• PEF selects 2021 Joseph Scacalossi scholarship winners for academic excellence

    PEF selects 2021 Joseph Scacalossi scholarship winners for academic excellence

    The statistics are sobering. The average cost of college in the United States is $35,720 per student per year, tripling over the last 20 years, with an annual growth rate of 6.8 percent. The average in-state student attending a public four-year institution spends $25,615 for one academic year, with the average cost of in-state tuition alone at $9,580. For...

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  • Members catalog State Museum’s specimens for research, education

    Members catalog State Museum’s specimens for research, education

      July 28, 2021 — The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is the oldest and largest state museum in the country. Its collection includes a staggering 16 million scientific specimens and a million cultural objects, only a small percentage of which are on display for viewing. With so much history and science, researchers frequently...

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  • Shop union for back-to-school supplies

    Shop union for back-to-school supplies

    July 28, 2021 — Parents can expect to shell out more for school supplies this year. The average cost per student could reach as much as $270, up from the $250 spent in 2020, according to a KPMG survey of more than 1,000 adults across the United States in May....

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  • PEF’s L-M leaders working to influence state telecommuting plans

    PEF’s L-M leaders working to influence state telecommuting plans

    August. 4, 2021 — Although the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) sent state agency heads a directive to work with PEF to develop telecommuting plans and submit those plans to GOER last month, the agencies have been less than enthusiastic about involving the union in the planning process. PEF leaders have been insistent and some...

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  • PEF statement on New York’s vaccination-or-testing mandate

    PEF statement on New York’s vaccination-or-testing mandate

    August 4, 2021 — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on July 28th that New York will require all state employees be vaccinated or get tested regularly starting this Labor Day. PEF recognizes the importance of COVID-19 vaccination, but maintains such a requirement should be discussed between the union and the state before being rolled out. “PEF...

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  • PEF’s new elected officers begin 3-year term, bracing for challenges

    PEF’s new elected officers begin 3-year term, bracing for challenges

    August 4, 2021 — The new enlarged conference room at PEF headquarters in Latham was filled August 2 with well wishers attending the swearing-in ceremony for the union’s officers beginning a new three-year term. President Wayne Spence, Secretary-Treasurer Joe Donahue and Vice Presidents Randi DiAntonio, Sharon DeSilva and Darlene Williams were given the oath of...

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  • History and upgrades await when you visit PEF’s renovated headquarters

    History and upgrades await when you visit PEF’s renovated headquarters

    September 9, 2021 — If you ever visited PEF headquarters in Albany County before the pandemic, you will be struck by the improvements when you visit it again for a statewide committee or board meeting. You will notice a new paved patio on the building’s west side and new signage at the entrance, but the...

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  • Jim Sheedy, 1935-2021

    Jim Sheedy, 1935-2021

    August 19, 2021 — Jim Sheedy was a founder of PEF.  He served in every statewide office of the union from vice president to secretary-treasurer and president.  He died August 14 at his home in Tucson, Arizona.  He was 85. No person has served as an officer of PEF longer than Sheedy.  He was a...

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  • Members catalog State Museum’s specimens for research, education

    Members catalog State Museum’s specimens for research, education

    The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is the oldest and largest state museum in the country. Its collection includes a staggering 16 million scientific specimens and a million cultural objects, only a small percentage of which are on display for viewing. With so much history and science, researchers frequently request information about the...

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  • Exposed to COVID at work? File a WC claim

    Exposed to COVID at work? File a WC claim

    July 13, 2021 — If you were exposed to COVID-19 at work, file a workers’ compensation claim, even if you think the deadline for filing such a claim has passed.  Get busy, collect your documentation and file your claim now. That was the advice two top workers’ comp attorneys gave members at a special health and safety...

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