{"id":8612,"date":"2026-03-24T09:27:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=8612"},"modified":"2026-03-24T09:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:57:17","slug":"pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-3\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF Legislative Reception highlights working with legislators"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2026<\/p>\n

March 24, 2026 — Following a long, successful Lobby Day<\/a> at the State Capitol on March 17 in Albany, PEF members and members of the legislature attended PEF\u2019s annual Legislative Reception. The reception is a chance for members of the Senate and Assembly to meet with PEF members from various agencies across the state to discuss the union\u2019s priorities face-to-face ahead of the passage of the New York State budget in April.<\/p>\n

PEF continued to ride the wave following the sold-out \u201cFix Tier 6 Rally<\/a>\u201d in Albany on March 8 that saw 15,000 members from various unions show up to demand pension reform. Legislators spoke directly with leaders and members about why fixing Tier 6 is so important.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith so many of our members telling me they are struggling, we need to make sure we are bolstering the workforce by looking long-term,\u201d said PEF President Wayne Spence. \u201cWe need to make sure legislators hear us when we speak. We need Tier 6 reform now and we have the power to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly two-thirds of PEF members are in Tier 6 of the pension plan, and the union supports reducing member contribution rates and other reforms (such as allowing retirement at age 55 after a 30-year career) that will bring Tiers 5 and 6 of the plan more in line with Tier 4.<\/p>\n

President Spence took a moment to thank New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli for ensuring that the pension system is fully funded. DiNapoli said that he believes that as PEF and other labor unions fight for reform to Tier 6, they have allies in the legislature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they\u2019re certainly working on fixing Tier 6, but they\u2019re also fighting for adequate staffing in all our state agencies,\u201d said DiNapoli. \u201cI see firsthand every day the excellence, the professionalism and the dedication of the men and women of PEF.\u201d<\/p>\n

PEF is also in negotiations with the state for a new contract. At the reception, President Spence made sure that legislators understood that he and the contract team will not rest until there is a fair contract on the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn April 1, the union that represents 60,000 members will be outside of a contract. The contract will expire. And if the time comes, I will call on members of the Legislature to stand with us if we have to rally for a contract,\u201d said President Spence. \u201cYou have stood with us before. I am hopeful that there is a path to a contract, but if there isn\u2019t, I have to do what the union does: Make noise. And I hope you will stand with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

March 24, 2026 — Following a long, successful Lobby Day<\/a> at the State Capitol on March 17 in Albany, PEF members and members of the legislature attended PEF\u2019s annual…<\/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-8612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-44-no-3"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPEF Legislative Reception highlights working with legislators - 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-44-no-3\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PEF Legislative Reception highlights working with legislators\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"March 24, 2026 — Following a long, successful Lobby Day at the State Capitol on March 17 in Albany, PEF members and members of the legislature attended PEF\u2019s annual...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-3\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PEF Communicator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T13:27:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T13:57:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Leg-Recept-Header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\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=\"3 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-44-no-3\\\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-3\\\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ksheehan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e\"},\"headline\":\"PEF Legislative Reception highlights working with legislators\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T13:27:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T13:57:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-3\\\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":433,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-3\\\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Leg-Recept-Header.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-3\\\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-3\\\/pef-legislative-reception-highlights-working-with-legislators\\\/\",\"name\":\"PEF Legislative Reception highlights working with legislators - 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