{"id":9408,"date":"2026-08-05T15:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T19:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=9408"},"modified":"2026-08-07T15:55:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T19:55:51","slug":"presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"

As summer draws to a close at the end of this month, I\u00a0reflect with\u00a0pride on the work we have done over the last few months.\u00a0\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We toured the State to present the 2026-2031 PS&T Tentative Agreement, providing information to voters and answering questions at dozens of worksites from Long Island to the North Country. Ballots are still being collected until 5 p.m. on August 17, so if\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0put it off until now, there is time to get yours in the mail to meet the deadline so it can be counted on August 18. Your vote does more than just ratify a strong contract with across-the-board raises, increased location pay, and the creation of a PEF Employee Benefit Fund to deliver better dental and vision plans\u202f- it shows the State that PEF members are engaged and united. They will be paying attention to voter turnout as a signal of our strength, so please, if you have not already, mail back your ballot.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During one of my Contract Tour stops in PEF Region 7, members alerted me to an alarming situation at the\u00a0Sunmount\u00a0OPWDD facility in Tupper Lake<\/a>. On that sweltering\u00a0hot day, I toured parts of the secure facility and experienced first-hand the working and living conditions staff and residents were subjected to without air conditioning. A digital thermostat in one office showed a temperature of 84 degrees! I immediately raised the issue with State officials and pressed them to act. When the problem remained unresolved, we brought public attention to it, resulting in coverage by the\u00a0Albany Times Union<\/a>, the\u00a0Daily Gazette<\/a>, and the\u00a0New York Post.<\/a> A month later, I\u2019m proud to share that OPWDD will install air conditioning units this month where they are desperately needed, after bringing in six portable AC units to address the issues in July. It should not require union intervention for the State to do the right thing, but I\u2019m glad our advocacy helped bring about positive change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last month, as an AFT Vice President, I was joined by fellow PEF Statewide Officers and 18 additional PEF leaders and members as delegates at the biennial\u00a0<\/span>American Federation of Teachers Convention in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0At a Convention with the theme \u201cFighting for a Better Life for ALL,\u201d PEF authored and passed three resolutions dealing with affordability, the housing crisis, and workplace violence. In my conversations with fellow union leaders, it was clear that what PEF fights for \u2013 fair contracts, health and safety, respect, and resources to serve the public \u2013 are universal demands in the labor movement. \u202fIt was inspiring to know\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0not alone and gave me some great ideas for our 48<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0Annual Convention this October in Niagara Falls.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We have a packed calendar ahead \u2013 from summer divisional picnics to Labor Day parades on Sept. 8 to a DOCCS Statewide Labor-Management Conference later next month. Reach out to your stewards and council leaders for more information about events in your area and thank you for your continued activism. Please\u00a0get in touch with\u00a0your\u00a0<\/span>regional office<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or PEF Field Representative if\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0anything PEF can do for you.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Unity,
\n<\/span>
\nWayne Spence
\nPEF President<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As summer draws to a close at the end of this month, I\u00a0reflect with\u00a0pride on the work we have done over the last few months.\u00a0\u202f\u00a0 We toured the State to…<\/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-9408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-44-no-6"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident's Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f - 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-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President's Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As summer draws to a close at the end of this month, I\u00a0reflect with\u00a0pride on the work we have done over the last few months.\u00a0\u202f\u00a0 We toured the State to...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PEF Communicator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-05T19:18:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T19:55:51+00:00\" \/>\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-6\\\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-6\\\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ksheehan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e\"},\"headline\":\"President’s Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T19:18:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-07T19:55:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-6\\\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":537,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-6\\\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-6\\\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\\\/\",\"name\":\"President's Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f - PEF Communicator\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T19:18:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-07T19:55:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-6\\\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-6\\\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-6\\\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Volume 44. No. 6\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-6\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"President’s Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"PEF Communicator\",\"description\":\"NYS PEF Communicator\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e\",\"name\":\"ksheehan\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/author\\\/ksheehan\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"President's Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f - PEF Communicator","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"President's Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f","og_description":"As summer draws to a close at the end of this month, I\u00a0reflect with\u00a0pride on the work we have done over the last few months.\u00a0\u202f\u00a0 We toured the State to...","og_url":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/","og_site_name":"PEF Communicator","article_published_time":"2026-08-05T19:18:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T19:55:51+00:00","author":"ksheehan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ksheehan","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/"},"author":{"name":"ksheehan","@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e"},"headline":"President’s Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f","datePublished":"2026-08-05T19:18:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T19:55:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/"},"wordCount":537,"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/","url":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/","name":"President's Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f - PEF Communicator","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-05T19:18:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T19:55:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/presidents-message-every-ballot-builds-pefs-power\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Volume 44. No. 6","item":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"President’s Message: Every ballot builds PEF\u2019s power\u202f"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/","name":"PEF Communicator","description":"NYS PEF Communicator","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e","name":"ksheehan","url":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/author\/ksheehan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9408"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9464,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9408\/revisions\/9464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9408"},{"taxonomy":"division","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/division?post=9408"},{"taxonomy":"allowed_regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/allowed_regions?post=9408"},{"taxonomy":"allowed_divisions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/noduslink\/wp\/v2\/allowed_divisions?post=9408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}