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October 29, 2024 | Volume 42. No. 8

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President’s Message: Vote labor to keep PEF strong!

Election Day, November 5, is right around the corner, and no matter who you choose to vote for, I encourage you to vote for leaders who support our labor movement and your union values. As a reminder, PEF’s Regional and Statewide Political Action Committees recommended endorsements that were reviewed by the Executive Board. Here are the final lists: U.S. Congress | NYS Senate | NYS Assembly.

Here in New York early voting runs through November 3. Check with your specific county, but in general most polling places are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you do not have four consecutive hours to vote either from the opening of the polls to the beginning of your work shift or between the end of your shift and the closing of polls, you are legally entitled to take up to two hours without loss of pay to allow you time to vote. If you need that time, notify your supervisor not less than two days, but not more than 10 days, before November 5!

As for what voting union values gets you, this issue is filled with information about valuable contractual benefits like the Productivity Enhancement Program and various flex spending plans. Did you also know that as PEF member you can appeal unsatisfactory performance evaluation ratings? They can prevent you from getting lump sum awards and performance advances. The good news is PEF’s Contract Administration Department has an excellent track record of getting them overturned. You have nothing to lose, so if you find yourself in this situation, contact your field representative.

New York State’s new dental provider, Anthem, began serving PEF members on October 1 and we want to know what you are experiencing out there. I’ve received feedback from some of you, both good and bad, but we want to try and get the broadest feedback possible so we can share it with Anthem and the NYS Office of Employee Relations. So please email Communicator@pef.org about your experiences. If you really like your Anthem dentist, let us know! In a future issue, we plan to list member-recommended dental providers in each PEF region.

And finally, a word of admiration for members in PEF Region 6, who really showed up on September 28 for their annual family celebration at Critz Farms in Cazenovia! Maybe it was the beautiful fall weather or the bounty of this year’s apple harvest, but I’d like to think it also had something to do with good old-fashioned union solidarity. Thank you to every PEF member for being part of this powerful union.