REGION 5 PAC EVENT SPONSORED BY DIVISION 399 PAC

SPEAKERS: Mr. Roger Benson spoke to us regarding our role as union members in the political arena. 

A Message from the

President—Roger Benson

 “Our responsibility to ensure the integrity of state services has now become even greater.”  

By ROGER E. BENSON

Twenty-six years ago when I became active in PEF as a union steward, I believed my job was to enforce the contract and share information with PEF members at my worksite. As my union responsibilities grew, it became clearer that we also had a

responsibility to advocate for the state

services we provided and, in many cases, the clients we served.

Today, this responsibility has become even more necessary. Our job as union leaders and members is to protect the integrity of the services we provide, as well as

safeguard taxpayers from wasteful and sometimes even criminal mismanagement. 

In a stunning admission of a cash-and-carry government in Albany, a state assemblyman claimed that “…state government is not only under a cloud, but is operating in a manner that I could best describe as

criminal enterprise,” alluding specifically to the criminal convictions and resignations of several state legislators who took kickbacks for influencing the award of state contracts and took gifts and services from contractors looking to do business with the state.