December 15, 2021 — Have you had your COVID-19 booster shot yet? Your holidays will be happier if you are healthy. By the first week of November, only one in seven seniors had received a COVID booster shot. Health experts are recommending that eligible Americans receive COVID-19 booster shots as soon as possible to prevent...
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Delegates should have been vaccinated To the Editor: PEF should be sanctioned for not requiring vaccination by participants in the recent convention. SCOTT D. CICERO Ramsey, NJ Editor’s Note: First and foremost, PEF supports vaccination as a critical piece of layered prevention strategies (including masking, enhanced ventilation, etc.) to combat COVID-19. The science is sound...
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December 15, 2021 — PEF fourth quarter special elections filled the post of Region 8 coordinator and 23 vacant seats on the PEF Executive Board. Balloting is still underway to determine who will fill two more of the vacant seats. Ballots will be counted December 17 by the American Arbitration Association in the contested...
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This Communicator update comes just days after Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first State of the State address. The PEF legislative team is hard at work analyzing the 237-page policy book she published along with the speech. After she unveils her executive budget later this month, we will release our PEF Legislative Priorities. We will then create...
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It has been a tough few years, physically, mentally and financially. For students graduating high school this summer, the race is on to secure financial aid and scholarships to lighten the monetary load of higher education and it’s more important than ever in the current financial climate. Average student debt at graduation in 2020 ranged...
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During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, PEF and the State reached multiple agreements allowing eligible employees to carry over unused vacation accruals that would otherwise have been forfeited on April 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021. Employees had until December 31, 2021, to use those carried-over accruals. Now, pursuant to a further agreement with the Governor’s Office...
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November 18, 2021 — Among the many physical hazards PEF members face on the job is the additional risk of being charged with abusing or neglecting the individuals they help. This is especially true for members who work at state agencies that are subject to oversight from the state Justice Center for the Protection of...
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November 17, 2021 — PEF is moving quickly to help members affected by the state’s plan to close five correctional facilities and a drug-treatment center by March 10, 2022. The correctional facilities being closed are Moriah Shock, Ogdensburg, Downstate, Southport and Rochester, as well as Willard Drug Treatment Center. The facilities are all operated by...
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November 17, 2021 — Many PEF members continue to face challenges due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, especially fear of returning to increasingly occupied offices. The PS&T contract contains a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that requires state agencies to develop telecommuting policies in collaboration with PEF within nine months of the July 27 ratification of...
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November 17, 2021 — Health and safety in the workplace is on all of our minds as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives. Which is why holding an employer accountable for health and safety at the worksite is so vital. “It is your employer’s responsibility to provide a healthy and safe workplace,” said...
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