• Negotiated end to sunsets keeps benefits active even after contract expiration

    Negotiated end to sunsets keeps benefits active even after contract expiration

    January 5, 2026 — PEF’s Contract Team is deep into training and preparations for a successor contract, positioning the union strongly for what may be challenging negotiations as the state...

    Read More
  • Members at Council of the Arts uplift culture in New York State 

    Members at Council of the Arts uplift culture in New York State 

    September 8, 2025 — New Yorkers and visitors to the state may know of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New...

    Read More
  • Apiary inspectors keep bee colonies healthy, protecting multi-million-dollar food industry

    Apiary inspectors keep bee colonies healthy, protecting multi-million-dollar food industry

    September 8, 2025 — You might not think twice about shooing that bee away during your backyard barbecue, but did you know that bees are responsible for about 90% of...

    Read More
  • PEF steps up for nurse who was attacked on the job

    PEF steps up for nurse who was attacked on the job

    September 8, 2025 — “I come to work to do my job. I don’t come to get hurt or attacked.”  Those words from Rachelle Charles, a registered nurse at Pilgrim...

    Read More
  • State outlines expected payroll dates for delayed performance awards

    State outlines expected payroll dates for delayed performance awards

    September 8, 2025 — PEF recently received information from the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) about the payment of some delayed 2025 performance awards. OSC previously acknowledged that there...

    Read More
  • Challenges for unions in 1995 are still being fought 30 years later

    Challenges for unions in 1995 are still being fought 30 years later

    September 8, 2025 — “The fight for public services and against privatization is going to be a battle for many years.”  These were the words PEF President Jim Sheedy wrote...

    Read More
  • Take Your Child to Work Day returns to NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services 

    Take Your Child to Work Day returns to NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services 

    September 8, 2025 — The work done at the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) focuses on keeping New Yorkers safe and informed. They catalog fingerprints, records of arrest and...

    Read More
  • PEF mobilizes in the face of Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak in Harlem

    PEF mobilizes in the face of Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak in Harlem

    August 22, 2025 — An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease was first detected on July 25 in the Central Harlem area of New York City. The New York City Health Department...

    Read More
  • DEC forester helps fight Colorado fires

    DEC forester helps fight Colorado fires

    September 8, 2025 — When lightning strikes started wildfires in San Juan National Forest in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, at the beginning of August, New York wildland firefighters were first on...

    Read More