February 4, 2022 — I hope you all had a great holiday season and wonderful New Year. February is a great month to reset and review life choices, especially end-of-life decisions and estate planning. Our PEF Retirees office has prepared a very useful document to guide you with this dreaded but important planning. Now is...
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As a member of PEF, you know there are many benefits associated with being a part of the union. But what about the new hires at your worksite? With the pandemic raging, some or all these employees may not have had a membership orientation with PEF. Those trainings are available via Zoom during an employee’s...
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The power of social media is always at our fingertips. While unions are in the public eye, it’s a perfect time to make the best use of hashtags, Facebook posts, Twitter “tweets” and “retweets” and tagging friends, family and organizations. PEF held a training via Zoom last month to outline the different ways to interact...
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After going remote during the height of the pandemic, colleges began bringing students back to dormitories for the fall 2021 session. The plan was to keep dorm capacity down to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by only bringing back a portion of the student body. Imagine being told you can’t do that. Privatization of public...
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January 7, 2022 — Faced with a growing nursing shortage as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced new Nurses For Our Future Scholarships in December to cover tuition for 1,000 new healthcare workers to get their RNs at SUNY and CUNY. This scholarship program is designed to recruit and retrain nursing and healthcare...
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February 7, 2022 — As the pandemic and short staffing continue to take its toll on the state workforce, PEF has negotiated agreements with various agencies and the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations that entitle members to 2.5 times the rate of their regular pay for overtime worked during certain time periods. Below is a summary...
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January 14, 2022 — Do you have teenage children or grandchildren? Robert Fisher has written a book he thinks you should read. A professional sociologist, Fisher is a former PEF member retired from what is now the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. His latest book, “Educating Public Interest Professionals and the Student Loan...
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January 6, 2022 BROOKLYN – PEF nurses at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Center will receive geographic pay raises (GEOs). The agreement negotiated last month between SUNY and PEF will result in an average salary increase of about $12,500 for registered nurses and an average annual increase of $2,000 for PEF licensed practical nurses. “These...
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PEF negotiated a win for nurses in the 2019-2023 PS&T contract, securing a $500 lump sum payment to be put toward uniform maintenance. The amount was prorated for eligible employees in less than full-time status. Members should have received their payments in November 2021. (Nov. 18 paycheck for those on the institution payroll, Nov. 24...
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Through PEF’s work with the state, the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAA) and the Health Care Spending Account (HSCA) plans have adopted carryovers for plan year 2021. Flexible Spending Account The HCSA plan adopted a carryover benefit, which allows employees to use up to $550 of monies remaining in their 2021 account toward eligible expenses...
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