{"id":2640,"date":"2023-01-13T14:49:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T19:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=2640"},"modified":"2023-01-13T15:48:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T20:48:43","slug":"telephone-town-hall-where-pef-stands-on-the-contract-legislative-priorities-organizing-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-40-no-10\/telephone-town-hall-where-pef-stands-on-the-contract-legislative-priorities-organizing-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Telephone Town Hall: Where PEF stands on the contract, legislative priorities, organizing efforts\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TelephonePresident Wayne Spence, joined by fellow union leaders and staff, updated members on the status of negotiations for a successor agreement to the PS&T 2019-2023 contract, recent legislative wins, upcoming legislative and advocacy initiatives, and an opt-out campaign targeting PEF members.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just over 8,000 <\/span>members tuned in for the <\/span>Telephone Town Hall on <\/span>January 12<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0 If you missed it, you <\/span>can<\/span> hear an audio recording of the <\/span>hour-long <\/span>conversation<\/span>, here<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Negotiations<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis week we p<\/span>resented <\/span>changes <\/span>that we want <\/span>to some of the contract articles<\/span> as well as some new articles we\u2019d like to see in our next contract<\/span>,\u201d <\/span>Spence<\/span> said. \u201cThis was our first meeting where we <\/span>were <\/span>negotiati<\/span>ng<\/span> in earnest.\u201d The Contract Team <\/span>has set additional bargaining dates through May 2023.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: Meet your PS&T Contract Team<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Debra Greenberg, the director of contract administration for PEF, said the team is focused on the priorities that members identified in the contract survey last fall. Main economic items include across-the-board pay increases, health and dental insurance, longevity and location pay. Non-economic contract items are in the mix as well, such as work-life balance, alternative and flexible schedules, telecommuting and the ability to use vacation accruals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Members on the call also heard from chief negotiator Mark Richard, who is helping the union negotiate its contract for the fourth time. He praised leadership for jumping into negotiations with smart strategies, membership input, and political awareness.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, this is member driven,\u201d he said. \u201cYour voices are at the table. Your incredibly talented and hardworking bargaining team takes what you say, and they go page by page through the contract and work hard to see what we can change and what we can get.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are working offensively and defensively,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need member voices, unity, a strategic plan, and great leadership to get a contract worthy of your support.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because negotiations are a delicate balance, getting into too much detail on a call that could be shared with non-union members is risky, Spence said. But he did pledge to get members the recognition they deserve.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot go into the next round of negotiations and not get something that is unique to PEF members who are professional, scientific, and technical workers,\u201d he said. \u201cOur members came up with the first COVID testing. It was PEF members who overnight transformed open fields and parking lots into testing sites and then vaccination sites. That couldn\u2019t have been done without our education.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be compensated for that,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not walking away from that contract table until they start recognizing what we do.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wins outside of negotiations<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Greenberg outlined some of the wins PEF achieved for members outside of contract negotiations in the last year, including geographic pay differentials (GEOs), 2.5x overtime agreements, increases in employer contributions to Dependent Care Advantage Accounts (DCAA), and increases in the license renewal reimbursement program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For positions the state has difficulty recruiting for, GEOs can attract applicants. PEF advocated with Civil Service and secured GEOs for some nurses, clinical physicians, licensed psychologists, and psychiatric examiners, as well as some equipment operator instructors and maintenance supervisors, among others. Emergency medical technicians at SUNY Stonybrook also saw GEO pay.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF led the way and negotiated and secured 2.5x overtime agreements with seven agencies for certain titles. Unfortunately, the state did not agree to PEF\u2019s request to extend the rates into 2023 and they expired on Dec. 31, 2022.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employer contributions to DCAA increased by $200 and the <\/span>license renewal reimbursement<\/span><\/a> rose to $200.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Legislative updates<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF has taken recruitment and retention to the floor of the legislature, proposing improvements and winning changes to Tiers 5 and 6 of the pension plan, advocating for increased Civil Service exams and testing sites, fighting for hazard pay, and taking aim at resolving toxic workplaces.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the state is not a competitive employer,\u201d said PEF Legislative Director Pat Lyons. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t pay market rate<\/span>s and the Tier 6 pension plan benefits are too low to attract and retain staff.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she intends to set up regional Civil Service testing centers and recognized the huge staffing shortage facing the state.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The union helped achieve a reduction in vesting from 10 years to 5 years and to remove all the overtime earned during the pandemic from calculating the employee contribution to Tier 6. This year, PEF wants the State to standardize a 3 percent contribution for all members of the pension plan, and down the road will push for <\/span>an enhanced pension calculation and reducing the retirement age to equate to Tier 4.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying to build a career ladder in the pension plan to attract and retain staff,\u201d Lyons said. \u201cWe know this is a huge issue for our members and it\u2019s a top priority for the union.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s Healthcare Workforce Bonus only applied to PEF titles who directly face patients, but the union continues to fight to expand hazard pay to all members deemed essential workers during the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPEF led on this,\u201d President Spence said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t get everybody. PEF submitted more than 300 titles that we believe should have received it. We\u2019re not going to give up. It\u2019s not forgotten by me what we lived through during COVID and what we did.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The union has crafted legislation to define bullying, cyberbullying, and abusive conduct, mirroring what has been done in schools across the state, in an effort to eliminate toxic workplaces. It would require every state employee to undergo training, provide a process to identify workplace issues and make a claim, and the potential for disciplinary action.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other <\/span>budget wins<\/span><\/a> secured in 2022 include:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n