Leadership
Team

Pete Meringolo grew up in Manhattan's Little Italy.  He enlisted in the Army in August 1968, and served in the Vietnam War.  Promoted to Sergeant while in Vietnam, he received five medals for combat action while assigned to the 82nd Airborne Combat Infantry Unit.  A disabled Vietnam Veteran, he is extremely proud of his service to his country.  

He started his career in the Department of Correction in 1972.  Ten years later he was promoted to Captain.  In 1987, he was named Operations Captain of the Department's Emergency Response Unit.  The unit, under Pete's command, was responsible for restoring order during two major jail disturbances.  In each instance, he was awarded the Department’s Exceptional Merit medal for his leadership and actions.

His involvement with the Correction Captains’ Association began soon after his promotion, when he was elected union delegate, and in 1991, he was elected president.  He was known for his aggressiveness in obtaining all he could for his members.   He retired from the New York City Department of Corrections in March 2007 following more than 35 years of service.

In 2000, he was elected Chairman of the New York State Public Employee Conference, an organization that has now grown under his leadership to more than 80 unions, representing a wide spectrum of hardworking public employees in all titles.  During his tenure as Chairman, Pete and PEC's legislative team spearheaded the 9/11 Presumptive Disability Law.  This landmark legislation, enacted in June 2005, protects those public employees – and their survivors – who responded and were affected by September 11th.   This is by far the most significant piece of legislation enacted in the Conference's 43-year history.   Following his retirement in 2007, Pete has continued to be re-elected as chairman of the Conference. 

No stranger to controversy, Pete is called upon by the press to offer labor's position on a variety of issues; and has been an invited speaker at many conferences and conventions.   He represents the public employees well at New York's highest political offices, frequently appearing before all levels of New York government.

Pete’s political acumen has been honed in the field and he remains one of the best in the business, well respected on both sides of the aisle.  He has, on behalf of PEC, been instrumental in successful resolution of numerous issues and legislative initiatives that have expanded the quality of life for countless New York public sector workers and their families.   He is extremely proud to have been entrusted with leading the New York State Public Employee Conference’s effective advocacy and strong voice in Albany.

Joseph Mannion was born in Queens, his family relocated to Nassau County Long Island in 1970. He currently resides in North Bellmore, Long Island with his wife Bonnie. They have two sons, three granddaughters and a fourth grandchild on the way.

Joseph received his Associates Degree for Business Management in 1976. He attained the position of Buyer/Department Manager for the Mays Department Store chain where he worked for seven years. He spent a short period living in California until he was called by the New York City Department of Sanitation and was hired in September 1981.

Joseph rose through the ranks very quickly. He was promoted to Supervisor in June of 1986 and his current rank of General Superintendent Level 1 in October 1990.

Joseph became interested in the Labor Movement as a Sanitation Man. Upon being promoted to Supervisor he began going to Union meetings and became a Shop Steward. In 1988, he was elected the Boro Delegate for the Queens South Borough. Even after being promoted to General Superintendent Level 1 his passion for the Labor Movement continued to grow stronger.

In 1993, Joseph decided to run for President of the Sanitation Officers Association, SEIU Local 444. Upon his successful election to President and subsequent six unopposed re-elections, he is currently in the 27th year of his Presidency. 

Joseph has negotiated successfully many contracts with the City of New York under the Giuliani, Bloomberg and now the de Blasio Administrations. He was part of the 2001 Uniformed Coalition, one of his most memorable rounds of bargaining. Joseph feels that the past several rounds were his most successful. He was able to negotiate seven full time release positions as Business Agents to serve the membership face to face at a moments notice. Their success speaks for itself. He negotiated Dr. Martin Luther Kings’ birthday as a paid holiday that best suited his membership and was able to correct many of the forced injustices that were done in past contracts to his members. He negotiated a new benefit for his Retirees that he believes will be a template for other Unions to follow in future rounds.

Joseph is active in many organizations such as NYS Public Employees Conference (NYSPEC) – Treasurer; Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) – Vice Chair; NYC Central Labor Council (CLC) – Delegate; Angel Guardians for the Elderly (AGE) – Board of Directors; F.&A.M. Wantagh Morton Lodge #0063 – raised 1992; BSA Troop 577 – Past Scoutmaster; and BSA Crew 577 – Past Advisor, to mention a few.

Personally, Joseph also is a dedicated husband, father and grandfather. Joseph and his wife Bonnie celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary in May of this year. He makes sure he saves quality time for his loving family. He tries to instill in his children the importance of values and love for God, Family and this great Country. He is also very proud of his sons’ accomplishments in Boy Scouts: Joseph Jr. became an Eagle Scout on October 12, 2004 and Michael on September 11, 2006 who also earned three palms before his 18th birthday. Joseph Jr. graduated from SUNY Cortland with two Majors and has done his internship in Dublin, Ireland during the summer of 2008. Joseph continued at CW Post completing his Masters.  Michael graduated from Hofstra University, majoring in Accounting. Michael was awarded the Hofstra “Presidents Award” Scholarship.

Wayne Joseph was born on June 18, 1970 in Brooklyn NY, to Jerome and Lynette Joseph, who migrated to NY from Trinidad and Tobago. A proud father of 4 children a grandfather of 6, Wayne has experienced adversity every step of the way throughout his life, which prepared him for his current role as the President of the Bridge And Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association.

Wayne began his employment with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority as a Temporary Bridge and Tunnel Officer in March of 1990. He subsequently began his career as a Permanent Bridge And Tunnel Officer on August 31, 1992 and was assigned to the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

In 1999 Wayne ran for the office of President. He was not successful but was appointed to the Alternate Delegate position at his command. Wayne was then appointed as the Chief Delegate of his command in 2005, until elected to that position in 2006. In the 2008 Executive Board election, Wayne ran for and was elected Grievance Chairman. After a short time on the board, Wayne realized that he was not making a difference and needed to be in the driver’s seat. In the 2011 Executive Board election, Wayne ran for and was elected President of the association.

Throughout his 31 year career, Wayne’s hard work, dedication and perseverance, has not gone unnoticed. In 2006 Wayne was presented with the Presidents Medal Of Honor by his agency. In 2014 Wayne was honored on multiple occasions. He received a proclamation from Assemblyman Michael DenDekker of the 34^th assembly district of Queens, an award from the Wood Heights Democratic Club for his dedicated service and protection of the citizens of the New York area and was also the recipient of a citation of merit from the Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz. In 2020, Wayne again received multiple acknowledgements. Wayne was honored at the Schneps Media Salute to Labor Awards where he received a Certificate of Recognition for his service to the city and state from NYS Senator Diane Savino and a citation for impactful service to the labor community from NYS Assembly Woman Rodneyse Bichotte. In 2020, Wayne also received a Proclamation for his dedicated service and contribution to the community of Freeport NY, from the Mayor of Freeport, Robert Kennedy. In 2021 and 2022 Wayne was again recognized by City and State as one of the NYC Labor Power 100 honorees.

Despite the never ending and tiring challenges of having to battle with the MTA in efforts to provide a better quality of life for his members, Wayne has throughout his tenure as President of the association, remained available to his membership 24 hours a day without faltering or wavering, hence why he has run unopposed for 3 of his 4 terms as the President of the Bridge and Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association. Wayne had dedicated more than half of his life to his career as a Bridge and Tunnel Officer and has served as a union representative, in one form or another for over 24 years of his career. His commitment and dedication are qualities that cannot and will not go unrecognized, as he moves onto new ventures in life.

Christopher Erikson was born in Flushing, New York on August 24, 1955.  He was accepted into Local 3’s Electrical Apprenticeship in July of 1975. During his apprenticeship, he enrolled in the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies and earned SUNY Associate and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Labor/Management Relations. In March of 1989, Mr. Erikson was appointed a Local 3 Business Representative responsible for the Maintenance Division by Business Manager Thomas Van Arsdale.

On July 13, 2000, he was appointed Assistant Business Manager of Local 3's Maintenance Department.  He has successfully negotiated over 150 collective bargaining agreements, resulting in improved pensions and benefits that provide a higher degree of security for tens of thousands of Local 3 members. He serves on the Executive Boards of the NYC Building and Construction Trades Council, and the NYC Central Labor Council, is a Delegate to the NY Hotel Trades Council, serves as Chairman of the Madison Square Garden Labor Committee and a Director of the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Memorial Association. Christopher is also President of the NY State Allied Printing Trades Council.  He is a member of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), the IBEW Minority Caucus, and the NAACP.

Upon the resignation of Thomas Van Arsdale on October 10, 2006, Christopher Erikson was elected by the Executive Board to fill the position of Business Manager.  He has been re-elected every term since.

Christopher was appointed as Chairman of the International Executive Council of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on November 10, 2015, effective January 1, 2016.  He was then elected to a five year term in September, 2016 at the IBEW 39th International Convention.

He has been honored by various union and political organizations including theState of Israel Bonds, and the NAACP.  He is a recipient of the 2008 Ellis Island Medal of Honor award, the 2009 Construction & Transportation Industry Good Scout Award, the 2009 APEC Green Living award; he also received the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus (EWMC) and the “Human Rights Award” from the Jewish Labor Committee.  In 2017, Christopher was awarded the Movement Builders Award by ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York.

Christopher Erikson, a proud Trade Unionist, has been married to his wife Denise for more than 30 years. They have four sons: Christopher Jr., Robert, Nicholas, and Thomas, and one granddaughter, Madeline Ann Erikson.

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Bio Under Construction

LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR

Bing Markee

~Former President, Port Authority PBA~

Following more than 35 years as a Police Officer, and after advocating for his former union members and other law enforcement officers, and public employees in general, for many years, 2024 marks the 18^th year Bing Markee has worked as a full-time registered lobbyist for various clients.  His firm, Bing Markee & Company, incorporated in New York in 2006, specializes in and concentrates on legislative advocacy at the state level in Albany, New York.

He currently serves as the Legislative Director of the Police Conference of New York (PCNY), an umbrella organization comprising hundreds of law enforcement labor unions and groups representing more than 50,000 professional police officers. PCNY is the largest police organization in New York State. Formerly, Bing served as the Sergeant-at-Arms for the PCNY 1990-2005. He also served for many years as the Vice President At-Large, and as a member of the Legislative Committee, for the National Association of Police Organizations.

Bing represented the PCNY and the former New York State Association of PBAs on the Governor's Police Officer Memorial Advisory Committee, the Governor's Police Officer of the Year Award Committee, and the Comptroller's Advisory Council for the New York State Employees’ Retirement System.

In January 2007, Bing retired from the Port Authority (of New York & New Jersey) Police Department. He served on the Executive Board of the Port Authority PBA as an elected official for more than 27 years, including a full term as its President. He served as Chair of the Legislative and Pension Committee for the Port Authority PBA from 1993-2006. 

Following the 9/11 attack, while serving as Co-Chair, with the venerable Floyd Holloway, of the New York State Public Employee Conference (NYSPEC) Legislative Committee, Bing was appointed to chair a new NYSPEC special committee, the 9/11 Committee.  The committee was tasked with fostering legislation to ensure that public employees impacted by the attack and the rescue and recovery operations would be protected by law, then and in the future.  NYSPEC is an umbrella organization comprising a wide spectrum of some 90+ labor unions and groups representing more than one million active and retired public employees.  Upon Mr. Holloway’s retirement in 2006, Bing served as sole chair of the Legislative Committee until 2023, when he was appointed NYSPEC Legislative Director.

Born in Manhattan, raised in the South Bronx and then Queens, Bing is proud to be "New York City born-and-bred".  At the age of 18, during the Vietnam War, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and is an honorably discharged combat veteran. He is a Life Member of the following organizations:  Disabled American Veterans, Marine Corps League, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of America, and is a proud recipient of the Vietnam Veterans of America National Achievement Medal.

He has a baccalaureate degree from SUNY's Empire State College, where he majored in Labor Studies.

A proud and loving Father and Grandfather, Bing lives happily ever after with none of his ex-wives.

Bio Under Construction