{"id":7727,"date":"2025-09-05T11:20:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=7727"},"modified":"2026-01-05T09:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T14:55:08","slug":"negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-7\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\/","title":{"rendered":"Negotiated end to sunsets keeps benefits active even after contract expiration"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Contract
The current PS&T Contract with New York State runs through April 1, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

January 5, 2026 —<\/em> PEF\u2019s Contract Team is deep into training and preparations for a successor contract, positioning the union strongly for what may be challenging negotiations as the state braces for the impact of federal budget cuts. In the last round of bargaining, the team secured major wins by ending \u201csunsets\u201d on several provisions that once expired with the contract.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While important benefits such as health insurance, performance advances, location pay, on-call pay, and hazardous duty pay, have historically been protected, other benefits and monies need to be extended by mutual agreement, or they expire at the end of each contract term.<\/span><\/p>\n

Funding for joint labor-management committees (i.e., health benefits, professional development, health and safety, and career mobility), longevities for newly eligible employees, and the Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) are now among the benefits protected. The fact that joint committee funding continues after contract expiration is important as it means that highly utilized programs such as tuition reimbursement, license renewal reimbursement and contributions to Dependent Care Accounts will not be interrupted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF fought hard to make sure these benefits would no longer be at risk of termination.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to gains in the 2023\u20132026 Agreement, these benefits will now stay in place until a new contract is reached,\u201d said Contract Team Chair and PEF Vice President Darlene Williams. \u201cEnding sunsets takes away a bargaining chip the state has used to push for givebacks. Protecting funding for joint committees \u2014 especially tuition reimbursement and professional development \u2014 means millions of dollars for our members\u2019 growth and advancement. That\u2019s a major victory for PEF.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some provisions do still sunset, including the Higher Education Differential, which provided $600 payments in FY 2024\u201325 and 2025\u201326 for members with degrees or State Education Department-issued licenses, and a pilot expedited suspension review program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese benefits are essential to recruiting and retaining the skilled professionals New York relies on,\u201d said VP Williams. \u201cThe Higher Education Differential rightly recognizes our members as highly trained public servants, and ensuring this recognition continues will be a top priority in the next round of negotiations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January 5, 2026 — PEF\u2019s Contract Team is deep into training and preparations for a successor contract, positioning the union strongly for what may be challenging negotiations as the state…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":7737,"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-7727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-43-no-7"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNegotiated end to sunsets keeps benefits active even after contract expiration - 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-43-no-7\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Negotiated end to sunsets keeps benefits active even after contract expiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 5, 2026 — PEF\u2019s Contract Team is deep into training and preparations for a successor contract, positioning the union strongly for what may be challenging negotiations as the state...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-7\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PEF Communicator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-05T15:20:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-05T14:55:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/Survey-Feaure-v2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"435\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ksheehan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ksheehan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-7\\\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-7\\\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ksheehan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e\"},\"headline\":\"Negotiated end to sunsets keeps benefits active even after contract expiration\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-05T15:20:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-05T14:55:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-7\\\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":371,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-7\\\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/Survey-Feaure-v2.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-7\\\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-7\\\/negotiated-end-to-sunsets-keeps-benefits-active-even-after-contract-expiration\\\/\",\"name\":\"Negotiated end to sunsets keeps benefits active even after contract expiration - 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