{"id":224,"date":"2021-06-04T11:33:31","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T15:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.stage.pef.org\/?p=224"},"modified":"2021-06-04T11:33:31","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T15:33:31","slug":"presidents-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-39-no-4\/presidents-message\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Message"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018We have to reopen with a cautious eye\u2019
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n

Look around you. \u00a0Do you see signs of change? \u00a0Maybe your grocery store now lets fully vaccinated shoppers roam the aisles without a mask. \u00a0Perhaps you have kids over the age of 12 who have received their first shot. \u00a0Or maybe, like me, you recently hugged loved ones you hadn\u2019t seen outside a computer screen for more than a year.<\/p>\n

These are all signs of the state emerging from the darkest days of the pandemic. \u00a0More than half of adult New Yorkers are now fully vaccinated and the statewide positivity rate is below 2 percent.\u00a0 And so Gov. Cuomo told New Yorkers this week: \u201cWe have to reopen. \u00a0We have to reopen smart. \u00a0We have to reopen with a cautious eye.\u201d (May 17 press briefing<\/a>)<\/p>\n

I agree with him, especially his use of the word \u201ccautious.\u201d \u00a0A lot is going to change in the weeks and months ahead, hopefully for the better.\u00a0 But now is not the time to relax all restrictions and send the entire state workforce back to office settings that may lack proper ventilation or adequate social distancing.\u00a0 The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently issued new mask guidelines for fully vaccinated people that New York has adopted and we are all waiting\u00a0to hear\u00a0how that plays out at individual agencies. We do know\u00a0that\u00a0a lot of you will\u00a0be wearing masks at work for the foreseeable future because\u00a0they are still required in healthcare\u00a0settings, correctional facilities and long-term care facilities.\u00a0 But we all know how inept some state managers can be and we must remain vigilant as each agency implements these new guidelines. \u00a0As PEF members return to work, please stay in touch with your Health & Safety Department and flag any issues you see to\u00a0HealthAndSafety@pef.org<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 We will post the latest guidelines as they evolve at\u00a0http:\/\/www.pef.org\/covid.<\/a><\/p>\n

Also in this issue you\u2019ll find an update on contract negotiations. \u00a0Thousands of you\u00a0joined a\u00a0Telephone Town Hall\u00a0on May 18<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0get your\u00a0questions answered and\u00a0to\u00a0provide\u00a0the contract team with valuable information about what\u2019s important to you as they work towards a new agreement. \u00a0For those of you who could not attend, the survey is available online until May 23. \u00a0We will continue to be transparent throughout the process and will settle for nothing less than the fair and just contract you deserve for your tireless work every day.<\/p>\n

Finally, a word of thanks to the nurses in our union as we celebrate National Nurses Month. \u00a0Your work on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 has been lauded again and again and we are determined to make the state reward you and all of PEF\u2019s essential workers for your heroic efforts throughout the pandemic. \u00a0PEF continues to lobby for legislation that would provide hazard pay, as well as end the hiring freeze that makes it so difficult for the state to accomplish all the important work that lies ahead.<\/p>\n

Please continue to stay healthy and safe<\/p>\n

In Unity,<\/p>\n

Wayne Spence
\nPEF President<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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