• Executive Board moves forward on business at latest meeting 

    Executive Board moves forward on business at latest meeting 

    April 3, 2024 — At the first Executive Board meeting of 2024, PEF leaders approved the union’s Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget, sent a tentative contract for ratification to members at Allegany County; and heard from U.S Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and State Senators Samra Brouk and Neil Breslin.   2024-25 budget highlights  PEF Secretary-Treasurer Joe Donahue...

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  • State Senate and Assembly budget proposals line up with PEF priorities

    State Senate and Assembly budget proposals line up with PEF priorities

      March 18, 2024 — The State Senate and Assembly’s “one-house” budget proposals were released on March 11, 2024. PEF has been working hard since Governor Hochul’s State of the State address and release of the Executive Budget proposal in January to advance the needs of PEF members in the final budget, which is due...

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  • PEF nurse donates time and expertise abroad 

    PEF nurse donates time and expertise abroad 

    April 3, 2024 — Many PEF members live their union values by volunteering as a force for good in their communities. For Joan Rosegreen, a PEF member for 19 years, that work stretches far beyond America’s border.   “I have always been involved in giving back to the community,” said Rosegreen, a Registered Nurse 2...

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  • PEF members at Kingsboro send message to management: Stop Workplace Bullying! 

    PEF members at Kingsboro send message to management: Stop Workplace Bullying! 

    April 3, 2024 — PEF Division 252 members employed by Kingsboro Psychiatric Center (KPC) in Brooklyn are engaged in a multi-month campaign to let management of the facility know they’re sick and tired of being bullied. Working with PEF Vice President Darlene Williams, Region 11 Coordinator Bernadette O’Connor, Council Leader Robin Hamilton-Browne and assisted by...

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  • Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire forever a part of American labor history 

    Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire forever a part of American labor history 

    March 25, 2024 — March 25 marks the 113th anniversary of one of the deadliest industrial disasters in American history. On this day in 1911, 146 garment workers lost their lives in a massive fire at the factory where they worked for the Triangle Shirtwaist Company.  The factory produced women’s blouses and was owned by...

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  • PEF growing membership in 2024

    PEF growing membership in 2024

    April 3, 2024 — PEF is always focused on building a strong and robust membership, but since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — which ruled that workers employed by a government entity do not have to pay union dues in order to work...

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  • PEF gears up for Wellness Fair and book giveaway 

    PEF gears up for Wellness Fair and book giveaway 

    April 3, 2024 — Health and wellness resources? 20,000 free books? What more could you ask for?!   There will be all that and more at the second annual PEF Community Wellness Fair and Reading Opens the World Book Giveaway, returning to the Washington Avenue Armory from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 27. ...

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  • More contractually negotiated pay coming in April, May 

    More contractually negotiated pay coming in April, May 

    April 5, 2024 — The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) recently released payroll bulletins that will imapct a variety of PEF members.  Hazardous duty pay increase  The increase from $.90 per hour to $1.00 per hour is effective March 28, 2024, for those on the Administration Payroll and April 4, 2024, for those on...

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  • Members at OTDA helping create healthy eating, exercise habits for low-income New Yorkers

    Members at OTDA helping create healthy eating, exercise habits for low-income New Yorkers

    April 5, 2024 — March was National Nutrition Month and PEF members at the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are pulling out all the stops to educate low-income New Yorkers about how to live healthier lives.  Elida Esposito, a PEF member for more than 13 years and a bureau...

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  • BLAST FROM THE PAST: PEF’s lobbying, organizing helps stave off planned layoffs at DOL

    BLAST FROM THE PAST: PEF’s lobbying, organizing helps stave off planned layoffs at DOL

    April 3, 2024 — In 1987, hundreds of state Department of Labor (DOL) members faced layoffs. They were initially spared by a reprieve, but layoffs were back on the table and slated for March.  PEF leadership and rank-and-file members mobilized immediately. The union organized what observers said was the largest public demonstration in Albany by...

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