![\"Contract](\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/Contract-header.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
June 14, 2023 —<\/em> The PEF Executive Board voted to send two tentative agreements to their respective memberships for ratification \u2013 the main Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PS&T) unit contract and the Canal Corporation contract.\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> The contract team reached a tentative agreement with New York State that, if ratified by the membership, would increase wages 9% through the end of the contract\u2019s term in 2026.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe started six months early for two reasons,\u201d said President Wayne Spence. \u201cI did not want to go into a contract negotiation and talk about retros. I think everybody would agree that your dollar today would not be worth the same a year or more from now. I did not want to drag it out.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Spence said members in the Comptroller\u2019s Office warned of rumblings the state could be facing fiscal troubles and the markets were heading south.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll of those things could have a direct impact on the state\u2019s ability to pay us,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to gamble going in to 2024.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vice President Darlene Williams, who chaired PEF\u2019s contract team, said the men and women who represented PEF at the bargaining table did an extraordinary job.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we could have gotten to the place we\u2019re at now without this team,\u201d she said. \u201cI have worked for the state of New York for over 40 years. This is the best contract in the shortest period of time that I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Williams acknowledged the concerns of members about the \u201cpattern of threes.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCSEA started the pattern,\u201d she said. \u201cUUP settled this morning, and they have the same. We wanted something different. Under this agreement, we would receive a higher education bonus of $600 for the second year and $600 for the third year. That effectively brings your signing bonus to $4,200.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to the ratification bonus and higher education differential, the contract includes increases to location pay for downstate regions and longevity would now be tied to years of state service, not just years served at top of grade in PEF titles.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPreviously, if you went from CSEA to PEF, CSEA years wouldn\u2019t count,\u201d Williams said. \u201cNow, it\u2019s years of state service. We wanted it to be state service and that\u2019s what we got.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dental ranked high on members\u2019 wants for this contract. PEF learned during recent rounds of negotiations that the state sat on the Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new dental provider until May 2023 and the team was determined to see change.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe really fought for dental,\u201d Williams said. \u201cOur dental stinks. This agreement would give an additional $400 dental stipend starting this year, and every year until such time as the state enters into a new dental service contract.\u201d\u202f This is, in essence, a penalty of over 20 million a year to the state as an incentive to move more expeditiously on its RFP for a new dental services contract.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To support growing families, PEF\u2019s contract team also negotiated Paid Parental Leave \u2013 at no cost, and retroactive to leave taken on or after April 2, 2023, as long as leave was within seven months of the qualifying event.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe state wanted us to take Paid Family Leave which was very divisive because of the cost to members,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe advocated for fully paid parental leave at no cost to our members. It was a hard fight, but we got 12 weeks of full paid parental leave available to eligible members <\/span>without<\/span><\/i> charge to accruals. Have those babies, adopt those babies!\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is also no change in health care premium contributions and no increase in copays under the agreement.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBeing at that contract table is not easy,\u201d Williams said. \u201cOER (Office of Employee Relations) does not want to give you anything. There were not many tradeoffs and so many more gains in this contract.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n =========================\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 2023-2026 PS&T Tentative Agreement Gains & Tradeoffs<\/span><\/a> (PDF)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n =========================<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The team put forth a proposal for telecommuting, but the state countered with plans that would lead to tracking and timekeeping, something the team wasn\u2019t willing to accept. Agency-level plans remain status quo, Williams said.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n PEF\u2019s chief negotiator Mark Richard has worked on more than 500 contracts and reminded the board that contracts are stepping stones.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis contract is worth north of $5 billion or more,\u201d he said, when factoring in the annual raises, signing bonuses and other reimbursements provided in the deal. \u201cThat contract book represents decades of every contract building on each other. Every contract is a stair step from the one before it. It\u2019s called a union movement. That\u2019s what we do. You never address every issue. Did you have goals, and did you meet them, and did you fight to protect that contract, and did you build upon that previous contract? Yes, your team did that.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ballots will be mailed to PEF members by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) on July 5, 2023. Only state or Roswell Park employees in the PS&T unit who are dues-paying members as of June 21, 2023, are eligible to vote. Ballots must be received by AAA on or before 5 p.m. July 27, 2023. Received means in hand, not just mailed or postmarked. Any member who has not received a ballot by July 14, 2023, should call AAA at 800-529-5218. Ballots will be counted by AAA on July 28, 2023.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There will be meetings around the state to discuss and answer questions about the tentative agreement. The Statewide Officers Tour will also resume mid-July in Regions 4, 6, and 7.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Canal Corp tentative agreement<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Executive Board also voted to send Division 504 members within the New York State Canal Corporation their tentative agreement for ratification.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Among other things, the tentative agreement includes 3% increases in each year of a five-year contract and a one-time lump sum bonus of $1,000 for each member upon ratification.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur team was focused on the issues raised by our members in the contract survey, such as wages, parental leave, and dental insurance,\u201d said Field Representative and Chief Negotiator Caitlin Janiszewski. \u201cThis deal makes tangible progress in those areas.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n =============<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Click here for a look at the gains and tradeoffs of the Canal Corp. tentative agreement<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n =============<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It also includes a significant improvement to the promotional payments system, an increase to navigation season stipend, and the introduction of a water management stipend.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To address the need for better dental coverage, the agreement includes a change from GHI\/Emblem dental coverage to Delta Dental, with no premium share. The deal also includes four weeks of Paid Parental Leave and the ability to convert two extra weeks of sick leave into family leave.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The agreement does include increases over time to the healthcare premium contributions resulting in 16% for individual and 31% for family contribution rate by 2026.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Canal Corporation contract ran from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2022, and the new one, if ratified, would run through June 30, 2027.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Information about balloting will be communicated to members in the unit when it becomes available.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A Special Communicator Edition containing the documents below is being mailed to all members no later than June 30.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Until then, you may access the documents directly via these links:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Highlights of the 2023-2026 Tentative Agreement<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Gains & Trade-Offs<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Marked-Up Tentative Agreement \u2013 Articles<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Contract](\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/PEF_ContractTeam.jpg\")
PS&T tentative agreement<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n
\n \n <\/h2>\n
\u00a0 CONTRACT DOCUMENTS<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n