June 10, 2024 — The PEF Executive Board met May 30 and 31 in Albany, hearing from guest speakers and conducting business of the union, including a discussion on the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide (NY HELPS) program, a report on year-to-date Committee on Political Education (COPE) contributions and membership statistics, and discussion about violence at worksites.
Hogues on Civil Service news
On the first day of Executive Board, Department of Civil Service Commissioner and Civil Service Commission President Timothy R. Hogues updated the board on improvements to Civil Service testing and exams and the continuing initiative to review compensation for state titles. PEF has advocated for a two-salary grade increase for all employees.
“I love people and I care about people,” Hogues said. “If you think about public service, yes, there are many titles and roles, but at the end of the day, what it all boils down to is people who try to help their communities. As commissioner of New York state Civil Service and President of the Civil Service Commission, the way I get to help individuals is to try to break down barriers to entry into state government to make sure New York is representative of those that live and play and work here.
“It’s very, very important that across state government we realize that people are our greatest resource,” he said. “We need to respect and listen to and work with them. I’ve been told, we can’t bring people in fast enough. We have to do something different.”
That’s where the NY HELPS program and changes Gov. Kathy Hochul made in her budget come into play. Since the inception of the NY HELPS program, Hogues said the state has hired over 9,000 State employees to help reduce the staggering hours of overtime and the rapid burnout due to understaffing.
While NY HELPS has brought people in, stagnant wages that can’t compete with the private sector continue to hamper the state’s recruitment and retention efforts. The Department of Civil Service was tasked with modernizing the Civil Service pay structure as part of the Governor’s budget.
Responses to a Request for Proposals to study compensation statewide are due back mid to late June, Hogues said. Changes already in place include removal of fees for exams, continuous recruitment for some open competitive jobs, and opening 12 testing centers across the state.
“[President] Wayne [Spence] told me you have to do something about the way you test,” Hogues said. “He said, ‘Mothers come to me and say they can’t make it on Saturday. Now they have to wait another four years.’ We listened. We know that our old model using high schools didn’t work and we needed to be in control of testing facilities.”
“We have staff in 10 of our Department of Labor career centers to be boots on the ground in those communities and do outreach to help recruitment,” Hogues said, adding Gov. Hochul has also increased staffing in his agency. “I think Wayne got into her ear. We got over 120 individuals in the last cycle of the budget. That’s a huge increase in staffing to be able to support the state.”
An Executive Board member emphasized the need to make sure existing employees on Civil Service lists aren’t being overlooked for promotions when filling vacant positions with NY HELPS hires.
“We have had long conversations to make sure we respect individuals on the list,” Hogues said. “We changed language so if there is an established list, agencies would have to use that list on promotional opportunities. For open competitive, that may not be the case.”
President Spence said PEF made sure there was language to prevent NY HELPS from being used to circumvent a list. “If that’s happening, we want to know,” he said. “They are not supposed to do that and if they are, we need to know to hold them accountable.”
Hogues asked the Executive Board to keep the information coming.
“I need you to keep telling me what’s going on,” he said. “I need your help in promoting the opportunities that are available across state government.”
Legislators and clergy
Senator Robert Jackson and Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato addressed the board on topics ranging from Tier 6 reform; recently passed bills impacting Civil Service Law Section 72 Hearings, which deal with disability and readiness to return to work; and changes to the Civil Service system. Click here to read more about their remarks.
The Executive Board also heard from key players in the Brooklyn Needs Downstate coalition — including United University Professionals (UUP) President Fred Kowal and a few faith leaders from the Concerned Clergy of New York City, who were critical in the fight to save SUNY Downstate from closure.
The clergy members made one message very clear when addressing the board – they are in this fight for the long haul and will not stand by when health care in their community is threatened. They said they will keep marching, keep rallying, and keep encouraging members to send letters to their legislators about this vital issue.
Related: PEF, UUP, Clergy bring Brooklyn Needs Downstate message to nation’s capital.
Workplace violence and bullying campaigns
After the stabbing at Buffalo Psychiatric Center in April, and assaults over the years at numerous other agencies, PEF is doubling down on the need to improve workplace violence prevention measures.
“We have to do better and it’s not just the ‘O’ agencies,” President Spence said, adding it’s not okay for management to tell staff that “you knew what you were getting into” or it “comes with the job.”
Related: PEF member one of 3 stabbed by patient at Buffalo PC
Buffalo PC Counselor Leader Vinny Cicatello said some changes have begun at the facility, including the use of metal detecting wands.
“It would not have happened without PEF,” he said. “We can’t thank everybody enough.”
President Spence asked that members come forward and share their stories of workplace violence so the union can collect data about the prevalence of the problem.
A video of the rally May 1 at Kingsboro Psychiatric Center drove home PEF’s message that bullying exists in state facilities and the union won’t stand for it any longer and vowed to do additional rallies if bullying continues or management retaliates against staff for standing up for themselves.
COPE, membership update
So far, 2024 has been a good year for PEF and COPE – the political action committee that raises money to advocate for union priorities on the federal level. Total COPE income as of April 30, 2024, is up slightly more than 10% over the same timeframe in 2023, and the number of PEF contributors has grown almost 10% as well.
“As of April 18, we are the third best local in the public sector division of SEIU in terms of signing up new members into COPE,” COPE Coordinator Don Morgenstern reported. “We are already on track to meet our SEIU goal of signing up 550 new COPE contributors for the year.”
Director of Organizing Scott Harms said the Organizing Department is hard at work making sure to contact every person who enters the bargaining unit, leveraging SEIU’s database to find more contact information for potential members. Other unions are looking at PEF as a resource to increase their own membership efforts.
“PEF is at the top of the public sector division [of SEIU’s Together We Rise initiative], at 54% of our goal membership signups,” Harms said. “We must continue to sign members up at this rate and remain diligent.” To help, Harms has been compiling more in-depth data to guide the department.
The next PEF Executive Board meeting will take place Aug. 1 and 2, 2024, in Albany.