• PEF Organizing is on the ground every day supporting and advocating for you

    PEF Organizing is on the ground every day supporting and advocating for you

    September 15, 2022 — Did you visit the PEF booth at the New York State Fair?  You weren’t alone.  More than 1,100 active members and retirees stopped by the booth from Aug. 24-Sept. 25 and signed about 5,000 petitions supporting the union’s Fund Our Future campaign.  The PEF Organizing Department was the driving force...

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  • PEF tells state to include its professional employees in planning future services

    PEF tells state to include its professional employees in planning future services

    September 15, 2022 — PEF testified September 13 in Albany when the Assembly Committee on People with Disabilities held a public hearing on a draft strategic 5-year plan developed by the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. PEF Vice President Randi DiAntonio, who was limited to just 3 minutes of verbal testimony along with...

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  • Celebrating Labor in Advance of PEF’s Annual Convention

    Celebrating Labor in Advance of PEF’s Annual Convention

    I hope every PEF member had a relaxing and engaging Labor Day!  It was great to see so many smiling faces at the Albany, Massena, Rochester and Syracuse parades.  We feature a write-up of the largest gathering, the Capital District Labor Parade, in this issue, as well as dozens of photos from the other celebrations across...

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  • Congratulations to this year’s Joseph Scacalossi Scholarship recipients 

    Congratulations to this year’s Joseph Scacalossi Scholarship recipients 

    September 15, 2022 — Paying for college amid record-high inflation got even harder as of July 1, 2022, when interest rates for federal student loans rose from 3.73 percent to 4.99 percent for subsidized and unsubsidized undergraduate loans, and from 5.28 percent to 6.54 percent for unsubsidized graduate loans, according to Forbes.  “Each May,...

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  • PEF special elections filling mid-term vacancies on Executive Board, Reg. 12

    PEF special elections filling mid-term vacancies on Executive Board, Reg. 12

    September 15, 2022 — Four vacant seats on the PEF Executive Board have been filled and a fifth seat will be filled pending the results of a special election.  These were all mid-term vacancies and PEF members filling them will serve the remainder of the unexpired terms that end July 31, 2024. Keith Browne fills...

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  • Congratulations to this year’s Joseph Scacalossi Scholarship recipients

    Congratulations to this year’s Joseph Scacalossi Scholarship recipients

    September 15, 2022 — Paying for college amid record-high inflation got even harder as of July 1, 2022, when interest rates for federal student loans rose from 3.73 percent to 4.99 percent for subsidized and unsubsidized undergraduate loans, and from 5.28 percent to 6.54 percent for unsubsidized graduate loans, according to Forbes.  “Each May,...

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  • PEF marine biologist educates the public, first responders on shark interactions and how to respond when bites occur

    PEF marine biologist educates the public, first responders on shark interactions and how to respond when bites occur

    September 7, 2022 — Sharks already get a bad rap, but with all the recent news of an uptick in shark sightings along Long Island beaches, the East Coast, and around the world, many people are growing wary of entering the water.  It might seem more dangerous given the media attention, but according to...

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  • Members need your leave donations

    Members need your leave donations

    March 25, 2024 — The following PEF members have reported a need for leave donations due to the need for medical treatment or recuperation from illness or injury. Donations are made from annual leave and donors must retain at least 10 days of annual leave after donating. To donate leave, obtain a leave-donation form from...

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  • Letters to the Editor: September 2022

    Letters to the Editor: September 2022

    When are 2023 scholarship applications due?   To the Editor:  Just checking on eligibility for a 2023 graduate, when can he apply for scholarship consideration?  DIANE BAKER East Greenbush  Editor’s Note:  The Communicator publishes information about union scholarships in its December and January combined issue.  Information also is available on the PEF website at https://www.pef.org/about/scholarships/. ...

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  • Retirees in Action: Votes matter and the Inflation Reduction Act will help workers, retirees and their families

    Retirees in Action: Votes matter and the Inflation Reduction Act will help workers, retirees and their families

    The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was just signed into law.  This legislation is good for our retirees and for our union!  It is very appropriate that it was enacted just before Labor Day!    I would like to echo PEF President Wayne Spence’s message in the July/August Communicator.  Happy belated Labor Day.  I hope...

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