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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
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| ERI competition too divisive To the Editor: The state’s Early Retirement Incentive, as it is dispersed, seems unfair and tends to divide our brethren. In our division at the state Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services, Bureau of Addiction Treatment Centers, for example, those in the central management unit chose to offer the incentive to themselves as a way to rid the bloat the unit had accumulated, rather than offer it to staff who work in treatment facilities. This has driven a wedge between field staff and management. In some cases at our host psychiatric center facility, employees who worked side-by-side for years were divided when one received the incentive over the other. Can anything be done to address this issue with management to stop the inequity which divides us? DALE WELLS Ogdensburg Editor’s Note: PEF has consistently fought for incentives that would be available equally to all eligible state employees, and will continue to do so. Tuition program helps many To the Editor: I read the member’s letter in the March 2003 Communicator about how PEF’s tuition-assistance program spared her debt. I am truly pleased when I learn of other PEF members taking advantage of this essential program. I am also pleased that she was able to complete her education. I have been with the state Department of Motor Vehicles for 10 years. I have been a PEF member for eight of those years. Thanks to the tuition-assistance program, I was able to complete my associate’s degree and advance from a salary grade 6 to a grade 18 during those eight years. I am now working toward my bachelor’s degree. I was able to take 10 classes over the last 18 months because PEF issued extra vouchers to compensate for semesters when we did not receive any. That helped me immensely with both costs and time. While I can not expect the extra vouchers to continue during this economically challenging time, I urge PEF to continue allowing at least one voucher per semester to its members who are matriculated in a degree program. KELLY J. GARDINEER East Berne Editor’s note: Funding for the Public Service Tuition Program is provided through the PS&T Contract which expires April 1. Members already participating in the program for the Spring 2003 Semester will be covered. However, no new funding will be available for this program until a successor agreement is reached with the state. Found better rental discount To the Editor: I am very pleased with some of our PEF membership benefits such as discounted movie tickets. However, I feel obliged to advise my fellow PEF members not to assume they will receive the most competitive rates from auto rental companies when they use the contracts negotiated by PEF Membership Benefits. I recently rented a compact car and found the rate I was quoted as a credit card customer was a full $100 less than the rate I was quoted as a PEF member. Over the past two years I have rented cars from other companies in various cities and received consistently better rental rates through my credit-card benefit programs than through my PEF membership benefits. To obtain the most competitive rates, PEF members should enter the contract codes for any benefit programs to which they belong and compare the price quotes generated. This can be easily done online. If auto rental companies cannot do better for PEF members, then their names and logos should be expunged from our publications. FRED G. HANSON Editor’s Note: The size of the discounts are related to the size of the organization that negotiates them. Since credit-card companies may be much larger than PEF, they can offer larger discounts. However, some PEF members may not have access to credit-card discounts. Always compare all of your discount options and use the best one available to you. The Communicator Letters policy We welcome letters to the editor about union issues and events relevant to PEF's diverse membership. All letters are subject to editing for space, fairness and good taste. Please keep them brief (up to one page, double-spaced or a maximum of 250 words), and please include your name and phone number for verification. Send letters to: The Communicator Public Employees Federation P.O. Box 12414 Albany, N.Y. 12212-2414 email Denyce Duncan Lacy, Executive Editor The Communicator - Director of Public Relations dduncanlacy@pef.org Sherry Halbrook, Editor of The Communicator- shalbrook@pef.org |
