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Transparency major issue for Executive Board
By CARLOS GARCIA
We took office August 1, and hit the
ground running as the transition to the
leadership of the day-to-day operations of
our organization takes place. The work
that happens “behind the scenes” by the
many PEF departments/offices that, in
turn, support our 54,000 members is
truly amazing. We are appreciative of the
professional work of more than 100
management/confidential and unionized
staff at PEF headquarters and the dozens
of PEF staff at our regional offices
statewide who strive daily to provide
essential services to our members.
A lot is happening daily and we want
to take every opportunity to keep our
members informed in a timely manner of
the many things taking place in our
union. Members have made it clear to
PEF President Susan Kent and I as we
traveled the state that they want to be
better informed of how policy decisions
are made by PEF elected officials and
officers. To this end, a members-only
portal on the PEF website will carry both
transcripts and videorecordings of PEF
Executive Board meetings.
An email was sent to the board
members prior to the August 16-17
meeting informing them the
meeting would be videorecorded.
Board members who want to
maintain the status quo are
attempting to block our efforts
to provide members access to
information. For many new
members of the board who were
elected in June this meeting was
their first introduction to the
Executive Board of PEF. They
witnessed firsthand the attempts to
undermine what this administration was
elected to do and what we must overcome
to change this union and move PEF
forward. A lot of time was spent at the
meeting on motions that were introduced
to stop the videorecording.
First, a motion was introduced that
would prevent the videorecording of the
meeting and it was ruled out of order
because the secretary-treasurer is
entrusted with the responsibility of
providing members unabridged access to
PEF’s financial and membership records.
Then, a second motion that would have
required that we destroy any videorecords
after they are reviewed by the board only
was ruled out of order for the same
reason.
After many questions from the board
members about the cost, the board was
GARCIA
— Photo by Timothy Raab
informed the videorecording of this board
session was at no cost to PEF. However, a
final motion was made to ensure PEF
funds could not be expended in the
future for this purpose. The motion that
passed to block member access via
videorecording is under review by the
Kent/Garcia administration.
Our administration has worked
to ensure the PEF budget remains
balanced despite information that
was revealed after we took office
regarding the previous
administration’s failure to
adequately budget for all the
unionized staff positions at PEF.
The annual audit that provides an
overview of our financial position
as an organization will be published in
the October issue of The Communicator.
As the secretary-treasurer entrusted
with protecting and managing the
financial resources of our union, I took a
very strong position at the August board
meeting on a particular member item that
would negatively affect PEF’s fiscal
soundness. This proposal would change
existing policy affecting terms and
conditions of employment for both the atwill
staff, for whom it was intended, as
well as the author’s unforeseen affect on
the benefits for unionized staff whose
contract negotiations were not concluded
by the previous administration.
The retroactive aspect is specifically
targeted to cover the at-will employees
who were not carried over to the new
administration and provide them with
enhanced sick leave and vacation
benefits. Existing board policy provides a
generous severance package to
employees. This policy can be found on
the PEF website under the Executive
Board link. The new proposal would put
PEF in a precarious situation as it would
increase our current and future financial
liability. According to PEF Trustee
Maureen Kellman (who is also an actuary)
this could potentially render PEF
insolvent.
For the reasons stated above, our
administration does not support this
proposed change. The changes this
proposal would make would also go
against the recommendation of our
independent auditors that we should
work toward reducing our organization’s
financial liabilities.
Prior to finalizing the agenda for the
August meeting, the chair explained that
after consultation with PEF counsel and
the parliamentarian, the item would be
ruled out of order when the member item
section of the agenda was covered,
because the item sought to rescind and
amend actions already taken that could
not be undone. The chair explained some
of the at-will staff who were given notice
that they would not be carried into the
new administration had already either
retired or gone back to work for New York
state and, therefore, according to Roberts
Rules of Order, the item must be ruled
out of order. Despite this explanation,
members loyal to the previous
administration spent a lot of time
challenging the ruling of the chair and
trying to incorporate this member item
into the secretary-treasurer’s report.
The board meeting ended at
approximately 5 p.m. August 17 without
reaching the member items section of the
agenda. However, the member who
introduced this item has already
expressed his desire to have it discussed
at the November board meeting.
Please discuss the item with your
Executive Board representative and let
them know your position on the matter.
I look forward to continuing to provide
information to our membership in future
issues of The Communicator as necessary
to keep you apprised of issues of
importance. Finally, thanks to all those
who have provided us with expressions of
support and encouragement in our first
couple of weeks in office.
www.pef.org The Communicator September 2012 — Page 5
SECRETARY-TREASURER’S SPECIAL REPORT