• PEF makes headway on Tier 5 and 6 pension reform; check your account information now

    PEF makes headway on Tier 5 and 6 pension reform; check your account information now

    June 27, 2022 — This legislative session PEF was instrumental in securing the first improvements to the Tier 5 and 6 pension plans since their inception more than a decade ago.  In coordination with the New York State AFL-CIO, NYSUT, CSEA and other unions, PEF’s elected leadership, the statewide Political Action Committee and rank-and-file members...

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  • PEF endorses Hochul for governor, several legislative candidates

    PEF endorses Hochul for governor, several legislative candidates

    June 17, 2022 — The PEF Executive Board voted June 9 to endorse Kathy Hochul for governor.  No other candidates were discussed, and the 12 PEF regional political action committees and the union’s statewide PAC had all recommended Hochul’s endorsement. The board was informed June 10 that Hochul called the PEF president to thank the...

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  • Union scores important legislative wins including penalties for mandating nurse OT

    Union scores important legislative wins including penalties for mandating nurse OT

    June 17, 2022 — Bills that passed both the state Senate and Assembly in the 2022 session showed the lawmakers were paying attention to many of the concerns PEF shared with them.  First, the governor included language borrowed from the union’s “Fund Our Future” campaign  in parts of her proposed Executive Budget in January and...

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  • DOCCS honors parole officers at memorial wall; presents medals to PEF members at ceremony

    DOCCS honors parole officers at memorial wall; presents medals to PEF members at ceremony

    June 17, 2022 — Parole officers Shawn Reynolds of Corning and Karen Hoth of Dunkirk received the Medal of Honor at the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) medal ceremony June 9 at the training academy in Albany.   Parole officers Rachel Johnson of Fort Ann; Mary Jenkins of Ballston Lake; and Aaron Lang of...

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  • If you experience discrimination, PEF will help you fight it

    If you experience discrimination, PEF will help you fight it

    June 17, 2022 — Workplace discrimination is banned in the PEF contract.  Nevertheless, some members feel they do experience it, especially when they apply for a promotion or a transfer.  Article 36 of the contract between PEF and the state is relatively short.  It says PEF will admit all state employees in the Professional, Scientific...

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  • Remembering the struggle for equality on Juneteenth

    Remembering the struggle for equality on Juneteenth

    June 17, 2022 — You may have June 20 off work in recognition of Juneteenth, but what do you know about the new federal holiday?  On June 19, 1865, a major general in the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Americans in Texas from bondage....

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  • Down the road from PEF Headquarters, a union is born

    Down the road from PEF Headquarters, a union is born

    June 17, 2022 — Since December 8, 2021, there have been union wins at 150 Starbucks stores across the country, according to Starbucks Workers United.  Once of them is just down the road from PEF Headquarters on Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham.  Wage increases outpaced by inflation and a lack of opportunities for advancement inspired...

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  • Think you may be eligible for loan forgiveness? Apply now!

    Think you may be eligible for loan forgiveness? Apply now!

    June 17, 2022 — Social media is bursting with discussions about student loan forgiveness – from proponents who want to relieve some of the crushing debt as they grapple with astronomical gas prices and record inflation, to opponents who say previous generations paid off their loans, so this one should, too. Whatever the outcome of...

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  • ‘Fund Our Future’ campaign yields legislative wins

    ‘Fund Our Future’ campaign yields legislative wins

    It has been a very busy spring for PEF!  State lawmakers concluded their work at the start of this month, and I’m pleased to report that PEF pushed through more than half a dozen bills that, if signed by the governor, will improve the working lives of our members.  You can read all about...

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  • New Region 2 coordinator elected, 8 executive board seats filled

    New Region 2 coordinator elected, 8 executive board seats filled

    June 17, 2022 —  Shelby Wisneski is the new PEF Region 2 coordinator.  She was the only certified candidate for the seat following the nomination period in PEF’s first quarter 2022 special elections to fill midterm vacancies.  She will serve the remainder of the term that expires July 31, 2024.  Wisneski is a social...

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