{"id":11161,"date":"2024-09-11T11:41:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T15:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pef.org\/?p=11161"},"modified":"2024-09-11T12:53:44","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T16:53:44","slug":"pef-leaders-staff-remember-those-lost-on-9-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pef.org\/articles\/news\/pef-leaders-staff-remember-those-lost-on-9-11\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF leaders, staff remember those lost on 9\/11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sept. 11, 2024 —<\/em> PEF leaders and staff gathered at the memorial outside the union\u2019s headquarters in Latham to remember the more than 3,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks 23 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still vivid in my mind,\u201d said President Wayne Spence. \u201cI still remember it as if it was yesterday.\u201d PEF lost 34 PEF members from the Department of Taxation and Finance in New York City on that tragic day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF Secretary-Treasurer Joe Donahue, who works for Tax and Finance, remembered the stunned disbelief as he watched the events unfold on the television.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all felt the loss,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter that horrific event, people got together. We were all Americans; we were all one. This memorial stands as a permanent reminder that we will never forget.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF Executive Director Todd Kerner, who also 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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople just wanted to do their jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope we continue to remember their sacrifice.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President Spence closed the ceremony by honoring the work of the PEF Membership Benefits Program (PEF MBP) in the difficult days after the attacks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were no bodies,\u201d he said. \u201cInsurance companies were not ready to say these people had passed and give benefits to their families.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF MBP went to bat for them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Then President] Roger Benson tasked Membership Benefits to figure it out. They contacted our internationals, AFT and SEIU, to come up with a plan to get money to these families, so they could get some aid,\u201d he said. \u201cThe work they did to make sure these families had what they needed to survive went way beyond. They had to take on the state of New York and insurance companies.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n