5\/conference-tackles-health-and-safety-through-skill-building-and-fostering-partnerships-with-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Conference tackles health and safety through skill-building and fostering partnerships with management"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Health
From left to right, PEF General Counsel John Svare; keynote speaker Renee Delgado, vice chair, NYS Workers Compensation Board; Article 18 Co-Chair Leisa Abraham; Assistant Director of the Office of Employee Relations Ed Cottrell; Joe Cavalcante, Advocate for Injured Workers, NYS Worker’s Compensation Board; Article 18-Co Chair Gabriela Franklyn; and PEF Health and Safety Director Josh Kemp at the 2026 PEF\/NYS Health and Safety Conference in Albany.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"NYSMay 21, 2026 —<\/em> More than 300 PEF leaders and State management representatives<\/span>\u00a0came together to discuss health and safety at this year\u2019s PEF\/NYS Health and Safety Conference from May 11 to 13 in Albany.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The contractual joint\u00a0Article 18 Committee studies and reviews\u00a0matters of mutual concern in areas of health and safety\u00a0and\u00a0serves\u00a0as a forum\u00a0where the union\u00a0can advise the\u00a0state of potential health or safety problems;\u00a0participate in\u00a0development and implementation of policy;\u00a0and undertake initiatives in research, education and support of agency and local level health and safety committees.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur Article 18 rights were fought for and earned,\u201d said\u00a0PEF\u00a0Health and Safety Director Josh Kemp. \u201cWorkers face toxic exposures; members are\u00a0assaulted every single day. We need to move as one \u2013 that\u2019s union power. Members who\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know their rights\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0use them.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Region 3 Coordinator and Article 18 Committee Co-Chair Leisa Abraham emphasized the importance of partnership in advocating and addressing these critical issues.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have big things happening in DOCCS, we have workplace violence across so many agencies,\u201d she said. \u201cFollowing a horrible stabbing at Buffalo Psychiatric Center two years ago, we started\u00a0putting a paper together on how to report, how to file charges, and how to make agencies take these incidents as seriously as we take them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing a little improvement over the last year,\u201d she said. \u201cThat all comes from the work that you\u2019re doing\u00a0with\u00a0us.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Region 9 Coordinator and Committee Co-Chair Gabriela Franklyn praised leadership for stepping up and working relentlessly to make a difference at their worksites.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan you imagine if we united across agencies?\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0asked. \u201cThis is the first conference where we have more than 100 managers in attendance.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF\u00a0Vice President Randi DiAntonio\u00a0emphasized that\u00a0unity is key.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have so much power and some of us know it and some of us are just learning it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have power when we stand together, speak in one voice, push back, fight back. Some people\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0realize there is a crisis until there is a tragedy.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most somber\u00a0reminders of this is\u00a0the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, where\u00a0146\u00a0mostly immigrant women and girls burned or jumped to their death when the building caught fire and they\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0escape the locked\u00a0fire escape\u00a0doors.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Closer to home, DiAntonio said, was the murder of PEF member Judith \u201cJudy\u201d\u00a0Scanlon\u00a028\u00a0years ago,\u00a0days\u00a0before Thanksgiving in 1998. The tragedy\u00a0put\u00a0a spotlight on the safety of healthcare workers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvents pushed our union to do\u00a0more;\u00a0to do better,\u201d DiAntonio said. \u201cWorkplace\u00a0violence\u00a0prevention programs are\u00a0a direct result of activities that occurred after the death of one of our members. That elevated it to a crisis. Tragedies motivate people and make us realize we are not as safe as we think we are.\u00a0<\/span>If we want to prepare for the future, we\u00a0have to\u00a0work in the present.\u201d\u00a0(make\u00a0this a pull quote?)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0exactly what the hundreds of leaders at the conference did. Workshops\u00a0ranged\u00a0from\u00a0addressing health and safety in leased spaces; building the foundation for health and safety committees; navigating an incident beyond spreadsheets; indoor air quality; unknown substance exposures in DOCCS, and more.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/span>Workshop highlights\u00a0how DOCCS responds to\u00a0substance exposures<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Throughout the three-day conference,\u00a0awards were presented to tireless and dedicated health and safety advocates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Judith Scanlon PEF Health & Safety Activist Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s award went\u00a0to\u00a0Vincent Commisso, who works\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0NYS Archives in the State Education Department.\u00a0In 2022, he became a steward for Division 194\u00a0and in 2023\u00a0he\u00a0became\u00a0involved with\u00a0health and\u00a0safety. He now chairs\u00a0the PEF\/SED local\u00a0health and safety\u00a0committee in Albany.\u00a0Commisso\u00a0and his committee have navigated\u00a0numerous\u00a0health and safety events including asbestos\u00a0abatements, lead mitigation, and water intrusion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Shiffman Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This award is named for a longtime PEF member at South Beach Psychiatric Center\u00a0who\u00a0suffered a life-altering\u00a0assault by a patient\u00a0in 2024, leaving him with\u00a0permanent injury.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Alexandre DoNascimento, a\u00a0PEF member\u00a0at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center;\u00a0Division 180 Council Leader\u00a0and\u00a0Executive\u00a0Board member;\u00a0and the local health and safety chair,\u00a0was\u00a0this year\u2019s recipient.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u00a0was a frontline advocate for member safety throughout the COVID-19 pandemic\u00a0and\u00a0has directed his efforts toward\u00a0workplace\u00a0violence prevention.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kathy D\u2019Arminio Special Recognition Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This award recognizes the life-long contributions of\u00a0individuals who have distinguished themselves through a career of hard work and dedication to\u00a0improve the lives of workers. The 2026 winner was former PEF Health & Safety Director\u00a0Geraldine Stella.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

D\u2019Arminio\u00a0served as Article 18\u00a0chair from 2006\u00a0to\u00a02013. She advocated\u00a0fiercely for safety and health programs; was passionate about\u00a0developing\u00a0strong labor\/management committees;\u00a0and\u00a0encouraged\u00a0members to\u00a0get\u00a0involved.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over more than 34\u00a0years with PEF,\u00a0Stella\u00a0worked on\u00a0a wide range of health and safety issues,\u00a0from research and development of national, federal, and statewide\u00a0safety and health laws, standards, policies, and programs, to hazard identification,\u00a0prevention, remediation\u00a0and more.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bernie Kahn Outstanding Service Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bernie Kahn\u00a0chaired the PEF\u00a0H&S Committee and the PEF Article 13\u00a0committee and\u00a0advocated for better\u00a0training programs\u00a0related to\u00a0workers\u2019\u00a0compensation. The\u00a0award\u00a0named in\u00a0their\u00a0honor\u00a0recognizes sustained\u00a0and outstanding efforts to improve the lives of workers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Parole Officer\u00a0Najieb Isaac\u00a0was this year\u2019s recipient. A\u00a0passionate and unwavering advocate for the safety and\u00a0wellness of PEF members at\u00a0parole\u00a0offices in the Bronx,\u00a0she regularly assesses offsite\u00a0court and Department of Labor locations and has taken her advocacy directly to local legislators on behalf of her members.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When a homicide occurred outside the 79 Alexander Avenue office,\u00a0she\u00a0was among the first to respond. She\u00a0immediately\u00a0conducted a risk assessment and called for an emergency labor-management meeting to address the need for critical safety training.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Agency Award\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This award is given by\u00a0the Office of Employee Relations\u00a0and PEF to\u00a0agency (Management,\u00a0PEF\u00a0and CSEA) chairs that\u00a0demonstrate:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n