{"id":9877,"date":"2026-10-15T08:06:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=9877"},"modified":"2026-10-15T08:06:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:06:05","slug":"pef-encourages-members-to-get-involved-and-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-9\/pef-encourages-members-to-get-involved-and-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF encourages members to get involved and vote\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9878 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/VOTE-Box.jpg\" alt=\"Vote!!\" width=\"291\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/VOTE-Box.jpg 450w, https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/VOTE-Box-272x300.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px\" \/>October 15, 2026 &#8212;<\/em> Since the primary election season in June, PEF members have taken steps to ensure that their fellow union members are well-informed as the midterm general elections approach.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">At the last PEF Executive Board meeting in September, members endorsed candidates for races across the state, including for New York State Assembly, New York State Senate, Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller. Candidates went through a lengthy process of questionnaires and interviews, with each PEF Regional Political Action Committee making recommendations to the Statewide Political Action Committee (SWPAC), which were ultimately presented to the Executive Board for consideration.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThese are endorsements that make sense to the union\u2019s policies and are meant to strengthen relationships for the union as a whole and strengthen our rights,\u201d said Vice President Randi DiAntonio, who chairs the SWPAC. \u201cThese are not based on personal politics.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cPEF remains focused on alleviating the affordability crisis facing members,\u201d said Legislative Director Pat Lyons. \u201cThat is why PEF fought for a good contract and secured Tier 6 reform focused on reducing employee contributions to the pension plan for Tier 6 members.\u00a0 But, we know we have much more to do more.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PEF\u2019s endorsement process included discussions on candidates\u2019 positions on policies to help slow inflation and other cost increases affecting PEF members and other working families.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The PEF Executive Board also voted to endorse fellow member Devin Lander. Lander is a Historian and PEF Steward at the State Education Department.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PEF is now making sure that members know exactly what they\u2019re voting for. As more federal budget cuts to non-defense spending come down from Washington, PEF anticipates federal Medicaid spending to drop by $8-$10 billion the next state fiscal year with additional federal cuts coming to the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and for public schools.\u00a0 New York will need to find a way to meet these new unanticipated costs in its fiscal plan if it does not get a proper share of federal support.\u00a0 PEF is supporting candidates that will say no to the President\u2019s proposed budget to make further cuts to Medicaid, education, housing, climate and environment initiatives, grant programs to states, and eliminating programs like FEMA and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which would harm our rural communities.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cPEF has and will continue to support legislation that reduces costs, enhances benefits and keeps members safe on the job,\u201d said Vice President DiAntonio. \u201cWe need to elect candidates to office who understand the difficulties faced by public employees \u2013 from short staffing to workplace violence to affordability \u2013 make that goal significantly easier.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Early voting in New York begins on October 24 and runs through November 1. Election Day is November 3, 2026, with polls statewide open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. Check the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/voterlookup.elections.ny.gov\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">New York State Board of Elections website<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to find your polling place.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Members can find the list of union-endorsed candidates aon <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pef.org\/departments\/political-action\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">PEF\u2019s website under the PEF Endorsements tab.<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 15, 2026 &#8212; Since the primary election season in June, PEF members have taken steps to ensure that their fellow union members are well-informed as the midterm general elections&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-9877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-44-no-9"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v28.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>PEF encourages members to get involved and vote\u00a0 - 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-9\/pef-encourages-members-to-get-involved-and-vote\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PEF encourages members to get involved and vote\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 15, 2026 &#8212; 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