{"id":4802,"date":"2024-03-29T13:57:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T17:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=4802"},"modified":"2024-04-02T14:49:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T18:49:32","slug":"presidents-message-april-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-42-no-3\/presidents-message-april-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF persistence pays off!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The first quarter of 2024 is in the books! The New York State budget will be finalized soon, and I\u2019m confident that many of PEF\u2019s priorities will be included. I thank each of you who took the time to send an email or a letter or called your lawmakers to voice support for PEF\u2019s priorities. The PEF Communications and Legislative Departments report that members sent almost 4,500 emails and signed about 8,000 letters at various meetings and events across the State. Without your voices amplifying the union\u2019s lobbying efforts, legislators would not have known about so many of the issues plaguing the State workforce. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This month&#8217;s lead story is one I know many of you will be very glad to read. Ever since I was first elected PEF President in 2015, I&#8217;ve heard from members all over the State how terrible the EmblemHealth dental plan is. There aren&#8217;t nearly enough participating dentists and the benefits really amount to nothing but a coupon for State employees. Not anymore. Effective some time this fall, after a 180-day implementation period, <a href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-42-no-3\/new-dental-plan\/\">Anthem Blue Cross will become the dental insurer in the NYS Health Insurance Plan<\/a>. <span data-contrast=\"auto\">PEF was the loudest voice in the room when it came to making this happen and I\u2019m grateful to all of you for keeping the issue front and center. It took more than a decade of advocacy, but the persistence of union members and staff paid off and now public employees across the State will benefit. Congratulations to everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I&#8217;d also like to take a moment to commend the members at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-42-no-3\/kingsboro-pc-members-say-enough-is-enough-call-for-a-stop-to-bullying-with-days-of-action-and-rally\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Kingsboro Psychiatric Center in Brooklyn<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, who are fed up with the treatment some of them receive from management and have gone public with a campaign to call it out. PEF activists have participated in a series of actions each week since February, recorded audio testimonials about their experiences, and are building toward a May 1 rally at the facility, to which we\u2019ll invite the media and legislators so they can hear Kingsboro\u2019s message: Stop Workplace Bullying!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This issue is hitting your in-boxes just five days before a once-in-a-lifetime event \u2013 the total solar eclipse that people from all over the world will witness across a swath of western, central and northern New York on April 8. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"><a href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-42-no-3\/eclipse-expected-to-bring-record-breaking-crowds-to-niagara-region-pef-members-have-been-planning-for-more-than-a-year\/\">PEF members have been preparing for this since 2020<\/a>.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> I hope everyone stays safe and has fun \u2013 especially if traveling in busy areas like Buffalo, where the traffic is expected to be intense.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Finally, I want to recognize a special member who does all she can for PEF, for her community, and abroad. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-42-no-3\/pef-nurse-donates-time-and-expertise-abroad\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Joan Rosegreen<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a nurse and PEF council leader at SUNY Downstate, recently returned to her native country (and mine!), Jamaica, to help deliver healthcare to those in need, and is already gearing up for another global adventure later this year in Singapore. I salute Joan and every PEF member fighting to make a real difference in the lives of the people we serve.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259,&quot;469777462&quot;:[1171],&quot;469777927&quot;:[0],&quot;469777928&quot;:[1]}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In Unity,\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259,&quot;469777462&quot;:[1171],&quot;469777927&quot;:[0],&quot;469777928&quot;:[1]}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Wayne Spence<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">PEF President<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first quarter of 2024 is in the books! The New York State budget will be finalized soon, and I\u2019m confident that many of PEF\u2019s priorities will be included. I&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-4802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-42-no-3"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>PEF persistence pays off! - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-42-no-3\/presidents-message-april-2024\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PEF persistence pays off!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The first quarter of 2024 is in the books! 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