Real-Time Action Update for 6/17/11

Friday, June 17, 2011

The PBA of New York State has had quite a week and despite the fact that some of our members are located in very remote locations, we are hearing from every corner of the state. Here's a quick recap...

(L-R) ALES Members Seeking Independence from Council 82: Tom Smith, Manuel Vilar, Brian Gillis, Jim McCartney, Dan De Federicis (PBA of NYS Executive Director), Mike Mabee, Adam Pickett

On Monday: PBA leaders, who are your fellow ALES members, attended a conference at PERB and learned that an election has been sanctioned and that ballots allowing you to select the PBA of New York State as your voice, and declare independence from Council 82 will be mailed on July 18. And, we launched our website: www.pbanys.org and comments and suggestions for improving the site were advanced and immediately incorporated into the website. Within hours of launching the site, it had received visits from more than 500 unique hits.

Tuesday: Reports of the emergence of the PBA of New York State appeared in the media. The headline read: Council 82 decertification vote scheduled.

Wednesday: Within 48 hours of launching the website, more than 250 active members of SUNY Police, ENCON Officers, Park Police and Forest Rangers had registered for members only access.

Friday: At the time of this note, registrations have topped 300. Please feel free to continue to email us about what you would like to see on the site; and we will continue to work hard to meet your expectations.

We've also set up a Twitter account and encourage you to follow PBA of New York State at www.twitter.com/pbanystate.

In addition, as is often the case when the entrenched feel their support is eroding, they attack those who are a threat. PBA of New York State is a member-oriented union, prepared to fight for you and your family.

As this campaign moves forward, we fully expect you will hear very little from Council 82 about their record. And, a whole lot of negativity aimed at our efforts. We can, and must do better. We've gone far too long without the peace of mind and security that a contract provides.

As a busy week turns into a Friday night, we extend our best wishes for a great weekend and join you in paying tribute to your fathers, grandfathers and all the important people in your life.