PEF President Wayne Spence attended the State of the State address by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 10, 2023, and issued this statement following the speech: “Governor Hochul advanced a budget blueprint that builds upon PEF’s ongoing ‘Fund Our Future‘ campaign. From dedicating resources to support more state-operated mental health services, indexing...
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PEF members in Buffalo and the surrounding area are digging out after one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit western New York, dumping more than four feet of snow in some areas and leaving at least 28 dead. In the days and weeks after this historic storm, you might be faced with many...
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In 2022, the doors reopened, the meetings returned to conference rooms, and parades and rallies are back. Read the entire issue now at https://communicator.pef.org/
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With winter (almost!) officially here, it’s a good time to review this memo from PEF’s Contract Administration department about Article 12.13 of the 2019-2023 PEF/State Agreement that pertains to “Extraordinary Circumstances.“
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The theme of this issue is pretty clear from the cover – our strong union deserves a strong contract! The PEF Contract Team, some of whom we introduce in these pages, has already had an introductory meeting with the State and scheduled two more meetings next month. You responded in force to our contract survey...
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Are you a teacher, nurse, engineer or other professional whose state job requires a license or certification? If you paid for certification and license renewals required for your job, you may be eligible for reimbursement up to $200 per fiscal year (April 1-March 31) under the Certification and License Renewal Fee Reimbursement Pilot Program negotiated...
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The 2023 open enrollment period for Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAA), Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) and the Adoption Advantage Account runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 12. These Flexible Spending Accounts save employees money by allowing payment for certain expenses with pre-tax dollars. PEF successfully negotiated for the state to increase its employer contribution...
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The time to use accruals that were carried over in April 2020, April 2021, April 2022 (and accruals that now may be carried over in April 2023) has been extended. Those carried-over vacation accruals must now be used by December 31, 2023, or they will be forfeited. Employees may have banks of both carried-over vacation accruals and regular...
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At the union’s annual Convention in Niagara Falls, Oct. 23-26, 2022, nurses represented by the NYS Public Employees Federation recorded messages for Gov. Kathy Hochul, who this month delivered the Nurse Title Restructuring the union has demanded for decades. It will make a difference in their professional lives and help the State recruit new nurses...
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