02/02/2004

CALL TO ACTION! ACT TODAY!
NYS and CSEA appear on the verge of settling their contract(s) (see the following article for more details). The wage and benefit pattern they agree to will have an impact on the PEF negotiations. All State employees need to communicate with the Governor now by taking the CONTRACT PLEDGE!

Tell the Governor that you will not accept a contract -

- That does not have a base wage increase in each year;

- That has significant health concessions including increases in premium percentages;

- That diminishes the health insurance benefits of present or future retirees; and

- That does not provide cost-of-living adjustments for high cost geographic areas.

TAKE THE PLEDGE by going on line and faxing (free) your pledge to the Governor (e mail copies automatically sent to your NYS senate and assembly representatives). Simply click on the following (or paste into your browser) and follow the instructions (takes only a minute or two) http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/pledge

TABLE TALK
PS&T contract negotiators from the Governor's Office of Employee Relations (GOER) gave PEF signals last November that an agreement could possibly be reached before the Governor’s Executive Budget of early January, 2004.

The state and union reduced their proposals on the negotiating table with the union making a full package offer to the State on December 4, 2003. The State has yet to respond in any meaningful way to the offer and now has apparently put PEF negotiations on the back burner. At this writing the State appears to be very close to making an agreement with the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA).

Reasons for the State's changing horses in mid stream are unknown. PEF has been very active in communicating with the state and our members about our top priorities in this negotiation. It could be that CSEA has indicated a willingness to accept a contract with terms they know our team would refuse or it could be as simple as comfort level. The GOER and CSEA negotiators have historically negotiated the first deals.

When an agreement is reached, PEF's team will subject the CSEA agreement to a meticulous analysis and decide what strategic steps we need to take to procure a fair contract that meets our members' needs.

CSEA and PEF are the only unions which represent employees in virtually every Executive branch agency. The terms of a tentative contract settlement by either of them are critically important to the NYS employees represented by the other. If the deal is ratified by the negotiating union’s membership, particularly as it regards wages and health benefits, it can become a pattern which has historically been nearly impossible for the other to escape.

Even if CSEA negotiators reach a tentative agreement, negotiations are not over for PEF. There are several important hurdles that must be cleared. First, CSEA members must ratify the new agreement. In 1999 the first agreement between CSEA and GOER was overwhelmingly rejected by all four of the CSEA units. The agreements that ultimately were ratified in that round of bargaining looked very different than the ones that were defeated. Second, the state must offer PEF the package, and if the last round is any indication, we may have to force the state to take this action. Finally, and most important, if the CSEA agreement is ratified and offered to PEF, our negotiators will have to make a decision if this agreement is the best we can achieve. If it isn't we will continue our contract fight until we obtain a fair and just settlement for the PEF members and their families.

In many ways, the real fight over our contract has just begun. Your contract team needs your support at this critical time. Tell the Governor that you expect a fair contract with a base wage increase in every year of it! Click the following and TAKE THE CONTRACT PLEDGE TODAY! http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/pledge