Memos

Memo to council leaders from the President's office

2013-02-19T17:25:00Z

memo:

TO: Council Leaders

FROM: Susan M. Kent, President

DATE: February 19, 2013

The Kent/Garcia Administration was elected in June 2012 and took Office on August 1 of that year. Some of you have been Council Leaders for many years and others of you are new to the job like we are.

A quick overview of Divisions is that our Union, The Public Employees Federation (PEF) has 240 Divisions representing 54,000 members throughout New York State. Each of these 240 Divisions is part of one of the 12 Regions in PEF. As Council Leader, you have been elected as the Leader of a PEF Division and by accepting this position have been entrusted with ensuring that members of your Division are provided with information and assistance pertaining to their terms and conditions of employment. PEF has put Division Standards in place to ensure that all divisions are functioning at a high level of performance. It is important for you, as the leader of your Division, to set an example for your members by exhibiting a high work ethic, integrity, trust, confidentiality, commitment to PEF, the community we serve and the labor movement.

I was a Council Leader at the State Education Department for 12 years prior to being elected PEF President. I know the intense level of responsibility and stress that comes with the job of a Council Leader. I also know the immense satisfaction that is felt when we assist members and prevent and right wrongs that have been done to them. I also know that in order for you to be successful in your job as Council Leader, you should be able to rely on the support of your members, Executive Board representatives, Regional Coordinator, the Vice Presidents, Secretary-Treasurer Garcia and me.

At the last meeting of the Executive Council, which includes the 12 Regional Coordinators, 3 Vice Presidents, 3 Trustees, the Secretary-Treasurer and me, one of the major discussions that took place related to the need for improving communication from Council Leaders, as well as greater participation of Council Leaders and their members in Regional and Statewide PEF issues and activities. We know that communication works both ways, so we are committed to making sure that we, as the Statewide Leaders and Trustees of PEF, invest in efforts to move PEF forward and give you all the support you need to be part of the solution for PEF and the many challenges we and our members face. One basic way to improve our Union is to make sure that Council Leaders are holding meetings with their members and that they are informing their Regional Coordinator of Division meetings. This is a simple communication that is so very important to the health of our Union, so if this is an issue that you need to address, please do so expeditiously. This is an opportune time for you to hold a member meeting to convey budget priorities to your members and to work with your Regional Coordinator on regional fight-back campaigns.

In the coming months there will be many changes that I will be communicating with you and I ask that you let me know your ideas for PEF, and concerns you may have as well. Communication is one area we know needs improving. Please send us your ideas about how we can better communicate with our members - in addition to the Communicator and website postings. Please ensure that PEF has your correct contact information, including home and work addresses, phone numbers and email addresses by contacting my Office at (518) 785-1900, ext. 211.

Thank you for being a leader in our Union and for the work you do every day on the job for the community and for the members of your Division.

PEF 2013-14 BUDGET PRIORITIES

2013-02-08T22:00:00Z

memo:

TO: Executive Board Members and Council Leaders

FROM: Susan M. Kent, President

DATE: February 8, 2013

RE: PEF SFY 2013-14 Budget Priorities

Attached are PEF’s budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year which have been developed in consultation with affected Statewide Labor Management Chairs, Regional Coordinators, and Executive Board members. Our main concerns are proposals which would:

Create a private hospital in Brooklyn and in upstate New York, which, along with inadequate state financial support, may endanger our SUNY hospitals;
Expand the use of “design build” and “design-build-finance” contracts for infrastructure improvements;
Expand the Close to Home Initiative and close all OCFS non-secure facilities;
Replace current one-year notice laws for the closure of DOCCS, OCFS, and OMH facilities with significantly shorter and inadequate notice provisions;
Privatize and diminish state provided services to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled through undisclosed closures of state operated facilities.

Our strategy for advancing our budget priorities will involve engaging our members, members of other unions and community groups, working together to advance our budget priorities and to fight those proposals that result in bad public policy, negatively impacting our members and the community. At the same time, we will remain vigilant in advocating for continuity of employment for our members and to protect the services they provide to New Yorkers. This year we will move to regional lobbying. We will begin regional lobby days in every PEF region and outreach efforts to get PEF members to send letters to their legislators on our priority budget issues. Regional Coordinators and PAC Chairs requested that the PEF Legislative Office prepare letters on all budget priorities for them to coordinate letter writing campaigns in their regions. The timetable for action is short, and your participation is essential over the next month to ensure our budget priorities are achieved.

cc: Statewide Labor-Management Chairs

Click Here for SFY 2013-14 Budget Priorities of the Public Employees Federation Memo

UPDATE - Sick Leave Credit Calculation

2011-03-07T14:27:20Z

Contract Administration

TO: Executive Board Members and Council Leaders

FROM: Elizabeth S. Hough, Director of Contract Administration

Lorraine Simpkins, Health Benefits Specialist

DATE: March 4, 2011

RE: UPDATE - Sick Leave Credit Calculation

In our memo dated February 17, 2011, we advised you that the Department of Civil Service (DCS) appeared to be planning to change the life expectancy tables used to calculate the value of the monthly sick leave credit that is used to offset a retiree’s share of health insurance premiums effective beginning April 1, 2011. If this change were to be implemented, the result would be a lower lifetime monthly sick leave credit because of longer life expectancies.

We are pleased to report, that in response to a “cease and desist” demand letter from PEF, the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) has now advised us that DCS will not be implementing this change effective April 1, 2011.

The State is continuing to assert that they have the legal authority to unilaterally change the actuarial tables at a future date without PEF’s consent. Our position remains that the formula used to calculate the sick leave credit is a mandatory subject of bargaining and that the State cannot unilaterally change the formula because it would be a violation of the terms of the 2007-2011 PS&T Unit Agreement.

However, despite this continuing difference of opinion, DCS and GOER have at least agreed that, employees should be given “adequate” notice prior to the implementation of a change in the formula used to calculate the sick leave credit. GOER has informed us that, should DCS decide to change the life expectancy tables at a future date, it will not be done without “adequate” notice to employees.

We will keep you informed if we receive any new information suggesting that DCS is proceeding with implementation of any change in the formula used to calculate the sick leave credit on a new timetable.

LM-30 Reporting to the U.S. Department of Labor Follow Up Memo

2010-08-13T16:10:00Z

Office of General Counsel

TO:           Statewide Officers
                Executive Board Representatives
                PEF Staff

FROM: Rita J. Verga

DATE: August 13, 2010

RE: LM-30 Reporting to the U.S. Department of Labor

Our File No. 7029-P

This is an update to Counsel’s December 18, 2007, March 31, 2008 and March 4, 2010 memoranda concerning LM-30 reporting requirements, which are available at www.pef.org.

As we previously reported, effective January 1, 2008 the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) expanded reporting requirements for individuals who may be required to file annual reports (LM-30) with the Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (“OLMS”) if they meet the conditions for reporting. The expanded reporting requirement stemmed from the Bush Administration DOL’s redefinition of the term “labor organization employee” to include individuals who are not employed by their union, but who perform union work during their work day, and are paid for that time by the employer. Thus, the new filing requirements were aimed at identifying how much employer-paid time is spent on union business, by union stewards and local leaders. As a practical matter, the filing requirements never went into effect because the Obama Administration DOL gave filers a choice of using the old form or the new form.

The Obama Administration DOL has proposed a rule to repeal the changes to the LM-30 Form that were adopted by the Bush Administration. The public comment period for this rule closes on October 12, and the AFL-CIO will be submitting appropriate comments. Practically speaking, payments made by an employer under a union leave or no docking policy once again would not be required to be reported on Form LM-30.

We will continue to apprise you of developments in this area.

RJV/jbc

Restoration of Article 15 Tuition and Professional Development Programs

2010-08-04T17:18:00Z

I am please to inform to that PEF has been notified that the Article 15 Professional Development Programs that were suspended April 28, 2010 due to the delay in passing the State Budget are being restored.

Cost of Reimbursing Medicare Part B Premiums to be Included as NYSHIP Premium Component

2010-08-02T15:35:00Z

In our memo dated 6/11/10, we advised you that the Assembly and Senate had passed emergency budget legislation mandating that the cost of reimbursing Medicare Part B premiums be included as a component of the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) premiums. Prior to this change in law, the State paid the full cost of reimbursing Medicare Part B premiums to Medicare-primary NYSHIP enrollees. The law now requires that, retroactive to 4/1/10, the cost of Medicare Part B premium reimbursement be shared by the State and NYSHIP enrollees.

Announced “Potential Government Shut Down”

2010-06-11T16:24:00Z

The Governor’s Office of Employees Relations notified us today that if an emergency appropriation bill is not passed on Monday, June 14, 2010, non-essential State employees will be directed to remain at home on Tuesday, June 15. Conversely, employees identified as essential will still be required to report to work. Many of you have by now certainly seen information issued by your agency management to this effect.

Retroactive Payment of April Salary Increases

2010-06-11T16:17:00Z

We have received confirmation from the Office of the State Comptroller that the retroactive payment of the April 2010 general salary increases (both the 4% across the board salary increase and, for eligible employees, the job rate parity adjustment) will be included in the August 4, 2010 paycheck for the Administrative payroll and the August 12, 2010 paycheck for the Institution payroll.

Early Retirement Incentive Questions and Answers

2010-06-04T15:43:00Z

Attached for your reference is a copy of general questions we have received regarding the 2010-11 Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) as well as a copy the Division of the Budget Bulletin regarding implementation of the incentive. PEF will be closely monitoring the implementation of the incentive to insure that it is as broadly applied as possible. As with the Voluntary Severance Package (VSP) we will be keeping track of members who have applied for the incentive and have been denied. Once the ERI window is open members who have been denied can provide this information through the PEF website. This information will be used to determine whether our members are being unfairly denied participation in the incentive.

Governor’s Actions Regarding Negotiated Pay Raises

2010-04-14T16:11:00Z

The governor’s recent actions regarding withholding of pay raises have generated many questions from our members concerning the status of our negotiated pay increases and bonuses, how the state budget process impacts the governor’s actions, and what potential actions are available to PEF to ensure that the state meets the obligations of our contract.