Editor’s Note: In a new feature, we will look back at significant PEF achievements since the union’s formation in 1979.
PEF members are no strangers to out-of-title work and they often look to their union for resolution. That’s what members at the then-Department of Correctional Services did through the labor-management process in 1986, when professional staff at state prisons were being forced to mop, haul garbage, and perform other out-of-title work during scheduled lockdowns.
The agreement was a significant victory for the L-M team and resolved a years-long problem in the prison system.
Then-PEF President Rand Condell said: “This is PEF at its best. This agreement dramatically increases the respect and recognition the state has for our union.”
Condell himself was a former prison teacher who lugged garbage during lockdowns at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock.
We’ve reprinted the original story below. Please reach out to Communicator@pef.org if you would like to suggest a possible feature from the past.
View the entire story from 1986— Kate Stickles