{"id":9676,"date":"2026-09-08T15:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T19:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=9676"},"modified":"2026-09-11T15:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T19:45:19","slug":"25-years-after-sept-11-2001-memories-and-lessons-remain-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-7\/25-years-after-sept-11-2001-memories-and-lessons-remain-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"25 years after Sept. 11, 2001, memories and lessons remain strong"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"9-11-26<\/p>\n

September 11, 2026 —<\/em> PEF leaders, members, and staff \u2014 current and former \u2014 gathered to honor those lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Some had personal connections to the victims; others worked tirelessly in the aftermath. Some weren\u2019t even born in 2001.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All felt the weight of the 25<\/span>th<\/span> anniversary of the day 2,977 people left their homes and never returned \u2014 a theme that ran through the remarks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-five years ago, on a sunny morning with clear blue skies just like this one, our nation was forever changed,\u201d said PEF Vice President Randi DiAntonio. \u201cFor those of us who lived through it, that morning is not distant history \u2014 it lives in the details we cannot forget: the shock of the first plane, the realization after the second that we were under attack, the silence, the fear and the desperate hope that our loved ones and fellow New Yorkers were safe.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the days that followed, PEF learned it had lost 34 members in the attacks, most of them employees of the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance with offices inside the World Trade Center. More would die in the years following from related illnesses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost members who were coworkers, friends, family members, neighbors and devoted public servants,\u201d DiAntonio said. \u201cThey reported to work that day with families waiting for them to come home.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Former PEF Executive Director Todd Kerner,\u00a0who worked for Tax and Finance and was in the city that day, hopes future generations of PEF continue the tradition of honoring the memories of those we lost. He and PEF Vice President Bruce Giddings read aloud names of the 34 PEF members who were killed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A union mobilizes<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jonathan
Former PEF Health & Safety Director Jonathan Rosen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That loss also shaped PEF\u2019s response. Jonathan Rosen, the union\u2019s Health and Safety Director in September 2001, recalled the shock of the day and the work that followed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-five years ago, I was at the Guilderland YMCA when I looked up at a television and saw an image none of us will ever forget \u2014 the planes striking the World Trade Center. We knew immediately that our world had changed,\u201d Rosen told those assembled in Latham. \u201cThis memorial stands here so that we never forget. But their story \u2014 and our responsibility \u2014 doesn\u2019t end with remembering the names. September 11 also exposed the consequences of being unprepared.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The lack of preparation quickly became clear, Rosen said. State employees in buildings around the WTC were suddenly displaced, and many agencies lacked response plans or communications trees.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Todd\u201cPeople didn\u2019t know where to report, how to get information, or how their agencies would function,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then, there was the air. Fires at Ground Zero burned for months, while dust and debris contaminated lower Manhattan. Workers, residents, and responders were told the air was safe. We now know that was tragically wrong.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The long-term toll has been devastating: Nearly 10,000 residents and responders have died in the years since 9\/11 due to exposure to toxins. Many more continue to live with cancer, respiratory and heart disease, and other illnesses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPEF members were among those who responded,\u201d Rosen said. \u201cSome DCJS employees searched debris for human remains. DOT members provided trucks for debris removal. ENCON and the Labor Department provided environmental testing and safety and health assistance.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF\u2019s response extended beyond the immediate rescue and recovery work, Rosen said. \u201cLeadership also provided the resources for the Health and Safety Department to bring in industrial hygienists to conduct inspections, testing and technical assistance for members concerned about contaminated workplaces,\u201d he said. \u201cWe fought to make sure state worksites were properly cleaned and safe for employees to return.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"GeraldineOut of that work came a broader push for preparedness. Rosen credited then-PEF President Roger E. Benson for supporting significant funding for a major emergency preparedness initiative: the \u201cGet the Hell Out\u201d campaign.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe trained more than 300 PEF leaders and activists in an intensive eight-hour program,\u201d he said. \u201cThey left with something more important than information: a site-specific plan of action. They returned to their agencies and began demanding comprehensive emergency plans.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what a union does,\u201d Rosen said. \u201cA union doesn\u2019t simply respond after something goes wrong. It anticipates danger and asks the questions that need answers before the emergency happens.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That work continued under future health and safety leadership. Geraldine Stella, who recently retired as PEF Health and Safety Director, said the union\u2019s response in the aftermath was quick and efficient.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPEF officers, staff and members came together following the tragedy to help people get through,\u201d she said. \u201cSome of you may have taken part in the walkthroughs, inspections and member meetings that followed. This was all new territory. As current PEF President Wayne Spence would say, we were building the plane as we were flying it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Membership benefits<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Stephanie
PEF Membership Benefits Program Administrator Stephanie McLean-Beathley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The response also extended to members\u2019 families, where difficult conversations about death benefits, life insurance and disability claims had to happen in the midst of grief.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The PEF Membership Benefits Program stepped in to help guide those conversations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to be there,\u201d said PEF MBP Administrator Stephanie McLean-Beathley. \u201cWe sent staff to New York City because we needed people who could sit with families, answer questions, navigate complicated benefits, and make sure every available benefit was explored.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For McLean-Beathley, that support was as personal as it was practical.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes our most important job was simply being present,\u201d she said. \u201cBehind every claim was not a policy number or a form, but a person, a family and a life changed forever.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Years later, that work continues.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Randi
PEF Vice President Randi DiAntonio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cEven today, MBP continues to process claims for members suffering from health repercussions and for families who have lost loved ones to those illnesses,\u201d McLean-Beathley said. \u201cIn times of crisis, our benefits become a lifeline \u2014 security when everything else feels uncertain.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Together, those memories and lessons give the PEF memorial its continued purpose: a silent reminder of the lives lost on September 11 and on the job.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

VP Giddings delivered a message of remembrance and resolve.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe events of that day took so much from us,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they can never take the love we carry. That love is stitched into our memories, into the stories we tell, and into the way we choose to live in their honor.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n