Public Employee Press

Letters to the editor

Local leader backs Sen. Diane Savino
The following letter was published in the New York Daily News:
Your [Daily News] editorial attacking former labor leader and now state Senator Diane Savino [for defending public employees’ pensions] tries to pit taxpayers and public employees against each other. In fact we are both. We pay taxes and retirees contribute to economic recovery when they spend their pension dollars. We gave up higher pay raises to get our benefits. The News doesn’t have a problem when a billionaire mayor tries to balance the budget on the backs of public employees (the folks who really make the city run) while he and the News refuse to demand that the millionaires pay their fair share of taxes that would help balance the budget.

—Ralph Palladino
2nd Vice President, Local 1549

Hits profiteers at CBC
In your most recent issue you correctly chastise the Citizens Budget Commission, which is a conservative organization opposed to workers’ rights, decent wages and benefits and civil service rights.

CBC leaders Professors Raymond Horton and Charles Brecher, who have often issued reports castigating the merit system in civil service, fail to emphasize that they are tenured professors. While tenure is fine for them it is not fine for lesser folks. Their baseless canards against civil servants simply reflect the anti-union stance of big business.

The late Jules Kolodney, vice president of the UFT and professor of education at NYU, used to point out in his lectures that the real issue was not basic rights for civil servants but rather lack of rights for most private-sector workers. In most of the countries of Western Europe workers — whether unionized, nonunion, public-sector or private-sector — have the same protection of rights and health benefits. It is the USA which lags behind civilized concern forworkers.

The Citizens Budget Commission in the past had staff members who were well-paid provisionals. The people they consulted in “civil service” were usually provisional managers of little merit and less fitness who had nothing in common with legitimate civil servants. To consult illegally serving provisionals for research on civil service is no different from consulting disbarred lawyers for expert opinions on the law.

The “Citizens” in the Citizens Budget Commission are the profiteers in big business, not the overwhelming majority of the citizenry.

—Dr. George Silberman
Retired Sup. III, Social Work

Retired member of Local 372 praises services from union
I just read my Dec. 2008 issue of the Public Employee Press.

I was so proud to see Council Rep. Phyllis Wambser’s picture, winning summer pay for a 12-year veteran member of Local 372.

I began working with the Board of Education at 110 Livingston Street in 1949, and then, later, served for over 30 years as a School Aide.

I was a shop steward for 12 years when I was injured in an assault by two students. I suffered injuries which ultimately led to my 2001 retirement and for which I am still receiving medical treatment.

Phyllis Wambser from the DC 37 Schools Division was my union rep at the time, and she provided me with wonderful support, both throughout my years as a shop steward and following the accident, particularly since some schools don’t like reporting such incidents.

I am also grateful for the professional legal representation I continue to receive at each Workers’ Compensation hearing.

Also, congratulations to Local 508 President Peter Stein, whom I knew from I.S. 62 and I.S. 223, on his recent election to the District Council 37 Executive Board.

I am proud to know Phyllis and Peter and happy to have worked with both of them.

—Marie Fenamore
Retired School Aide, District 20

Correction
The Quality of Work Life Committee at the Consumer Affairs Dept. that provided holiday gifts for children at the Dean Street homeless shelter included DC 37 members from Consumer Affairs Inspectors Local 1759, Social Service Employees Union Local 371 and Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549.